Talk to us
We offer a range of appointments - online and in person - tailored to suit your requirements. If you're not sure whether you need an appointment, send us a message via Handshake or come in to see us and we can help you decide.
Don't forget, our website can also help answer some of your initial questions.
If you have a disability or long-term health condition that makes it difficult for you to access appointments, please contact us in advance to request any reasonable adjustments that would help you. Examples of adjustments we offer - you can send the Careers Information Team a message in Handshake, or email careers@york.ac.uk
Appointments are in high demand, so it is important that you attend any appointment you have booked. Please cancel your appointment if you cannot attend or no longer need it. This allows another student to book the slot instead.
We will send reminders about your appointment, so ensure your Handshake settings are set to receive notifications (this can be via email and/or Handshake notification).
Appointments policy for students and graduates (MS Word 
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Getting started
Careers Drop-in
Who is it for? All students of any course or year group.
When and where is it available? Monday to Thursday in semester time from 10am to 12 noon (first floor of the Fairhurst Building) and 1pm to 3pm (Church Lane Building. Individual discussions last 10 - 15 minutes each.
Do I need to book? No, just come along during the session, take a numbered card and wait to be seen.
What can I discuss?
- where to find relevant careers information and advice
- getting started with career ideas
- finding work experience and internships/part-time work/volunteering opportunities
- preparing your CV to apply for jobs and work experience*
- exploring different types of careers
* time constraints at Careers Drop-In may mean we cannot review the whole of a CV, but we can give feedback on single sections.
Don't forget the Careers and Placements website has lots of information that might help answer some of your initial questions.
More in-depth advice and guidance
Careers advice appointment
Who are these appointments for? Final year undergraduates, taught postgraduates and graduates of the University. Careers advice appointments are available to other year groups on referral from Careers Drop-In only.
When and where are they available? Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 6pm in semester time (times vary during vacations). Appointments are 30 minutes long and either in-person or online (via Zoom) options are available. In-person appointments typically take place in Careers and Placements (first floor of the Fairhurst Building).
How do I book? Login to Handshake, click on Careers Centre / Appointments / Request an appointment / follow the instructions on-screen. When you choose an appointment time, you need to select the careers advice option.
What can I discuss?
- Reflect on your current position and, if applicable, your work history
- Target your information search and plan your next steps
- Consider career choices and gain support with your decision making
- Get advice on preparing for your interview or assessment centre
- Deal with unsuccessful job applications, identifying problems and finding solutions
- Consider ways to maximise your current career opportunities
- Consider solutions to barriers you feel are impacting on your career goals
Postgraduate research student careers advice
Who are these appointments for? Postgraduate research students.
When and where are they available? Monday to Friday. Appointments are 30 minutes long and either in-person or online (via Zoom) options are available. In-person appointments typically take place in Careers and Placements (first floor of the Fairhurst Building).
How do I book? Login to Handshake, click on Careers Centre / Appointments / Request an appointment / follow the instructions on-screen. If you can't find an appointment, please contact the Careers and Placements Team to arrange a mutually convenient time.
What can I discuss? Whether you are hoping to stay in academia or are looking at careers in other sectors, use this appointment with the Careers Consultant to discuss any aspect of career management, including:
- Building skills and experience
- Generating career ideas and exploring options
- Decision making and identifying next steps decision making
- Applications and recruitment
- Interview preparation/mock interview (please state in the appointment booking notes what you are applying for)
See also: Graduate School careers site
Supported Career Planning
In addition to the service offered to all students and graduates, Supported Career Planning offers extended 1-1 careers support to help eligible students and graduates progress your career plans and navigate any barriers you might face.
You will work with the same consistent Careers Advisor who will get to know you and your individual needs. How you use your time together is completely up to you, whether that means 1 or 2 hours of focused support for a specific career goal, or ongoing guidance over time up to a maximum of 6 hours.
To be eligible for Supported Career Planning, you must be a University of York undergraduate home student, or a University of York home graduate (with a bachelor's degree) who graduated in the last 12 months, with one or more of the personal circumstances listed below.
Personal Circumstances:
- Disabled students, including those with a long term health or mental health condition, and students with a neurodiversity such as Autistic Spectrum Condition, ADHD, ADD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Dyspraxia
- Students who are care leavers
- Students who are care experienced
- Estranged students (The term ‘estranged student’ describes someone who has no communication with both of their biological or adoptive parents, and the situation is likely to remain permanent)
- Students in receipt of a York Bursary or Care Leavers and Estranged Students Bursary
- -Students who were eligible for free school meals or discretionary payments at high school/college (not including universal infant free school meals)
- Students who the address they lived at before applying to university is within an IMD Quintile 1 postcode area (only applicable to UK postcodes, please email careers@york.ac.uk if you’d like us to check this for you)
To access this support please read the Supported Career Planning page and complete the short application form.
Mock interview
Who are these appointments for? Final year undergraduates, taught postgraduates, graduates of the University with a job or course interview scheduled. Mock interviews are available to other year groups on referral from Careers Drop-In only.
When and where are they available? Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 6pm in semester time (times vary in vacations). Mock interviews are 30 minutes long and either in-person or online (via Zoom) options are available. In-person appointments typically take place in Careers and Placements (first floor of the Fairhurst Building).
How do I book? Login to Handshake, click on Careers Centre / Appointments / Request an appointment / follow the instructions on-screen. When you choose an appointment time, you need to select the mock interview option.
What happens in a mock interview?
- You can practise answering competency-based interview questions in a safe environment, with expert feedback on your approach.
- A Careers Consultant will use generic interview questions, so you do not need to send us your application and job description in advance.
- The focus will be on how you answer questions and perform during an interview.
Try this first:
Prepare for your interview by using the tips on the interviews page, and practise answering interview questions using Shortlist.Me.
Postgraduate Research students, please book a Postgraduate Research student careers appointment (details above) for your mock interview if possible.
Due to student demand we can't give repeat mock interviews for the same job or course interview.
Postgraduate research student mock interview
Who are these appointments for? Postgraduate research students with a job interview scheduled.
When and where are they available? Monday to Friday. Appointments are 30 minutes long and either in-person or online (via Zoom) options are available. In-person appointments typically take place in Careers and Placements (first floor of the Fairhurst Building).
How do I book? Login to Handshake, click on Careers Centre / Appointments / Request an appointment / follow the instructions on-screen. If you can't find an appointment, please contact the Careers and Placements Team to arrange a mutually convenient time.
What happens in a mock interview?
- You can practise answering competency-based interview questions in a safe environment, with expert feedback on your approach.
- A Careers Consultant will use generic interview questions, so you do not need to send us your application and job description in advance.
- The focus will be on how you answer questions and perform during an interview.
Try this first:
Prepare for your interview by using the tips on the interviews page, and practise answering interview questions using Shortlist.Me.
Due to student demand we can't give repeat mock interviews for the same job or course interview.
Placement/year in industry appointment
Who are these appointments for? Second Year or Integrated Masters students who are:
- already on a Year in Industry route OR
- who have registered their interest in completing a placement next academic year
When are they available? Throughout the week in semester time. Appointments are 20 minutes long and in-person or online (via Zoom) options are available.
How do I book? Login to Handshake, click on Careers Centre / Appointments / Request an appointment / follow the instructions on-screen.
When booking an appointment please aim to select the member of the Placements Team who is associated with your degree subject. If you are not sure who to contact or book an appointment with, please email careers-placements@york.ac.uk
What can I discuss?
- Reflect on your current placement position
- Consider your next placement steps
- Review an unsuccessful placement application
- Discuss a specific placement application
Try this first:
Visit the Placement Year/Year in Industry web page for initial information, and to register your interest if you are in the relevant year of study.
Use Careers Drop-In to:
- Ask general questions about completing a placement as part of the University’s Placement Year module. Remember to check the Placement Year/Year in Industry web page in case the answer to your question is referenced there
- Get help with starting your placement search
Enterprise appointment
Who are these appointments for? Students of any year/course who have a business idea or want to explore enterprise issues.
When are they available? At various times during the week. Appointments are 30 minutes long and are online (via Zoom) only.
How do I book? Login to Handshake, click on Careers Centre / Appointments / Request an appointment / follow the instructions on-screen. If you can't find an appointment, please contact our Enterprise Officer (samuel.smith@york.ac.uk) to arrange a mutually convenient time.
What can I discuss?
- your business idea
- test your proof of concept
- find out about funding your business idea
Try this first:
Find information and advice on the Enterprise web pages and get involved with Enterprise courses and activities.
CV/application feedback
Follow these steps when writing your CV:
- Use the resources in Applying and interviewing for help with CVs, cover letters and applications, and Applying for further study for personal statements. What to include in a CV, how best to present it and examples of CVs can be found on the CV page
- Get immediate feedback on your CV from CareerSet. This gives feedback on the basics, but can also compare your CV with a job description to help you tailor your application. While CareerSet uses AI to provide feedback, it does not write your CV for you nor does it use your information to learn from to develop its service.
- After using CareerSet, you can get feedback from one of our team at Careers Drop-In. Please note:
- time constraints mean we can only review one section of your CV during Careers Drop-In, so we may not have time to review the whole document
- we do not offer repeat feedback on the same document. Please use the initial feedback and apply the principles to the rest of your CV
Booking and preparing for an appointment
If you have a disability and feel you would benefit more from a longer appointment, please get in touch to request this. Where appropriate, you are welcome to invite your support worker to a careers appointment, and can contact us in advance to book a time to suit everyone - send a message on Handshake or email careers@york.ac.uk.
How to book your appointment
Once you've explored the resources on our website, book an appointment through Handshake:
- Click on Career Centre/Appointments/Request an appointment
- Choose your year of study from those listed in Choose a category
- Choose which type of appointment you would like from those listed. You will typically be able to select in-person (in the Fairhurst Building or Church Lane Building), or to see both in-person and online appointments select No preference (this will display all available appointments).
- Choose a date and time
- Complete the form and click Request
Appointments run on weekdays and are bookable a week in advance.
Please note, once you have booked your appointment, you cannot change how you access the appointment (eg if you book an online appointment, you cannot change it to in-person or vice-versa).
During vacations
During University vacations we offer a reduced number of appointments.
Do I need to prepare for my appointment?
To get the most from your advice appointment please prepare beforehand as many initial questions can be answered by:
- using the website
- sending an enquiry to the Careers and Placements Team via Handshake
- coming to a Careers Drop-in which runs Monday to Thursday, 10am to 12 noon and 1pm to 3pm in semester-time
Attending my appointment
- Careers Drop-In and careers advice in-person appointments are available in Careers and Placements (first floor of the Harry Fairhurst Building or the Church Lane Building). Other appointments may be offered in-person (in other locations) or online; check your confirmation message for details, and the link, if an online appointment.
- We will try to start the appointments promptly. If the previous appointment has overrun, we will still try to ensure your get a full appointment.
Attending an online appointment:
- Find a quiet, private space: choose a place with minimal background noise and distractions so you can speak freely and focus on your session.
- Check your connection: ensure you have a stable internet connection and test your microphone and audio before the appointment starts.
- Turn on your camera: we strongly encourage keeping your camera on throughout the session. Face-to-face interaction helps build rapport and prepares you for professional online work environments and video interviews.
- Join on time: log in a few minutes early to resolve any technical issues before your start time - you will enter a waiting room before your appointment starts.
- Have key materials ready: keep your CV, application details, notes, or any questions open and ready to share on your screen if needed.
If you are unable to attend, please cancel as soon as possible on Handshake, so another student can book the appointment time. To cancel an appointment:
-
- Login to Handshake
- Click on the Appointments tab
- Click on Upcoming appointment (the one you wish to cancel)
- Click on Cancel appointment