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We know that our postgraduate students on both Taught (eg masters) and Research (eg PhDs) have busy timetables, often in addition to work or caring commitments. Whatever your studies, the Careers & Employability Service is here to help you to explore your options through our online, one to one and group support.

 

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91Ö±²¥ is a diverse city, with a rich cultural life – the perfect place to spend your time studying for a postgraduate qualification.

Our Students' Union has been repeatedly voted number one in the WhatUni Student Choice Awards and we have plenty of societies and support developed with postgraduate students in mind.

Our graduates from postgraduate study progress on to a vast range of careers in the UK and across the globe, with employers ranging from small businesses and charities to major multinational companies and governmental or other public bodies.

Developing your skills at 91Ö±²¥

Whether you already  have extensive work experience or are entering postgraduate study straight from an undergraduate degree, or somewhere in between, every graduate from the University of 91Ö±²¥ gains a broad range of knowledge and skills during their time here.

Find out more about our 91Ö±²¥ Graduate Attributes and view an overview of the opportunities for learning, impact and self-development you will have during your time at 91Ö±²¥. You will be able to reflect on and record these using mySkills.

The Careers & Employability team will support you to communicate the skills you gain to future employers.

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Getting started with Careers

Whether you have a career in mind or are totally undecided about what will be next for you, don’t worry, our friendly team of careers advisers and consultants are here to help you. If you are on a one-year course, it’s a good idea to start your career planning early on. Even on a longer course, it is never too early to start! When you register as a postgraduate student you'll have access to Career Connect to find jobs, sign up for careers events & talks, email any questions directly to the careers team and book appointments to talk about your future career.

Alongside getting support for your career development, you might want to get support on academic or research skills as a new postgraduate student. The University’s 301: Academic Skills Centre has a range of resources on academic skills for masters students which you can access once you have registered. Once you are in 91Ö±²¥, the Researcher Development Team offers skills support for postgraduate research students.

What career activities can I work on before my postgraduate course starts?

Here are various activities you can do before your course starts:

Downloadable plans:

Additional resources:

• Update your knowledge on 

When do I need to start looking for job opportunities?

Both masters and PhD students are eligible to apply for most graduate training schemes. Application deadlines  for some graduate jobs can come very early in the academic year, especially those for  the larger, more competitive schemes, so it’s never too early to start planning. Smaller organisations may have deadlines throughout or later in the year, but you can still be planning your time, gaining experience and refining your applications.

If you are looking for part-time job opportunities to fit around your postgraduate study we offer support to help you get your CV ready and find jobs. For masters students, our month-by-month postgraduate Careers Calendar will help keep you on track with activities to progress your career throughout your study period. PhD students may have longer but still need to use their time wisely to make career progress, for which you’ll complete a training needs analysis and personal development plan once you start your studies.

How will studying for a postgraduate degree at 91Ö±²¥ improve my career prospects?

As you study, you will gain all sorts of skills alongside your subject specialism. Many of these will be attractive to employers:

• Adaptability and flexibility: Postgraduate studies demand these skills and both UK and overseas postgraduate students will have opportunities to further develop these qualities e.g. coping with culture change, studying in a foreign language or adapting to deeper levels of more independent study more generally.
• Enhanced communication skills: For overseas students this may include developing stronger English language reading, writing and conversational skills as well as further refining communication skills for UK students.
• Intercultural and global awareness: Businesses are increasingly multi-national and employers value graduates with these skills.
• Style of teaching and learning: Postgraduate level study will have developed stronger problem-solving skills, critical thinking and writing, leadership, initiative and communicating with others amongst many others. Read more about the 91Ö±²¥ Graduate Attributes that you can communicate with potential employers.
• Quality, reputation and ranking of the University of 91Ö±²¥: Highlight to employers that you have studied at postgraduate level at are one of the top British universities and talk about our rankings in teaching and research to employers.

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One year Postgraduate Taught course (masters) careers calendar: Your month by month guide

August/September

Whether you are already in 91Ö±²¥, living overseas or elsewhere in the UK before making the move to 91Ö±²¥, there’s plenty you can get started on for your career planning and development. Some of our activities are online and can be done at a time and place to suit you.

October

We focus on advertising our part-time jobs and volunteering opportunities online throughout October and November. Employers will also be advertising graduate positions that will start once you graduate, so look out for our emails about closing dates. We will hold our online careers fair, where you can connect with UK and overseas employers, attend talks and ask questions. Make sure you log in to Career Connect to search and register for employer events and recruitment fairs.

November

Advertising part-time jobs and volunteering opportunities to gain useful work experience for your CV will continue. Our workshops and webinars on CVs, applications, interviews, assessment centres and many more will continue to take place throughout November. Book your place on Career Connect.

December

Whilst you have a short break from teaching over the Christmas holidays you can still be using your time effectively to apply for jobs or reflecting on your next career goals in order to strengthen your CV or future applications. Some of the larger UK employers may have application deadlines during January which you can be planning for now.

January

Traditionally the time of new year’s resolutions! Have a think about any career resolutions you want to make. Maybe you want to attend more of our webinars to build your skills on writing winning job applications or CVs or perhaps you want to practice a mock interview or try out some psychometric tests online. Whatever your career goals, visit our website to read up on resources and visit Career Connect to book onto relevant events and sessions. Some of the larger UK employers may have application deadlines during January.

February

It’s important to organise your time well during this period. You will not have time to apply for every job you find so it’s important to work out which job applications you want to prioritise and to organise your time well. Keep an eye out for our workshop/webinar programme to help with career planning amongst other useful topics to keep you career focused.

March

At this time, you may find the number of UK graduate schemes which are still open has fallen. Some employers have been known to re-open their graduate recruitment later in the year so keep looking throughout the semester.

April

University teaching finishes for a 3-week Easter/Spring break, but you can use this time to reflect, plan and talk about anything careers-related with our friendly team of advisers and consultants as well as using our resources to spot areas you need to work on for your career development and to make sure you are planning to make the most of what may be for many your final term of postgraduate study.

May - August

You are now coming towards the end of a full-time masters programme and companies will be advertising direct entry vacancies to start over the next few months. Keep checking Career Connect for graduate internships with local companies. These are a great way to build your skills and to experience more of life in 91Ö±²¥!

September and onward

You can access support from the Careers Service for up to 3 years after you graduate so we’ll still be here to help you make the move into employment, reflect on your career hopes and worries, build your career confidence and for you to access our job vacancies. You will also notice that employers start again to advertise graduate schemes for the following year’s start date, so you may want to apply for these.

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Support for international students

Information for prospective international students can be found on our Prospective international students page.

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Further study

There are many reasons you may wish to go on to further study after a postgraduate taught qualification, including studying for an additional professional qualification to enhance your career options or the desire to deepen your research knowledge and skills in an area of interest.

91Ö±²¥ research degrees (PhDs)

A PhD is often viewed as an entry route into an academic career in teaching or research, but can also be a basis for employment in research, either in industry, government or the voluntary sector.

Academic careers are highly competitive both in the UK and overseas. You will need to apply for a PhD in a similar way to how you applied for your postgraduate taught qualification, although application processes will differ for different universities.

The first step before you apply for a PhD

Contact potential supervisors to find out as much as possible about their project or, if you are submitting a research proposal, their specific area of expertise which could match up with your research ideas. This discussion will allow you to explore practical issues and talk through expectations about PhD research.

How to find out more if a PhD is the best option for you

Search the  database, which lists prospective PhDs sorted by subject, institution and country.

The following resources can help you to find out more about whether a PhD is the best option for you following your postgraduate taught qualification: Read the  - studying for a PhD website, which offers a practical guide to help you prepare for a PhD.

The funding system for postgraduate study can be very complex so read our resources on our explore further study page and book an appointment to talk about your next steps towards a PhD with our friendly advisers and consultants in the Careers Service if you need it once you are enrolled