Careers term by term

Michaelmas term is the time to talk to firms that interest you. In fact, we run eight of our annual career fairs in weeks 1 to 3, and this term will account for almost 75% of all the company presentations and company visits coordinated by the Careers Service in the whole year. At our career fairs and company presentations you can meet: • Recent alumni working in areas you might be interested in – people who were in your shoes not so Graduate recruitment runs long ago. year-round and there are always • Recruiters who can tell you more about the firm, graduate roles and training, and the recruitment new positions being advertised. However, many of the biggest • process. Senior managers and business leaders (many will also be Oxford alumni) who can provide a wider perspective recruiters link their cycles to on the organisation and graduate career trajectories. Use the Events Calendar on CareerConnect the academic year, with to find company presentations and to full-time positions book places on relevant workshops and skills sessions offered for finalists through the Careers Service. advertised from Finalists and one-year late summer, master’s students for entry the Full-time jobs and following year. graduate schemes Applications will already Every year, hundreds of have opened during the organisations visit Oxford summer at most large specifically to meet you – to graduate recruiters. If you have start a conversation. However, not already started, finalists and our academic terms are NOT created one-year master’s students should equally. move quickly to:

Michaelmas term

Number of Employer Events at Oxford 2020–21 MT20 227

HT21 114 TT21 52

Virtual careers fairs

The following fairs will be run on our virtual platform and will be open from midday to 6.00 pm. See our website and CareerConnect for details.

•Oxford University Careers Fair (for all sectors): Tuesday 12 October, 12.30 – 17.30 • Finance Fair: Wednesday 13 October, 12.30 – 17.30 • Management Consultancy Fair: Thursday 14 October, 12.30 – 17.30 • Science, Engineering and Technology Fair:

Monday 18 October, 12.30 – 17.30 • Law Fair: Wednesday 20 October, 12.30 – 17.30 • Careers in Computing Fair: Monday 25 October, 12.30 – 17.30 • Jobs for Mathematicians Fair: Wednesday 27 October, 12.30 – 17.30

Earlier this year, we ran the Careers Conference for Researchers in Hilary term and the Virtual Summer Careers Fair in Trinity term. Dates for 2022 yet to be confirmed.

•Understand the application processes for different firms and be sure to note and hit any deadlines. • Beware! Some sectors close as early as the end of

October (notably banking and investment, the Civil

Service Fast Stream and management consultancy) and some have ‘rolling recruitment’, filling vacancies as and when students apply. Other firms will open applications during this term and into Hilary term. Monitor careers sites, set email alerts and follow target companies on social media to make sure you hear first about new opportunities.

Plan enough time to make high quality applications: CVs, cover letters and application forms take time to complete well and should be tailored for each and every application.

Read our advice on crafting good applications in this later section of the Guide.

Be ready for the recruitment process to move quickly once you have applied. Online testing, interviews and assessment centres can all follow within a few weeks, and offers may be made before Christmas.

Consider booking a one-to-one discussion with a careers adviser and find relevant workshops and skills sessions advertised on our Events Calendar on CareerConnect.

Considering further study? Research possibilities now to understand application processes and funding options. • Popular courses can fill quickly, so consider applying early. • Research deadlines to apply for grants and bursaries too. Read more about bursaries and grants in our further study article here.

More than one year to completion

Internships, spring weeks and insight days Organisations with substantial graduate recruitment programmes are increasingly interested in meeting penultimate-year students, freshers and second years on a four-year course. Use careers fairs to ask about internships and ‘taster programmes’, and when applications will be opening.

Some companies now start to accept applications for internships and insight days towards the end of Michaelmas, with many more opening in the new year. The recruitment processes often mirror those for fulltime positions because success in the internship can lead to an offer for a full-time position the following year.

First years and second years on a four-year programme should note that places for taster days and spring weeks are limited and can fill in less than a week. Be sure to sign up for alerts if you intend to apply: the prize not only includes first-hand experience of the organisation but quite often a fast-track to paid internships the following year. Finalists and graduating master’s students who have made good applications should expect January and February to be busy with interviews. Continue to target new graduate programmes and seek advertised positions – you may also find attractive internships to apply for. Similarly, those targeting further study should continue to make applications to courses and funding bodies.

Hilary Term is also a key time to start seeking internship and summer opportunities. The advice above about applying for full-time positions all holds true here. Some firms that recruit graduates only open their summer internship places to penultimate-year students, and these can lead to full-time offers for interns that do well. But also look out for other opportunities including our own Summer Internship Programme, which offers all Oxford students exclusive internship opportunities, many of them in sectors where internships can be hard to find, or overseas.

Keep abreast of the skills sessions, workshops and seminars offered at the Careers Service via the Events Calendar on CareerConnect.

Hilary term

Trinity term

Be sure to keep on track academically and invest enough time to do yourself justice in finals or any exams that you have.

The big graduate schemes form only a small proportion of the graduate employment market and the number of vacancies offered every month through CareerConnect remains fairly constant through the year, so there are always new opportunities. However, keep an eye open as some graduate schemes re-open this term to fill any remaining places. You can also apply to firms that have year-round rolling recruitment.

The Careers Service continues to offer workshops and careers advisers continue with confidential one-to-one discussions during Trinity and the long vacation, on Skype, telephone or virtual platforms such as Microsoft Teams.