About 53% of fresh graduates in Qatar believe that it is challenging to find their first job, according to a survey released by Bayt.com.
Fresh graduates in Qatar claim – according to the Bayt.com ‘Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa Survey’ – that the greatest challenge standing between them and a successful career is the fact that candidates with work experience are preferred. 
The survey was done with 4,247 fresh graduates, who had completed their most recent qualification in the last three years, and was conducted between May 8 and May 22, 2016, from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. All responses were collected online.
According to the survey, the majority of fresh graduates in Qatar claimed it was challenging or will be challenging to secure their first job, with 22% of them rating it ‘very difficult’. 
As for the perceived barriers to getting their first job, those surveyed in Qatar believe the primary hurdle for hiring fresh graduates in many industries are their ‘lack of experience’ and ‘lack of necessary skills’. However, for the industries which do hire fresh graduates, their lower salary expectations (47%), compliance and willingness to follow instructions (39%) emerged as the key motivations for hiring fresh graduates
In addition to employers preferring candidates with work experience, respondents cited lack of understanding regarding how to effectively search for jobs (34%) and lack of knowledge as to where to find relevant jobs (28%) as the main challenges when trying to secure their first job.
When asked to rank the most important attributes for them when selecting a job, ‘doing a job I feel passionate about’ emerged as the most important attribute for fresh graduates (38%) in Qatar. This was followed by working for a ‘well-known organisation’ (16%), and ‘competitive salaries’ (15%). 
The majority (64%) of fresh graduates surveyed in Qatar feel they would have fared better in the job market, had they selected either a different major (28%), the same major from a different school (10%), or both a different major and a different school (26%).