Final year students and graduates
Careers help for graduates
Finishing university can be a very exciting time for many students and marks the start of a new stage in your life. However, this isn’t the end. Your relationship with Solent, and the support we provide, doesn’t all stop when you finish your course. It’s only just beginning. You will always be a part of us.
This information has been put together by Solent University and is designed to help you on your transition from being a student to a graduate. We will explain what happens next, what you need to do and how we will continue to help you to be work-ready, world-ready and future-ready.
About to finish your degree?
Whatever stage you’re at in your career journey, the Solent Careers’ 'Final Year Student Flow Chart' tool has been designed to point you in the direction of some helpful information, resources and ways to contact the Solent Careers team.
Get started, get future ready... tap into the support from Solent Careers.
Download the full-size version of the 'Final Year Student Flow Chart' tool here
Know where to look
Most graduate jobs are advertised via online job boards or company recruitment web pages. Some professions have specialist sites. Jobs are also increasingly advertised on social media such as LinkedIn.
Check out our pages on finding work to see a list of local employers as well as national websites by sector to aid your job search.
National graduate schemes
It’s never too early to start your job search in your final year as some national graduate schemes have deadlines as early as October.
Why not have a look at Bright Network's guide to 'Application Deadlines: Graduate Schemes 2026'
Using recruitment agencies
Many graduates find work through recruitment agencies. You should approach them in a professional manner, as if you were approaching a company directly for work.
A few points to keep in mind:
- Use the Recruitment and Employment Confederation to identify reliable agencies
- You should not be charged by the agency for finding you work. However, some agencies will charge for training
- Specify what companies you don’t want them to contact, eg, your current employer
- Make sure the agencies you contact are appropriate for your skill level.
Work abroad
British citizens need a visa or work permit to work in most countries abroad including the countries of the European Union. You will need to check each country’s individual requirements. To find out more about working abroad and for sources of job opportunities, take a look at:
- Prospects - Working abroad
- Target Jobs - Working abroad
- LinkedIn Jobs (use the location search)
Turing supported international programmes
Depending on the availability of funding and provided you fulfil the eligibility requirements, you may be entitled to some funding for international opportunities after graduation under the UK government’s Turing Scheme. Please contact international.exchanges@solent.ac.uk to discuss the possibility of funding to support you on a graduate internship abroad.
Make speculative applications
- Use the job sectors section in Prospects, and information on professional association sites to find out about what is going on in your particular area of work.
- Are you considering both private and public sector employers?
- Consider using social media to investigate employers and find 'hidden' opportunities.
- Focus your efforts on the organisations that interest you the most. Ten quality speculative applications will generally yield better results than making 100 general, unfocused applications.
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships offer you the opportunity to work and earn while working towards recognised qualifications. Search for opportunities on the GOV.UK apprenticeships pages.
Finally the Office for Students (OfS) has produced a Graduate Employment and Skills Guide for graduates at the start of their career journey.
A postgraduate degree refers to a range of qualifications that require an undergraduate degree to gain entry, these include courses such as Master's and PhDs. A postgraduate course is more than just a qualification.
“Studying a postgraduate course improved my confidence and gave me a professional mindset.”
Solent University offers postgraduate courses, so we’re bound to have something for you to progress onto, whether you want to continue studying your course area or learn a new subject. You can find out more about postgraduate study and the courses available at Solent on the website.
As a graduate of the University and a member of our alumni community, you are eligible for a discount in tuition fees on a postgraduate course.
Click here for more information on discounts offered by Solent.
Postgraduate loans
Loans are available for both taught and research master’s programmes (MA, MSc, MBA, MREs, LLM and MPhil) and cover all subject areas. Eligible postgraduate students can take out a loan from Student Finance England to help them pay for their accommodation and tuition fees during their studies. More information can be found on the gov.uk site.
Postgraduate loans are not available for postgraduate certificates or postgraduate diplomas. You cannot apply for a loan if you already have gained a qualification at master's (or higher) level. You then repay your Postgraduate Loan at the same time as any other student loans you may have.
The repayment plan that applies to postgraduate loans compared to undergraduate loans differs slightly. Further information can be found on the Student Loan Repayment page.
Get into teaching
Many Solent final year students and graduates move into a career in teaching. The Get into Teaching website is a good place to start. It tells you what it is like to teach, details the support you can get while training, and what salary you could expect to earn.
The Teaching and Education section of the TARGET jobs website has been broken down into bite-sized, easy-to-digest articles covering all aspects of the application process. There is also a link to current job vacancies.
Starting your own business
The Enterprise Team in Solent Careers provides information, advice and guidance to students and graduates on starting a business or freelancing as a career. If you are thinking about self-employment, take a look at our pages providing information about the enterprise services and support available, including opportunities to pitch for funding from Solent University.
Solent Careers has a commitment to continue to support students when they finish their studies and after graduation. The services offered by the team include one-to-one advice and guidance, continued access to Solent Careers Online, and access to a large employer network through our jobs board.
If you would like advice on your career options and opportunities, or just need some help with CV writing or interview techniques, there are a number of tools that you may find useful, including Solent’s CV and application guide.
You may have used Solent Careers Online when you were a student. Solent Careers Online is the careers and jobs website designed specifically for Solent's students and graduates. Why not use Solent Careers Online to:
- Sign up for job alerts and apply for graduate positions
- Access different careers learning resources and pathways
- Use our online CV tools and much more!
Not sure what sector to apply to? You could try the Prospects career planner quiz to match your skills to a number of careers.
Stay in touch
You can contact the team by emailing careers@solent.ac.uk
Why not follow our LinkedIn page to stay in touch and get updates about upcoming Solent Futures events.
Wondering what your next steps are after graduating?
There are many options available to you after graduation, more than you may think.
The best place to start is the UK Council for International Student Affairs where you will find jargon free explanation of visa after study available to you.
We have created an information page for international students and graduates and you can also get in touch with the International Support Team here at Solent University. The international team can be contacted via email at internationalsupport@solent.ac.uk.
We want to celebrate your achievements and in 15 months we will ask about your successes as part of the Graduate Outcomes Survey.
We want to know what you are doing since leaving. Freelancing, running your own business, postgraduate study or your first job, we will want to know. Shout about your success and tell us what you are most proud of since finishing your course.
The Graduate Outcomes survey is a national survey capturing information about the activities and perspectives of students 15 months after they finish their studies. As well as celebrating your successes and helping our current students understand their future careers, the survey is also of national significance as it allows policy makers, charities, journalists, researchers and others to understand the higher education sector and the state of the graduate labour market.
We’ve put together some top resources you can use to develop your skills online. Continuing personal and professional development demonstrates enthusiasm and positive action to potential employers.
- Grammar and punctuation
- OpenLearn - free online courses from the Open University
- FutureLearn - free online courses from a variety of providers/universities
- Coursera - free online courses from a variety of universities and employers
- Udemy - type 'free' into the search bar to generate list of any free courses on offer
- For more websites offering online courses, check out the website My World of Work.
When you graduate, you become part of the Solent alumni community. Our alumni community is made up of over 75,000 talented individuals just like you.
As a part of our global alumni community, you can take advantage of a range of benefits, including:
- Up to a reduction on postgraduate tuition fees
- Free library access
- Career advice and business support services for life
- Exclusive events
- Alumni newsletter
- Free alumni ID card.
You can find out more on our website.
Stay connected, stay Solent for life
Moved house, new job, or changed your email address? Let us know any changes to your contact details online.
Join your online community and network now.
- Like our page on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
- Join our alumni group on LinkedIn
#SolentForLife
You may decide you would like to take some time out to travel and undertake work experience in the UK or abroad. You may just want to have some fun. Whatever you do, make sure you develop skills, abilities and experiences that will enhance your career prospects.
Future employers will expect you to have made good use of your time out. Even if you ‘just travel’ during your gap year, you will develop maturity and independence, increase your self-awareness, and potentially discover new career options too.
Here are some tips and ideas to consider during your time out:
- Consider registering with an employment agency to do temp work.
- Gain voluntary work experience in the UK or abroad.
- Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) is a popular option. See below for a bit more info about this.
- Don’t get taken advantage of. Research any gap year provider carefully.
- Consider the basics – what, where and when, as well as how much and why.
- A gap year does not have to be abroad and isn’t always a whole year.
- Plan your time carefully to ensure you make the most of it.
- If you are considering working overseas, make sure you check out any visa requirements or work restrictions first.
- Check out the range of gap year ideas and suggestions on prospects.ac.uk.
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)
With a TEFL qualification you could find work with a language school in the UK or teach English abroad. Some organisations offer exchange teaching programmes. Opportunities can be found in Japan, China, the Far East, Middle East, and parts of Eastern Europe, as well as Spain, Italy and Germany. A lot of people use TEFL to fund their gap year travel.
Further information about TEFL
Overseas employment
If you are keen to find paid work while you travel, a good starting point for identifying vacancies is the working abroad section on prospects.ac.uk. These articles include information about each country’s job market, and tips on finding work experience, as well as advice about visa and immigration issues.
If you are interested in working your way across the world have a look at www.workaway.info which matches volunteers to hosts.
Work contracts
There are a range of different contract types and employer responsibilities that come with each type of contract.
If you need information on your employment or employment rights Gov.UK and ACAS are great sources of impartial advice on your employment rights and best practice by employers.
Freelancers, consultants and contractors
- You are self-employed or are part of other companies
- You will need to look after your own tax and NICs
You may not be entitled to the same rights as workers, eg, minimum wage. Employment law doesn’t cover self-employed people in most cases because they are their own boss. However, if a person is self-employed:
- they still have protection for their health and safety and, in some cases, protection against discrimination;
- their rights and responsibilities are set out by the terms of the contract they have with their client.
Find out more about how Solent supports graduates who work as freelancers or plan to start their own business.
Negotiating salary - the first offer is not always the only offer
Many graduate jobs are advertised without a specific salary. Find out what the range is for the type of role you are going for – through friends, LinkedIn contacts, or other similar jobs being advertised. If you are offered a job you will usually be given the specific salary at the same time.
Do you think the offer doesn’t match the sector, or take into account your skills and experience? Commercial employers often have some scope for improving a salary offer. Be polite and explain why you think the offer should be improved (and not just, I want more money!). Remember that future raises are usually based on your starting salary. You should also consider other aspects of compensation – a shorter commute could compensate for a lower salary, for example.
Learn to budget
- Set a budget and stick to it.
- Budgeting will help you to clear your student overdraft and prevent overspending. It can also be a useful tool for saving money as well!
There are many useful budgeting tools that can be found on the internet and are free to use. Some examples include:
Why not try a free to use budgeting app, some examples are:
- YNAB (You Need A Budget)
- Wally Lite – Personal Finance
Minimum wage and the living wage
You are entitled to the National Minimum Wage which is published on the Gov.uk website.
Work experience and internships
You won’t get the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage if you’re:
- A volunteer or doing voluntary work
- On a government or European programme
- Work shadowing
Not entitled to the minimum wage
The following types of workers are not entitled to the minimum wage:
- Self-employed people running their own business
- Company directors
- Volunteers or voluntary workers
- Workers on a government employment programme, such as the Work Programme
State benefits
If you are not moving straight into work when you finish your studies then you may need to apply for benefits while you think through your options and next steps. Graduates may start claiming state benefits after they finish their final term of study in their final year.
Some of the main benefits are listed below:
- Universal Credit (UC) - can be claimed by those on low income or out of work.
- Child Benefit - if you’re responsible for one or more children under 16 (or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training).
Full information on state benefits can be found on the gov.uk website.
Your local welfare rights unit or Citizens Advice office should be able to give you information about any benefits you may be entitled to receive.
- The Southampton City Council welfare rights and money advice service can help with a range of issues and can be contacted at welfarerights.advice@southampton.gov.uk
- Information on a range of benefits can be found on the Citizens Advice website or the Gov.uk website.
Financial help if you’re disabled
There is a wide range of disability-related financial support, including benefits, tax credits, payments, grants and concessions.
The main disability and sickness benefits are:
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Attendance Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance.
Disclaimer
The information on this page is based on the information available at the time of writing. However, such information is subject to change, often with very little notice. While care has been taken to ensure that all information is correct, Solent University does not accept responsibility for errors, omissions or inaccuracies. We are not responsible for the content of external websites and do not endorse any content or individual bodies.