Perhaps the two most well known and most effective ways of securing graduate jobs are to get a place on a graduate scheme, or to get an internship at a company you might like to work for.  These are both very sensible ways of making the first step on your chosen career path, and which one you choose will probably depend on the sector you are looking in.  Those keen to find work in marketing, banking or accountancy are likely to follow a different route, for example, than graduates who are interested in publishing, the media or charity work.

There are certainly some fields in which a graduate scheme will give you the best possible start to your career.  One of the main advantages of this type of scheme is that you tend to be given experience in various areas of the business, so you will not only make contacts across the business, but you are likely to get a good sense of what sector interests you most and is most appropriate to your abilities.  In addition, as these schemes are fairly competitive to get onto, the graduates who do succeed in their applications tend to be invested in and treated with the respect that is worthy of their endeavours.  This means that they are often given important and interesting work from the outset, and start off with a significant amount of responsibility and often a decent salary.

This can be in contrast to the ‘intern’, who is often at risk of becoming the go-to person for making tea, photocopying, and filing jobs.  Unpaid internships involving fairly menial tasks can be an unappealing prospect, but realistically they are unavoidable if you are interested in getting into certain sectors.  It is almost impossible to find paid employment in journalism, broadcasting, charity work or publishing, for example, unless you have done your time as an intern.  It should not be viewed as a necessary evil, though.  As an intern, you have the opportunity to find out about how the company works and what it is really like working there, while making the contacts you need if you do want a job there.  The important thing to remember if you are an intern is that it should be looked at as an extended interview.  You have a few weeks in which to impress a prospective employer with not only your skills and enthusiasm, but also with your personality, as fitting into a workplace can be just as important in securing a position as showing that you can do the job.

If you are looking for graduate jobs, then, it is vital to be aware of the best path to your ideal job.  Whether it is a graduate scheme or an internship that looks likely to fulfil your a career aspirations, it is sensible to start applying for them as soon as possible, as the first step to making sure you stand out from the crowd.

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