Discover Careers (2024 Date TBC)
Please Note
The below information relates to our 2023 offering. We are aiming to provide a similar opportunity for you to connect with students and graduates in the academic year 2024/25 and are currently reviewing what this offering will look like.
If you are interested in being added to our mailing list to be kept up to date on booking any of our events or services, please email the team to discuss. Contact employers@ed.ac.uk
Discover Careers is a drop-in exhibition style event to help you get thinking about all things careers, jobs and employability.
It’s our biggest event of the year, running over 3 days in McEwan Hall and has something to offer all students, including the chance to:
- meet over 100 employers
- discover people, events and resources to help you with your career decisions throughout your studies and after you graduate
So whether you’re looking for part-time work, thinking about how you can build experience, or want to start exploring options or making applications for roles after graduation, you’ll find inspiration within the event.
There’s no preparation needed – our friendly and supportive staff, which includes lots of students just like you, will be on hand to help. There will be a wide range of employers and professional bodies attending each day, and they are all keen to help you have a great experience.
When: Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 October 2023, 1:00-6:00pm
Where: On-Campus - McEwan Hall, Bristo Square, Edinburgh
During these 3 days the Careers Service is relocating to McEwan Hall - we hope to meet you there.
Find out more on MyCareerHub (Login Required)
Use our Event Guide to find out who is attending each day (Login Required)
Opening Hours
The event is open for you to drop-in between 1 and 6pm from Tuesday 3 - Thursday 5 October. No booking is required and you are encouraged to come along more than once - you can meet different organisations each day.
The following talks will be live streamed in McEwan Hall from 1:30pm each day:
- Tuesday 3 October, 1:30 - 2pm. Finding Part-time Jobs.
- Wednesday 4 October, 1:30 - 2pm. Finding a Graduate Job in the UK.
- Thursday 5 October, 1:30 - 2pm Top Tips: CVs.
These talks will be followed by a programme of live and recorded content each day:
2:30 - 3pm 3-minute Lightning Talks with a selection of employers
3:30 - 5pm The following programme of recorded video content will run twice:
- Information on Studying or Working Overseas
- Finding a graduate job in the UK
- Getting the most out of LinkedIn
- Top Tips: CVs
- Top Tips: Cover letters
- Finding a part-time job
- Introducing the Careers Compass
Go to MyCareerHub to see the overall list of participating organisations (Login Required)
Check out our Discover Careers Event Guide. It has the event information, including the talks schedule. You can also filter employers by sector, type of role, visa support and importantly which day they are exhibiting!
Different organisations are attending each day.
Don't worry if some names are unfamiliar to you - you can discover more about them at the event. We'll also have lots of careers service staff within the event who can help you to work out who you might like to talk to. If you would prefer to do some more research on the organisations attending before you come along, you can, but it's not expected. Looking them up on MyCareerHub would be a great place to start.
You don't need to! Discover Careers is designed to be a welcoming, easy to navigate, supportive, drop-in style event that has something to offer all students, without any preparation required.
Our staff, which includes lots of students just like you, will be on hand throughout the event to help you find something that’s useful for you. If you would prefer to do some research on the organisations attending before you come along, you can, but it's not expected. Looking them up on MyCareerHub and our event guide would be a great place to start. If your time is limited, this may help you prioritise who you want to talk to and which day might be best for you to attend.
No booking required - please just come along during the event opening times.
- We understand this kind of event can feel overwhelming or difficult to navigate. We’re here to help.
- Our Quiet Zone is a smaller, quieter area - it has sofas to chill out on, lots of Getting Started content and friendly staff to support.
- The talks zone is another way to interact - lightning talks from employers, and a mix of live and recorded talks from the Careers Service give you access to a broad range of helpful content in a quieter environment.
- If you can choose when to come, the final hour is usually less busy than the start of the event.
- There is lift access to both floors but do ask staff in purple or red T-shirts if you need more help.
- The Getting Started Zone is intended to help you find where to begin, no matter what stage you are at. You don’t need to prepare. Tips on questions to ask employers, and how to write a strong CV or build experience. And there will be lots of help on hand from friendly staff.
- And you can find more Careers Service staff in the Reflection zone – if you haven’t found what you were looking for, or you’re not really sure what that is, talk to us about next steps.
The Careers Service aims to be accessible to all users. If you have any specific needs please contact the Careers Service to make appropriate arrangements.
Contact careers@ed.ac.uk.
The spectrum of different exhibitors at the event really brought home how many potential career paths there are out there, and even if none of those jobs are for you, it is fascinating to get a feel for different workplaces
I really just wanted to get more information about what's actually out there in the world of work and this event definitely helped me with that
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please be aware that we have been alerted to a scam which is charging students to attend fairs. Please be aware that there is NO COST TO ATTEND this fair or any of our other fairs during the academic year. If you do come across similar scams please alert these to the Careers Service as soon as possible.
Discover Careers (2024 Date TBC)
McEwan Hall, Bristo Square, Edinburgh