What Else Can You Do?

Maybe you don’t feel ready to enter the working world, or maybe you simply haven’t found a job yet. What other options are there?

Time out

Taking some “tme out” – or a “gap year” – afer your studies is a common route for many graduates in the West, and it’s becoming increasingly popular here in Asia.

There are many great opportunites during a gap year to boost your confdence and experience, all while improving your resume in the process. Most tend to fall into one of the following areas:

Travel

You can travel purely for the cultural experience and global exposure, or you can combine travel with voluntary or paid work experience. Specialist organisatons can help you arrange either paid or voluntary experience in advance, or you can just fgure things out as you go along.

Travelling can also serve as a crash course in fnance; you’ll be forced to learn how to budget and manage your money.

Not only that, but being on the go all the tme will drive you out of your comfort zone and push you to fend for yourself – and you can highlight these skills and experience in your future job applicatons.

Of course, at the moment, this opton is only possible if the countries you’re aiming to travel to are acceptng tourists, and you meet vaccinaton requirements, if any. Most importantly, you have to be willing to accept the risks of doing so. You can fnd opportunites both locally and overseas, and these can range from working with your local social work organisatons to global enttes.

But one of the biggest benefts of volunteering is the contacts you’ll make; you may even be surprised by the people you run into. Moreover, the connectons you make with fellow volunteers and supervisors may come in handy when you begin job huntng.

On top of all that, in some cases, voluntary work can be sold in your resume as professional experience, depending on the nature of the work and the skills the role requires. There’s also the opton to gain new skills or brush up on existng ones. Learning a new language is a popular choice, as are IT-related courses like applicatons development and web design.

While this may only appeal to graduates who are looking to be more compettve in the job market, having a new skill under your belt will impress employers, and can also help you meet the technical requirements for a positon you may be interested in.

Voluntary work Short courses

Is it for me?

Yes

• Your gap year may help you work out what you want to do • It’ll give you the experience you need to fnd a job • It’ll help you develop career management skills, such as adaptability, fexibility and problem-solving No

• You may fnd yourself out of sync with the recruitment cycle when you return from your travels • You’re worried about competng with new graduates afer your tme out • You’re only doing it in the hope that the economic situaton will improve while you’re pursuing other things

Postgraduate studies

A postgraduate qualifcaton may improve your career prospects, but you’ll need to consider your optons carefully.

For one, postgraduate study is both tme-consuming and costly, so make sure you are clear about your reasons for pursuing further educaton instead of jumping in prematurely.

Seek out good advice. Prepare a shortlist of courses you’re considering and then book an appointment with an advisor at your career services centre. A career advisor can help you work through the key consideratons involved and give you advice on preparing a strong applicaton.

When choosing a course, you will need to consider:

The content and mode of study

The content of your course should align with your motvatons for pursuing a postgraduate qualifcaton. If you’re looking to add value to your undergraduate qualifcaton for a specifc career feld, consider the relevance of the course’s content to the industry you aim to work in.

You’ll also have to consider the mode of study – universites typically ofer a choice between full-tme and part-tme courses. While part-tme studying will let you spread the cost of the course as well as ofer a beter balance between work and school, the level of your engagement with a part-tme course won’t be as high as that of a full-tme one. Finding a source of funds is the most difcult hurdle for most postgraduate students. If your parents are willing to help you out, then good for you! If not, a bank loan may be a viable opton.

However, if you’ve already taken up a loan for your undergraduate studies, you may need to seriously consider if you want to add on to that debt – or if you even qualify for the additonal loan.

Alternatvely, you can take the course on a part-tme basis and work a full-tme job to service the tuiton fees.

Also, don’t just limit yourself to just a Master or PhD! If pursuing a postgraduate degree seems like overkill, you can always consider making the transiton to your desired career sector through a postgraduate conversion course instead.

Funding

Is it for me?

Yes

• The course will add value to your undergraduate degree • It’ll make you more employable in your own area • A conversion course will qualify you for a diferent area of work No

• You’re doing it purely for future salary benefts; most employers don’t pay candidates with postgraduate qualifcatons with no prior work experience more, except in a specialised feld • You’re doing this because you’re not sure about what career path to pursue and want more tme to fgure things out