WELCOME TO THE OXFORD GUIDE TO CAREERS 2024

Three years after the pandemic with the remote working, disrupted lives, and organisations trying to work out the best New Ways of Working, we’re beginning to settle on a ‘new normal’. We’re working out the blend of online for 1:1 meetings with in real life (‘IRL’) for creative working sessions, and the chance to meet employers and colleagues in person.

Jonathan Black, Director of the Careers Service

In Oxford we’re hosting some live and some online panel discussions, in-person careers fairs, and the chance to travel to internships all over the world. We are trying to retain the good parts of the last three years, as we’ve learned we can achieve even more, meet many more of you, save you time, and still provide all the skills training that employers want. We’ll give you the choice as many of our 1:1s, insight talks and so on will be offered online.

Employers are still in transition, so stay adaptable and open to new opportunities. Focus on developing your set of transferable skills – like teamwork, business awareness, leadership, and problem solving – that every employer is seeking when they recruit. You can develop your employability skills in our programmes and also in activities in many other places including college, department, student societies, sports, volunteering, and the creative arts.

We’ve written this Guide for any and every Oxford undergraduate or postgraduate, artist or scientist, who each usually have one of three questions:

• Where do I start?

• How do I gain more skills to improve my chances (especially in this time of change)?

• Where do I find jobs and internships?

You’ll find answers to these questions, and many more in this Guide: from ‘How do I write a winning CV?’ to ‘What does it take to be a solicitor?’ and from ‘How do I get experience in the museum and heritage sector?’ to ‘How do I meet a careers adviser for a 1:1 meeting?’.

This Guide is just one of the many free services you can access from the University Careers Service. Other services you can use include:

• To get started:

• Book a confidential 1:1 (there are over 5,000 online and IRL every year).

• Visit in-person careers fairs (at least eight each year).

• Meet some employers in person and online.

• Arrange to have some information interviews with alumni.

• Log onto or attend one of the many ‘Introduction to…’ talks we run.

• To gain more skills:

• Take part in the Oxford Strategy Challenge or The Student Consultancy – online or in person.

• Get work experience through an Oxford-exclusive summer internship.

• Attend Insight into Teaching/Medicine/Business/ Publishing/Academia/Pharma programmes.

• To find jobs and internships:

• Log onto CareerConnect.

• Sign up for automatic alerts about new jobs in your industries of choice.

• Connect with the Internship Office to explore our Summer Internship Programme and MicroInternship Programme.

We look forward to meeting you in person or online at our fairs and events.