Finding the right job in a recession - Top Tip # 3

3. Apply early- make sure your application reaches employers as early as possible

Don’t leave sending applications off until the deadline - there is evidence that many employers are starting to look through applications as soon as they receive them and inviting good candidates for interview as early as possible. Places on large graduate employer schemes may be fewer this year and are likely to be filled early. Quite a lot have already closed.

However it’s not too late to consider applications to some of the medium sized and smaller employers. They may not advertise their vacancies as widely, so do your research using internet resources such as CDEC’s researching employers page. For sector specific information, check out our careers information pages, too.

If you are a first or second year hoping to get onto a scheme when you graduate, consider applying for an internship, as in difficult times employers tend to recruit a higher proportion directly from their internship schemes. Use our jobs database and other jobs sites are a good place to start. And use the careers information pages for particular career areas.