Get busy with the groundwork to help you land your dream job after uni as Michelle Higgs explains
“The knowledge and expertise offered by the careers service at your uni is like gold dust when it comes to finding and applying for graduate jobs. And it’s completely free!”
“To find your dream graduate job, you need to start building a network of professional contacts, and LinkedIn is a great way to do it”
“You could also attend networking events run by the university careers service, professional organisations or local businesses to find out about potential employers and make new contacts”
Facts/stats
73% of UK graduates say that going to university enabled them to get the job they wanted
(Universities UK, 2023)
58% of students have a part-time job while they are at university
(Save the Student, Student Money Survey 2024)
19% of 18-24-year-olds undertook an internship or work placement in 2024
(Prospects Luminate, Early Careers Survey 2025)
In your last year of uni, there’s a lot you can do to prepare for finding a graduate job. It isn’t something that can be left until the last minute, so it’s important to prioritise and use your spare time wisely to really focus on your future. It’s up to you what you do after uni – whether you want to go for an internship, find a place on a graduate scheme or take a gap year and go travelling. Having a goal will help you to determine the actions you need to take to get there, but the following steps are common to all graduate goals. 1, 2, 3… go!
- Identify your target industry
Some people are laser-focused about their future career and know exactly what they want to do. To be fair, it’s more straightforward if your degree is very specific, for example, engineering or fine art.
It’s less clear-cut if your degree has a broader curriculum, such as English, history or philosophy. But that can work in your favour because the skills gained in these degrees are transferable to multiple types of career.
If you don’t know yet which industry you want to work in, be assured that it’s perfectly normal. If this applies to you, have a good think about two or three potential industries (perhaps based on your interests) and explore those options further. In this way, you can narrow it down to one or two target industries.
- Use your university’s careers service
The knowledge and expertise offered by the careers service at your uni is like gold dust when it comes to finding and applying for graduate jobs. And it’s completely free! So take advantage of this guidance and support while you’re still at uni. You could pop in and see what’s on offer, but it’s best to make an appointment for one-to-one advice.
How can the careers service help you? It can offer practical tips for improving your CV, writing covering letters, completing job applications and honing your interview technique. The advice might be offered in a workshop, a one-to-one session with a careers advisor, or through online videos and tutorials. Plus, if you’re stuck on choosing a target industry, the staff can talk you through your options and give suggestions based on your degree and interests. They can also advise on internships and graduate schemes.
- Get networking
To find your dream graduate job, you need to start building a network of professional contacts, and LinkedIn is a great way to do it. Make no mistake – employers use LinkedIn to check up on applicants and find new talent, so having a professional profile and CV on the site is vital for your job search. There are lots of tips online about how to make the most of LinkedIn to find employment, and your university’s careers service may also have advice.
The main point to remember is that just putting your CV on there isn’t enough. You need to be proactive and sell yourself, although this may not come naturally at first. Start following employers you’re interested in, read their posts and comment on them whenever it’s relevant. Post about issues that your target industry may be facing, but also your own achievements, work experience and aspirations. If you can stand out from the crowd, it could even lead to an employer getting in touch with you directly.
You could also attend networking events run by the university careers service, professional organisations or local businesses to find out about potential employers and make new contacts. But if the thought of networking at an in-person event makes you want to run for the hills, don’t panic! Start slowly, perhaps by attending a few events just to watch presentations, and then build up to speaking to someone you’re interested in.
Don’t forget to ask your friends and family if anyone has a contact in your preferred industry; you could then ask if they might be available for a chat about getting into their particular field.
- Do your research
Once you know your target industry, you can start researching companies that interest you. Finding out about a potential employer in this way can help you to understand its background, focus and ethos, and to determine if you actually want to work for them. For example, does the company have an ethos that matches your own, perhaps in terms of ESG or flexible working?
Start by looking at the company’s website to explore the different departments and identify key members of the management team. You can then follow these people on LinkedIn. Doing this background research will give you a head start if you choose to apply to a particular company; also, if you’re asked to attend for an interview, you’ll feel more familiar with it and be more confident about answering specific questions.
Another valuable thing to do is to look at the professional organisation(s) for the industry you’re interested in, for example, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and the Chartered Society of Designers. Their websites will tell you which companies are key members, providing more leads for new contacts and potential employers; the sites will also highlight smaller companies that you may not be aware of. These professional organisations will have useful news and blog sections, which could provide ideas for future LinkedIn comments or posts. Don’t forget to follow the organisation too!
- Make yourself more employable
How do employers differentiate between ten graduates with the same high grades in their degrees? The answer is they look for experience that demonstrates transferable skills. This could be from voluntary work, a part-time job, or an internship or placement. If you don’t currently have any experience like this, you need to line some up as soon as possible.
But the experience doesn’t have to be UK-based. Going travelling during a gap year and working during your trip would be just as valuable. This would show that you’re someone who is responsible and independent; has good problem-solving skills; and can take the initiative and adapt to changing situations. These are all valuable transferable skills in a business environment.
In all cases, it’s not enough, for example, if you had a part-time job in a café or volunteered in a charity shop during the summer. You need to demonstrate a level of responsibility that you held or a contribution you made that benefitted that workplace. Perhaps you suggested different ways to display the stock by theme that led to an increase in sales, or you thought of new ideas for the menu that were a hit with customers. It’s even better if you can show a level of leadership, perhaps when you were put in charge of a shift at the shop or café. These are the kind of things you should highlight on your CV.
- Stay positive!
It’s tough to find a graduate job at the moment, so it’s vital that you don’t take every rejection personally. Learn from every application and interview; keep plugging away with tailored applications; and keep tweaking and updating your LinkedIn profile and posts. Your time will come!
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5 career-prepping apps/online resources
Eric Creative Career App (Android, iOS, free)
Covering 16 creative industries, this useful app includes internships, entry-level jobs, networking events, mentoring schemes and more.
Gradcracker
Not an app but a fantastic online resource specialising in placements, internships and graduate jobs in STEM industries, including a careers advice toolkit.
Indeed (Android, iOS, free)
This useful app is designed to keep your job search, preferences, and applications all in one place – ready for the next available opportunity.
LinkedIn (Android, iOS, free)
With this app, you can follow companies you’re interested in working for, search job vacancies and subscribe to relevant job alerts.
Target Jobs
Not an app but an invaluable graduate careers hub that includes graduate jobs and schemes, internships and careers advice from industry experts.
