Top Tips for Applying for Graduate Jobs

Over the past few months myself and lots of my peers have been going through the seemingly never-ending process of applying for graduate jobs. After applying for lots of jobs, I’ve got myself a place on a transport planning graduate scheme starting in September which I’m very excited to start. From my experience of graduate job applications, here’s a few tips to help anyone who’s about to start looking for graduate employment.

• Sign up for lots of emails – A great way to find out about vacancies is to sign up to lots of email alerts from jobs sites, such as Target Jobs and MyCareers from the University of Leicester Career Development Service. Doing this means that you’ll get personalised vacancies sent to you, which is easier than having to search for them yourself.
• Do lots of research – Make sure you spend lots of time researching possible career paths, finding out what you need to do in order to get there and how you go about applying for various roles.
• Apply for lots of things – It’s very unlikely that anyone will be offered every job that they apply for, so make sure you submit lots of applications to increase your chances of getting a job. However, make sure you spend enough time on every application to make sure it is high quality.
• Give yourself enough time for applications – Whilst some jobs only need you to send in your CV to apply, lots of them have lengthy application forms which you have to fill in, so make sure you leave yourself plenty of time for filling in applications before the deadline.
• Be aware of deadlines – Depending on what sort of jobs you’re applying for, you might find that deadlines for graduate schemes are very early, so make sure you start researching early so you don’t miss any deadlines. I found it helpful to make a spreadsheet of jobs I was interested in applying for and their deadlines to keep track of when each application was due.
• Remember there is light at the end of the tunnel – Although it can be disheartening to receive rejection emails or not hear back from a company at all, remember that there will be light at the end of the tunnel and that you will find something eventually. If you can get feedback from unsuccessful applications then make sure you do and use this to help you make stronger applications on future.