Ok, so your third year is flying by in a hazy mix of late-night library visits and last-chance debauchery. But what happens next? Some of you will know exactly where your career is heading – the law degree, the sponsored bar exams, the graduate traineeship in central London. However, the majority of students will be less certain about what their next step is than they would be about the chances of Spurs nabbing fourth spot in the Premiership. Bumbling blindly into the world of online job-hunting can lead down some fairly dubious cul-de-sacs, so here I’ve recommended some ideas of places to get started, and where to go for specific types of work – based on my own painful experiences. The things I do for you…

What: The Biggies

Who: Guardian Jobs, Times Online Jobs, Telegraph Jobs
Why: The traditional preserve of jobhunters was always newspapers, so why should this change now? This lot tend to be very reliable for major vacancies and general tertiary and quarternary industry work. You’re also unlikely to run into any scams amongst their meticulously tooth-combed adverts.
Best For: Knowing what sector you might want to work in and looking for career-based, full-time employment

What: Company Specific

Who: BBC, big professional firms (law, finance, industries etc)
Why: If you’ve got a good idea of who you want to work for, then often going straight to the company’s website is the most effective route to finding the information you want. This is especially the case with graduate trainee schemes run by big firms – there will often be an entire section devoted to the drawn-out application processes.
Best For: Graduate trainee schemes, internship hunting in specific profession.

What: Student Orientated

Who: Freelance Students, Gorkana, Gumtree, e4s
Why: These are the best places to go for students in any year, or recent graduates. Each provide a raft of unique opportunities in the field of part-time contracts, full-time flexible student work, and, crucially, internship opportunities. In short then, this group of sites provide an invaluable resource for those who are either need temporary work to earn some money, or need to gain vital experience in a particular industry i.e. journalism, marketing.
Best For: Great student opportunities (internships, work experience) in popular industries; earning some quick money.

What: Bargain Basement

Who: Reed, Jobsite, Monster
Why: This lot are the ones that seem to advertise relentlessly on TV and radio using irritating stereotypes of ‘gritty’ people talking about how useless they were at procuring employment until they discovered ‘site x’. However, for all the hubris they aren’t often that useful for students – certainly not those wishing to use their degree. These are the kind of sites that promise you a swanky managerial position in Farringdon, but five years later you’ll find yourself stuck manning the phones in a hovel in Kettering. The application/interview pointers are also somewhat erratic, to say the least.
Best For: Making a quick summer buck, or a last resort.

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