This marks six consecutive years in a top five position, and over a decade in a top 10 position.

We work with nearly 3,000 employers – from PwC and Capital One through to Boots and the NHS – resulting in a total of nearly 40,000 graduate jobs, internships, and volunteering opportunities promoted through our free jobs board.

Simply by studying at the University of Nottingham, you already have a foot-up in the job market, but with recruitment levels falling back to those last seen in 2012, the market is more competitive than ever.

There are plenty of resources and opportunities available at the University of Nottingham to help you stand out from the crowd and make you even more employable.

Meet employers

The easiest way to meet and speak to employers is at one of our careers fairs. It’s best to start the conversation as early as possible, so keep an eye out for the Summer Careers Fair.

Careers fairs aside, there are plenty of employer recruitment events taking place all year round, both online and in person. You can find a comprehensive list on our employer recruitment events webpage.

Connect with our alumni

There are a wide range of opportunities to connect with Nottingham alumni, from careers events to mentoring programmes, providing you with insights into the career paths graduates have taken after Nottingham.

Discover job and sector insights at careers events such as ‘Where are they now’ and ‘Spotlight on’, giving you the opportunity to hear directly from alumni working in a wide range of roles and industries.

There are also mentoring programmes, such as the Future Ready Mentoring programme, designed specifically for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Future Ready Mentoring offers four months of one-to-one support with an alumni mentor. It’s a chance for you to grow your skills and confidence while building valuable professional relationships. Applications for this year are now closed but keep an eye out next year.

Find an internship or placement

Even if you’re not on a course that has a built-in placement, there are internship and placement opportunities available for everyone, allowing you to develop essential workplace skills before you’ve completed your studies. If you’re short on time, consider a micro-placement that lasts just two weeks.

Find an internship or placement that works for you.

Enrol in a skills-development programme

The Nottingham Advantage Award (NAA) is open to everyone and formally recognised in your degree transcript. These extracurricular modules allow you to develop essential work-based skills and understand how to demonstrate these to employers. It makes a great inclusion for your CV or LinkedIn profile.

The Nottingham Consultancy Challenge – which relaunches in 2026/27 – provides hands-on consultancy work experience, while the Sustainability Challenge gives you the opportunity to develop innovative ideas. Look out for these next year.

Expressions of interest are now open for next year’s EDI Challenge, which will be a chance to build your problem-solving and teamwork skills, and interact with graduate employers.

To those of you already using our Careers and Employability Service: do keep going. To those who haven’t yet: it’s never too late to start. You’re studying at a university top employers know and trust, and we’re here to help you make the most of every opportunity that comes your way.

If you’re graduating in 2026, don’t forget that you get lifetime careers support from the University of Nottingham.