Careers: Transforming your future
Cambridge graduates of all disciplines are highly employable, and we have one of the highest proportions of graduates entering graduate-level employment or further study in the country. In addition, the Careers Service promotes more vacancies each year than there are Cambridge graduates seeking employment.
The Cambridge advantage: graduate prospects
- Cambridge is in the top three in the world for reputation with employers according to the 2012 QS World University Rankings.
- 1,500+ internships and vacation placements are available each year to provide students with valuable work experience.
- Cambridge is one of the three universities most-often targeted by Britain’s top graduate employers (The Graduate Market in 2012).
Career destinations
Cambridge courses are respected all over the world so there's no need to worry about your choice of course limiting you to one career path:
- the majority of employers recruit students with any degree discipline
- it's the flexibility, teaching style and demands of your degree, as well as the range of transferable skills that you develop, that are of interest to employers
Examples of career destinations of recent graduates can be found in the relevant course entry, as well as on the Careers Service website (www.careers.cam.ac.uk).
Transferable skills
While at Cambridge, you develop a wide range of 'transferable skills' through both your studies and recreational activities (www.skills.cam.ac.uk/undergrads/). It's these same skills that employers are looking for when reviewing job applications.
Cambridge graduates excel at:
- learning quickly
- developing and adopting new approaches
- organisation and flexibility
- effective communication, both in writing and orally
- analysis and attention to detail
- creativity and problem-solving
- achieving to the highest standards
Employers value other achievements and experiences gained through involvement in clubs and societies, and vacation employment as well. Potential employers also interact with some department-based societies so you have opportunities to network and make contacts long before graduation.
The graduate employment market
Cambridge students are ambitious, intelligent, motivated, hard-working, passionate, committed, curious, intellectually creative, independent thinkers and able to manage their time effectively.
Employers know this and look for the same attributes in potential new employees, which is why our graduates are so sought after. The chart (below) shows the destinations of 2011 Cambridge graduates, six months after graduation.
The Careers Service
The Careers Service offers a wide range of services and staff can help you make informed career choices and work out what to do next, whether that's:
- advice about internships and vacation work experience
- matching your interests and skills to possible careers
- postgraduate study guidance
- job application support
There are also numerous opportunities for you to meet employers through events organised by the Careers Service and department-based societies.
And even after you've graduated, you can continue to make use of the Careers Service.
| How the Careers Service can help you | |
|---|---|
| Choosing a career |
|
| Getting Internships and work experience |
|
| Researching occupations and employers |
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| Finding vacancies |
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| Making successful applications |
|