Your Masters: Getting a job

• What job do I want?
• Finding vacancies

What job do I want?

Choosing a career and making a well-informed decision is a difficult part of the career planning process. If you are unsure about your choice of career, take a look at what jobs would suit me? This interactive system is designed to elicit your own working preferences and look at skills that you would like to use in a work environment. It can:

• identify what you want from a job;
• generate and evaluate job ideas;
• identify what you can offer the job/employer;
• compare job options;
• provide useful information sources for further research.

Once you have narrowed down your search, you may want to focus on types of jobs. These job profiles provide you with detailed information about a wide range of job roles, including vacancy information and case studies of people in that career area.

Some careers services also have graduate databases with facilities for students to contact previous graduates working in different sectors who may be able to offer an insight into their role.

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Finding vacancies

• Most employers do not have separate recruitment strategies specifically for postgraduates. Exceptions are usually research-based opportunities, which can be found on specific websites, such as Jobs.ac.uk.
• Your PhD... what next? gives information on locating research vacancies as well as more general advice and guidance about the next steps after completing a research programme.
• Try to identify the range of opportunities; look for vacancies in local and national newspapers, in journals, on websites and via recruitment agencies.
• See the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) for a list of accredited recruitment agencies by location and specialist area or use the Yellow Pages for lists of general agencies.
• Visit graduate careers fairs – careers services can indicate upcoming events.
• Send speculative applications. To identify employers, see find graduate employers but remember to tailor each application to each company.
• For vacancies in SMEs, try local press, business libraries, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and regional graduate databases.
• Ask your department - some Masters courses annually receive vacancy information directly from employers who wish to have access to their graduates.
• Access the hidden job market. This refers to all the jobs that are filled without ever being advertised. People ‘apply’ for these jobs through networking when they hear that a certain employer may be recruiting. You can also access the hidden job market by sending your CV speculatively to employers.
• See job hunting tips for more advice on finding vacancies.

	Written by higher education careers professionals	Date:  Spring 2010
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