There’s a whole lot of pressure on being a graduate. You’re expected to leave uni and fall into some sort of semblance to an actual grown up life, which we all know is easier said than done. But I think the biggest issue that is always on everyone’s mind long before even graduating, is finding a job.
The thing is though, there seems to be bit of a trend in the graduate jobs market where students are accepting a few job offers at a time, then following through with one and ditching the others at the last minute. And as refreshingly positive as it is to hear that those illusive graduate jobs do really exist and are actually being offered to people, this tendency to abandon an offer so late in the game is becoming an issue for employers.
Apparently, hundreds of spaces on graduate programmes are being left unfilled because by the time grads have turned down the role, it's normally too late for them to be offered to others, reports T**he Times. So, recruiters now want to bring in a rule that means students have to turn down any other offers or interviews if they’ve already accepted a job in writing, and that doing so should form a contract committing you to take the position.
It’s a confusing point to get your head around I guess. I for one remember being encouraged to go to every interview I was offered, if not to get the job then at the very least make a start on that dreaded networking thing grown ups always seem to go on about. But the reality is that jobs aren’t being filled. The Times also reported that 2,200 graduate jobs weren’t filled last summer ‘due to students reneging after accepting an offer’, which is probably a pretty painful number to read if you’re a grad still trying to find work.
If a set of rules are put in place to make any written acceptance of a job considered a contract, in theory an employer could sue you for backing out later on, but the likelihood is that you’ll be blacklisted if you ever want to try and go for a job at the same company further down the line.
There actually is a code that was agreed by the National Union of Students, Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, though. It was issued back in 2007 but hasn’t really been used since. It said: ‘When accepting an unconditional offer, decline all other offers and withdraw any outstanding applications. Be aware of what is being signed up to. The acceptance in writing of an unconditional offer forms a contract. If students wish to qualify or defer acceptance, they should contact their careers service for advice first whether the offer is made in writing or verbally.’
So basically, saying yes to a whole load of jobs and then backing out on the ones you didn’t fancy was a big no, no. And this is pretty much what Gordon Chesterman, director of careers services at the University of Camberidge who is leading the move to set some rules around the whole thing, would like to bring back.
But don’t worry too much. If this old code did make a return, you wouldn’t necessarily be formally punished for breaking it or anything. It's just pretty likely that you'll be very much in the bad books if you ever decide to go back to a company that you flaked out on.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.