Career Foundation
- Professionally written CV, LinkedIn profile and cover letter
- Application guidance
- Greater confidence approaching interviews
- A clear framework to move forward independently
- 8 sessions of focused 1:1 career coaching
£3,000
Graduate Career Programme
Graduate career support that parents and students can both agree on
Expert-led 1:1 career programmes for students and graduates targeting spring weeks, internships, placements and graduate roles.
Est. 2008
Career expertise built in the City
Career expertise built in the City
40,000+
Clients supported
Clients supported
74% clients
Through recommendations
Through recommendations
Our clients have secured opportunities with:
The graduate job market has changed significantly.
Securing an internship, placement or graduate role has become more challenging in recent years.
For students and graduates, knowing how to stand out at each stage is difficult.
For parents, knowing how best to help can be just as hard.
Spring weeks, internships, placements and graduate roles are highly competitive and the recruitment process is evolving. AI is influencing both how candidates prepare applications and how employers screen and assess them.
Interview performance, commercial awareness, assessment centres, networking and the ability to communicate your value effectively all influence recruitment decisions. You need to be at the top of your game.
The students who achieve the strongest outcomes understand how these elements fit together and approach the process strategically.
Rose’s route to J.P. Morgan
Rose completed our Career Accelerator Programme.
BSc (Hons) Psychology, University of Manchester, 2025
Secured an HR Graduate Scheme with J.P. Morgan, 2025
“[It] made me feel so much more confident, especially because it was my first interview for a grad scheme. I would have otherwise been so nervous. And, honestly, I don’t think I would have secured the role without my coaching sessions.”
How it works
Start with a conversation
Get matched with the right coach
Work through the programme 1:1
Take the next steps with confidence
01
Graduate Career Coaching
Choosing a direction means weighing what a student wants against what the market offers: which sectors are hiring, which routes are open, and where their strengths count most. We help them work through both, building a clear career story from real evidence.
Coaching then becomes a practical partnership: target roles and employers, a focused search and networking plan, and applications as they arise. Support is tailored for undergraduates, graduates and postgraduates, wherever they’re starting from.
02
Graduate CV Writing
A CV is usually the first thing an employer sees. It has to turn academics, placements, part-time work and activities into a compelling case that performs in applicant tracking and AI screening, not just read well to a person.
We start with an in-depth 1-2-1 consultation, drawing out achievements students would never think to mention. Every CV is written around their background, target sector and goals, whether for a spring week, internship or graduate role.
03
Graduate Interview Coaching
Interviews are where an application becomes an offer. Graduate selection can include AI and video interviews, assessment centres, group exercises, case studies and final panels, and each tests something different.
Coaching is tailored to the student’s target roles and sector: performing with no interviewer present, contributing in group exercises, and building strong answers to competency, motivational and technical questions. Mock interviews and direct feedback on delivery and presence run throughout.
04
Graduate LinkedIn Support
Recruiters and interviewers often check LinkedIn alongside a CV, and a generic profile can undercut a strong application. We write it from the same consultation as the CV, so both tell one coherent story.
Coaching then covers using LinkedIn strategically: building visibility, engaging the right people, and developing relationships with alumni, recruiters and decision makers in the student’s target sector, so the profile actively supports their search rather than sitting idle.
05
Graduate Cover Letter Writing
Many graduate applications ask for a cover letter. Where the CV shows what a student has done, the letter explains why this role, at this employer, is the right fit, and it must read as researched, not reused.
We write it from insight gathered through coaching and the CV consultation, around the specific role, company and sector. A speculative version is available on request: one strong core letter, with guidance on adapting it for future applications.
06
Graduate Focused Job Search
Applying to as many roles as possible is seldom the fastest route to an offer. The harder question is where to focus: which employers, sectors, spring weeks, internships and graduate schemes are worth a student’s time.
We help them build a prioritised shortlist of realistic opportunities and organise their deadlines, so effort goes where it has the best chance of paying off rather than spreading thin across everything on offer.
07
Graduate Opportunity Mapping
Most students only see a fraction of the opportunities open to them. Beyond advertised schemes, roles emerge through boutique firms, fast-growing businesses, direct applications and relationships most never think to pursue.
We map that wider landscape: identifying employers beyond the obvious names, tracking schemes and direct-entry routes as they open, and building relationships with alumni, recruiters and decision makers before roles are widely advertised. Included in the Career Advantage programme.
08
Graduate Application Support
Some employers ask only for a CV and cover letter. Others add application forms with competency, strengths-based or motivational questions, each needing a specific example within a tight word count. This is often where strong candidates are filtered out.
We work through each question with the student: what is really being asked, which example from their experience fits best, and how to say it well within the limit. The result is sharper applications and more interviews.
09
Career Refinery Portal & App
Included in the Career Advantage programme, the Career Refinery gives students practical tools and resources alongside their 1-2-1 coaching, available whenever suits them.
Inside: a growing library of masterclasses, videos and articles, a mock interview simulator, assessment centre guidance, aptitude test practice, webinars, and access to a database of recruiters, so students can keep building skills between sessions.
Why choose City CV?
Expertise that goes beyond careers advice
We combine deep experience of graduate recruitment with specialist coaching and writing across competitive sectors and selection processes.
We understand the parent side too
Our directors are parents themselves and have supported their own children through the transition from education into placements and work. They understand what it feels like to want to help and how valuable the right support from our team can be.
Structured programmes, tailored to the individual
Each programme has an outline structure that is easily adapted to the needs of the individual.
Real preparation for the process ahead
From applications and networking through to mock interviews, psychometrics, case studies and assessment centres, the focus is on the stages candidates actually need to navigate.
Why Hayley chose City CV to support her sons
Hayley’s sons, Charlie and Alex, completed our Career Accelerator Programme.
“We’re sensible people – my husband’s a CEO, I run my own company – but I knew we needed expertise, and that the boys would respond to it in a way they wouldn’t from us. They were suspicious at first. Both of them have since told me how valuable it was.”
Client stories
What students, graduates and parents say
Graduate Career Programme FAQ
Support for students and recent graduates competing for internships and graduate opportunities.
The programme is designed for university students and recent graduates who need structured support with career direction, CVs, LinkedIn, applications, job search and interviews. Support is adapted around the individual’s stage, goals and target opportunities.
Yes. Parents frequently make the initial enquiry or fund the programme. The graduate remains actively involved in the consultations, coaching and work because their participation is essential to the process.
Depending on the package selected, support can include career coaching, a professionally written CV, LinkedIn profile and cover letter, application strategy, interview preparation and access to City CV’s programme content and resources.
Yes. The programme can support applications for spring weeks, internships, placements and graduate roles. The approach is shaped around the relevant recruitment process and the experience the student has already developed.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all timetable. The timing and frequency of sessions are agreed with the coach and can be shaped around application deadlines, interviews and other recruitment milestones.
You can compare the current packages, inclusions and prices on the Graduate Career Programme page. If you are unsure which option fits, book a consultation and we will talk through the differences.
The first conversation is usually with a parent, the student or graduate, or both. Once the programme begins, we’d recommend the coaching relationship is primarily between the student or graduate and their coach, giving them the space to take ownership of the process while knowing expert support is there when they need it.
Yes. The programmes are designed for both students and graduates, whether they’re targeting spring weeks, internships, placements or graduate roles. The support is tailored to their goals, stage and the opportunities they’re pursuing.
There is plenty of useful careers information available for free. The difference with City CV is the combination of a structured programme, 1:1 specialist coaching and feedback tailored to the individual.
Rather than working from generic advice, students and graduates can focus on their own goals, experience, target sectors and recruitment challenges with an expert who can help them identify what needs strengthening and prepare for the selection process ahead.
We’ll look at your goals, timing and the kind of support that would be most useful, then recommend the most appropriate programme. No need to decide before the call if you’re not clear.
It’s worth a conversation
Tell us where things stand and we’ll help you make sense of the options.
