Clive at a desk in yellow glasses, reading a newspaper with a notebook and laptop, in black and white
The Clive blog

Notes on the graduate market

From finding your first role to understanding what employers want, Clive digs into the questions on graduates’ minds, with practical advice, a closer look at the headlines, and what it all means for you.

Latest

Updated 4 Oct 2026
Market 4 October 2026 6 min read

Why are students choosing the degrees AI is most likely to change?

Economics says students should avoid subjects AI threatens. A new study of UK university applications finds they did the opposite, as the entry-level jobs those degrees lead to thinned out.

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Clive sits on a wooden bench and watches a group of young applicants with prospectuses walk past towards a red-brick university.
Market 1 October 2026 6 min read

The auditors were meant to be gone by now. Grant Thornton is paying them £40,000

A famous forecast gave auditors a 94% chance of being computerised. Thirteen years on, Grant Thornton is offering London graduates £40,000, a £5,000 bonus and a partner sponsor. Both can be true.

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Clive peers over his yellow glasses at a ledger as a partner points out a line to a graduate, a laptop and checked papers beside them.
Advice 28 September 2026 11 min read

Can psychology tell you which career will suit you? A century of trying

Psychologists have spent over a century studying who suits which work. The history is more useful, and less tidy, than a quiz with one perfect answer.

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A graduate and Clive explore a museum of career psychology, with displays of a paper questionnaire, colourful interest blocks and a laptop beside an open doorway to a busy workplace.
Advice 25 September 2026 4 min read

A careers service can’t help you if accessing it requires a free afternoon

Work, commuting and caring do not disappear when a careers event starts. Useful support has to fit the lives of the students it is meant to help.

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Clive, in his round yellow glasses, sits on a station bench beside a student reading a notebook as a train waits nearby.
Market 22 September 2026 3 min read

If AI can do the junior work, why is Accenture still hiring graduates?

The graduate job market is having a hard year, and AI gets most of the blame. Accenture, IBM and EY are telling a more complicated story about what junior people are for.

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A graduate and a senior leader trading a laptop and a notebook across a table, with Clive sitting underneath
Advice 17 September 2026 5 min read

You don’t have to work in your degree subject to use your degree

Three years studying economics. First job in product management. Your degree title is one clue. It doesn’t have to be your next job title.

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Clive beside a country signpost pointing to Product, Economics, Policy and Consulting

More pieces on the way. Clive writes when there’s something worth saying.