You’ve finished or are about to finish your degree. Now what? The world of adulting awaits. If you aren’t doing another degree or don’t have other plans lined up, you’ll probably be looking into applying for a graduate job. That can obviously be scary. I mean, it’s a grad job and you’re officially adulting when you have a full-time grad job. You may not know where to start, but that’s where I come in. Here is some basic advice as to when you should apply for grad jobs.
When should you apply for graduate jobs?
Most graduate jobs start the September after graduation, so some employers will start looking a year beforehand. But, that’s not the case for all. Some employers use a rolling recruitment process, adding roles throughout the year. So, don’t feel stressed if you don’t know what you want to do yet. You have time.
We recommend that you apply as soon as you know what you want to do and we have provided a rough timeline for the process of applying for a grad job. While this won’t apply in every single case (especially if your future potential employer uses a rolling recruitment process), here is a helpful rough guide for what to expect:
- July before your final year Begin researching your future – what would you like to do?
- August Start to think about applications – keep your CV & details up to date and find out how to apply
- September Applications open – Talk to someone familiar with the process that can check through your applications
- October to January Send off applications
- February Graduate schemes look through their applications to find their favourite candidates
- March to April If you succeed in the first round, the company will send you some assessments to complete.
This can lead to interviews and offers. - May to June Early deadline schemes may open back up if more jobs become available or if they didn’t find the right person
- July Offers can be sent out
- August to September You begin your new grad job or you restart the applications process/start something else
Where To Look for graduate jobs
So, you now know when to look, but now the question is where? Well, it’s pretty simple. You can find graduate jobs on regular job sites such as Indeed or Reed. So, if you’ve used one of the sites to apply for a job while studying, then you’ll know exactly what to do.
But, something to look into specifically for a graduate job is recruitment agencies. Many of them specialise in helping graduates like you find a graduate job. They get paid a commission for filling vacancies, so they can be a good thing to have on your side – they want you to get the job almost as much as they do! However, there are some things to be aware of when using a recruitment agency. Check out this guide for advice about using recruitment agencies.
Tips when applying for graduate jobs
There are a number of different things to think about when you’re starting your journey to find your first grad job. While it may seem obvious, one of the most important things you can do is to make sure your CV highlights your strengths and makes you the most appealing and unique to an employer. Employers will see so many CVs, so making yours stand out will help your chances. Check out our guide on how to write a killer CV.
Another important tip to remember is that if you feel like you need to take some time out, you absolutely should. Uni can be and is absolutely draining, so if you feel like you need to take a couple of months to just breathe and destress, then you should. While you may feel like you need to go straight into a job, your mental health is so important. Being burnt out is not fun.
tips when applying for graduate jobs
So, when should you apply for graduate jobs? The answer is once you know what you want to do. While you may feel like you need to apply straight out of uni, you don’t necessarily need to. Take some time, focus on yourself and your health, and then restart. You have time.