Whether you’re still settling into your first year or you’re just a few months away from graduation, these 10 top tips should kick start your career planning.
There are lots of useful tips and tools on our employability website. The ’knowing yourself’ section will help you to take a long, hard look at what you’ve got to offer and what’s going to fulfil you. An appointment with a careers adviser will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. And you can assess your skills, motivations and interests to generate ideas on Prospects, the UK-wide graduate careers website.
Once you’ve had a think about where you are at now, be proactive. Fill in any gaps in your skills and experience and find ways of enhancing your employability. Get some paid or unpaid work experience and get yourself on short courses to develop your all of your skills – from IT and technical to personal development. And gather evidence as you go. This will help you to market yourself.
Cast your net wide. Don’t restrict your search to jobs that are directly related to your course subject area. Find out what’s out there by using our careers information rooms, Prospects and careers fairs and speak to everyone and anyone you know about what they do and what they love about it.
This might not be possible if you’re considering being a surgeon or an astronaut, but take advantage of all work experience opportunities you can. Be creative. This doesn’t just mean formal work placements – you can also get valuable experience from shadowing, voluntary work, short-term vacation or part-time positions or by finding a mentor.
Look in the right places and bear in mind that around half of jobs aren’t advertised so it’s worth approaching companies and organisations you’re interested in. Devote some time and energy to networking. It’s not always what you know… it’s who. So have a look around you and use your contacts.
Getting a job is a bit like putting together a marketing campaign, with you as the product. The employability and careers service can help you put together a professional and impressive CV and help with how to fill in successful application forms. Avoid looking standardised. Standard CV layouts and clichéd supporting statements won’t get you noticed. What will are well-researched applications that make it clear that you can add real value to the company and solve problems they are facing. Make it so they can’t turn you down.
Find out all about the different tests and types of interviews that you may be faced with well before you start applying. The more experience and information you have at an early stage, the better equipped you’ll be when it comes to the real thing. The employability and careers service has practise tests and can help with interview techniques. And if you are unsuccessful, follow up and ask for feedback so you can do better next time.
If you want to work in the UK once you’ve graduated it’s important that you check your status and make sure that you are eligible to look for work here.
Have a plan B. Be flexible and realistic – but not random. A scattered approach to finding a job will waste lots of time and energy and probably get you nowhere. Keep reviewing your plan and if it’s taking you a while to find what you want, get involved in activities that will develop your skills and knowledge.
Keep on top of what’s happening in the economy and the job market – as well as reading newspapers and news sites, keep an eye on AGR and AGCAS, the specialist organisations for graduate recruitment and employment.