Careers, Employability and Skills
Contact Info
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Duty Adviser hours are 10.30am-4.30pm
Graduate Employment
- Research, research, research - be proactive and investigate fully ideas, options, job opportunities, locations
- Apply early – don’t miss out on great opportunities; you might regret it later
- Be flexible – have a ‘Plan B’ in case your first choice doesn’t work out
- Review your CV– is it up-to-date and does it show you in your best light? If necessary, develop your unique ‘selling points’: employers are looking for 3-dimensional graduates
- Use your networks – they can be useful for hearing about or developing opportunities
- Use Careers, Employability and Skills’ services – get the help you need when you need it, whether you know what you want or not
In order to enhance your employability and boost your chances you could also consider:
For further information go to:
- Our graduate vacancy database
- Information resources for employment and other options
- download 'Finding Jobs in Difficult Economic Times'
- Jobsearching section of Queen’s Careers Guide
View our :
- "How to find employment opportunities"
- "The graduate jobmarket and the nature of graduate recruitment"
- Understanding the graduate labour market by Diane Masson
View media clips from CareerPlayer:
Working in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has the largest proportion of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the highest rate of public sector employment in the UK.
Not all graduate level jobs are advertised through graduate recruitment schemes with major employers and the skills you have developed through your studies, work experience and extra curricular activities will be highly sought by many types of private companies, public sector and not-for-profit organisations.
While Fair Employment legislation means employers are required to advertise vacancies you can get information on jobs and potential opportunities through using your networks and through speculative applications to companies and organisations. Speculative CVs in Northern Ireland are not accepted for job applications due to equal opportunities legislation but some organisations may accept CVs to keep it on file for a short time – in this way they can inform you if a suitable vacancy is going to be advertised. Speculative CVs can also be a useful idea if you are trying to set up some work experience.
Graduate level jobs, especially those in very competitive areas or where there are few vacancies can also be accessed through work experience, or employment in a different job within the same area of work and applying for the job you want ‘from the inside’ when the right opportunity comes up.
If opting for employment in Northern Ireland it is worth bearing in mind that:
- you may limit the opportunities available to you as well as your choice of career because of the size and nature of the Northern Ireland job market
- you can expect increasingly strong competition for vacancies
- you may need to consider postgraduate study or a training programme as a stepping stone to employment – see the links above
Therefore, it’s vital to think about what you can offer an employer that makes you stand out.
It's also worth noting is that with applications in Northern Ireland graduate (and other) recruitment tends to be quite formal in terms of procedure due to equal opportunities legislation. Vacancies are often advertised with a job description and employee specification stating essential and desirable criteria. If this is the case you will need to ensure that your application shows that you meet all the essential, and as many of the desirable, criteria as possible. These are used for shortlisting and if you fail to include details of how you meet each of the essential criteria you application is unlikely to go any further. Desirable criteria are used in some cases for shortlisting (for example, where too many candidates meet the essential criteria) so it’s to your advantage to highlight any of these you meet.
For more information on the job market in Northern Ireland go to:
Working in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland
While it may be daunting to consider leaving Northern Ireland, broadening your job search to the rest of the UK and Ireland means you have access to a wider range and volume of job opportunities. Starting salaries are likely to be higher and you may also be able to gain wider experience, training and development.
Queen’s Careers, Employability and Skills’ organises Law and finance London Study Tours which enable students to visit major graduate recruiters and meet recent graduates and alumni in the workplace.
You can also tap into the ‘hidden’ job market in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland (estimated as comprising up to 65% of job vacancies) through networking and making speculative applications with your CV to targeted employers/job sectors.
One thing to bear in mind when applying for jobs and courses is that while in Northern Ireland forms and CVs are not looked until the closing date has passed this is not necessarily the case outside Northern Ireland. In the UK and beyond it is not uncommon for forms and CVs for jobs and courses to be processed as they are received and, because of this, it’s better not to leave applications to the last minute. For very popular jobs and courses it might even be the case that places are filled before the closing date if enough good quality applications are received.
You may have concerns leaving Northern Ireland such as finding somewhere to live, the cost of living and, not least, leaving friends and family and finding a new support network. However, it may be that embarking on a new challenge/chapter in your career, and life, will help you – in the long-term - gain the right experience to develop a career back in Northern Ireland.
Queen’s has strong alumni associations throughout the UK and the rest of the world.
For more information on the job markets in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland download Jobsearching in Northern Ireland and other UK/Ireland markets
Working outside the UK and Ireland
If you want to work abroad you will need to adopt a more targeted approach to jobhunting. If your degree course enables you to spend time abroad, or if you take part in programmes of study or work experience overseas, then use this experience to explore employment opportunities or contacts which could lead to a future job. There are also major graduate employers who have offices worldwide and can offer opportunities for their staff to work in locations such as Australia, America and Asia. This is often an easier way of getting to work abroad than seeking work through your own efforts.
Queen’s has strong alumni associations throughout the UK and the rest of the world.
For more information: