Singapore - In the current economic climate where companies are cautious to hire, fresh graduates are in a bind as they search for jobs with the limited or no working experience they have.

According to corporate services senior manager of The GMP Group,  Josh Goh, companies are generally open to hiring fresh graduates as part of their long-term talent management plans. However, many companies are now looking to maintain costs and if they should hire, will prefer someone with experience.

Hence, fresh graduates will undoubtedly find it tougher to find a job, especially when there are other job seekers like retrenched workers and mid-career switchers vying for the same jobs.

There are also a number of fresh graduates who still expect high salaries despite the economic crisis, Goh adds. While there are some who are willing to work for an average starting salary to gain some experience, one fresh graduate who has been job searching for four months expressed his desire of accepting not more than $2,000 for a job in the media industry. "Fresh graduates would need to adjust their expectations and highlight their experience gained during internships (if any) to potential employers," says Goh.

Futhermore, fresh graduates may also be considered "fair-weather candidates" due to their readiness to jump into a new job, regardless of interest or qualifications. In such cases, Goh says they should portray a more favourable image to the employer by expressing his or her interest in learning contributing to the organisation.