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Graduates

How to get your first graduate job

The goal is not to send more applications. It is to become visibly employable to a smaller number of employers who are actually hiring.

For graduates · Last reviewed 2026-09-01

Step 1: pick two target roles

Not two industries — two role titles. Everything you write should be aimed at one of them.

Step 2: create one piece of evidence

Something real, finished, and describable in two sentences: a small project for a business, a volunteer deliverable, an analysis you actually did with real data.

Step 3: apply where the volume isn't

  • Employers with 10–250 staff who hire when they need someone
  • Roles advertised on the employer's own site rather than a job board
  • Direct approaches to people doing the job you want
  • Apprenticeships and structured entry programmes, which are not just for school leavers

Step 4: interview on evidence

Prepare six short stories about things you have actually done. Practise them out loud until they are 60 seconds each.

Common questions

Do I need a master's degree?
Rarely, for a first job. A master's is worth it when a specific route requires it — not as a way of waiting out a difficult market.
Does my degree subject limit me?
Less than you think. Most graduate-level roles are open to any discipline; some are genuinely restricted. Check the ones you want rather than assuming.

Not sure which part applies to you?

The assessment scores your position and tells you what to fix first.

Take the assessment

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