Obviously the majority of the opportunities offered by exhibitors at the Careers Fair are Graduate Recruitment Programs. These programs are targeted directly at students who are in their final year in the anticipation that they will commence work the following year.

 However, some employers are also offering vacation work, internships, work experience, scholarships and co-op programs. These opportunities are typically available to students who are in their second or penultimate (second-last) year of study.

 

The exhibitors who attend the UQ careers fair all have open graduate programs and are actively seeking available candidates for these roles. To find out more information on the roles that are provided, review the employers who are interested in your discipline.

 

A graduate recruitment program is usually a 1 – 2 year program offered to graduates from a variety of disciplines by large and medium sized firms and government organisations. Firms will recruit up to a year in advance and often target students in their final year to commence work on completion of their degree at the beginning of the following year.  

 

Despite the obvious reasons of being able to get in early to source outstanding new talent, larger companies now understand the importance of recruiting the right person for the role and ensuring that they provide a tailored and valuable program for you; this takes a lot of time to coordinate!

 

Graduate positions offered through a graduate recruitment program commonly provide opportunities not always found in jobs open to any applicant. These opportunities may include; an extensive induction and training program, direct promotion in to management roles, structured rotations through different areas of the organisation, a formal mentoring program with senior staff, additional training, social clubs, support for further study and a career development plan.

 

Graduate recruitment programs are highly selective and offer a great start to your career. Sourcing graduate employment before the completion of your degree also provides a certain level of peace of mind.

 

For the company the graduate recruitment program is an important strategic objective aimed at developing the graduate to effectively contribute to the achievement of company goals and at the same time maintain long term workforce needs. They will structure the program to run over 1 – 2 years so that successful candidates will be able to experience all the different areas or services that make up the whole of the company. At the conclusion of the program, candidates are usually given the opportunity to decide what area they would prefer to continue their employment in.

 

It is pertinent to remember that Graduate Programs receive thousands of applications for only a hand full of available positions. Therefore, if you want to make an impression on an employer you are particularly interested in, it is important that you put in place steps before, during and after the fair to make yourself stand out as a likely candidate.

 

The Careers and Graduate Employment Opportunities unit, a unit of Student Services, has put together a fact sheet on how you can best prepare for the careers fair, how you can research employers effectively and even what kind of questions you can ask them about their positions and organisation.

 

As most graduate programs require successful candidates to possess Permanent Residency, the number of available positions for international students are quite limited. However, it is important to remember that graduate programs are not the only type of graduate employment available. The Careers Fair can provide international students with a fantastic opportunity to start speaking to employers about the different industry’s in Australia and what certain jobs entail. This will assist preparation for applying for jobs in your home country or considering alternative opportunities in Australia.

 

You can review the profiles of all of the employers who are attending on the Careers Fair website. Within the employer profiles, apart from the employers profile and career opportunities, information is also provided on the employers website and in most cases an employer contact for further follow up about applications and positions.