Graduate Career Programme

Graduate Career Coaching

Choosing a career direction as a student means balancing what you want with the realities of the market. You need to understand which sectors are hiring, which routes are genuinely open and where your strengths are most valuable. Our graduate career coaching helps you work through both sides of that decision, so you can move forward with a well-informed direction rather than a guess.

Your coach then helps you turn that direction into a practical plan. Sessions can cover identifying suitable roles and employers, organising a focused job search, managing applications and deadlines, and building a professional network that opens doors beyond online applications. You will set realistic goals and know what to work on between sessions. Whether you are exploring your options for the first time or refining a search that has not been landing, the support is tailored to your experience, target sector and next step. It helps you turn uncertainty into focused action.

Graduate CV Writing

Your CV is usually the first thing a graduate employer sees and may determine whether your application reaches interview. It needs to turn your academics, placements, internships, casual work and extracurricular activities into a compelling case, while performing well in applicant tracking systems. Generic AI-written copy may sound polished but can make you indistinguishable from other candidates.

Our process begins with an in-depth one-to-one consultation. We draw out the projects, responsibilities and achievements students often overlook, then turn them into evidence a recruiter can use. Your CV is written around your background, target sector and goals. Whether you are applying for a spring week, internship or graduate role, we position your experience around what recruiters in your chosen field value most.

Graduate Interview Coaching

An interview is where you turn the promise of your application into an offer. Graduate selection may involve AI and video interviews, assessment centres, group exercises, case studies or final-stage panels. Each format tests different skills and needs focused preparation.

Our graduate interview coaching builds on the direction and examples developed through your programme. Sessions are tailored to your target roles and may cover performing naturally when no interviewer is present, contributing effectively to group exercises, and answering competency, behavioural, motivational or technical questions. We also work on body language, delivery and professional presence. Mock interviews provide realistic practice and direct feedback, helping you improve before the real event and adapt your preparation across each stage of the selection process.

Graduate LinkedIn Support

Your LinkedIn profile is often checked alongside your CV by graduate recruiters and interviewers. An incomplete or generic profile can weaken an otherwise strong application, so both need to present the same coherent story. We write your profile using the detail gathered during your one-to-one CV consultation, ensuring it reflects your experience, strengths and ambitions rather than sounding like generic AI-generated copy.

Your LinkedIn coaching then shows you how to use the platform strategically. You will learn how to improve your visibility, engage with relevant people and build relationships with alumni, recruiters and decision makers in your target sector. We also cover professional engagement, appropriate content and using LinkedIn to uncover suitable opportunities, so your profile actively supports you.

Graduate Cover Letter Writing

For many graduate roles, a cover letter is required. Your CV shows what you have done; your cover letter explains why you want this particular role with this employer and why you are a strong fit. It needs to demonstrate research and motivation rather than read like a generic template.

We write your graduate cover letter using insight gathered through your coaching and CV consultation. It is built around your experience, target role, company and sector, creating a case that feels specific to you and the opportunity. A speculative letter is also available on request. We can create one strong core version and show you how to adapt it for future applications, including what to rewrite, what to retain and how to keep each version focused.

Graduate Focused Job Search

Applying for as many roles as possible is rarely the quickest route to an offer. The harder question is where to focus: which employers are worth targeting, which sectors are genuinely open to you, and which spring weeks, internships or graduate schemes best match your goals and experience.

Delivered as part of our Advanced Graduate Programme, focused job-search coaching helps you answer those questions. Together, you and your coach identify suitable roles, sectors and employers, then build a prioritised shortlist of opportunities. You will learn how to assess whether a vacancy is a realistic fit, organise deadlines and concentrate your time on the applications with the greatest potential.

Application Support

Graduate application forms rarely stop at a CV and cover letter. Most include a set of written questions, competency, strength-based or motivational, each asking for a specific example within a tight word count, and it is often here, before an interview is even offered, that strong candidates get filtered out.

Application support is tailored to you, but could include working through each question with you to identify what the recruiter is really asking, drawing out the right example from your own experience, and helping you put it into words that land, all within the word limit you are given. The result is stronger, sharper applications and a genuine increase in the number of interviews you secure.

Career Refinery Portal & App

Every graduate programme includes 24/7 access to City CV’s Career Refinery Portal & App for the duration of your programme. It provides practical tools and resources to complement the one-to-one support from your coach and writer. Inside, you will find:

• Masterclasses, videos and articles covering career development, job searching and recruitment.
• A mock-interview simulator, assessment-centre guidance, an elevator-pitch builder, and practice for aptitude and psychometric tests.
• A database of more than 25,000 recruiters, plus e-learning covering broader business and IT skills.
• Webinars to support you throughout your internship and graduate job search.

What Parents Say

Hear how the programme helped one family navigate the graduate job market and gave their graduate greater direction and confidence.