graduate job

Is your current pre-work regime to fall out of bed, stumble into the shower and run to the train station with a piece of toast in one hand and coffee in the other?

Do you feel like there isn’t enough time in the morning and find yourself struggling to get up or into work mode? We know that feeling.

Try out our tips on waking up, getting energised, and getting things done in the early hours:

A 2014 LinkedIn study asked students what they value most when considering a job. The results show that students value work/life balance most, closely followed by benefits, company culture, clear career progression, and a sense of pride about where you work (as fifth out of five).

Work-hard. Play-hard.

Opportunities for the above values, as well as greater responsibility and flexibility, are available when you get graduate jobs at an SME. I can vouch for that. Having joined a start-up in 2014 who were making waves in the graduate recruitment industry, relatively little micro-management enabled me to have creative control over the content I was producing, assess the analytics of campaigns and get good work noticed.

There are a number of thing you can do outside of the classroom during your time at university that will help towards securing dream graduate jobs.

Volunteer

Volunteering abroad is a great experience and looks great on your CV – and so does volunteering locally. Approach your university, local charities and not-for-profit organisations to gain relevant industry experience. For other industries, network professionally and set up a week's work shadowing during reading week, or two days a week at a local agency.

Get part-time work

A part-time job gives you the facts and figures to back up your well-written graduate CV, and you never know what connections you’ll make through your work.

Make the most of media

Contribute to university media outlets. There are multiple opportunities ready for the taking on campus, including: writing for the university newspaper, hosting or producing a university radio/TV show or getting involved in the annual fashion show.