Five Ways to Find A Job

1.  On-campus

Start with your careers service. They will have dedicated websites, job boards, and information centres where you can get local information, general advice, and copies of useful publications and corporate pamphlets.

Many companies make presentations on campus. Your careers service will have details of which recruiters are visiting your institution.

2.  In print​

This may be the internet era, but don’t forget the old-fashioned options! Newspapers can be a good source of vacancies, particularly if you are looking for local employers.

Keep an eye out for locally-published trade magazines as well. Take note of the companies and employers featured within, and Google them to see if they're hiring.

3.  Online 

Start with your careers services jobs board and then work outwards from there. Register with a few reputable online job portals and search their database of listings. Visit individual company websites and check their recruitment pages to find out more.

Don't forget to keep tabs on your ideal employers' Facebook and Twitter feeds too! These days, there are specialised sites where current employees can anonymously 'review' or 'rate' their own employers. Check those out to see what other people are saying about your top picks.

4.  Recruitment consultants 

Recruitment consultants provide services to both employers and jobseekers, placing candidates into jobs, and charging clients a fee.

Recruitment consultants can give you access to jobs not advertised directly by companies. They can be particularly useful if you are interested in a particular company that recruits using agencies or have a specific sector or role you want to get into – a specialist consultancy will have in-depth knowledge of their sector and be able to give you a clear picture of your career prospects within it.

Be sure to sell yourself to the consultant as if you are at a real interview, and be specific about what you want!

5. Careers fairs

Careers fairs usually take place early in the first semester of the academic year and provide a showcase for graduate employers to highlight the careers they can offer you. There are university-specific careers fairs held on-campus, as well as public career fairs at external venues which are typically organised and facilitated by third parties.

What to expect from a careers fair

Before the fair

​Find out which companies are coming and research the ones you are interested in as this will allow you to ask intelligent questions on the day. Knowing why you want to work for each company allows you to be able to express your skills, accomplishments and goals in clear, concise manner. Update your CV and bring along plenty of copies. 

On the day

​Make sure you get the name and position of the recruiters you meet. Try to interest them in inviting you to an interview at a later date. 

Employers don't expect students to dress formally at a careers fair, however wearing 'smart casual' will impress prospective employers.

​After the fair

​Follow-up is important, but often neglected. Send letters to employers that interested you and thank the person that you met for their time. Include another CV and restate your interest in the company.