The Surprising Thing New Grads Are Looking for in a Job

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Forget about just getting a job, first-time job seekers want job security as well. That's the finding of a new survey, which indicated that graduates from the class of 2012 are looking for job security above all other factors, including salary and benefits, in their search for their first job. One-third of graduates listed job security as the top priority in their search, while 23 percent of respondents listed salary and benefits as their top priority.    

Although many job seekers are looking for employment security, more than 40 percent of new graduates were planning to stay at their job for only one year. Only 38 percent of respondents planned on staying two or more years. Overall, this year's class of job seekers was more optimistic than not about their prospects for getting a job after graduation. Just less than one-third of job seekers were not sure about their job prospects after graduation.

A large reason for this optimism comes due to the flexibility of first-time workers. Almost 80 percent of workers said that they would relocate for their first job. Graduates, however, were not as optimistic about working at a startup.  Just 4 percent of the respondents said they would consider working at a startup their dream job.  Despite that low number, many job seekers are not looking for jobs at large companies, either. In fact, nearly 40 percent of graduates listed working at a small or medium-size business as their top choice.

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"The focus on job security is significant, as this year’s graduates entered college during the height of the recession," said Gautam Godhwani, CEO of SimplyHired.com. "We’re now beginning to see positive growth in opportunities for this generation of college grads. On SimplyHired.com, nearly 10 percent of the total job openings in our index are entry-level positions that require a college degree."

The survey was conducted by job search website SimplyHired. 

This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Reach BusinessNewsDaily staff writer David Mielach at Dmielach@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @D_M89.