Can You Apply For Jobs Before You Graduate? - Milkround

You’re in the right place if you’re wondering…

• “Can I apply for a job before I get my degree?”

Yes, you can apply for a job before you have your degree.

The typical hiring process spans several weeks and sometimes months.

So, if you want to start a graduate job or an entry-level job soon after you’ve graduated, you’ll need to start applying for jobs months before your graduation.

If you want to get onto a graduate scheme, you’ll have to start applying around October to February, when most graduate scheme applications open. See our “When should I start applying for graduate jobs?” guide.

Typical stages of a hiring process

The hiring process can take anywhere between three weeks and two months or more.

From an employer’s perspective, these are the typical hiring process stages:

1. Advertise a job
2. Receive applications
3. The Human Resources (HR) team or the talent acquisition department filter out applications from candidates who aren’t suitable for the job (known as ‘screening applicants’)
4. A hiring manager or hiring decision-makers evaluate suitable applicants, and create a list of the promising candidates (known as ‘shortlisting candidates’)
5. HR or the talent acquisition team phone or video-call shortlisted candidates to see if they’re genuine applicants and decide whether they would be a good fit for the role (known as ‘screening interviews’)
6. The employer invites shortlisted candidates who passed the screening interview stage to an in-person, phone or video interview
7. The interview stage varies for each employer – it could be a single interview with the hiring manager or involve multiple interviews and a series of assessments
8. The employer offers the preferred candidate the job
9. The preferred candidate either accepts the offer (after negotiation) or declines it and the job is typically offered to the next best candidate
10. If the preferred candidate accepts, the job contract and associated paperwork is drawn up, and the candidate is told their start date
11. Employee starts job

If a recruitment agency is advertising the job, its consultants will review applicants and decide whether or not to put them forward for the employer’s consideration.

When should I start applying for graduate jobs?

If you want to start a job shortly after graduating, you should start applying for them about two months before your course completes.

The time you need to apply will depend on the industry you’re hoping to work in and the company’s individual recruitment process. But a good starting point is between one and two months before you finish university.

If you want some free time between graduating and starting your first job, you can wait until after completing your course before applying for jobs.

The time between applying for a job and starting a job is generally from six to eight weeks.

When should I start applying for graduate schemes?

Read our guide: