I am just about to start a graduate job and I am being offered a 3 month notice period, is this going to be a problem if/when I want to change companies in a year or two's time?

Not if you give three months notice.If you are applying for other jobs in a year's time then they will likely be at the graduate level still. Therefore you'll have until the following summer/September to resign from your current job.If you are applying for new jobs after more than a couple of years of experience, you will likely be looking for an experienced hire position. These more often have immediate start dates so the new employer will be keen for you to negotiate an earlier release date. In reality, this is unlikely to be an issue as few companies are so reliant on their graduates as to be unable to replace them within a month. Obviously, all this depends on the bouyancy of the market at the time.

Three months is standard now. It's a slight pain when changing jobs as you just want to get on with your new challenge, but the reward is that they have to give you three months notice also should things go wrong.In many cases you can negotiate anyway, many employers would rather do this than have you kicking your feet on their payroll for several months when your mind is elsewhere.

3 months isn't ideal but a) the job/company is much more important:if that is right then go for it b) in the event of a downturn in the market you might be very glad of it c) it's unlikely to make much of a difference when you come to look for a new job (but it's just possible it might) but will probably be negotiable when you come to resign anyway. Good luck

To Chris, and any other recruiters:For a mid-ranking role (think 29 year old), how in your experience do companies react when they hear a candidate has a 3 month notice period? Does it put him/her at a major disadvantage? When they're looking to recruit, do they usually want the person to join asap?