Help Sourcing Vacancies

When you know what you want to do, the next step may be to source vacancies or opportunities. The JobShop is updated with hundreds of job vacancies as well as information on funded postgraduate places, work experience and part-time jobs.

In addition, you'll need to consider other ways of sourcing relevant vacancies.

• Careers Fairs
• Links to Company Websites
• Graduate and Careers websites - some examples below
  • Prospects
  • Inside Careers
  • Target Jobs
  • S1Jobs.com
  • scottishjobs.com
• Vacancy publications - many are available for free from the Careers Service.
  • Prospects Directory
  • Times Top 100 Employers
  • Best 100 Employers
  • Target Jobs Directory
  • Plus many more sector specific directories
• Local, regional and national newspapers
• Specialist journals and publications
• Job Centre Plus
• Recruitment and Staffing Agencies - these can be a useful source of vacancies, but it is not a good idea to rely solely on an agency to find you a job. Recruitment agencies are not allowed to charge you for their services.

Many jobs are never advertised and it is important to consider speculative, proactive approaches to your vacancy search as well.

The Speculative Approach

• Identify employers that you are interested in:
  • A good starting point is the Careers Hub Employer Information Section.
  • You should also visit Prospects for information on vacancy sources.
• Prepare a CV targeted to the employer
• Prepare a covering letter explaining why you are writing, what type of opportunity you are seeking and detailing why the employer should be interested in you.
• Try to find a named person to write to within the organisation - this might require a telephone call in advance.
• It is a good idea to follow up your letter with a telephone call to show your interest and try to set up a meeting / interview.

Networking

Many graduate jobs and work experience opportunities are never formally advertised but are in fact filled by job-seekers sending targeted speculative CVs and covering letters. It is therefore very important to make the most of opportunities to network.

Don't wait for an opportunity to come to you - go and get it! You can start to build a professional network through lecturers, friends, past students, colleagues from part-time or voluntary experiences etc. Even if these people are not able to help you directly, they may have additional contacts who can assist you in some way. A video called "Can I have a few minutes of your time?" is available Upstairs@Careers and gives handy tips on how to get the most from networking.

When applying speculatively, it is important to target your CV to the industry and the employer, be very clear about what you are looking for (a paid position, work shadowing, etc) and to demonstrate your skills, knowledge and abilities