Applications and interviews
Finding academic opportunities
Skills training
Book your place on these courses:
Search for forthcoming sessions on Skillsforge.
- Academic Careers: CVs and Applications
- Academic Careers: Interviews
- Non-Academic Careers: CVs and Applications
- Non-Academic Careers: Interviews
You can also enrol on the Career Management for Early Career Academic Researchers MOOC on Futurelearn. This free course is available from October to June.
These websites offer a broad range of opportunities for researchers and research graduates:
- Jobs.ac.uk
- Times Higher Education university jobs
- Findapostdoc.com
- Postdocjobs.com
- AcademicjobsEU.com
- Euraxess
- Innovate UK graduate vacancies
Applications and interviews for academic posts
CVs, applications and interviews for academic posts typically follow a different format to applications and interviews for non-academic jobs. Find out more:
- Pursuing an academic career (Vitae)
- How to apply for an academic job (Jobs.ac.uk e-book)
Non-academic opportunities
Job sectors
Find information about recruitment sites typically used by various sectors:
- Job sectors
- Job sectors
(Prospects.ac.uk)
If you are searching for opportunities outside academia, you may need to use a variety of job sites.
- Look for work
- Handshake
- Find adverts for PhD jobs outside academia (University of Manchester)
- Jobs.ac.uk includes professional, administrative and support roles in higher education
- Searching for scientific opportunities
Applications and interviews for non-academic jobs
- Apply for jobs includes information about application forms, CVs, interviews, psychometric tests and assessment centres (typically used by large employers)
- Job Hunting Toolkit for advice on searching for opportunities and a myth busting section
- Upload your CV to CareerSet to get instant feedback on your CV based on language, content, formatting and impact, together with suggestions for improvement (university login required)
- Creating effective CVs as a researcher (Vitae)
Practise your interview skills
- Book a postgraduate careers advice appointment or mock interview slot to practice your interview skills and get feedback
- Record and review a video mock interview using Shortlist.Me
Global Careers
International students seeking employment in the UK
- Advice about working in the UK during and after your PhD
An academic career outside the UK
If you are seeking to develop an academic career outside the UK, jobs.ac.uk has a series of guides to postdoctoral careers in different countries.
GoinGlobal is a resource that allows you research employment options in over 40 countries. It includes: job search resources; job and internship opportunities; recruitment and application advice; employer directories; networking resources; cultural issues; LGBTQ travel guides; global and USA city guides (University of York log-in required).
Using social media in your job search
Employers will often use social media to promote opportunities. Many recruitment agencies use LinkedIn to search for potential candidates so it is important to have a professional presence. You can also use social media platforms for research that can help you to create more tailored applications, such as searching out individuals, professional interest groups, or following employers to get updates on their activities.
Find out how to get the most out of social media:
- LinkedIn for Students
- Becoming a Digital Citizen: an Introduction to the Digital Society (FutureLearn online course)
- The importance of maintaining your social media profile (Jobs.ac.uk)
- Social media and job hunting (Prospects.ac.uk)
Get advice from Careers and Placements
Careers and Placements staff offer a range of appointments for you to discuss your next steps, find information and gain support with applications and recruitment. Find out more about the different types of appointment available. Appointments can be booked online using Handshake.