Careers Service

The University’s reputation makes its postgraduates highly attractive to employers and our employment record is among the UK’s best. Many major organisations have strong links with the Careers Service and often recruit directly from campus.

We offer a wide range of services and can help you in developing your employability skills, making well informed careers decisions, looking for jobs, completing applications, and preparing for interviews. Tailored information is provided for all postgraduates on the Careers Service website.

For postgraduate research students, skills and employability training is largely delivered within individual departments and faculties, supported by Careers Service staff. Within the comprehensive careers programme provided by the Careers Service, there are specific workshops and activities tailored for researchers, reflecting both academic and nonacademic career interests.

Our support package for postgraduate researchers is complemented by a range of resources provided by Vitae, which offers valuable information on personal, professional and career development for all researchers. A variety of courses are available within the University, regionally and nationally. The Careers Service also hosts ‘Researcher Development Online’ – a series of 10 online learning modules for all researchers.

Our advice to taught Masters students is always to come and see us as early as possible as the year tends to go very quickly. Being able to market your skills to an employer is essential. Tailored workshops within our careers programme will help you to identify and reflect on the skills that you are developing, enabling you to present yourself effectively.

Individual advice and guidance is available in the form of short appointments and longer 45-minute appointments, which can be booked in advance. A full programme of workshops and events has been designed to enhance your employability skills and develop an awareness of available opportunities. Tailored information is also provided for international students on the Careers Service website.

Bristol PLuS Awards

Over 1,000 students are participating in the Bristol PLuS Awards, which recognise the skills and achievements developed through extra-curricular activity. Students can build an online portfolio of the skills they’ve gained through volunteering, work experience, involvement in societies, sport and everything else they have been involved with outside of their degree. The Awards are endorsed by many leading graduate recruiters including Airbus, Cancer Research UK, Ernst & Young, NHS, and Unilever. Visit the Bristol PLuS Awards website to find out more about how you can prove that you can offer more than just a degree.

University of Bristol Internship Scheme

The Careers Service works with a range of small and medium-size organisations to offer students and graduates a variety of opportunities for high-quality, paid internships.

Whether you prefer to work part-time alongside your studies or full-time during the vacations, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to gain the work experience you want. For more information, please visit the Internships website.