Careers and Employability Support

When you study with us, you get access to our Careers and Employability Service from the moment you register until 5 years after you graduate.

You'll be in experienced hands, helped by careers advisers with an excellent track record. We have high graduate employment rates – 94% of our students are in work and/or further study (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey conducted in 2019/20). This is largely due to the careers support Portsmouth students receive.

Our Careers and Employability Service will help you find part-time jobs, volunteering opportunities, work experience and graduate roles. And they'll help you plan your career while you study. You can book appointments with careers advisers for in-depth talks and advice, either remotely or in our Careers and Employability Centre.

Towards the end of your degree and after graduation, you'll get 1-to-1 support from our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy. You can also get help to apply for further study such as a Master's or PhD, or to set up your own business.

How we'll support you

You can book an appointment with the Careers and Employability Service at any point during your studies. You'll get information, advice and guidance for finding part-time work, placements, volunteering and graduate jobs. We can help in the following areas:

Career planning and getting into your chosen sector

We'll talk through your ideas about the career you want to get into and discuss your options. Our detailed sector career guides can help you understand the sector you want to work in and the job roles available. They'll give you an idea of what routes to take and what skills you need.

CV advice and cover letters

We'll review your CV and cover letters to give you the best chance of getting your dream job. If you've never written a CV or cover letter before, we can help with that too at our workshops on CV and cover letter writing.

We'll also help you perfect your Linkedin profile and make sure it matches your CV.

Job applications

We have a detailed guide to help you complete job applications. Our experts can also review your application before you hit send.

Interview advice and practice

Our online guides can help you prepare for job interviews and our example questions can help you practice your answers.

You can do mock interviews with our careers advisers to practice answering questions and get expert feedback on your interview style.

Companies are increasingly running interviews over the phone or by video. Virtual interviews are here to stay, so we can help you get comfortable with telephone and video interviews.

Assessment centres and psychometric tests

Assessment centres and psychometric tests assess your skills and competencies. You might only experience these for the first time when you apply for a placement or graduate role. We have many free resources so you can practice for these sorts of assessments.

Graduate jobs

We can help you look at your options and career plans for after you graduate. When the time comes, we'll support you to search for jobs online and understand job markets in your sector.

Our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy works with local employers and can help match you with quality graduate jobs. You can book a phone or video appointment with an adviser. This is in addition to our online jobs board where you can look for roles across the UK and beyond.

As a graduate, you'll get unlimited access to support from our Careers and Employability Service for up to 5 years after you graduate. Head over to our alumni benefits page to find out the other benefits our recent graduates get.

Working globally

We have lots of online resources if you're thinking of pursuing a career abroad. You can book an appointment with a careers adviser to discuss employment options overseas.

Working in the UK as an international student

We can give you careers support if you're moving to the UK as an international student. We can't give you personalised immigration advice, but we can help you access resources to find the right job or volunteering opportunity.

Visit our working during your studies page for information about working in the UK as an international student. And head to our post-study work visas page for information about working in the UK after you graduate.

Further study

If you're thinking of further study and want to talk through your ideas, or if you want to discuss your career options related to different courses, you can book a 1-to-1 appointment with a careers adviser.

Careers and employability events

As a student or graduate of the last 5 years, you can attend our careers and employability events, including recruitment fairs and careers workshops.

Student and Graduate Opportunities Fair

Our careers fair has gone virtual, you can now go online to check out the market and book informal chats with employers.

Careers and employability workshops

When you join us, you can attend free workshops run by our expert advisers at the Careers and Employability Centre.

We develop these workshops specifically for you. The workshops aim to support your career planning, job hunting and personal development. Dip in online to get advice and share your experience

Careers workshop topics

• researching employers
• interviews
• aptitude tests
• commercial awareness
• personal statements
• practical job searching
• writing CVs

Further opportunities

Studying with us gives you more than dedicated careers and employability support. You can also benefit from work placements and experience opportunities, volunteering opportunities and startup advice.