ADD ADVICE TO FAVCareers services
It doesn’t matter what stage you have reached in your career planning; even if you have no idea what career areas to explore, head to your careers service to get an idea of your options or to be pointed in the right direction.
Even if you have completed your degree, your university careers service – or a more local one if you have moved since graduating – should be at hand to offer you expert advice and tangible information to help you with your decision-making processes and your careers search.
Guidance doesn’t have to come in the form of a careers adviser. Whether you visit to do research (leafing through brochures and browsing the internet for inspiration), for help writing your CV or to find a way to boost your skills, your careers service should be able to provide you with what you need.
Careers resources
Go to your careers service for:
- access to the internet and word processing
- access to a careers library, with employer and careers information
- Computer Aided Guidance (including quizzes and ’career choosing’ programs)
- employer directories
- on-campus events information
- job vacancies
- videos and DVDs.
Finding job information
Where you start depends on what stage of the decision-making process you are at and what you want to get out of your careers service. If you are unsure where to turn first, ask at the helpdesk or reception.
There will be lots of introductory information for you to read if you go to the right place (for instance, to a notice board or a computer), or you could simply pick up some hand outs to read around your different options. Start by picking up some introductory materials before coming back with more informed opinions and questions to ask your careers adviser.
The following are good sources of information:
GET Directory
The GET Directory of Graduate Employment and Training is an annual directory of UK employers who want to recruit graduates.
As well as comprehensive employer listings (searchable by company name, job type or degree subject) you’ll find practical advice, in-depth information about different career areas and jobs, useful contacts and profiles of the largest graduate employers.
Graduate destination statistics
These will tell you what other people from your degree have done in the past, and may give you some idea of the possible career paths available to you.
Occupational files
Your careers service most likely has a collection of information on many different careers, from various sources. This is particularly useful for those interested in areas such as the media or public sector that don’t yield enough advertising revenue to justify commercial publications.
Advice
Once you have established what career areas you are interested in, make an appointment with your careers adviser for professional opinions (for instance, the pros and cons of particular occupations or reputations of courses) and for help with applications.
Sessions with careers advisers can vary from formal one-to-one interviews or drop-in sessions to a basic ’e-mail your careers service’ online function.
Some recruiters run workshops at careers services, which may cover any of the following:
- CV clinics
- interview techniques
- assessment centres
- psychometric testing
- time management.
