If you're a graduate with no experience, the way to get a job is to stack three things at once: apply to graduate roles in a tracked, organised way, build visibility on LinkedIn by posting about the work you want to do, and register with recruitment agencies that specialise in graduates. No single route is enough in this market, but all three together stack the odds in your favour.

I'll be honest with you from the start. The market is really tough for grads right now, and there's no silver bullet. But there's a lot more you can control than it feels like.

This came from a question a viewer called Jonas sent me after my video on the easiest way to get hired in 2026: "Do you have specific advice for a graduate that has only academic projects and a lot of motivation to learn?"

Most of my work is helping people land six-figure roles.

In 11 years of executive search, I've sat across the table in more than 10,000 interviews and helped 250+ professionals get hired into six-figure roles. But I know a lot of you reading this aren't at that level yet, and you still need real guidance. So here's my honest answer.

Why is it so hard for graduates to get a job right now?

It's hard because AI is taking a lot of entry-level work, and the graduate jobs that do exist are getting far more applicants than usual.

Some companies aren't hiring grads at all while they work out what AI can do instead. Others are still hiring, but they're getting two or three times the usual number of applicants for each role.

So you're not imagining it. You're competing in a bigger pile for fewer seats.

That's why "just keep applying" isn't enough on its own. You need to take back some of the control.

What are the ways to get hired with no experience?

There are three routes to getting hired: job applications, going direct to hiring managers, and specialist recruitment agencies. For a graduate, two of those deserve most of your time.

  1. Job applications through job boards and LinkedIn. Whatever region you're in, there will be job boards that cover it.
  2. Going direct to hiring managers and trying to unlock opportunities with the specific people who might be hiring someone at your level.
  3. Specialist recruitment agencies that focus on supplying people who do your kind of job to the companies that hire them.

Going direct is the heart of the Dream 100 strategy I teach experienced professionals. Instead of reacting to whatever comes up on the job boards this week, you proactively map the market for companies you could add value to, find the hiring managers and reach out to them.

Here's the thing. That works brilliantly when you've got results that pique a hiring manager's curiosity. When you're a grad with academic projects, it's much harder.

Hiring managers are busy, and they may not be at a point where they can take the time to invest in someone new. So I wouldn't make it your main route.

What you do have is the fire in your belly, and that's what companies want. Put it into the other two routes, and use LinkedIn to make yourself known.

How should a graduate apply for jobs?

As a graduate, treat applications as a numbers game, but a tracked one, so you're not firing them off and forgetting them.

I'm really not a fan of calling hiring a numbers game. I think it's a bad mental image. But if you're a grad at this moment in time, that's unfortunately the mindset you probably need, because you don't know which application is going to take off.

So build a simple spreadsheet:

  • Column one: the company.
  • Column two: the job title.
  • Column three: the link to the job description or the company page.
  • Column four: the date you sent the application.
  • Column five: the dates of your follow-ups.

Then once a week, schedule yourself a polite follow-up. Email HR or the talent team, and if there's a named person on the advert, email them specifically. Something as simple as this works:

"Hi [name], I applied for the graduate analyst role on 11 August and wanted to follow up. I'm still really keen, and I'd be happy to share more about my final-year project if it's useful."

It's not necessarily going to be the magic answer. But it means you're not purely in reactive mode. You know where you've applied, how long it's been and how many times you've followed up, and that puts some of the control back in your hands.

What do I put on my CV if I have no experience?

Put your academic projects on your CV as if they were work experience, and for each one, say what you did and what changed because of you.

Right now, your projects are your experience, so write them like it.

Most grads list them as tasks: "Completed a group project on supply chain efficiency." That tells a hiring manager you were there. It doesn't tell them whether you were any good.

Instead, use what I call One Line, One Proof. Every line should say what you did and prove what changed because of it: what you built, what you found, how many people it involved, what the result was.

If you have a number, use it. A grade, a deadline you beat, a dataset size, a group you led.

The same goes for part-time jobs. If you've worked in a bar, a shop or a call centre, you had targets. If they've got numbers, so have you.

If you're worried about what yours looks like, run it through the free Six Figure CV tool before you send another application.

How can a graduate use LinkedIn to get a job?

Post about the work you want to do and why it interests you, then build micro-familiarity with people at the companies you admire.

LinkedIn has changed. The algorithm is different, like most social platforms. But it's still where you can stop being a number on an ATS, a CV sitting in a pile that never gets looked at, and start being someone with context, personality and a bit of gumption.

Start with what to post about:

  • The work you're looking to do, and why it's interesting to you.
  • Your point of view on the problems in that field.
  • Your motivation and what drives you.
  • The challenges you're facing in your search.

One really good angle is building in public. Post about the journey you're on, your background, why you're going down this path, and the trials and tribulations along the way.

Then go back to an old-school style of networking. Connect with key decision makers and people at companies you respect. Comment on their posts, like what they share and view their profiles.

What you're building is micro-familiarity: a few light touches over time, so your name means something when they see it.

You can do this away from LinkedIn too. Start a YouTube channel, or post on Instagram about the problems you want to solve.

I'm doing a bit of building in public myself on Instagram. It's another way to separate yourself from every other grad in the same boat as you.

Should graduates use recruitment agencies?

Yes. Register with recruitment agencies that specialise in graduates, because companies pay them to find people exactly like you.

That makes them a great resource to get on the radar of. They may have opportunities that never reach the job boards, and because they get paid when you get hired, they're on your side.

Search Google and LinkedIn for graduate recruitment agencies in your field and your region. Register with a few, tell them exactly what kind of role you're going after, and keep them updated as your search moves on.

Do creative job search ideas actually work?

Sometimes, yes, because what people buy into is creativity and initiative, not just a CV.

I remember when I was back in London, there was someone who used to hand out their CV at Liverpool Street station.

And there was somebody who paid for a billboard that said something like, "This is my last 500 bucks. I'm desperately looking for a job. I do X, Y and Z."

What people respond to is that creativity, that innovation, that entrepreneurial spirit you're using to get noticed. You don't have to buy a billboard. But a project you've built and shared publicly, or content about a problem you'd love to solve, tells a company far more about you than another cover letter.

What mistakes stop graduates getting hired?

  • Spraying applications and forgetting them. Track every one and follow up weekly.
  • Relying on one route. Run applications, LinkedIn and graduate agencies together.
  • Writing academic projects as tasks. Say what you did and what changed because of it.
  • Being invisible online. Post about the work you want to do and comment on the people you'd like to work with.
  • Cold messaging senior hiring managers with nothing to show. Build visibility first, so when you do reach out, they've already seen your name.

The bottom line

There's no silver bullet to getting hired as a graduate in 2026. But if you create content, apply to graduate jobs in a tracked way and register with graduate recruitment agencies, all at the same time, you stack the odds in your favour of getting noticed and getting approached.

And if you've got more questions, Jonas or anyone else reading this, send me a message and I'll do my best to answer them.

What's your next step?

If you want to see how your CV holds up before your next interview, try the free Six Figure CV tool. Upload your CV and get an instant score with specific fixes.

And if you want to work on this with me directly, here's where to start.