Job hunting: Finding job vacancies

From advertised roles to word-of-mouth, use these tips to help you find what you're looking for in the job market...

How do I find employers?

Building a shortlist of potential employers takes some research; there are more than 2.5 million companies (Companies House, 2010) and more than 160,000 charities (Charity Commission, 2011) in the UK alone. Thankfully, there is a lot of information out there to help.

• Your university careers service will know which companies in your field have been recruiting at your university.
• LinkedIn  can be used to search and filter companies worldwide.
• Professional associations and industry bodies will hold a list of member organisations.
• Browse graduate employers and other similar directories.
• Some publications can help to provide a ranked list of companies, such as The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers , The Guardian UK 300 , Best Companies Guide , Ethisphere: World's Most Ethical Companies .
• Social media sites, such as Twitter , will have thousands of company accounts. Use search tools, and when you find a useful one, see who they follow to find more employers who are active online.

Where do I look for job vacancies?

• Search graduate jobs.
• Your university careers service.
• Gradireland , Go Wales , Job in Scotland  and regional sites in England, such as Graduate Jobs South  and Graduates Yorkshire .
• Sector-specific vacancy websites and publications, such as job sectors.
• Guardian Jobs , The Daily Telegraph Jobs  and other national and local newspapers.
• Careers fairs and recruitment events - both at your institution or at national events.
• Social media, particularly searchable sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter.

You can also help employers find you by:

• creating a profile on LinkedIn;
• pro-actively contacting prospective employers to learn more about them, request work experience, ask for advice on your job search and learn about unadvertised roles.

When do employers recruit?

Employers recruit at various times throughout the year, using different methods:

'The milkround' includes graduate-specific roles and training schemes at larger organisations. Companies advertise in the autumn of your final year in graduate publications and through your careers service. They attend events such as employer presentations and have stands at fairs in September to early November. Applications typically open in early autumn (some as early as the previous July and August) for posts that begin after you graduate. Deadlines start to close from the autumn onwards into early January. Post-deadline, there are stages of interviews and assessment centres, which can continue up to Easter. 

Year-round graduate roles are advertised outside 'the milkround'. Deadlines are at different points in the year, some with rolling recruitment. Companies use the full range of vacancy sources to advertise, from graduate publications to industry job sites. They often attend graduate job fairs in your final term at university.

Direct recruitment can be at any time of the year. Most organisations won't know a year in advance if they will need a new graduate employee. Instead, they tend to advertise as a response to a vacancy arising. Roles might be labelled as a 'graduate role' or simply could be a role where as a graduate you meet the person specification.

Speculative approaches and networking with people in the industry may help you learn about unadvertised opportunities.

How do I improve my chances of getting a job?

There are different ways to improve how you meet an employer's selection criteria:

• Plug gaps in your skills - if the role requires a skill you don't have, think about how you could acquire this, perhaps through short courses, further study, work experience, or self-teaching.
• Show that you're tried-and-tested - working or volunteering, even in an unrelated area, can show a recruiter that you have experience and can help them to envisage your future performance.
• Prove you're interested - give hard evidence of your interest in the relevant career area by citing membership of student societies, professional associations or relevant LinkedIn groups. You could create a blog, Twitter account or YouTube channel or simply describe your wider reading and networking to demonstrate your enthusiasm.
• Talk to them - if you're concerned you might not be competitive, contact the recruiter. Their feedback can help clarify what they're looking for and can give additional insights.
• Create a competitive application using the tips in applying for jobs and CVs and cover letters.