Applications are now open for the Daily Mail‘s 2026 graduate schemes. Apply now for the Daily Mail reporter scheme and sub-editing scheme, and get a few insider tips first below.
The Daily Mail runs a range of graduate trainee schemes – this year they’re all advertised under one application, which is open until March 13. If you’re thinking about applying to the scheme, you are in the right place! Read on for tips and advice from trainees who have successfully applied to the scheme.
If you’ve successfully applied to the scheme and want to share your wisdom, please do get in touch. We’re always looking for more insights to help those just starting out and would be eternally grateful for your support. There’s plenty more info on other graduate schemes through our weekly updated list of what’s open and in-depth guides to various other schemes.
The Daily Mail & MailOnline Graduate Schemes
First things first, you should know that there’s not one, but two different schemes on offer from the Daily Mail – one for reporting and one for subediting. All schemes last for a year and start in August for reporting or September for subediting. You’ll start with some initial in-house training from some of their esteemed team, followed by a placement at a regional publisher, such as their sister newspaper, the Scottish Daily Mail.
You will then return to the Daily Mail newsroom, and the newspaper claims that most recruits are offered full-time jobs upon completion of the scheme. Regardless of which scheme you apply for, you’re expected to have a background in student media, a good degree, and work experience at regional or national newspapers.
To apply, you’ll need an updated CV, stand out cover letter, and three pieces of your best work.
Reporter’s Scheme
Sabrina Miller is a graduate of the Daily Mail’s reporter trainee scheme. She applied to all of the graduate schemes she could find after graduating, including at the Telegraph, the Times, and the FT, as well as the Daily Mail. She also applied to the Daily Mail’s scheme more than once: “The first time I applied to the Daily Mail graduate scheme, I made it to the final round but didn’t have an NCTJ.” Sabrina was told to return the following year with the qualification, and was lucky enough to get an offer, so don’t let previous rejections put you off.
“A lot of people that got an offer in my year were people that were applying for the second time,” she continues. “I think [the publications] really like it – they appreciate people that show dedication. So, I wouldn’t be deterred if you’ve been rejected once, as frustrating and upsetting as it was. I would definitely keep going until I got an offer.”
Sabrina says that out of six graduates taken on in her year, only one didn’t have an NCTJ, and they subsequently worked on features. “I think they like the NCTJ if you’re on a news track, just in case they send you to court; it’s really important to have shorthand and have a legal background.”
However, Peter Sands, a consultant trainer for the scheme, says that while the NCTJ can make you a stronger candidate, there are some exceptions. He explains: “If you’ve got an NCTJ, on paper, you’re going to look much better than somebody who doesn’t have an NCTJ. We have taken people who haven’t had an NCTJ, but have done media law […] They’ve got lots of experience: they’ve been working for their local newspaper, for whatever, done shifts, got lots of bylines. They would definitely be considered.”
Applicants to the Daily Mail graduate scheme are asked to submit a CV, a cover letter, and three examples of their work. If you progress, you will be interviewed for approximately half an hour by two recruiting characters, previously Peter and Sue Ryan; questions are likely to include your past experience, the articles you’ve submitted, and what you like about the Daily Mail graduate scheme. You will also be given a test, which includes spelling and a timed writing exercise.
Following this, successful applicants will move forward to the group interview stage. You will need to make sure you’ve read the Daily Mail for the entire week, especially the day of your interview, which will be observed by a variety of news editors.
Sabrina, who was the only person working on the Mail on Sunday during her year on the graduate scheme, says she was granted huge freedom to work on investigations as well as work from her editors, and describes it as “absolutely amazing – and it completely changed my life”.
After the initial training on the course, graduates are sent either to the Daily Mail’s offices in Glasgow or Dublin for three months, where, due to being less hectic than the London office, they benefit from more contact time with editors as they progress, and Sabrina emphasises that her colleagues were really supportive.
“If you’re proactive, there’s huge scope to do an enormous amount of really interesting work,” Sabrina says. “It took me two or three months for me to get my first article out, and I was getting very nervous about it, but it’s all part of the process. It’s an incredibly meritocratic system, so if you come up with a big story, no matter how junior or senior you are, you get to work on it. If it’s a front page story, you could be writing that and getting that sort of coverage.”
Graduates on the Daily Mail scheme are given coaching, resources, legal support, and editorial support as they learn on the job. They are also trusted to cover important news stories alongside more experienced colleagues; Sabrina recalls that she was sent to record vox pops in Windsor on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. “To be 22, and to have access to that so early on was really amazingly exciting,” she says.
Sub Editor’s Scheme
As expected, things work slightly differently over on the Daily Mail’s subediting scheme. For current trainee Amelia Perry, shifts start later in the day and go into the evening as they wait for the copy to roll in. She says that, despite knowing that she wanted to go into journalism from a young age, it wasn’t until she began editing her university’s student newspaper that she discovered her love of subediting.
“I did apply to all the subbing schemes, but there aren’t that many of them,” says Amelia, who had done work experience with the Mail years earlier. “The Mail was the one that I really, really wanted, and I think that is one of the difficulties about being a sub, is that they don’t have many options in terms of schemes.” She applied knowing the training would leave her “extremely well qualified” and wanted to be able to push herself.
Like the reporting scheme, the subediting scheme involved applying with a CV and cover letter, as well as three examples of work. Initially applying for the scheme in late January, Amelia didn’t hear back until early April, when she was interviewed by Peter and Sue Ryan on Zoom and sent subediting exercises to complete. This was followed by another set of tasks and an in-person interview. Once the ball was rolling, the process from interview to successfully getting the job was about two weeks. “A job interview is always scary,” says Amelia. “But I would say that they made it feel like a very approachable process.”
Unlike Sabrina, Amelia didn’t have a Master’s or an NCTJ qualification, and recalls having a lot of questions focused on whether she thought it was going to set her back and how she was going to show that she had the relevant skills in her initial interview. Amelia shares that when she spoke to people in the industry, she was told that she wouldn’t be able to land a place on such schemes.
“That just irritated me,” she says. “Because I speak to so many people that feel like they’re very glad that they did [the NCTJ], but did feel that doing the qualification was a box-ticking [exercise].” To best prepare, she read McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists. “They’re not expecting you to rock up with year’s worth of subbing experience because that’s just not realistic. But I do think if you turn up and you’re obviously very passionate and just want to give it a go and you’re enthusiastic, that will actually get you quite far.”
Once on the scheme, trainees will have a month-long crash course in subbing and learn everything about the Daily Mail. Classes include covering basic grammar and spelling, how to write headlines and introductions, place pictures and use InDesign, plus legal training. There is also a weekly news quiz to test knowledge on that week’s stories, and Amelia says that reading the newspapers throughout the week is a good habit to get into.
Like the reporters, the subeditors are sent to the Scottish Daily Mail’s Glasgow office for three months to experience life in the newsroom at a slower pace as they get up to speed before returning to the London headquarters. Trainees on the scheme are all given mentors for support, and Amelia notes that the retention rate for former trainees is very high. “That first shift is really scary,” says Amelia. “But everyone is genuinely lovely and wants you to do as well as possible. Ask questions, and people will help you.”
One thing for prospective applicants to ponder over, however, is whether the subediting scheme is the right fit for them, as opposed to the reporter’s scheme. Amelia says that “subbing is super rewarding and there’s a lot of satisfaction in it if you are a natural perfectionist”, but that the role has quite specific demands, and the hours aren’t the most sociable. “If you don’t mind not having the bylines or your name being on everything or finding stories, then I think you will really love it.”