External vacancy sources

Where to begin

You'll find numerous links to recruitment sites below, but for a good overview of major Graduate recruitment and internship opportunities  in the UK, along with some other key sites, these resources are a good start: 

  • Handshake – All jobs on Cambridge's version of Handshake are reviewed by us, and many are specifically targeted at Cambridge students.
  • Bright Network – Career advice, vacancies, employer listings, virtual internships and e-training
  • Prospects – Prospects is a careers research and vacancy portal featuring example job profiles
  • EmployAbility – Internships and graduate programmes for neurodiverse and disabled university students and graduates
  • TargetJobs.co.uk – TargetJobs has a focus on recruitment advice and vacancies with large employers
  • The Forage - Virtual Internships across the year, a great chance to develop skills & gain insight into industries

Exploring further

This is not an exhaustive list but will offer you a starting point for a number of career areas – visit the sector pages for more. It is worth noting that many recruitment sites also have Apps to make searching ‘on the go’ a little bit easier.

The Careers Service do not use these jobs boards as actively as our users do, so if you find you are being asked for any payment for services or personal information that you don’t think is quite right, remember to stay safe online or get in touch with us to check it out. Read our notes on Recruitment Agencies here.

It is wise to follow some basic precautions against fraud when searching for jobs, the official gov.uk website has some simple guidance on this. 

Further Graduate-specific sites for jobs and internships

  • Artsjobs.org.uk – Theatre, arts administration, teaching, touring, galleries, outreach and arts education roles from Arts Council England
  • Cambridge Network – Sometimes offers graduate roles listings in the Cambridge area
  • Charityjob.co.uk – Leading job site for jobs within the charity sector, including internships and volunteering
  • Civil Service job search – Find jobs in the Civil Service and central government organisations
  • Genchi – Student only opportunities to help boost experience, such as committee or student project positions in Cambridge
  • Gradcracker - Useful site with graduate schemes across STEM subjects
  • Guardianjobs - Large grad section, plus particular strengths in media and marketing - nice interface
  • Inside Careers – Specific industry boards for pensions, insurance, IP, actuarial and accountancy
  • Jobs.ac.uk – Site for academic and academic support roles, including professional services
  • Lawcareers.net - Search training contracts and pupillages by closing date
  • Legal Cheek - nationwide perspective on deadlines for vac schemes and training contracts
  • Media Mentor - Posts graduate/starter vacancies to it's twitter feed each Thursday
  • Milkround – Graduate jobs and internships across a number of sectors
  • RatemyPlacement - Internship opportunities across a number of sectors (filter by length for best results)
  • The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers annual guide to Britain’s most sought-after and prestigious graduate employers. Register for emails containing information and job advertisments from The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers.
  • University of Oxford list of Think Tanks – to help you research and apply to Think Tanks (UK and International)
  • Welcome to the Jungle UK good for tech and start-ups

Generalist jobs boards with graduate opportunities

  • Escape the City - good range of non-standard job and internship opportunities, especially in non-profit, start-ups, and international roles
  • Glassdoor - job listings, company info, interview feedback and salary info - a good site for research
  • Indeed - largest job site worldwide - sheer scale is its advantage and disadvantage - be selective
  • Joblift - a UK job search board which draws content from many partner job boards
  • LinkedIn - now becoming the leading source of professional jobs, with increasing opportunities for grads, includes company profiles, sector special interest groups, and access to alumni profiles
  • WikiJob have a useful guide to major UK  job sites.

Other large generalist boards

Large generalist boards can be frustrating to use because of the sheer mass of roles. But they are good for exploring a range of roles and you don’t mind sifting through some dud vacancies to find the gems. You will likely find more results by using keys words and using any ‘graduate’ categories as these boards often cater for all types of employment. Read our notes on Recruitment Agencies here.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion specific resources

If you are interested in a specific employer, you can search for their equality & inclusion schemes on their graduate career pages

  • AHEAD – Work mentoring programme for graduates in Ireland
  • Aspiring Solicitors – supports students to access the legal profession from a wider range of socio-economic backgrounds
  • Auticon career openings – for autistic job seekers interested in IT
  • Change100 Internships - Change 100 is a flagship programme of Leonard Cheshire, providing paid summer work placements, professional development and mentoring. It matches university students and recent graduates with any disability or long-term condition with employers
  • Civil Service Summer Diversity Internship Programme
  • Disability Confident Employers – job listings with employers in the Disability Confident Scheme
  • Careers Service list of ‘Disability resources and funding’ resources
  • The Diversity Dashboard - lists roles from employers who are specifically seeking to recruit individuals from underrepresented groups.
  • EmployAbility – Internships and graduate programmes for neurodiverse and disabled university students and graduates
  • MyPlus students club – Events and jobs for disabled students and graduates
  • Enna Jobs Board – for neurodivergent applicants
  • Evenbreak – accessible job site for disabled job seekers
  • Schemes for Talent – a list of schemes for people wanting to work in film, television and media
  • Stafford Long Diversity Solutions – firm that run events to support their client’s recruitment campaigns to attract diverse talent

Work across the world

All the above jobs boards are useful for everyone, but these links will support your search for jobs outside the UK.

  • GoinGlobal - contains information to help you plan your international career. The Careers Service has subscribed to this service, and it is available via the links on this page to Cambridge students, staff and alumni only.
  • GradLink UK – opportunities for UK and international students for roles across the world
  • Careers Service International students’ support pages
  • Prospects.ac.uk – Working abroad guides
  • Student Circus - lists jobs and internships exclusively from employers willing to sponsor the Tier 2 visa, and who are licensed and verified with the Home Office as credible and compliant with immigration rules (you need to create an account to access all vacancies)
  • TargetJobs.co.uk Guide to job hunting for international students
  • Euractiv, jobs in the EU EURACTIV is an independent pan-European media network specialising in EU affairs

Short term, flexible work opportunities

The world of work is changing, with many looking for a greater work-life balance or aspiring for something more flexible than the traditional 9-5 role, in order to fit around other needs and preferences.

 There may be times in your life when personal circumstances mean working from home, taking on short-term work or benefitting from flexible working arrangements would suit you best. Opportunities to do this are now far more commonplace and can also be an excellent way of building work experience and boosting your CV whilst looking for a more permanent role.

 On most job search websites you can filter search results by ‘remote’, ‘homeworking’, ‘freelance’ vacancies, but there are some sites that specialise in advertising only these types of opportunities. We've put together a list below to help get you started:

  • Remote Worker  general site advertising fully remote and hybrid opportunities across sectors, including sales, marketing, finance, HR and customer service
  • Upwork a general marketplace for all types of freelance/remote work. Businesses post their available jobs and as a freelancer, you post your bid for the work. Wide range across many sectors.
  • 99designs design-related work, covering branding, advertising, web, clothing, illustration and more.
  • Aspire Scientific Aspirations Programme  Medical writing remote work, flexible alongside your existing commitments
  • People Per Hour connect with businesses looking for freelancers in graphic design, marketing, programming and much more
  • Guru  a range of freelance, online or remote work across many sectors
  • Fiverr a mix of creative-related work including graphic design, photography, writing, as well as business, programming and data
  • We Are Capable  a range of freelance and remote full-time, part-time, and contract roles from leading companies primarily in the USA but also across the globe, dedicated to supporting those with chronic illness and disability.

Learn more about businesses in regions of the UK

  • The British Chamber of Commerce brings together regional chambers to campaign for and champion business growth in the UK. They can be a good source news and information on how each chamber is supporting local development and offering business support.
  • Use your Local Enterprise Partnership sites (LEPs) to learn more about the labour market in a particular region, including infrastructure and industry developments that are being focused on in each area. There are 38 LEPs in the UK. You can access each of them from the LEP Network.
  • You can use Cambridge Cluster Insights to find companies. Select the "Company List" (on the left) and search using "Sector: Broad" and then "Sector: Narrow" (on the right). Right click on the name of the company, use "Copy Value" and find out more about the company using a search engine.