Understanding the UK recruitment process

Find out about the structure of the typical graduate recruitment process to give you an idea of timescales and help you feel more confident about what to expect.

When you think of graduate jobs you might automatically think of graduate training schemes - but these structured programmes with major employers represent only a small proportion of the jobs suitable for graduates. Many more of our graduates gain graduate jobs in large, medium and smaller organisations that recruit as and when they need graduate level talent. These are sometimes called direct entry roles.  

Graduate schemes

The recruitment process for a graduate scheme can take several months from start to finish. 

Many schemes have closing dates before Christmas of your final year; others recruit on a rolling basis all year round until they are full. The process will include several different stages, although the order of the early stages can vary, and some of the early elements, such as the online tests, may be repeated at the assessment centre.

A graduate scheme process may include:

  • Online application form or CV and cover letter (sometimes application form and CV together):

CVs and Applications

  • Online selection tests, also called aptitude tests; typically verbal reasoning and numerical reasoning but this will vary
  • Gamification - or game based assessment – incorporate online game elements, often in the early stages of the process. They may be used in tandem with, or as an alternative to, traditional selection tests:

Selection tests

  • Interviews; formats can vary widely, depending on the type of job and organisation, from digital to in-person. Recorded digital interviews often replace telephone interviews, during the early stages of the interview process:

Before your interview

  • Assessment centre, with a variety of activities:

Assessment centres

Graduate jobs

Selection stages and recruitment processes for graduate jobs can be similar to graduate scheme recruitment; however medium and smaller companies are: 

  • more likely to recruit far closer to the time they need you
  • more likely to rely on CV, cover letter and interview
  • less likely to use selection tests and assessment centres
  • less likely to specify 2.1/2.2
  • more likely to be open to direct, well-researched speculative approaches, where you contact them proactively without waiting to see an advertised opportunity. To find out more about how to make speculative applications see:

Creating your own opportunity

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