Recruit a graduate
With over 800,000 graduates and postgraduates entering the labour market each year and graduate job vacancies 20% higher than pre-pandemic level, employers are increasingly recognising the benefits of recruiting a graduate.
Why recruit a graduate?
You can recruit graduates to:
- access a high level of knowledge and skills
- unlock fresh ideas and a new perspective
- develop future leaders, moulding their skills set to meet your needs
- diversify your workforce by tapping into record proportions of disadvantaged students who are now at university
- become more globally aware and culturally diverse
Additionally, graduates are increasingly keen to join organisations whose values align with their own; they are passionate about sustainability and how they can have a positive impact on the world, and will be the innovators and change makers of the future.
Graduate schemes, internships or direct entry roles - what’s the difference?
Graduate schemes
- Structured training schemes lasting 18 - 36 months, leading to a more permanent graduate role.
- Usually offered by larger organisations.
- Allow graduates to explore different areas of a business to broaden their knowledge and help them make longer-term career choices.
- Schemes are advertised up to a year in advance with closing dates as early as September for roles starting the following summer.
Direct entry level jobs
- Usually junior or entry positions, but can sometimes be targeted at more experienced hires.
- Can be permanent or fixed-term.
- Usually start immediately and are advertised on a more ad hoc basis to meet business needs.
Graduate internships
- Fixed or short-term graduate jobs with an immediate start, which can lead to a permanent position, dependent on performance.
- Work is often project-based and provides graduates with supervised, practical experience.
If you are a small to medium-sized organisation in the Sheffield City Region, The University of Sheffield intermittently runs ‘schemes’ which provides recruitment support and sometimes funding for graduate internships.
When to recruit
Organisations tend to recruit graduates to meet the needs of the business, but timing can have a significant impact on how successful this is.
Some students will secure a graduate job early, particularly those that have undertaken a placement year or those in heavily targeted disciplines, such as computer science. More commonly, final year students tend to begin their job search at the start of their final year in September/October. If you are able to recruit ahead, our Autumn recruitment fairs are ideal platforms for promoting your opportunities and meeting potential candidates.
Recruiting so far in advance is not always feasible, therefore we offer advertising and events throughout the year to help you attract applications.
Contact us
Please get in touch to discuss your options:
Tel: 0114 2220900
Email: careers@sheffield.ac.uk