Network engineer: Employers and vacancy sources

Network engineers can find work in any organisation with large, sophisticated IT systems. Examples of typical employers are banks, building societies, retail groups, large government departments, schools, hospitals, utility companies, local authorities, transport providers and management consultancies.

Some organisations, including many local authorities and other public sector bodies, now outsource all their IT systems to specialists, so these specialist companies often have vacancies for people with networking skills.

Network engineers can be employed by a large IT company to manage the firm's own systems or work in their contract services. Large companies, such as Microsoft, provide an extensive range of installation and customer support services and they recruit graduates and experienced staff into all areas of IT support.

There are also many small consultancies that work by setting up and managing systems for organisations that are too small to warrant full-time IT support.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Computer Weekly  
• Contractor UK  
• CWJobs
• Inside Careers: Information Technology  
• Technojobs  
• Women in Technology
• The Daily Telegraph Jobs  
• Guardian Jobs  
• LinkedIn  
• The Times Jobs  
• Careers service vacancy lists.
• National and local press.

There are many recruitment agencies specialising in IT careers. These are usually more useful once you have built up some solid work experience. To search for agencies by type of vacancy and location, visit the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) .

While large companies usually have a structured graduate recruitment procedure, you should approach small businesses and IT consultancies on a speculative basis, ensuring your CV stresses your personal as well as technical abilities. With more emphasis being placed on experience, recruiters increasingly demand evidence from candidates of skills developed through project work and placements.

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