Recent graduates

If you’re unsure what you want to do next, or you’re thinking about a career change, you may require some additional support to help you consider your options. 

Our career planning can be a great starting point to get you thinking and platforms like Career Planner, operated by Prospects, could assist as it matches your skills, motivations, and desires to a career. This interactive careers guidance software can help you think through the skills you really want to use in a career and compiles a shortlist of possible career options. You can also explore over 400 job profiles and information about various job sectors for some career inspiration and in-depth research. You can also access a lot of the information on our applications and interviews webpages which could assist in preparing documentation and for selection activities.

The Careers Service remains open during vacations, so you can continue to use the services all year round. We tend to be very busy seeing students in the autumn and spring terms so we encourage alumni to use the Careers Service in vacations and the summer term. The Information Room is open from 10.00 to 17.00 from Monday to Friday during term time, see our opening hours for any variations.

Our Applications and interviews pages give expert advice on every step of the recruitment process from CVs and cover letters, through to assessment tasks and interviews. While the information is written for current students and recent graduates a lot of the content is highly relevant at any stage of your career.

Many recruiters welcome applications from recent graduates and often treat them in the same way as final year students. Check the organisations websites for details of their recruitment procedures or make approaches to their recruitment teams to discuss your suitability. 

Recruitment agencies, recruitment consultants, and head-hunters can also be helpful in your job search. The Recruitment & Employment Confederation is the professional body representing the private recruitment industry in the UK, and has a searchable database of recruitment consultancies that can be filtered by geographic location and industry sector. 

Register for a graduate account with JobsLive, to access vacancies all year round. You can view vacancies on our system, or set up email alerts when you register. You can enter your preferred profile for vacancies and receive alerts by industry sector, subject areas, or geographical location. In addition you can sing up to our weekly newsletter, that covers Careers events - such as skills workshops, employer presentations, careers talks and courses.

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation is the professional body representing the private recruitment industry in the UK, and has a searchable database of recruitment consultancies that can be filtered by geographic location and industry sector. 

Some employers target Imperial College for experienced Alumni, with several years working experience. You can search for vacancies advertised on JobsLive that that they are looking for experienced graduates.

Networking is often a useful tool in developing your career. Jobs are not always advertised, but instead offered to people known to the hiring manager or organisation and deemed suitable for the role. Networking can expose you to this hidden job market. Finding a contact with knowledge about an industry, company, or job can save valuable time and increase your understanding of the opportunities available. If it doesn’t lead directly to an offer of employment it can certainly give you great insights that can be used in a formal job application.
 
Alumni associations and groups are a great way to meet new people and provide their members with plenty of opportunities for networking. Imperial alumni associations exist all over the world and their members will be pleased to welcome you.

You can also network online using the Imperial Plexus platform to seek professional advice based on the personal experience of other Imperial alumni. Whether you're looking to get that dream job, make an international career move, or build professional connections, Plexus can help you take the next step.  

If you have any questions about alumni groups and associations or the Imperial Plexus platform, please contact the Alumni Office directly.

As a recent Imperial graduate, you can access the same range of appointments that current Imperial students can. 

If you have graduated from Imperial within the last three years and would like to ask some brief questions and feel that you don't need a full 40 Minute Consultation then please email your query to us. A careers consultant relevant to your department will respond to you within three working days.

When submitting your question please give as much background information as possible as this will assist the careers adviser to provide the most relevant response.

Please note that this service is for Imperial graduates who have graduated within three years only.