Employability

Top recruiters target our graduates, and our comprehensive Careers Service provides information, support and a huge range of career development activities. Many of our courses are also informed directly by the current needs of industry and employers.

Graduate prospects

We are the most targeted university by top graduate employers (High Flyers Research, 2023).

The high number of Manchester graduates who remain here each year is testimony to the fact that good employment prospects exist in this lively, vibrant city.

Greater Manchester is home to a number of international corporations, companies and large organisations, all of which actively recruit graduates each year. In addition, an enormous variety of small- and medium-sized companies in the area also seek out motivated new graduates.

Careers Service

All students have access to expert advisers and resources at our Careers Service throughout their time at Manchester, and for two years after graduation. We encourage students to use our Careers Service from their first year of study, to benefit from:

  • participation in careers education courses and workshops;
  • one-to-one advice via email or face-to-face appointments with specialist careers consultants;
  • meeting prospective employers at career fairs, talks and presentations, to find out more about jobs opportunities and make useful contacts;
  • one-to-one mentoring from an expert in their field of interest;
  • participation in our Manchester Leadership Programme, which improves students’ employability by giving them insight into current global leadership challenges and hands-on skills-development opportunities via volunteering work;
  • thousands of advertisements for work experience, internships, part-time jobs and graduate positions.

Find out more about our Careers Service.

Postgraduate study

Manchester has a long and impressive record of academic achievement and we are internationally recognised for our postgraduate teaching and research. Excellent facilities and a world­wide reputation for high-quality research consistently make Manchester one of the most popular centres for postgraduate study in the UK.

Among our thousands of postgraduate students are many who have built on their undergraduate studies at Manchester.

Part-time work

Many students now take a part-time job during their studies and we are ideally placed to help students find local opportunities.

Our Careers Service advertises vacancies at hundreds of organisations in the Greater Manchester area, from retail, customer service and hospitality jobs to web design and translation work. It offers students advice on writing CVs, applying for part-time jobs and going to interviews, and also advises them not to undertake too many hours so that they can balance work with their studies.

The University itself also recruits students for some roles, including student ambassadors and hospitality staff in the Students’ Union.

Career input from parents and supporters

As well as encouraging students to make the most of all our career development opportunities, you could use your professional expertise to contribute towards our careers services. This could include career mentoring, running a talk or presentation on your area of expertise – or, if you are an employer, even advertising an internship or graduate job at your place of work.

Find out more about how we work with recruiters.