Work in the West Midlands

The West Midlands is home to many industries seeking to grow and innovate. Take a look at what each area has to offer by clicking on a place above. Below are some top tips for advancing your career.

Finding a graduate job/ work experience (using University resources)

To find local graduate jobs through the University:

  • Careers Connect is an online platform detailing careers events and opportunities, connecting you with live jobs every day. Work experience opportunities, including internships can be found here too. Sign up for alerts from Careers Network.
  • University’s Work Here webpage advertises vacancies at the University which include a diverse range of jobs suitable for recent graduates, e.g. administration, marketing and IT.
  • Careers Fairs on the Careers Network website link you to representatives from regional organisations of all sizes.
  • Getting to know events connect you to employers offering graduate schemes. These are currently held as a mix of on-campus, hybrid and virtual.
  • Virtual internships such as on Forage and Bright Network are great ideas to get work experience without applying.

Finding a graduate job/ work experience (other resources)

To find local graduate jobs through external sources:

  • Jobs portals allow you to search many jobs within a sector, locally, nationally and internationally. E.g. Jobs.ac.uk (Education), NHS Jobs (Health & Social Care), WMJobs (Public Sector), Gradcracker (STEM careers), RISE Technical (Engineering & Technical roles), ConstructionJobs, TeacherActive and RecruitmentPanda (Social Care)
  • Recruitment agencies promote vacancies online but also have local offices providing a more personal service. Speak to them about what they have posted. Recruitment agencies such as Adecco, katie bard, Michael Page,  Hays and Reed cater for graduate level jobs.
  • Specialist agencies enable you to target smaller companies such as sme-graduates who offer local graduate jobs within small to medium sized enterprises (up to 249 employees).
  • Starting your own business is also an exciting option. Support for running a business venture or social enterprise can be found through the University (B-Enterprising: Start-Up) and through organisations such as i-SE , UnLtd and School for Social Entrepreneurs. 
  • Joining a high profile graduate programme for on-the-job graduate work and training to run your own business, can be found at the New Entrepreneurs Foundation. Local graduates have gained places to then build their new businesses in the West Midlands. 
  • If you can’t find the graduate job you want you could approach individuals by email with a speculative letter and CV or via LinkedIn. Here is our guide to speculative applications.
  • Volunteering is another way of gaining experience. Search individual charities, Council sites and community organisations across the region for details and contacts.
  • If you’re struggling to find an organisation to volunteer with, check out your local Volunteer Centre. Visit the Do-it website or go to Navca.org.uk to find members involved in social action.
  • To approach organisations speculatively use LinkedIn to find companies, and access the FAME database to research businesses via FindIt@Bham.

Local networks

  • Seek a mentor for expert guidance, by joining Careers Network’s mentoring programme. Find out more information on the Careers Network Mentoring homepage.
  • Other local mentoring support websites include One Million Mentors; Mentoring Circle events by Smart Works and Grow Mentoring - a legal sector mentoring initiative which pairs aspiring lawyers with legal professionals.
  • TAG Network Midlands offers lots of free online events for students and graduates to connect with professionals and entrepreneurs in the Midlands.
  • Brummies Networking offer face to face events offered monthly. Informal networking with local and small Birmingham businesses (currently suspended).
  • Chamber of Commerce: Future Faces offers online events for professional development and social networks. Membership is sometimes required.

Building skills and getting a mentor

  • Join a student society group at the Guild of Students. As an active member you will build professional skills such as leadership, management, communication, organisation, time-management and project management skills. 
  • Start a new student group, at university, founded on your passion, having spotted a gap for a great opportunity.
  • Join Enactus Birmingham and run a social project, receiving leadership training from Enactus UK. Sponsored by large well-known recruiters, you will take part in a regional competition, getting recognition and support for your hard efforts to make a difference.
  • Volunteer through the Guild of Students, or with an external organisation, making a difference to get positive results to benefit others in need of support, developing professional skills and socially-driven values.
  • Get learning online gaining business acumen and hard skills via LinkedIn Learning (via the intranet). It’s free for you (but not the public, so use it while you can)! Courses are very short, so they are not time-consuming. Learn project management foundations; basic Excel; how to use social media professionally. It’s all there. 

Which sectors are growing?

Key sector – Business Professional and Financial Services sector