Final Year? Looking for a job?

We recommend you:

When to start searching?

Job vacancies for new graduates arise at different points in the year

High-profile period - October to January inclusive
Employers looking for finalists to start in the following summer. Lots of employers advertise and a number visit the precinct for fairs and presentations. Employers in engineering, finance, law, IT and the Civil Service start recruiting particularly early in the year. Miss out on this process and you risk missing some major recruiters who only recruit annually.
During the summer term and after graduation
This is the time for a series of national recruitment fairs, including one at Bristol.
Throughout the year
There are many employers who look for graduates as and when they need them. These range from small employers, recruiting infrequently, to large employers with a continuous need for recruits.

Limited numbers of the following publications are available for free from the Careers Service:

Real Prospects Directory (includes details of graduate recruiters with job opportunities for final-year students)
Times Top 100 Graduate Employers (online version includes news about employers from the business pages of The Times newspaper)
TARGETjobs - GET Directory
TARGETjobs - Guardian UK 300
Bristol Guide to Career Planning

Additional resources include:

Newspapers and journals, occupational information and employer information - visit the Careers Service to browse collections and search for stock using the Careers Catalogue.
AGCAS occupational profiles provide information about vacancy sources.
I want to work in... tailored guides to occupations
How to research employers
The Best Practice in Graduate Recruitment is a policy devised by the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) and the National Union of Students (NUS) and sets out what is to be expected by all parties.