Your ultimate careers advice hub
Feeling flummoxed by the whole range of career possibilities open to you? Or do you have your sights set on a particular sector but need help getting in? Whatever stage you are at in your thinking, we are here to help. We carefully create editorially independent advice, based on our decades of experience in student and graduate careers and our longstanding relationships with recruiters across a huge range of industries. Whether you are looking for CV tips and templates, answers to tricky interview questions, seeking an internship, thinking about a gap year or weighing up postgraduate study, you are in the right place.
Get started with our most popular advice topics below or search for graduate schemes | graduate jobs | all opportunities .
guidance for all students & graduates
Careers advice by stage
Advice for school leavers
Discover the world of options open to you on finishing school or college and get tips on how to make the right decision for you.
CVs, applications and tests
Find the tools and tips you need to help you apply for graduate jobs or internships. We cover every aspect of the application process, from writing a CV to answering online application questions and sitting psychometric tests.
Career ideas
Find advice for figuring out your dream career, including what options are available to you after graduating and how to choose the right graduate role.
Finding a job
Finding a job isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Here we help you to jump potential hurdles, giving essential advice for home and international students: from applying in tough economic times to getting a top graduate job with a 2.2.
Internships
Completing an internship allows you to sharpen your skills, improve your CV, prepare for the world of work and potentially land yourself a graduate job. Discover what internships actually involve, how to apply for them and how to make the most of them.
Interviews and assessment centres
You impressed on paper; now it’s time to show the employer in person that you’re the right hire. Learn how to do this with our expert advice for answering interview questions, developing interview techniques and acing assessment centre exercises.
Job descriptions
Discover the qualifications, skills and experience you’ll need for more than 300 job roles and find one you’ll love.
Job offers and working life
Job offers, rejection emails and stepping into the working world with your first graduate job can pull you in a million directions. Fortunately, we’ve curated advice on how to accept job offers, bounce back from rejection and make an impact in your first job.
Skills for getting a job
Discover the skills that major graduate employers seek and how you can demonstrate them on your application form, and at interviews and assessment centres.
University life
Wanting to leave uni with a degree is a given. But what do you want from the other bits of student life? Discover how to combine study, rest, work and play with our insights from students and graduates.
A career in mind
Eyeing up a specific sector?
Once you’ve decided on your career focus, we have lots of advice to help you secure your first role . Our most popular sectors are:
But these aren’t the only ones: you can view our full range in the ‘advice’ menu at the top of the page.
CV and applications
Ready to apply?
From writing CVs and answering application form question to practising psychometric tests and preparing for job simulations, we have the tools, templates and tips you’ll need to succeed in your initial applications.
Browse our CV, application and test advice before seeking out our example CVs and covering letters .
Get ready to impress
Invited to interview?
Learn how to impress in interviews and at assessment centres (the group interview for graduates), with our insider advice on answering tricky interview questions, on the essential research you need to do beforehand and on letting your strengths shine through on the day.
Essential work experience
Seeking an internship?
There is more to gaining work experience than just ‘getting an internship’. We explore the full range of your work experience options, steer you through each stage of the application and interview process and let you in on the ways to make the most of your time in the workplace.
Pathways and publications
Online learning and tools
Have you tried our online mini-modules Pathways yet? They are expertly designed to boost your skills and knowledge so that you can be confident in choosing the right career path and creating strong applications. Take a dive into different professions and explore your career options.
And have you seen our digital publications and mini-guides on our publications section ? We have mini-guides to big careers for specific university year groups, from freshers to recent graduates, and quick guides to the most sought-after career sectors.
FAQs
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Where can I get free careers advice?
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Graduates can get free careers advice from targetjobs: our team of expert content creators has developed a comprehensive collection of advice, tools and templates to help you through all aspects of your job hunt, from deciding what you want to do to accepting an offer and impressing in your first role.
But we’d also recommend you seek advice from your university careers service, including an in-person guidance session with a careers adviser. Most careers services provide guidance to their recent graduates as well as their current students.
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How do I get a graduate job?
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Give yourself the best chance of securing a graduate role by taking every opportunity at university to gain evidence of your skills and strengths (for example, by taking part in university societies and completing work experience). Then tailor your application to the role and employer to show that you have the skills, strengths and motivations to succeed. And then prepare well for interview, ensuring that you’ve properly researched the employer and practised likely questions. targetjobs can help!
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When do I apply for graduate jobs?
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Most large employers open their graduate programmes in October and set their deadlines in November and December; some might keep their graduate programme all year. Other employers advertise their graduate-level jobs on an as-needed basis throughout the year. See our advice on when graduate jobs open and close .
advice by sector
