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Expert careers advice and support
Get careers support during your degree and for 5 years after you graduate
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.
The Careers Service helped prepare me for my graduate interview and gave me all the tools I needed to be successful and get the job on an extremely competitive graduate scheme.
Oakley Cheung, UK Civil Service
Careers support you can receive
You don't have to step inside the careers centre to get the best from your Careers and Employability Service. You can get support for your professional future from any device. From video calls about sharpening your job hunt, to virtual careers fairs, our online vacancies board and more – it’s all there when you need it.
Careers support includes:
- Careers advice – 1-to-1 appointments via telephone or video chat
- Help to find a part-time job, volunteering opportunity or graduate job (local and national)
- Online jobs board
- Virtual enterprise and startup clinics
- Online career skills workshops
- The Student and Graduate Opportunities Fair
- Online advice and resources
- CV and cover letter writing
- Interview preparation and practice
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.
Placement year degrees
Increase your employment opportunities and strengthen your skills by taking a sandwich year degree with a placement.

Student startup advice
If you've got a passion for entrepreneurship and a great idea for a new business, we can help you get up and running.

Work experience opportunities
As a Portsmouth student, you'll get lots of work experience opportunities to try out job roles, apply your skills to different sectors and increase your employability.

Volunteering opportunities
Discover the benefits of volunteering for a charity or not-for-profit whilst at university. Find a role that matches your interests and career ambitions.
