Career Options and Employability

Key to your career

Whatever your specialist interests, you'll find our careers team is one of the most useful resources to support you on your way to your target career. Now more than ever, it's the skills you're able to demonstrate in addition to your academic abilities that will make you shine in a fiercely competitive jobs market.

That's why our facilities and services are designed to complement your course and help you develop essential professional and practical skills – from personal resilience and self-awareness to CV writing and interview techniques.

We work in partnership with the University's Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre to connect you with events, organisations or individuals to help kick-start your career.

One-to-one career support

As a Business School Masters student, you can take advantage of one-to-one appointments with a specialist Masters Career Consultant to help you with specific issues, from finding a route into your career to applying for your dream role.

Career development programme

Our Career Development Programme has been designed alongside our core academic programme to help you achieve your career goals and develop the skills that employers are looking for.

This starts at the beginning of Term One with our Careers Weekend. This weekend will provide insight and enable the development of essential career management skills. Covering a wide range of topics, the event will support career planning, facilitate skills development and enhance your knowledge of the full recruitment cycle. The weekend will be actively focused on identifying, preparing and securing employment opportunities throughout your studies.

Sector-specific presentations

Our Career Insights sessions are delivered by external professionals with expertise and knowledge of their particular sector which provide insights into working in areas that are popular with our students.

Previous guest speakers have delivered presentations on working in banking, professional services, and management development programmes within international companies.

Business projects and placements

The business project or placement is a great way to gain practical work experience and develop consultancy skills. We can help you choose from a range of regional, national and international organisations of different sizes in different sectors or you can source your own project – some target an organisation they'd like to work for. However you tailor the project, it will help you to put new knowledge and skills into practice and influence real-life business issues.

International opportunities

We're proud of our strong international connections. Helping you get an inside perspective on global business is a key part of the programme. That's why you'll have the opportunity to go on the optional International Study Tour to a European destination in March/April. This self-funded, one-week programme is a great way to immerse yourself in the country's business environment, providing the chance to make new contacts and helping you stand out in the competitive jobs market.

If you are interested in carrying out research or a business project in an international location for your dissertation, we may also be able to connect you with our international partner institutions.

Support for international students

We recognise that many of our students will progress their careers outside of the UK once they finish their studies, and our career development programme is designed with this in mind. We offer events focused on career opportunities in China and are continually developing relationships with international recruiters.

If you're an international student interested in working in the UK after your studies, the careers team works closely with Durham University's Student Immigration & Financial Support Office to provide you with information related to immigration. Their advisers are dedicated to helping our students understand the requirements and restrictions of their visas during their studies and can provide limited advice on post-study visa requirements.

You can access English language support from English Language Centre.

Online resources

Through the Career Development Programme, you will have access to a huge range of career resources including an interview simulator with a bank of interview questions, a CV builder, and our international Jobs Board.

Alumni career support

You can continue to make the most of our specialist career development advice after you graduate, including ongoing one-to-one support from our Masters Career Consultants, workshops in our key locations, and continued access to our online career resources.