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What next, now you’ve graduated from a UK university?

Across the UK, universities have been celebrating alongside students from the UK and overseas to congratulate them on achieving their degrees in their chosen subject. This comes after years of hard work and determination and for many international students, time away from their home country and learning to adapt to a new country. Graduating is a fantastic achievement and should be met with excitement, but understandably there will be thoughts on what happens next. So, we’ve put together some ideas for how to move forward in your career journey and find a graduate job.

Finding a job

Several factors that come into play here depending on the industry you’d like to work in, your level of work experience and more. Firstly, you need to decide if you have the level of work experience required to get the graduate job you want. For many students who have studied overseas, the priority has understandably been on studying, acclimatising in a new country and gaining a degree. If you’ve finished your course and are realising after applying for some roles that you’re not getting the response for interviews you were hoping for, see what skills you could add. Look at the jobs you’ve been applying for and try to determine if you fit the criteria with tangible experience in each area. One of the benefits of the UK’s graduate route is that students do not need to be sponsored in the two years following graduation. So, if you’re struggling to get a graduate interview try to use this initial period to find other roles that may not fall into the graduate category but would add visible skills to your CV. Look at the job description and see what tasks could translate into skills, for example “Working with the wider team to facilitate work on various projects” could be translated to:

Communication

Teamwork

Critical thinking

Use your contacts.

Just because you’ve graduated doesn’t mean you aren’t still connected to your institution. Most universities give alumni access to their career services for free for a year or two. Go online and see how the careers team could help you, whether that’s fine-tuning your CV or helping you find opportunities for work experience in other roles. They will know your degree and be able to give useful options. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account yet, we’d suggest setting one up to make the most of the professional connections on the platform. You can search for jobs, connect to alumni from your university currently working in your industry for advice, and ask lecturers from your course to add skills to your LinkedIn profile. There is a wide network of support if you look in the right places. If you’re looking for work overseas, GradLink can help connect you to global employers who are looking for talented graduates who have studied abroad. Register with GradLink today for free to gain access to opportunities, and advice tailored to your industry and region.