CHOOSING A CAREER

CHOOSING A CAREER INVOLVES 4 MAIN STAGES:

•SELF AWARENESS

•OPPORTUNITY AWARENESS

•DECISION MAKING

•TAKING ACTION

SELF AWARENESS

• THE FIRST STAGE OF CAREER CHOICE IS SELF AWARENESS. THIS INVOLVES

LOOKING AT YOUR SKILLS, VALUES, INTERESTS AND PERSONALITY AND

ANALYZING WHERE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES LIE. THIS IS

IMPORTANT BOTH IN CHOOSING THE RIGHT CAREER AND ALSO FOR SUCCESS

IN APPLICATIONS AND INTERVIEWS WHERE YOU WILL FIND MANY QUESTIONS

WHICH TEST WHETHER YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS PROCESS.

OPPORTUNITY AWARENESS

• ONCE YOU HAVE DONE SOME PRELIMINARY SELF ANALYSIS, THE NEXT STAGE IS

TO GATHER INFORMATION ON THE OPPORTUNITIES OPEN TO YOU. THERE IS A RANGE

OF RESOURCES TO HELP YOU HERE:

• THERE MAY ALSO BE SPECIFIC CAREERS EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR YOUR DEGREE

SUBJECT, USUALLY DURING YOUR SECOND YEAR OF STUDY.

• INFORMATION ON WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR DEGREE SUBJECT

• MANY JOBS ARE OPEN TO GRADUATES OF ANY DEGREE SUBJECT, AND IT'S IMPORTANT NOT TO

ONLY FOCUS ON THE JOBS RELATED TO YOUR DEGREE, BUT IF YOU ARE DOING A VOCATIONAL

DEGREE, OR SIMPLY WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT PREVIOUS KENT GRADUATES IN YOUR SUBJECT

HAVE GONE ON TO DO, THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES SHOULD HELP.

OPPORTUNITY AWARENESS

• WHAT CAN I DO WITH MY DEGREE IN ......? INFORMATION ON CAREERS FROM ALL KENT

DEGREE SUBJECTS.

• CAREERS OPEN TO GRADUATES WITH ANY DEGREE SUBJECT

• EARLY IN YOUR COURSE YOU SHOULD LOOK AT THE WORK EXPERIENCE OPEN TO YOU.

AS WELL AS ALLOWING YOU TO EARN MONEY, THEY MAY ALLOW YOU TO GAIN

RELEVANT SKILLS AND PERHAPS AN INSIGHT INTO THE TYPES OF JOB YOU ARE

INTERESTED IN, PUTTING YOU AT THE HEAD OF THE QUEUE WHEN YOU EVENTUALLY

APPLY FOR JOBS.

• EARLY IN YOUR COURSES YOU SHOULD LOOK AT THE WORK EXPERIENCE

 OPEN TO YOU. AS WELL AS ALLOWING YOU TO EARN MONEY, THEY MAY ALLOW

YOU TO GAIN RELEVANT SKILLS AND PERHAPS AN INSIGHT INTO THE TYPES OF

JOB YOU ARE INTERESTED IN, PUTTING YOU AT THE HEAD OF THE QUEUE

WHEN YOU EVENTUALLY APPLY FOR JOBS.

• YOU MAY LIKE TO ENTER POSTGRADUATE STUDY INSTEAD OF DIRECTLY

ENTERING A JOB, OR IT MAY BE REQUIRED FOR A PARTICULAR CAREER SUCH

AS LAW OR TEACHING. HERE IT MAY BE IMPORTANT TO APPLY EARLY IN YOUR

FINAL YEAR AND TO LOOK AT WHETHER FUNDING WILL BE AVAILABLE TO PAY

FOR THE COURSE.

MAKING DECISIONS

• YOU NEED TO CONSIDER ALL OF FACTORS ON WHAT YOU WANT IN A CAREER

(SUCH AS HELPING OTHERS, PROMOTION PROSPECTS) AND WILL GIVE

SUGGESTIONS OF POSSIBLE CAREERS WHICH MIGHT MATCH THESE. REGARD

THESE AS USEFUL SUGGESTIONS RATHER THAN GOSPEL TRUTH, BUT THEY

SHOULD BRING UP SOME POSSIBILITIES THAT YOU HAVEN'T CONSIDERED

BEFORE.

• PROSPECTS PLANNER WWW.PROSPECTS.AC.UK/LINKS/PPLANNER IS A

POWERFUL PROGRAM TO HELP YOU CHOOSE A GRADUATE CAREER. IT ALLOWS

YOU TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR VALUES AND INTERESTS AND THEN

TO RELATE THESE TO A DATABASE OF HUNDREDS OF OCCUPATIONS TO GET

SUGGESTIONS ON APPROPRIATE CAREERS.

MAKING DECISIONS

• TALK TO GRADUATES ALREADY WORKING IN YOUR CHOSEN CAREER AREA. 

WORK SHADOWING (SPENDING A DAY WITH) A PERSON IN THE CAREER YOU

ARE CONSIDERING IS THE NEXT BEST THING TO ACTUALLY DOING A JOB, TO

FIND OUT WHAT IT IS LIKE. IF YOU HAVE DONE THIS, YOU WILL COME ACROSS

AS MUCH BETTER PREPARED AT INTERVIEWS.

TAKING ACTION

• THIS IS THE FINAL PROCESS OF CAREER PLANNING. IT INVOLVES:

• FINDING OUT ABOUT THE EMPLOYERS THAT OFFER THE TYPES OF JOBS YOU

ARE INTERESTED IN.

• SEARCH OUR VACANCY DATABASE

• PREPARING APPLICATIONS AND ATTENDING INTERVIEWS

• PERHAPS TAKING APTITUDE TESTS AND ATTENDING SELECTION CENTRES