padgrad is a free career platform for graduates. It matches jobs to your degree, generates AI-powered CV checks and cover letters, and sends daily personalised job digests matched to your field of study.

Yes. You get 10 free credits on sign-up to use on AI CV checks and cover letters. All other tools — job matching, budgeting, application tracking, rejection logging — are free with no credit card required.

How does the AI CV Checker work?

Upload your CV and paste a job description. The AI analyses your CV against the role requirements, gives you an ATS compatibility score out of 100, and tells you exactly what keywords and formatting changes to make — helping you pass automated screening systems used by graduate recruiters.

How many jobs should I apply for as a graduate?

Graduates typically need to send between 20 and 50 applications to land a role, with top graduate schemes receiving an average of 58 applications per vacancy. Focus on quality over quantity — tailor each CV and cover letter to the role rather than spamming the same application everywhere.

How long does it take to get a graduate job?

Most graduates take between 3 and 6 months to land their first graduate role, though it varies by sector. Consulting, tech, and investment banking tend to have faster hiring cycles. Larger graduate schemes can take 4-6 months from application to offer.

What is the average graduate salary for 2026?

Graduate salaries vary widely by country, sector and region. Investment banking, law and tech tend to pay the highest, while public sector and charity roles typically start lower. Salaries in major cities usually sit above the national average — check local salary guides for figures relevant to your market.

How do I write a graduate CV with no work experience?

Focus on transferable skills from your degree — research projects, group assignments, presentations, and coursework. Include volunteering, society memberships, part-time jobs, and any placements or internships. Use Padgrad's CV Builder to structure your CV for ATS systems, then run it through the AI CV Checker to see how it scores.

How are jobs matched to my degree on padgrad?

We scrape thousands of graduate jobs daily and match them to over 300 specific degree fields. Whether you studied Biology, Law, Engineering, Psychology, or History — we only show you roles that fit your subject area and send them straight to your daily digest.

Do graduate schemes pay well?

Graduate schemes typically pay a competitive starting salary, with some industries paying significantly more. Law firms and investment banks often pay the most. Most schemes also offer benefits like bonuses, pension contributions, and professional qualification sponsorship — check each employer's offer for the specifics.

How many applications does it take to get a graduate job?

Research shows top employers receive an average of 58 applications per graduate vacancy. Most successful graduates send 20-40 tailored applications before receiving an offer. Track every application using Padgrad's Application Tracker to spot which types of roles you progress furthest in.

Can I apply for graduate jobs before I graduate?

Yes — most large graduate schemes open applications 6-12 months before the role starts, so you should apply in your final year. Smaller companies and direct-entry roles tend to hire closer to the start date. Padgrad's daily job digest includes both graduate schemes and entry-level roles you can apply for straight away.

What should a graduate CV include?

A strong graduate CV should include: your degree with predicted or achieved grade, relevant modules and dissertation topic, transferable skills (research, teamwork, communication), part-time work or volunteering, technical skills and software proficiency, and a personal profile. Most recruiters spend under 10 seconds scanning a CV — use Padgrad's AI CV Checker to make sure yours passes the six-second test.

Stakeholder management skills explained for graduates: map the people who matter, send updates that build trust and prove the habit in interviews. Start today.

Stakeholder Management Skills for Graduates: A 2026 Guide

TL;DR

A stakeholder is anyone your work affects or who can block it.
Map them in week one: name, need and best contact route.
Send short updates before people have to ask for them.
Good stakeholder management skills make you the person teams trust.

You start your first graduate job with a laptop, a login and a long list of names. Nobody tells you who decides what. That is where stakeholder management skills come in. These skills are easy to learn and hard to fake. They often decide whether your work lands or stalls.

This guide shows you who your stakeholders are, how to map them, and how to keep them on side. It takes one hour in your first week and ten minutes each week after that.

What stakeholder management skills actually mean

A stakeholder is anyone who cares about your work. That includes your manager, your team and the client. It also includes the person in finance who approves the spend. Some stakeholders never speak to you, yet they can still say no.

Stakeholder management skills are the habits that keep these people informed, respected and willing to help. Four habits cover most of it. Find out who matters. Learn what each person wants. Share clear updates. Handle disagreement without drama.

None of this needs a title or a big project. A first-job graduate can do it from week one, when trust is still cheap to earn.

The four groups of stakeholders you will meet

Most new roles have the same four groups. Learn the groups first, then fill in the names.

Group	What they need from you	Contact rhythm
Your manager.	A clear picture of your progress and any risk.	Weekly one-to-one plus a short note when plans change.
Your immediate team.	Work you finish on time and questions you ask early.	Daily stand-up or team chat.
Other teams and support staff.	Notice before you need something from them.	Two messages: a heads-up, then a reminder.
Clients and senior sponsors.	Plain language about what happens next.	Updates at agreed points, never after a problem.

Write these groups on one page. Add real names as you learn them. That page becomes your map.

How to build stakeholder management skills in your first month

1. Draw a simple map

List every name linked to your work. Next to each name, note two things. What do they want from this piece of work? How do they like to hear news?

Mark the people who can block your work. A finance approver or a legal reviewer can stop a project with one email. Learn their names early and treat them as partners, not gatekeepers.

2. Ask each person one question

Book ten minutes with each key person. Ask a single question: what would make this project a success for you? Then write the answer down.

That one question does two jobs. It shows respect, and it gives you a measure you can report against later. Our guide to giving and receiving feedback at work shows how to use the answers well.

3. Send updates on a rhythm

Choose a fixed day for a short update. Three lines is enough. What moved. What is stuck. What you need.

People trust what they can predict. A weekly note on the same day beats a long report once a month. It also protects you when a problem appears, because nobody is surprised.

4. Run short meetings that end with owners

When you gather several stakeholders, keep the meeting tight. Send an agenda before. End with a name and a date for every action.

If you are new to chairing, read our guide on how to run a meeting at work. Good meetings are the clearest sign of strong stakeholder management skills.

What good looks like in the first six months

By month six, people should come to you for the status of your work. You should know who to tell before a delay becomes public. And you should be comfortable saying "I do not know yet, I will confirm by Thursday".

Teams notice this. Managers give bigger work to people who keep others calm. That is how a junior role turns into a trusted role.

The three mistakes that cost graduates trust

Over-promising on dates

A rushed yes feels helpful in the moment. It fails later. Give a realistic date, then beat it if you can.

Going quiet when things go wrong

Silence reads as hiding. Say the problem early, with two options and your view on each. Our guide on how to manage your manager covers the exact wording.

Sending everything by email

Long email chains hide decisions. Pick the right channel. A chat message for a quick question. A call for a tricky one. A short note afterwards to confirm what was agreed.

How to show these skills to employers

Stakeholder management is a skill you can prove. Use one line in an interview about a group project. Say who you kept informed, how, and what changed as a result.

On your CV, replace "worked in a team" with something sharper. For example: "Ran a weekly update for three project partners and kept delivery on schedule." That sentence shows a habit, not a trait.

If you want a second pair of eyes on how your CV reads, run it through the free Padgrad CV checker before you apply.

Your first step this week

Take one page. Write the four groups. Add every name you already know. Then send one short message to the person who can block your work, asking what success looks like for them.

Do that once and you are already ahead of most new starters. Padgrad helps graduates turn small habits like these into job offers. Create your free account and get ten credits to build a CV that shows what you can do.

By Ori