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