Job hunting for finalists and postgraduates
If you're a final-year (or a postgraduate student), here's your countdown to getting a graduate job.
Autumn/Winter
Get started
- Visit your careers service and find out what help and information is available.
- Research the options by reading the career sectors pages on this website and the career sector guides available there and through your Careers Service.
- Browse the first destination returns (FDRs) from your careers service, and speak to alumni to get information about what graduates from your course went on to do.
- Attend careers workshops, such as career planning, CVs, interviews and job hunting.
Research the job market
- Attend your own institution’s careers fair and employer presentations on campus.
- Attend the gradireland Graduate Careers Fair, which takes place in October each year in Dublin.
- Check 'milkround' vacancies advertised to final-year students by your careers service.
- Sign up for jobs by email from gradireland.com.
- Read the gradireland directory, published in September each year and available free from your careers service.
Start applying for jobs
- Identify the employability skills you have developed through work or study throughout your course.
- Write or update your CV and ask a careers adviser to review it.
- Check deadlines for graduate programmes and be aware of early closing dates. The ‘Big 4’ accountancy firms for example have closing dates in October.
- Start making job applications.
Consider further study
- Apply for HDip courses for teacher training. These tend to have early deadlines.
- Research postgraduate opportunities and funding, and talk to course co-ordinators of study programmes that interest you.
- Contact your postgraduate studies office regarding further study options and funding.
- Attend the postgradireland Further Study fair, which takes place in February each year in Dublin.
- Read the Further Study section in the gradireland directory, published in September, and visit their Further Study section online.
Spring/Summer
Get a job!
- Attend employer presentations and careers fairs on campus.
- Attend the gradireland Summer Fair, which takes place in June each year in Dublin.
- Keep an eye on local and national newspapers.
- Develop a hit-list and job search plan for making speculative applications.
- Apply for jobs – responding to advertisements or speculatively.
Consider postgraduate study
- Research further study options.
- Talk directly to course co-ordinators of programmes of study that interest you (see the gradireland directory and their online Further Study section).
- Apply for postgraduate courses.