Career advice for students and graduates

Looking for student or graduate career advice? You've come to the right place.

Our career advice for students and graduates is impartial and free.

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Consider this your knowledge hub for student and graduate career advice. Find everything you need to know about CVs, cover letters, interviews, assessment centres, networking, personal growth and more.

At Bright Network, we've been supporting students and graduates in securing roles at leading UK employers for over a decade. That means we know what companies look for, and how you can improve your chances of getting hired.

Whether you have no clue which sector to pursue, are working on grad scheme applications or are about to start your new graduate job, our expert advice and tips are designed to help you launch your career.

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Latest advice

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How to set career goals for the new year

Reading time: 4 mins

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How many jobs should you actually apply for?

Reading time: 11 mins

Three Bright Network members smiling in front of a turquoise background

Seven questions to ask yourself before applying for a job

Reading time: 6 mins

A small huddle of students chatting at a networking event

An introvert's guide to networking

Reading time: 4 mins

A female Bright Network member at a career event

Resilience skills and how to build them

Reading time: 6 mins

Three students smiling and chatting

How to get out of your comfort zone

Reading time: 6 mins

Graphic of an AI prompt for commercial awareness suggestions

How to use AI responsibly for job searching and applications

Reading time: 15 mins

A male student smiling confidently looking at his laptop

How to survive graduate job application season: our top tips

Reading time: 6 mins

Bright Network members at an event, networking

How to get a job without work experience

Reading time: 8 mins

A laptop illustration showing the words 'We regret to inform you'

How to deal with job rejections

Reading time: 6 mins

A student slumped over a laptop, running his hand through his hair

Your guide to overcoming imposter syndrome

Reading time: 6 mins

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Navigating the workplace as a neurodivergent person

Reading time: 6 mins

Watch our career advice videos, webinars and event replays

Two Bright Network members looking over a document together

CV Masterclass: Standing out in a competitive graduate market

Students working on computers

Webinar: Leveraging AI to Supercharge Your Job Applications

Interview

Interview skills workshop: From preparation to success

Event Replay: Navigating imposter syndrome at Proud to B

The words 'Breaking Barriers' and 'Making an impact' in a spiky circle

Event Replay: How to make an impact with RSM at Breaking Barriers

Event Replay: Positively positioning your neurodiversity at Neurodiverse Leaders

Advice on thriving at uni life

A woman's hand holding an iPhone showing the calculator app

How to budget for life as a student at university

Reading time: 7 mins

Young man sat in front of a laptop at a desk, reading a book and looking thoughtful

How to revise at uni: tips and methods for studying effectively

Reading time: 4 mins

A row of beer taps

Tips for non-drinkers at university: freshers' week and beyond

Reading time: 5 mins

Five casually dressed students chatting and laughing as they walk down the street

How to make friends at university

Reading time: 5 mins

A barista pouring coffee with a busy kitchen in the background

How to balance university with working part-time as a student

Reading time: 4 mins

Three students chatting and laughing on a university campus

25 students share their advice for freshers at university

Reading time: 4 mins

Advice for perfecting your student or graduate CV

How to write a graduate CV: advice and template

Reading time: 7 mins

CV and a succulent plant, based on top of a laptop keyboard

Top tips for creating the perfect CV

Reading time: 4 mins

Two people scan the QR code on the CV that's shown on a laptop

Key skills for you to include on your CV (with examples)

Reading time: 8 mins

Advice for nailing job applications and cover letters

Feminine hands typing on a laptop keyboard.

How to write a good cover letter

Reading time: 5 mins

Somebody using their mobile phone to scan a QR code shown on a "We're Hiring!" job advert displayed on a laptop screen.

Job application mistakes to avoid

Reading time: 4 mins

Man smiling while looking at a notebook. He is sat on a large yellow chair with his laptop on a table in front of him.

Seven ways to make your job application stand out

Reading time: 5 mins

Interview advice for graduate job, internship and placement interviews

Two men sat talking at a table

How to prepare for an interview

Reading time: 7 mins

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What to wear to an interview

Reading time: 8 mins

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How to avoid the most common interview mistakes

Reading time: 3 mins

A man and a woman talking while sat at a circular table in an office

Common graduate interview questions and how to answer them

Reading time: 7 mins

A young woman in business attire smiling and shaking hands with recruiting manager after job interview.

How to answer strengths & weaknesses interview questions

Reading time: 4 mins

A woman smiling and sitting on a couch talking to a man who has a clipboard

How to answer competency questions

Reading time: 7 mins

A smartly dressed man and woman sat next to each other, talking in a meeting room.

Top tips for face-to-face interviews

Reading time: 6 mins

Woman sat on a table on a video call

Questions to ask in an interview

Reading time: 6 mins

A Zoom interface showing two people having a conversation

Advice on nailing video interviews

Reading time: 6 mins

Advice for succeeding in assessment centres

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Bright advice for acing your assessment centre

Reading time: 3 mins

An open-plan modern office environment, showing lots of people eating breakfast together. At the front, two people are sat on a sofa talking to each other with their laptops in front of them.

What to expect from an assessment centre: tips and advice

Reading time: 5 mins

A female student smiling confidently dressed in smart-casual clothes

How to be confident in interviews and assessment centres

Advice for aptitude and numerical tests

A person's hand filling in a multiple choice question form

What is a psychometric test? A guide for graduates

Reading time: 4 mins

What are logical reasoning tests & how can you best prepare?

Reading time: 3 mins

A calculator

Top tips for passing a numerical reasoning test

Reading time: 3 mins

Career advice for when you have no idea what to do

Two women chatting at a careers event

Graduate careers advice for when you have no idea what to do

Female graduate covering her face with a mortarboard hat

What can I do with my degree?

Reading time: 5 mins

Female electronics engineer tests vehicle software with two colleagues.

How to choose a job you’ll love

Reading time: 5 mins

Tips for developing and demonstrating commercial awareness

Man reading a business newspaper

What is commercial awareness?

Reading time: 5 mins

Building your Commercial Awareness

A phone on a table showing a news app

How to demonstrate your commercial awareness

Reading time: 5 mins

Advice for entering the world of work as a new graduate

Two women looking at a phone and smiling at a career event

How to find a mentor

Reading time: 4 mins

A woman sat down using a laptop, browsing images. Another woman is smiling while stood over her desk looking at the screen.

Entering the world of work: Tips for starting your new job

Reading time: 5 mins

Starting your career: Essential tips for your first day

Reading time: 5 mins

Guidance on developing core graduate career skills

A woman sat at an office desk, looking at multiple screens showing coding on them.

Key graduate career skills

Reading time: 4 mins

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How to stand out as a graduate

Reading time: 5 mins

A male student speaking into a microphone

How to improve your public speaking skills

Reading time: 4 mins

Three people sat around a table together in a coffee shop.

The ultimate guide to networking

Reading time: 8 mins

Two colleagues laughing in a staff kitchen, making coffee together

The soft skills employers look for (including examples)

Reading time: 8 mins

Four people sat around a table, with most of the group smiling at each other and another writing something on a tablet

What are communication skills?

Reading time: 9 mins

Somebody's hands writing on a pink post-in note placed on top of a planner diary with brightly coloured labels on a desk. On the desk, you can also see a pink highlighter, a cable, pen and a laptop.

Organisational skills: definition and examples

Reading time: 8 mins

A computer keyboard positioned diagonally on a table next to an open ring-binder planner that has #ToDo written on Monday 26th.

Time management skills: definition and examples

Reading time: 7 mins

Two women standing in front of a white dry-erase board, looking at what's written and drawn on the board.

Top employability skills for getting a job

Reading time: 10 mins

Types of opportunities

Two colleagues laughing while sat a large table in a meeting room

What is work experience?

Reading time: 8 mins

The hands of somebody serving soup from a large container

What is volunteering?

Reading time: 9 mins

Two women working in an office; one is sat working on a laptop while another is writing things down in a notebook.

What is a vacation scheme?

Reading time: 9 mins

Male broadcast engineer working in a television studio

What is an industrial placement?

Reading time: 6 mins

Two men working on computers in an office. They are programmers completing a code inspection.

What is an internship?

Reading time: 9 mins

Four people sat around a wooden table having a conversation, while working using laptops and notebooks.

What are graduate schemes and jobs?

Reading time: 13 mins