Many of you currently will be weighing up the pro’s and con’s of graduate schemes vs. graduate positions, so what do you need to consider:
Structured graduate hiring programmes:
Commonly referred to as graduate schemes and typically running for 12-18 months
Main benefits:
- Most offer a rotation across several business functions, allowing you to experience different areas of the business
- Well-structured programme, offering substantial training
- Potential for full time employment
- Excellent networking opportunities
Main challenges:
- High levels of competition for these roles
- Early application deadlines
- Challenging application process – be prepared to put the effort in!
- Often demanding roles, and require you to be flexible with your time and willingness to relocate
Graduate level roles:
Main benefits:
- Commonly found in most industry sectors on a global scale
- Typically advertised all year round with the potential for an immediate start date
- A shorter recruitment process than graduate schemes
Main challenges:
- Typically, less structured that graduate programmes (but do still offer training and support)
- Require you to make clearer decisions on roles to apply for
- Roles can be less well advertised so take more research to identify
Where can I find further information?
Organisations with graduate hiring opportunities will usually advertise via the university, so log into MyCareer to find out more information. TargetJobs and Prospects are also great resources for searching for programmes
For more information:
- Revisit our Zoom session on Graduate Hiring on the PGT and UG Community Canvas pages
- Book in for a 121 Careers Conversation on MyCareer