kickstart your career - the careers group
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Finding a career that suits you is a process that involves thinking about your abilities and interests, and taking the time to research your career ideas. Many people worry that they’ll make the wrong career decision and that one false start will doom them forever. If this sounds familiar, bear in mind that no decision is final. It’s rare for people to be in their first graduate job for more than a couple of years (without leaving or changing their role) and it’s possible to change careers once you have some proven skills and experience. For more information, advice, tips and jobs: www.careers.lon.ac.uk www.jobonline.thecareersgroup.co.uk/careersgroup/student www.thecareersgroup.co.uk www.gradsintocareers.co.uk www.c2careers.com www.careerstagged.co.uk tempjobs.london.ac.ukTRANSCRIPT
www.careers.lon.ac.uk THE CAREERS SERVICE GUIDE London 2014 19
Job-hunting
KICKSTARTYOUR CAREER
Plan your next step.
S ome people have always knownwhat they want to do with theirlife. Others have absolutely noidea what’s going to happen
after university. Most of us fallsomewhere in the middle.
Finding a career that suits you is aprocess that involves thinking aboutyour abilities and interests, and takingthe time to research your career ideas.
Many people worry that they’llmake the wrong career decision andthat one false start will doom themforever. If this sounds familiar, bear inmind that no decision is final. It’s rarefor people to be in their first graduatejob for more than a couple of years(without leaving or changing their role)and it’s possible to change careers onceyou have some proven skills andexperience.
What else can I do? Formal training programmes aren’t theonly way to get on the career ladder: infact, they account for less than 15 percent of graduate jobs. Here are somealternative options to kick-start yourcareer.• Temping can be a good stop-gap,
allowing you to pay off some debts,try out some different industries andbuild up your CV. If you do the jobwell, something more permanent andmore senior may be up for grabs.
• Entry-level positions may not bebilled as ‘graduate jobs’ but theyusually need graduates to do them.You can often move up very quicklythrough the ranks if you demonstrateyour potential early on.
• Alternative working styles –particularly if the nine-to-five isn’treally your style – include setting upyour own business, freelancing,joining a franchise or a co-operative,contract working, jugglingsimultaneous assignments or taking a
well-paid ‘day’ job to fund anentirely different career goal. Somecareers, such as acting and TVproduction, require this kind offlexibility during ‘rest periods’ tokeep the bills paid.
Breaking the jobless cycleYou need experience to get a job, butyou can’t get a job without experience.Sound familiar? If you’recaught in this vicious(un)employment cycle,consider boosting your skillsthrough a paid vacationplacement or relevant volunteeringwork. You could also opt for aworking holiday, combining workexperience with broadening yourhorizons. Your Careers Service willhave details about these schemes.
In short, there’s no such thing as a‘typical’ graduate career. Working life iswhat you choose to make it, so ifconventional methods aren’t gettingyou anywhere, take a different route –or choose another direction entirely.
There’s no such thing as a ‘typical’graduate career. Working life is what you
choose to make it.
www.careers.lon.ac.uk
Job-hunting
20 THE CAREERS SERVICE GUIDE London 2014
Discuss your options witha careers consultant
Visit the Careers Serviceinformation room to findout about different jobs
Use career choicewebsites and scanjob adverts to seewhat’s out there
Talk to people you knowabout what they do
Attend alumni careersevents put on by yourCareers Service
Contact your alumni office
Join your collegealumni group onwww.linkedin.comand browse profilesor post a query on thediscussion group
Become a societycommittee member
2–3 days of job shadowing Go on courses and attendevents about getting intocertain careers to getinsight
Participate in businessgames run by university ora company to see whereyour skills are
Undertake volunteering
Take on positions ofresponsibility, such asmentoring or being acourse representative
Enter universitycompetitions
For all the UoL collegeson our survey,percentages from DLHE11/12 are:
Work 65.42%Work & study 3.37%Study 18.19%Unemployed 7.89%Unavailable 1.94%Other 3.18%
Gain workexperience and
job insights
Get a range of
experiencesLook at
what othergraduates do
Reflect onyour talentsand interests
Starting outon your
career path
The City Course, run by The Careers Group, provided a grandperspective into financial and legal careers through presentations, networkingsessions and insightful group activities hosted by recent graduates,recruitment teams and senior staff. This fantastic opportunity influencedand broadened my industry awareness in just five days by exposing me tomany finance sectors. What I valued most was the first-hand experiencegained in the workshops, where I formulated my own opinion of financecareers instead of solely relying on magazines and company brochures.The most poignant aspect of the course was witnessing the calibre of mypeers, which drove me to step up my game in my ultimate year.
Punit Ghumra, Queen Mary alumnus
www.careers.lon.ac.uk
Job-hunting
THE CAREERS SERVICE GUIDE London 2014 21
Sarah Webster,Employment and
ProgressionWorker
David Wood,Deputy Director,
Regeneration andEconomic
Analysis Unit
Naresh Bhojwani,Graduate Trainee,
InvestmentBanking
Technology
RamlaAwaais,
Scientist
Find the right career for youResources to help you Work out what might suit you: www.careers.lon.ac.uk/sortit.Find out about different types of jobs:
targetjobs.co.uk www.prospects.ac.uk www.careerplayer.com icould.comWhat Do London Graduates Do? wlgd.thecareersgroup.co.ukCareers Group courses College careers events
Do anything, be anyoneThere is no such thing as a typical University of Londonstudent so it follows that there is no such thing as a typicalUniversity of London graduate career. However, looking atwhat previous students have gone on to do can be a good wayof starting to think about what type of job or study might suityou. Find out more about working in the City, not-for-profit,science, technology and creative industries on pages 42 and 43.
Anti-socialbehaviour co-ordinator
Mediator Landlord
Horse rider
ExplainerAbstracting andindexing officer
Gardener
Herpetologist
Rugby player
Phonerecycler
The most unusualgraduate careers Storyteller
Phlebotomist
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