Career entry: It's a tough start

In a few months, Christian Nötzold will begin to get serious about life - for the third time.

After starting school and switching from school to university, his sports studies at the University of Mainz will soon end.

Then the transition into professional life begins.

“The realization is slowly emerging that the course will soon be over,” he says.

He submitted his bachelor thesis in the summer, two practical exams and an internship are still missing.

Nötzold then uses sport to treat people with mental and psychosomatic illnesses in a clinic. “Originally I wanted to go into sports management after graduation,” he says. But he particularly liked sports psychology during his studies. After completing his bachelor's degree, he wants to do a few more internships to find out exactly what he wants to do later. "When I was looking for an internship, I noticed that the transition from study to job would be pretty difficult," says Nötzold. There are too many sports students for too few jobs.

Many students feel like him.

"Especially in the linguistics or humanities, students find it difficult to transition into professional life," says Kerstin Koch, who advises schoolchildren and students on professional issues for the Federal Employment Agency in Darmstadt.

There the later professions are not as clearly defined as in medicine or teaching.

"It is unlikely that a historian will find a job in an archive or museum."

A third feared a drop in wages

Kai Mühleck knows that career starters in this country need around three months to find a job after completing their studies. At the German Center for University and Science Research (DZHW), he conducts research on educational trajectories, among other things. In an international comparison, university graduates in Germany manage to enter the labor market relatively well. “This is due, among other things, to the good labor market situation in Germany.” Those who graduate from a university of applied sciences or do a master’s degree from university usually find “adequate employment” in Germany, i.e. receive a position and a salary according to their qualifications. Only those who leave university after completing a bachelor's degree have a slightly poorer chance of finding a suitable position.

But Corona has made the transition more complex for many. Many companies imposed hiring freezes, working students lost their jobs, and career fairs were canceled. "Corona made it much more difficult for students to make contacts with companies and build a network," says career counselor Koch. According to a survey by the DZHW last summer, four out of ten students anticipated delays in entering the labor market due to Corona, and a third feared wage losses.

Even those who were able to get hold of one of the coveted internship positions or student jobs usually started in the home office. "That makes it much more difficult to understand the team structures and processes and to integrate," says Ursula Krämer, who advises students at the University of Frankfurt on career issues. This is exactly what is important for the smoothest possible transition into professional life. Most job postings required not only specialist knowledge but also practical experience. She therefore urgently recommends internships, freelance workers or working student jobs. "A job while studying has a positive effect on the job search and future income," says Mühleck. And he helps with networking. Because companies decide less on formal qualifications than on whether they already know the applicants.says Kerstin Koch. "Then they know that you can rely on a person and that they already know the workflow."

Growing need for secure jobs

That is why you should reflect on your own strengths and competencies as early as possible, especially in courses with uncertain professional prospects.

This not only helps to choose the right internships, but also makes you more confident for job interviews.

Because in the age of virtual assessment centers, the inhibition threshold has risen to participate in group discussions, for example.

In addition to career counseling, many universities also offer their students career fairs or application days where companies and young academics get to know each other. In Germany there is a relatively close connection between education and work, says university researcher Mühleck. However, most courses are very theoretical. There are not compulsory internships everywhere. "Students should therefore think about how they can transfer their knowledge into practice and communicate it," says Koch. For example, students should be able to explain the topic of their thesis to a non-specialist HR manager in an understandable way. During the pandemic, she observed an increasing need for secure jobs among more and more students. “It has also become more important to work in a safe industry that has a future.“The need for security is also reflected in salary requests. "Before Corona, the topic of money was not so superficial." It was more about finding the right job, doing something meaningful. But that too has changed.