The present state of labor market and higher education system in Russia is characterized by contradictions between the education got by a graduate and the skills and competencies required by an employer, the young specialist salary level and the requirements for his/her performance, etc. In this regard, the aim of the present work is to analyze mutual expectations of graduates and employers.A questionnaire based survey among Ural Federal University (Ekaterinburg) students aged 19 to 23 has been a key empirical input for this research. We have also taken into consideration some job boards, relevant public sources of information, and databanks on job offers.Relevance of this research is due to the employment problem for young people without work experience, professionalism, and clear understanding of their career development. Better labor market performance of graduates and young specialists, meanwhile, is one of the criteria of the higher education system efficiency.The results of the research have shown:The comparison of graduates’ and employers’ expectations reveals the main problem in the youth labor mar- ket, that is, imbalance between supply and demand illustrated by the differences between the employers’ expecta- tions and preferences and those of the graduates of Ural Federal University.The contradictions mentioned above have been formalized in Russia nowadays, that is, on the one hand, the term higher professional education has been replaced by the term higher education and, on the other hand, profes- sional standards have been introduced almost simultaneously.