Here at Guardian Careers we know it has been a tough time for you graduates job seekers out there — we see the frequent posts on our forums about how difficult it is finding that elusive first role.
However, this week the extent of graduate unemployment has been made clear in stark figures — nearly one in 11 graduates were unemployed six months after leaving university, the highest proportion for 17 years, according to a study of the graduate class of 2009 by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit.
The figures also paint a telling picture of which graduates are finding it hardest to land a graduate-level job — and it is IT graduates who have the bleakest prospects with 16% known to be out of work in January 2010 — which equals a shocking one in six unemployed six months after graduation.
It's the kind of league table students will not want to see themselves topping — but also appearing in the top five for the highest unemployment is media studies, design, accountancy and electrical and electronic engineering.
So, if you are a graduate of one of these courses, and you are struggling to find work, we've decided to launch a series of survival guides to help you find out what opportunities are out there — and how you can get them. Kicking off the series will be a Q&A dedicated to IT graduates — so join us online on 10 November between 1pm—4pm.
Our panel:
Carrie Hartnell is associate director of Intellect Technology Association — a body representing the UK technology industry.
Justin Cooke is recognised as one of the UK's leading experts in digital media. With more than 14 years of experience in the industry, in 2010, he was named the third most influential person in digital by New Media Age. He is the chair of BIMA (British Interactive Media Association) and founder and CEO of interactive design agency Fortune Cookie.
Namuli Katumba is the head of account management at managed hosting company Ultraspeed. Namuli oversees the maintenance of service and growth of the current Ultraspeed client base.
Owen Powell is IT Director at Kensington & Chelsea Primary Care Trust and Guardian Careers IT careers expert.
Vanessa Gough is professional development manager (PDM) at IBM UK Foundation, a multinational computer technology and IT consulting corporation.
Karen Martin is group graduate resourcing manager at The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Karen holds responsibility for graduate resourcing operations and recruitment across graduate programmes within the RBS group, including opportunities for analyst roles in technology.
Richard Seaton is from the Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology at the Open University.
Adam Thilthorpe is director for professionalism in IT at the BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. Adam joined BCS as a key account manager in 2005 but now leads the development of the Institute's professionalism in IT initiative. He raises awareness of the changes in the profession; the challenges and the opportunities.
