First job search timeline in Spain: prácticas and the graduate recruitment calendar

Two types of prácticas

Prácticas curriculares are built into your degree. Your university arranges them, they usually carry academic credit, and pay depends on the agreement between your university and the host organization. Many students complete this type during their final year as a required part of the program.

Prácticas extracurriculares happen once you've finished your coursework. You or your university's career service arrange these directly with a company, and they don't carry academic credit since your degree is technically complete. Rules on pay, duration and how long after graduation you remain eligible change periodically, so confirm current terms with your university's career office or SEPE before you sign anything.

Oposiciones: the public-sector alternative

A large share of Spanish graduates prepare for oposiciones, competitive exams that fill civil service, judiciary, teaching and public healthcare positions. These roles offer job security that's hard to find elsewhere, and that draws serious competition.

Preparing for an oposición often takes a year or more of study, sometimes alongside a part-time job or extracurricular prácticas. If this path interests you, start researching the exam structure and required study materials for your target body well before you graduate, since the preparation timeline runs longer than a typical job search.

When companies actually hire

Large Spanish and multinational employers open graduate program applications well ahead of the academic year's end, often expecting you to apply while still finishing your final coursework. Waiting until after graduation to start applying puts you behind candidates who already submitted applications months earlier.

Career fairs and campus recruiting events at Spanish universities happen throughout the academic year, giving you a chance to meet recruiters before formal applications open. Treat your final year as the start of your job search, not the point where you begin thinking about it.

Where competition is highest

Graduate programs at large banks, consulting firms and multinational companies in Madrid and Barcelona draw the largest number of applicants, since they offer structured training and higher starting pay than most small and medium employers. If you target one of these, apply as early as the program allows and prepare for multiple interview rounds, since these processes typically run longer than a single hiring stage.

Building your own timeline

• Early in your final year: research graduate programs at target employers and note application deadlines.

• Mid final year: attend campus career fairs and apply to prácticas extracurriculares or graduate schemes that open early.

• If you're considering oposiciones: review the exam syllabus for your target body and budget serious study time.

• After graduation: keep applying to graduate schemes on a rolling basis, since not every employer follows the same calendar.

Before you accept a placement

Ask whether the role is curricular or extracurricular, since that changes your rights and how it counts toward your career. Confirm the exact duration, whether a stipend applies, and whether the company has a track record of hiring prácticas graduates into permanent roles. Current SEPE guidance and your university's career service are the two places to confirm rules before you sign, since terms have changed in recent years.