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Published on 27 October 16
So it’s your final year in Manchester and you keep hearing people talk about graduate jobs. You’ve probably seen and heard a lot about graduate schemes – many companies like to shout about these, and how now is the best time to apply. It’s true that a lot of these schemes are open right now, but these kinds of roles only make up a small part of what’s out there for graduates. Different sorts of jobs come up across the year, so make sure you know the best times and places to look for them.
Graduate Schemes vs. Graduate Jobs
The schemes that you’ll see advertised around this time of year are usually run by some of the bigger corporate firms looking to recruit around a year in advance where you’ll spend a year or two rotating around departments and working in different parts of the organisation. Most graduates will end up in a whole range of jobs with companies large and small, from tech start-ups, to advertising agencies, to charities. A good place to start looking for these graduate-level jobs is our exclusive job vacancy site, CareersLink. For a bit of a heads-up, below are the times of year that certain types of job vacancies were advertised the most last year.
October – December
This is best time of year to look for some of the larger graduate schemes, most of which close for applications in November and December. It’s also a good time of year for vacancies in engineering, finance and the legal sector – these companies will be looking to fill their positions well in advance too. We often see a lot of management and retail management roles at this time, although these opportunities are advertised fairly regularly across the year.
January – March
Interested in working in HR, IT or administration? Time to perk yourself up after the post-Christmas blues, as these areas have the most vacancies at this time of year.
April – July
In these months you’ll probably see more graduate jobs popping up in recruitment, charities, media and the arts, and education. From April onwards, Manchester Graduate Programme (MGP) roles start being advertised. MGP is our exclusive internship programme for 2017 graduates so keep an eye out on our website and social media for more information.
Remember that these are just the peak times and vacancies in these areas come up all year round. Don’t miss out on your dream job that comes up in February because you’re waiting for all the jobs to come in May!
Not sure what you want to do?
It’s perfectly normal to not know what you want to do, and The Careers Service available to help you.
If you’d like to look into what sorts of roles are out there, Prospects list an enormous range of jobs by sector, with sample job descriptions, required qualifications and salary.
It’s also worth going along to some careers fairs. They are another great way to explore what’s out there and to have a chat with some employers too. In November, we have the Law Fair and Postgraduate Study Fair, and keep an eye out for the Graduate Recruitment Fair after Easter.
How we can help
No matter where you’re at in thinking about your future, The Careers Service is here help. Head over to the Careers desk in The Atrium, University Place, where you can book a guidance appointment, get some advice for job applications, find out about all the events and info sessions coming up, and read through some of our literature.
You can keep up-to-date with careers information and advice on social media: