How to get a graduate job

So now you’re out in the real world with nothing to comfort you but the piece of paper you spent an obscene amount of money to get. What’s next? Where do you find a graduate job? What are graduate training schemes? And how do you get onto them? Don’t panic. Just read our guide on how to get a graduate job to get you started.

Where to look for graduate jobs

So, where to start? There are loads of different places you can look for graduate jobs including the internet (of course), your uni careers service, newspapers, networking events and training schemes. You can even hit up your uni mates for any potential leads. Get more information on your options below.

Graduate job websites

Nowadays, there are hundreds if not thousands of graduate job websites specifically designed for people in your position. If you want our opinion (because why wouldn’t you), you should check out popular graduate job sites like The Milkround and graduate-jobs.com to help with the job search.

And an honourable mention goes out to The Prospects website. It offers careers guidance via email as well as a CV checking service where you can get feedback from a careers adviser. Not to mention, some companies even have job boards where they advertise any vacancies, including their latest graduate opportunities.

Your uni career service

You may have left those hallowed halls, but your university’s careers service will defo still be open to you. And if your old uni is currently 500 miles from you, then your nearest uni might be willing to offer advice to local residents. Not only will either of these unis be able to work through your options with you, but they’ll also help you with CVs and applications. And, as an added bonus, they usually offer practice interviews and aptitude tests.

In the meantime, for more help with your CV check out our guide on how to write a CV here.

Newspapers

We get that we’re living in the meta-verse where everything is digital, but you can never really go wrong with a classic. To this day, you’ll be able to find graduate opportunities in local and national newspapers. Plus, most national newspapers have websites dedicated to helping you find a job. For example, The Guardian has one which offers career advice, too.

On top of that, reading trade press and journals is a good way to stay informed about industries you’re interested in and be ahead of the competition in interviews. They also list any new jobs that crop up. FYI, you’ll usually find periodicals in most libraries, and if not, just look online to find specific journals.

Networks – online and personal

Make use of your contacts. While you may not get a perfect job through tea with your nan, she may know someone who knows someone who can get you work experience. You can talk to potential employers online, too. Normally through social media-like networking sites, which is why you should create a LinkedIn profile once you’re done reading this article. And Graduate recruitment fairs are also a good place to mingle. For more info, you can check out our article on recruitment fairs here and our top networking tips here.

Graduate training schemes

A lot of people might ask ‘Are graduate training schemes good?’ And to that we say hell yeah. 

Loads of big companies offer graduate training schemes. You can use these to gain valuable training whilst earning a salary – pretty sick, right? Opportunities range from accountancy, to law, to retail or teaching. Getting into a scheme like this is often the easiest way into certain industries. If you’re interested in a particular company, look for opportunities on their website. Otherwise job sites like Prospects and the Milkround are good places to start looking.

Are graduate jobs hard to get?

So, after all that – are graduate jobs even hard to get? Not to scare you, but yes. They really are.

Even if you submit an endless amount of job applications with seemingly perfect cover letters, competition is fierce. So you have to be at the top of your game. That being said, even in today’s graduate job market, positions are available. The high number of applicants means people are dropped in stages. There are often online tests, phone interviews, assessment days and face-to-face interviews involved before you get the job. If you wanna find out what’s in store, you can find company profiles and information about the interview process at WikiJob.

It’s totally normal to be rejected a few times during the job hunt (sometimes a couple more than a few). So be prepared to apply to lots of graduate schemes before you finally bag a job. “I’d almost given up hope of finding a graduate job,” says Nicola Brassington, who’s on the Microsoft Academy of College Highers (MACH) scheme. “I’d applied to two other schemes. Then, after an initial phone interview, I had to wait four months to hear from the MACH scheme before they called to invite me to the interview day. So I would definitely advise people to just keep at it!”

What are graduate employers looking for?

How to get a graduate job doesn’t exactly have a definitive answer. 

You may not believe this, but that friend who got a first and graduated with a perfect job is in the minority. Most graduates, whatever grade they got, have to do some hard work to find a job once they’ve left uni. This means that you may find yourself doing unpaid internships for a while, or in a boring temp job. But don’t lose hope cause they’ll give you what employers are really looking for – experience.

Ben Dickinson got his job as an Audit Associate at Ernst & Young (EY) through a placement scheme at Lancaster University. “Eighteen months of my four-year course were spent on a work placement at EY,” he says. “Out of 12 graduates in my office there’s only one who hasn’t come through a placement or summer internship.”

Ben was lucky that his placement led to employment, but not all work experience or internships do. So make sure you make the most out of working for free. Build as many skills and contacts as possible. That way you’ll have loads to put on your CV and substantially increase your chances of getting a job.