How to prepare for the Grad Fair

With the Newcastle University Graduate Recruitment and Placement Fair fast approaching on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 October, from 10:30 – 15:00, we’ve got some helpful tips for you!  

This event provides the perfect opportunity for penultimate or final year students to connect with potential employers and learn about their graduate positions, internships or placement opportunities starting in summer and autumn 2025. Make sure to come along to our three on-campus venues to explore these opportunities.  

• The Venue in the Students' Union   

• Lindisfarne Room in the Hadrian Building   

• The Boiler House   

To get the most out of the experience we recommend you come prepared. Here are some top tips to prepare for the grad fair 2024: 

Plan who you wish to talk to

With over 100 local and national employers set to join us, including big names such as ALDI, L’Oreal and Nissan, it’s important to plan who you want to speak to on the day. To get a better idea of who will be there, head to MyCareer. 

Research the employers attending the grad fair 

Once you have made your plan, it’s now time to do some research about the companies you’re interested in. Doing a bit of research into the employer can really help you stand out from the crowd. With some employers speaking to 100s of students each day, they’ll more likely remember you if you’re able to talk to them about what interests you specifically about their company. 

Think of questions 

Asking questions can help show how interested you are in them. Come with a list of questions you wish to ask different employers. Examples include: 

• What placements/graduate jobs do you have on offer? 

• What would an average working day look like? 

• What previous experience do you like employees to have? 

• What has their experience working for the company been like? 

• And many more. 

Come with an open mind  

Show up with unprejudiced opinions and consider speaking to employers you haven’t come across before. You may learn about new opportunities this way. 

Follow up

Take notes during the fair and reflect on what you learnt afterwards. Add value to your applications and interviews by including names of representatives that you met and what you learnt from your conversations.

Update your LinkedIn to connect with employers 

Tops tips for LinkedIn: 

1. Revise your LinkedIn profile to ensure it is all up to date. Include details about your degree and what you've been getting up to whilst at university.  
   
   
2. Update your headline to make sure it reflects your career goals and interest (you can tailor this to the employers you aim to meet).  
   
   
3. Follow the companies you are interested in meeting and use this to research the organisation. This will help you think of questions to ask at the fair. 
    
4. Get creative, make an image for the screen saver on your phone with your name and a QR Code to your LinkedIn profile you can use this to connect quickly with professionals you meet at the fair.

Explore more information on our website about developing your LinkedIn profile and book yourself onto a LinkedIn workshop on MyCareer.  

We look forward to seeing you there!