Successful Graduate Job Hunting
As well as formal insight courses, internships and placement years, there are other work experience opportunities, such as professional mentoring or work shadowing, where you could spend a day or two with an alumni or other recent graduate to see what their job involves. And some universities o"er micro-placements, that open up bite-sized opportunities for students to do shorter real-world projects as part of their degree. Volunteering is also a brilliant way to develop valuable skills and experiences relevant for all career options and is often a really flexible way to fit gaining experience in around your studies and other commitments. To find out more about work experience and graduate employment, careers services organise a wide variety of di"erent employer events, to help students to see opportunities that they haven’t necessarily heard about previously. Most o"er careers fairs, with stands from a variety of employers, which could be general fairs with employers from many di"erent industries or sectors, or they could be sector-specific events. They’re a great way to get a good feel of the di"erent kinds of employers that are out there. You can pick up information, have introductory conversations, and find out about the internships and graduate roles that employers are o"ering. Employers often make a note of the names of
You might also be able to get a professional mentor or connect with alumni from your university, so that you can talk to recent graduates about what they’re doing now. The other thing that’s helpful in your first year is to begin using LinkedIn. Setting up your profile, networking with fellow students, university sta" and alumni, and posting regularly can help you develop your ‘personal brand’. Once you’re set up, your careers service will give you feedback, to make sure your profile is as impactful as possible and you’re using it strategically to support your job search. And LinkedIn has brilliant tools where you can search for graduates from your institution and connect with them. As you’re coming to the end of your first year, you’ll want to be thinking about applying for internships for the summer of your second year or perhaps a year-long placement as part of your degree course. Depending on the industry or sector you’re interested in, you could also to do an insight programme. For example, for law or investment banking, you’d apply in the autumn of your first year to do a short insight course, which would then lead on to a vacation scheme or summer internship in your second year.
Careers Information used by the ‘Class of 2026’
UNIVERSITY CAREERS SERVICES
EMPLOYERS’ WEBSITES
EMPLOYERS’ BROCHURES
86% of students used their local university careers services
84% used employers’
62% read employers’ printed or digital brochures
recruitment websites
RECRUITMENT PRESENTATIONS
E E R CAREERS FAIRS
SKILLS TRAINING EVENTS
67% attended employers’
65% took part in local
47% participated in employers’ skills training events
presentations on-campus
university careers fairs
Source High Fliers Research 15,557 final year students leaving UK universities in the summer of 2026 were asked which careers resources and information they had used whilst researching graduate employers, during interviews for The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2026
TOP 100 GRADUATE EMPLOYERS 37
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