Graduate Management Trainee - Portsmouth
Enterprise Mobility
Competitive
South East, Portsmouth
MDS Graduate Scheme - South East
MDS
£25,000
South East
KPMG 2024 Tax Graduate Programmes - Glasgow Autumn 2024
KPMG
Competitive
Scotland, Glasgow
Audit Graduate Trainee - Public Sector - Nottingham - September 2024
Mazars
Competitive
East Midlands, Nottingham
Hollywood Bowl Group Graduate Manager in Training - North West
Hollywood Bowl Group
£25,000 - £26,000
North West, Yorkshire, Leeds, Manchester, Bolton
Graduate Electrical Engineer - BAE Systems
BAE Systems PLC
£34,000 plus a £2,000 welcome payment
North West, Barrow-in-Furness
KPMG Insight Graduate Social Mobility Talent - Audit Insight Leeds TBC 2024
KPMG
Competitive
Yorkshire, Leeds
MDS Graduate Scheme - Wales - Spring 2024 Start Dates
MDS
£25,000
Wales
MDS Graduate Scheme - Nationwide - Spring 2024 Start Dates
MDS
£25,000
Nationwide
KPMG Vacation Programme - Audit - ACA Manchester July 2024
KPMG
Competitive
North West, Manchester
KPMG 2024 Graduate Audit - ACA Reading Autumn 2024
KPMG
Competitive
South East, Reading
Product Demonstrator & Trainer (Portuguese Speaker)
TPP
£60,000
Yorkshire, Leeds
MDS Leadership & Management Scheme - Scotland
MDS
£25,000
Scotland
2025 National Detective Programme - Police Now
Police Now
£28,551
South East, South West, London, The East, East Midlands, West Midlands, Wales, North West, North East, Yorkshire, Nationwide
Graduate Management Trainee - Northern Ireland
Enterprise Mobility
Competitive
Northern Ireland, Belfast
Audit Graduate Trainee - Privately Owned Business - Milton Keynes - September 2024
Mazars
Competitive
South East, Milton Keynes
Graduate Management Trainee - Leicester
Enterprise Mobility
Competitive
East Midlands, Leicester
KPMG 2024 Graduate Audit - ACA Newcastle Autumn 2024
KPMG
Competitive
North East, Newcastle upon Tyne
KPMG Vacation Programmes - Audit - ACA Newcastle July 2024
KPMG
Competitive
North East, Newcastle upon Tyne
Graduate IT Analyst
Euroclear SA/NV
Competitive
Nationwide
Why don't some companies accept graduates with a 2.2?
There are two reasons why a company might not accept graduates with anything below a 2.1. The first, is that the employer may believe the graduate job requires somebody of particular academic standard and the easiest way to recognise this is through the grade they achieved at University. The second reason is a logistical one. Larger employers who run popular graduate schemes, receive thousands of applications for each role. This causes them big problems when it comes to reading through each application and reducing the list of applicants to invite to assessment centres. An easy way to reduce the number of applications is to remove any applicants who did not achieve a 2.1 or above. This may seem unfair but the HR departments of these companies are expected to find ways to reduce the time and money invested in their graduate recruitment campaigns.
What jobs can a 2.2 graduate apply for?
Despite the above, there are still plenty of employers who welcome applications from 2.2 graduates.
Graduate schemes are not out of the question. Although the biggest companies might prefer 2.1 and above, there are plenty of large employers who don't mind. Unless they state on the job advertisement that they only accept 2.1 and above then it is always worth applying. It may be frustrating to hear nothing back but if you never apply, you will never know!
SME's are a great option. The advantage of a small company is that they often consider personality and character to be as important as degree grade. If you will be working in a small team your attitude is essential and an SME employer will know that. Consequently, your CV and Cover Letter will be given much more attention, so make sure you allow your personality to shine.
However, it is important to be realistic. It is important to be prepared for the fact that you might not be able to take a direct route in to your desired career. Sometimes the best option is to take a job in Sales or Recruitment in order to build experience which will put you in a much better position when applying for your dream job. Another great option is to consider Internships to build your experience and your CV. Internships are available to undergraduates and sometimes graduates, so it is never too late to get some work experience.