How to Secure Two Autumn Recruitment Offers After the New Policy
Author: Xiaohongshu (RED) blogger yesyes
No intention to brag here (there are definitely people way more impressive than me—please go easy on me). I’m sharing this mainly to give some tips in advance to those joining this year’s autumn recruitment.
Those who follow me know that I was a second-time autumn recruitment candidate. In my first year, I barely made any progress and received fewer than five VIs (video interviews). My second year was completely different—most companies I applied to invited me to OTs and VIs, and the two companies I got offers from both had very smooth processes overall.
The key reason for such a big change was ❗️EARLY❗️
In my second year, I tried to submit applications within three days of a position opening. After receiving an OT, I usually completed and submitted it within one to two days. This greatly increases your chances of getting a VI. I feel that before the AC (assessment centre) stage, it’s largely first-come, first-served. If you finish OTs and VIs early, you can enter manual review earlier and have a much higher chance of being invited to AC.
❗️The premise, of course, is that your CV, OT, and VI are solid (which is why you need to prepare them early).
To make sure I could apply within three days of postings going live, I prepared a target company list in advance and roughly tracked their opening timelines. I also checked major job-hunting websites frequently every day to catch new postings as soon as possible. I joined some agency groups too—their postings are often very up-to-date since they have people monitoring roles full-time.
Besides being early, you also need to apply boldly. I used a mass-application strategy, but not blindly. As long as the general direction matched—whether through my major or past internships—and I could relate my experience to the role, I applied. From my experience, most companies are quite tolerant toward graduates. As long as you can show the relevance, it works. And it did work for me: my two offers were in completely different fields, one in finance and one in engineering (though maybe engineering being a “universal” background helped).
A quick timeline as reference:
July–August: Prepare your CV and VI story bank, research UK companies that provide sponsorship and start browsing roles
September: Many companies start opening applications—apply quickly
October–November: Peak period for OTs and VIs
If all goes well: ACs and offers follow