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Recruiting our students and graduates

Career and Employability Services provide a free, online advertising service for a wide range of vacancies suitable for new and recent graduates and current students.

Vacancies are released daily onto our fully searchable database from Handshake where you can add your company information and upload opportunities, sign up for Handshake today.

You can advertise:

  • graduate positions
  • placements and internships
  • part-time or casual jobs

With our jobs board, jobseekers can search on a wide range of options including location, degree subject and type of work.

They can also set up automatic email alerts, so if your opportunity matches their search criteria they will receive email notification of your vacancy.

Recruitment information and advice

We are here to assist you:

If you are new to recruitment or if you are looking for ways to improve on how you currently recruit, we can help. The Employer and Placement Services Team will offer you advice and assistance on:

  • how and where to advertise your vacancy
  • shortlisting - what to look for in a CV or application form
  • interview techniques
  • selecting the best candidate for the role
  • best practice in EDI for recruitment

Contact employerservices@bradford.ac.uk or telephone 01274 234991 to get in touch today.

About our students and graduates

Our courses are designed with industry input and we work with national, international and local businesses. Our courses are taught by professionals from within these industries, so you can rely on our graduates to have the skills they need to succeed and the confidence to use them.

Developing employability skills is at the heart of our students' experience at the University of Bradford.

In Bradford we refer to these skills as the Nine Employability Capabilities and they are an integral part of the courses offered at the University:

  • Management of self and own performance
  • Professional values
  • Communication skills and presentation of self
  • Team and customer working
  • Problem solving and decision making
  • Innovation and enterprise
  • Information and digital literacy
  • Financial literacy
  • Business and commercial awareness

Part-time and casual work

Students can offer a wide range of skills and support to your organisation when you need them. They bring a cost effective and flexible solution to your workforce needs. A large percentage of our students work part-time whilst studying and they are usually available in the evenings, at weekends and at occasional times during weekdays.

Examples of part-time and casual jobs that are often filled by students are:

  • customer service / call centre
  • market research / surveys
  • administration / data input
  • telesales / marketing
  • IT support, web design, database work
  • hospitality / bar work
  • retail / shop floor / stock control
  • translating / interpreting

In light of the demands of their academic study, we do not recommend that students commit to more than 15 hours of work per week during term time but this of course can be extended in vacation periods – Christmas, Easter and Summer (June to September).

Salaries vary from the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and upwards. See the current National Minimum Wage rates.

Short term placements and summer internships

Work experience

Whatever type of work experience opportunity you can offer - placements, summer internships, work shadowing, projects or volunteering - we can help you make contact with interested students.

Many of our programmes at the University offer placement options as part of the course, either short term or for a year in industry. Opportunities for you to recruit or involve students in your work are wide ranging, including:

  • Short term placements from a few days to a few months
  • Flexible term time and vacation project work
  • Summer internships
  • Voluntary work
  • MBA projects/ consultancy

Get in touch with us to discuss how offering work experience to students can benefit your organisation.

Internships and the minimum wage

Unless specifically exempted by law, all workers must be paid the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and organisations offering work experience, including placements and internships, must determine whether the student or graduate constitutes a ‘worker’, and is therefore entitled to the NMW, or if a legal exemption applies to them. Failure to pay the NMW to someone who is entitled to it is against the law (Department for Business Innovation & Skills, 2012).

Career and Employability Services will endeavour to assist employers engage with the University of Bradford, its students and graduates as appropriate by promoting vacancies on their behalf.

We can advertise all types of vacancy where roles are to be paid at least NMW, taking into consideration the following exemptions:

  • Students engaged in work experience as part of their higher education course and where the placement does not exceed one year.
  • Voluntary workers who provide their time and effort completely free and with no contractual agreement.
  • Work shadowing where the placement consists entirely of work shadowing with no performed work.

Industrial placement year

Every year, the University of Bradford has a large number of undergraduate students available for placements of 9-12 months. This experience usually forms the third year of their four-year course, so they will be looking to put into practice the knowledge and skills that they have already gained.

The benefits to you

You will find you have someone who brings fresh ideas, a new approach and a real motivation to make an immediate contribution to your business. A work placement has been proven to be an extremely cost effective way of managing a project or filling a resource gap and, of course, provides a possible future recruit who will already know your business and be making a valuable contribution. In a challenging economy it can also be a creative solution to a recruitment freeze or cut back.

The full range of courses can be seen on the University of Bradford website and for specific disciplines and subject areas please go to the relevant web pages below:

"We've had a number of students from University of Bradford School of Management on marketing placements and on each occasion we've been delighted not only with the quality of the students, but also with the help and support given by the University's Placement team throughout the recruitment process." (Marketing Officer, Calderdale Council)

How much will it cost you?

The University makes no charge for placements; you just pay the student the agreed salary for the time they are with you.

How does it work?

One of the main aims of the University of Bradford is to “make knowledge work” and as such the placement should provide work in an environment with genuine responsibility and exposure to the day-to-day issues facing your business. The job content is entirely down to you and we can support you through this as necessary.

Timescale

September onwards

  • Advertise your placement at any point from September through to July for an expected summer start date
  • Run selection process – as you choose, but we can provide advice, resources and facilities
  • Select student – make job offer to student, copied to us, with start and end dates, salary and holiday details.

June - September

  • Student usually starts work anytime from the beginning of June to the end of September and works for a period of 12 months.

Each course has a Placement Coordinator who will provide you with further information, advice and requirements for their students.

Please contact the Employer Services Team on 01274 234991 for further help or email employerservices@bradford.ac.uk.

Other recommended advertising

Opportunities in Yorkshire

Yorkshire Graduates is managed in partnership with the region's University Careers Services and works to bring employers and graduates together. Their website gives information on the resources and help available to recruiters, and promotes graduate jobs and careers in the Yorkshire and Humber area.

They will advertise your opportunities through their website and offer you advice and comprehensive graduate recruitment services, including information on training and induction if you are new to graduate recruitment.

Recommended websites

You can see which specialist websites we recommend. This list is not meant to be comprehensive but it does give a starting point for students and graduates to search for specialist areas of work, or for work in particular sectors.

Further Information

Support against employment fraud

Jobs Aware is a joint industry and law enforcement non-profit organisation campaigning against job-related fraud. They work to advise and support job seekers who fall victim to job scams, but also aim to support employers ion how to protect themselves against employment fraud, from application fraud through to insider theft. 

Advice and guidance on degree fraud - A toolkit for employers from Prospects HEDD.

For information for recruitment agencies and advice on employing international students, please see the documents below.

AGCAS - Best Practice in Graduate Recruitment

If you are advertising a vacancy on behalf of a client, then in order for us to comply with AGCAS guidelines, we need the details of the client on whose behalf you are recruiting. This information will be kept confidential.

If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact our team. You can also read our Website Accessibility Statement.

Recruiting International Graduates

If you would like to employ one of our international students, information and advice about the working regulations.

If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact our team. You can also read our Website Accessibility Statement.