As a graduate, the search for suitable job opportunities can be overwhelming. Job boards are a great place to start, as they assist in rationalising your exploration and can lessen the effort involved, alerting you to appropriate vacancies.
There are a wide range of job boards on offer, with different sector, industry, or career level focuses.
Many offer careers advice and the option to upload your CV for more targeted insights and easy application.
This article explores ten of the best UK job boards for soon-to-be or recent graduates.
Which job boards are the best for graduate job seekers?
You’ll want to invest your time searching for career opportunities using a job board that returns useful and appropriate job postings that pique your interest.
The list below will help you to choose the right job board(s) for you, to optimise your job search and land your ideal role.
1. Indeed
Indeed is one of the most popular job sites worldwide. Simple to use and free to access, it has been helping jobseekers find roles since 2004.
Its interface enables you to search for opportunities filtered by job title, keywords, company name or location. New opportunities are constantly uploaded, at an astounding rate of 10 vacancies per second across the globe.
If you create a free account as a jobseeker, you can upload your CV to make lodging applications easier. There is also a direct messaging function, so you can communicate with recruiters and employers within the platform.
To ensure you never miss a vacancy, set up alerts for companies or role types that interest you.
You can use Indeed’s ‘Find Salaries’ function to search for jobs according to salary level and explore job satisfaction. You can browse top-paying jobs by sector or company.
There is the option to get an estimated calculation of your salary range and to see how your earnings compare based on experience, job role and location.
Indeed also provides company reviews, so you can explore ratings and read testimonials from employees.
2. Save the Student
Save the Student is a student website covering the topics of finance, accommodation and recruitment. You can use the site to search for part-time jobs, graduate jobs, and grad schemes.
The live graduate job search engine aggregates vacancies suitable for Save the Student’s audience from UK graduate job websites and agencies. Opportunities can be filtered according to keywords and job location.
In addition to the search function, there are useful articles on topics such as average graduate salaries, improving your CV, and how-to guides on breaking into particular roles or sectors.
3. Graduate Recruitment Bureau
Graduate Recruitment Bureau is a free student and graduate careers platform. Since 1997, GRB has helped graduates to get their feet on the job ladder, through listing graduate jobs and schemes, alongside placement years and internships.
The site features opportunities with leading employers as well as at exciting start-ups. It also offers career matchmaking for all members. GRB has teams working to match graduates according to their course disciplines.
Once you’ve created your profile, the team for your discipline will review it and analyse your strengths and skills to increase the accuracy of your job recommendations. The team can also offer one-to-one CV and interview support.
The site also features content providing careers advice, CV guides and templates.
4. TargetJobs
TargetJobs connects students and graduates with internship and graduate job opportunities.
You can search for jobs according to sector and browse TargetJobs’ employer profiles. The site indicates whether the company is featured in the UK 300 top graduate employers list, displays the number of graduate vacancies on offer and provides advice on how to get hired.
It also provides insider reviews, so jobseekers can hear what it’s like working for the company from recent graduates and interns.
Target Jobs is much more than just a job board – it offers extensive careers advice regarding job hunting and the recruitment process. There are articles on career planning, CVs, working abroad, assessment centres, and interviews, among other topics.
5. LinkedIn
LinkedIn remains one of the best places to search for a graduate job. It’s not just a professional social networking platform, but an extensive jobs database.
Sign up for a free account and create a profile to browse open jobs. You can search by job title, skill or company, and set up alerts for when jobs that fit your profile come online.
LinkedIn Salary also helps you explore and compare remuneration across sectors, job titles and locations.
LinkedIn also provides the functionality to get in touch with members of the recruitment team for an open vacancy via direct message, to answer any queries you may have regarding the hiring process.
Make the most of the platform by using LinkedIn to make your network aware that you are seeking a new opportunity. Don’t be afraid to respectfully reach out to companies and contacts.
6. Prospects
More than 2 million monthly visitors makes Prospects the largest UK graduate job site. It provides access to a large portfolio of graduate career and postgraduate study listings and is now part of Jisc, a non-profit that supports higher education and research in the UK.
Prospects works in close partnership with higher and further education bodies and government, providing information and advice to graduate jobseekers, as well as linking them with the best opportunities.
You can use the site to search graduate jobs according to sector, location and salary. If you create a free account, you can set up job alerts and create a shortlist of opportunities.
Prospects also features extensive job profiles, to help guide graduates who are unsure about their career path.
Its Future You series provides useful guidance via easily digestible podcasts and webinars.
7. Grad Cracker
Grad Cracker is a careers website geared towards STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) students and graduates.
Graduate jobs can be explored under the following curated sections: chemical/process engineering, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, civil/building engineering, sciences, maths, and aerospace.
You can also search vacancies according to the company, using Grad Cracker’s company hubs.
Members can follow employers, set alerts, and add vacancies to their job shortlist.
Alongside its job board, Grad Cracker provides career advice via webinars and e-books. This CareerCentre helps graduates to evaluate opportunities and present as strong candidates in the recruitment process.
8. Digital Grads
Digital Grads helps to match graduates with career opportunities in the technology and media sectors. You’ll need to sign up for free to browse and apply for roles.
The job board features a range of innovative and entrepreneurial roles across areas such as fintech, software, gaming, marketing and edtech.
On the site, you can create a comprehensive profile that acts as your digital CV. If you need any support, the Digital Grads team will help you to identify areas for improvement.
The site also features free personal development training, such as online workshops on job-hunting, interviews, and working within the tech sector.
9. Milkround
Milkround allows you to streamline your search for a graduate job, grad scheme, internship, or placement. You can search for opportunities by sector, location or company. The user interface and A-Z tool makes exploring roles very straightforward.
If you register for a free account, you can create alerts, save jobs, and apply for roles via the platform.
Milkround features articles providing career advice, as well as a list of the top employers each year (by sector), their starting salaries, and number of graduate vacancies.
You can also take Milkround’s personality quiz, to help identify roles that are well suited for you.
10. Reed
Reed is used by over 250,000 companies and provides a large database of job opportunities. Daily, over 9,000 new jobs are added to the site, so it is a great place to look for your ideal role.
Graduate job seekers can search for roles by sector or location and set up alerts for their favourite companies. There is also the option to upload your CV.
In addition to its job board, Reed offers career and recruitment advice regarding CVs, cover letters, and impressing at interviews.
It also provides both free and paid online courses, via Reed Courses, to help jobseekers gain new qualifications and boost their employability.