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Researching the market

Researching the market

Most people will tell you that they didn’t have a clear career plan both whilst they were studying and when they graduated. However, researching the sectors, organisations and roles that appeal to you early on will make your job search easier and more meaningful.

More than 40% of graduate level vacancies are suitable to graduates of any discipline. It will help you to gain relevant experience and focus your job search if you develop your ideas of the sector or environment that you would initially like to work in.

You can find out more about specific job markets from:

The Internet

You can find out about occupations and key employers from online resources like GTI Journals, Hobsons Casebooks and Inside Careers. ‘Prospects’, the UK Graduate Careers website, has occupational profiles detailing what many careers actually entail including work activities, entry requirements, availability of jobs, age barriers, gender balance, lifestyle implications, salaries and possible career development.

Company websites

Virtually all businesses now have their own websites with lots of information about the organisation and how they recruit and develop their staff. Look for the Annual Report as this will help you understand how the business has been performing and its plans for the future.

Talk to people

Try to make contact with people who work in an organisation you’re interested in. You could ask friends, family and lecturers if they can put you in touch with a suitable person. What advice do they have about ways in and the positives and negatives of working in their field?

The Media

Newspapers like The Times, The Guardian and The Independent have good business sections with background information on different sectors and companies. They also have useful articles on specific careers and graduate jobs. Relevant trade and industry magazines, such as PR Week, Harvard Business Review, Community Care, Mechanical Engineering Online and Management Today, can give you a sense of what it’s like to work in that area.

UEL Employability and Enterprise Team (EET)

UEL’s experts can offer you invaluable advice on different careers or how to start a business and have extensive connections to a wide range of employers and contacts that may be relevant to you. They can offer you one-to-one guidance on marketing yourself in a specific area and developing an action plan to achieve your goals.