More students than ever at Imperial College Business School are finding jobs within six months of graduating.

The latest destination data published by the Business School’s Careers Service has found that 97 per cent of graduates overall entered employment within six months of graduating. This is a four percent increase on last year’s figures, making it a record high for the Business School.

Destination Data is compiled by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. It provides information on the activities of students after leaving a higher education institution. The data is collected through a survey, which is carried out approximately six months after students leave. Survey information includes the type of work a graduate has entered or what sort of further study they may be engaged in .

The destination data also revealed that 98 per cent of students who graduated from the School’s Strategic Marketing, Risk Management & Financial Engineering, and Economics & Strategy for Business programmes also found employment within six months of completing their studies.

Students at the Business School go on to careers in a range of areas such as finance and the technology sector. This is the path that international student Karn Luanpreda took. One month after graduating from the MSc Strategic Marketing programme in 2013 Karn secured employment as an analyst at Facebook. Karn says that the careers service understood his ambitions and helped him to achieve them.

“My ambition was to work in a well-regarded company overseas as a digital marketer or data analyst as I personally like these business fields. The careers service team were helpful from the very beginning of my job hunting, assisting me with job applications, giving me career guidance and informing me of interesting job openings. In addition to that, the careers service also host lots of useful career events with top tier companies and sessions on how to prepare for job applications.”

According to Karn, the advice and guidance he received from the careers service during his time at the Business School helped ease his fears about the graduate job market. This was during the Government’s austerity programme after the 2007 financial crash when jobs were scarce.

“One of the biggest challenges I faced as an international student was finding a company to sponsor me. I was extremely worried about finding a job overseas as I have time and visa constraints. However, it is not impossible for international students to find a good company that is willing to sponsor your visa. The careers service at the Business School has always provided students with great support on different types of visas to apply for once they have graduated.”

UK student Sarah Yates secured employment as an analyst for the financial services company Morgan Stanley after graduating from the MSc Finance programme at the Business School in 2013. She said that the specialist advice she received from the careers team helped her to prepare for interviews.

“The careers team was a truly valuable resource for me. I think one of the most important things they taught me was that preparation is paramount. Preparing thoroughly for interviews and practising what you are going to say gives you confidence and belief when you are in the actual interview. Another piece of advice which was useful when I started at Morgan Stanley was to put logic before emotion! Working in banking is often stressful therefore there is little time to take things personally.”

Sarah added that current students should work with the careers team as soon as they start their course at the business school.

“It’s crucial to apply for jobs in the UK in September and October, as often interviews are done on a first come, first served basis. Therefore, talking to the experts in the careers team as soon as possible is a must and shouldn’t be left to the last minute.”

Maxine Myers caught up with Cassie Gilbert, Head of Careers, at the Business School to discuss the latest destination data. The pair discuss how the Careers team helps students and keep them up-to-date on the latest job trends and the graduate job market.