Time management, excellent customer service skills and self-motivation are all qualities an employer looks for when recruiting an office manager, claims Reed’s development manager Asela Ali.

“Working in McDonalds is not going to harm someone who wants to work in an office,” says Ali. “And someone who has worked in a fast-paced retail environment might also do very well in sales.”

But for students looking to escape ‘dead-end’ jobs after graduation, a scheme launched by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) could offer a way out.

Next month, the IPPR will urge the government to allow students to earn university credits for volunteering for public-service work during gap years or holidays. These subsidies would go towards the cost of their education.

Students would be encouraged to work in hospitals and schools under the scheme, which the government hopes will persuade more people to choose public sector careers.