Ideas for Careers Guide

IDEAS FOR CAREERS

A guide to generating career ideas including what to do each year to grow your ideas and boost your future plans.

University of Wincheste Ideas for Careers

CONTENTS

Introduction

Steps to help generate career ideas

Step 1 Understand the process of making career decisions

Step 2 Recognise the best way for you to learn and make decisions

Step 3 Know yourself and what you want from a career

Step 4 Explore the options available

Step 5 Plan your next steps to make it happen

Recommended activities to undertake each year

Year 1 or Foundation Year

Year 2

Year 3

Support from the careers team

Conclusion

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Help! I have no idea what I want to do in the future

Introduction

This guide will walk you through some steps you can take to consider and generate career ideas. It will also suggest some great activities to get involved with every year which will add to your preparation for life after university. Having a degree equips you for a variety of potential career options, and it can be hard to decide what you want to do after graduating. Your greatest satisfaction is usually found when your work reflects your values and motivations, your choice is therefore very personal and linked to who you are and what energises you.

Do not worry if you have no idea what you would like to do in the future, many people are unsure. Changing jobs frequently in your working life is common and can be exhilarating. There are no right or wrongs when it comes to choosing a career.

Steps to help generate career ideas

There is no perfect roadmap, but you can make a positive difference to your career journey by:

■ Understanding the process of making a career decision.

■ Recognising the best way for you to learn and make decisions.

■ Knowing yourself, your strengths, motivations and personality, and therefore what it is that you want from a career.

■ Exploring the options available to you

■ Planning your next steps to make it happen

■ Following the recommended activities during your course to add to your experience and skills

Many experiences, people, circumstances, and issues; together with your values and beliefs will all impact on the career decisions and choices you make.

Step 1

Understand the process of making a career decision

Finding the right path and making realistic decisions involves weighing up your options and circumstances, while at the same time, aiming to match your interests and motivations to your unique profile of skills, values, and aptitudes. It will take time to explore and reflect who you are, what options are available, what suits you, the current labour market, and steps to get there.

People like to learn and discover what careers might suit them in different ways.

■ Discussing careers with a range of people will highlight different points of view

■ Researching information online can give you insight

■ Actively experiencing things through work, volunteering, shadowing or just generally getting involved in things can be a great way to help you find out first-hand about work environments and tell you more about yourself

■ Completing a range of online questionnaires and assessment tools are a useful place to start if you are struggling for ideas to get started with

Step 2

Factors which influence career choices

Recognise the best way for you to learn and make decisions

Aim to gain as much information as possible to help you make important decisions. Choose the activities that suit how you like to learn, such as:

Talk with others and discuss your options

■ Find out relevant information from employers. Attend webinars, presentations, or employer events and talk to those doing jobs you are interested in. Find many on: CareerConnect

■ Discuss your plans with someone you respect, someone a few years ahead of you in their journey or a friend in a job who you admire (classmates count too!). You can also book to talk with a Faculty Employability Adviser at the University of Winchester, via CareerConnect.

■ Connect with people via LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a very powerful tool to contact organisations, to approach companies that interest you and to find out the career paths of alumni from your course. Do this throughout your time as a student and beyond.

Do something active to find out what interests you

■ Gain experience. Find time for work shadowing, volunteering, a placement, or work experience. You may be able to choose a placement or volunteering module as part of your course.

■ Visit a contact in the world of work. Organise to visit someone in their workplace, see what it looks like and feels like. Ask questions to gain more information.

■ Join a sports club or society. The Student Union hosts countless clubs and societies for you to learn about different interest areas, this will help you gain knowledge and experience and build skills.

■ Undertake part-time work. Consider part-time work to fit around your studies, maybe on campus or in the city. Gain a better understanding of the working world, the expectations of an employer, its structure, the pressures, dealing with customers, time keeping and working with others.

Go online to explore and research career areas and to generate some ideas.

■ Complete an online careers questionnaire to generate ideas, e.g., The longer Career Planner quiz or the tenminute Job Match on www.prospects.ac.uk . UCAS has a Careers Quiz at: ucas.com/explore/career-quiz

■ Take time to research. There are so many good careers websites, full of insight into jobs and occupational areas. You can use these to discover key trends and appreciate what is going on locally, in the national and global jobs market and understand which roles are expanding or declining. We have listed a few sites here that we regularly use as a Careers Team

■ CareerConnect (powered by Jobteaser) our University’s Careers and Opportunities Platform: login at winchester.jobteaser.com (students) or winchester.jobteaser.com/en/users/sign_in (graduates)

■ Prospects: www.prospects.ac.uk

■ Target Jobs: targetjobs.co.uk

■ Bright Network: www.brightnetwork.co.uk

■ National Careers Service: nationalcareers.service.gov.uk

Reflect on your experiences and study so far

■ Consider the elements of your modules you have enjoyed or disliked most. Think about what you want out of the next few years. Where do you want to live? What life goals do you have? What sort of work life balance do you hope to achieve? Then use this information to consider what industries or roles might help you achieve this.

Step 3

Know yourself, your strengths and what you want from a career

Being self-aware, appreciating your strengths and interests, and being able to articulate these is key to finding a job or career that suits you and one that will keep you motivated and positive when applying for your next opportunity.

Your interests, drivers, and motivations

Your personal values and motivations are the drivers that give you purpose in life. Your beliefs that are important to you, and what you enjoy is invaluable for your future choices and finding satisfaction and success. What you hope for in a job and career will be intertwined with who you are as a person,

What do you want from a career?

You may want to do something that gives you real purpose, that means you are making a difference to others. Alternatively, earnings may be important to you, or both? These decisions will be rooted in your beliefs about what is important in life and linked to how you find satisfaction and success.

It will help to spend some time to consider and write down: What do you enjoy doing most? When do you feel most successful? Why do you choose to do something? What keeps you motivated and on track? Lastly, what tasks do you dislike completing?

List your answers Answer 1 Answer 2 Answer 3

What you enjoy doing most?

When do you feel most successful?

Write down the reasons that you choose to do something?

What keeps you motivated and on track?

What tasks do you dislike or avoid completing

Your strengths and skills

Any comments or reasons why you made this choice?

You already have some innate strengths and abilities, things that just come naturally to you and usually feel easy. You know that you are good with numbers, or you have excellent attention to detail, or you are clever with words and writing. Perhaps you easily establish relationships with others and know how to strike up a conversation and put people at ease? Are you the one who always organises a party, a social gathering and is organised and good at planning?

Your course has also given you additional skills and enhanced your expertise in your chosen course subject, you have also developed technical, specialist and transferable skills that will equip you for future work opportunities. Consider any volunteering, work, research, short training, presentations you have made, membership of a social group or a society, playing for a team, etc. Consider the skills you want to promote to an employer?

■ Research and analysing information and experiences

■ Evaluation and articulation of reasoned arguments

■ Organisation and time management, with the capacity to set goals and meet deadlines

■ Written and verbal communication and presentation of ideas, information or reports

■ Leadership and motivation or coaching of others

■ Problem solving, being creative and developing ideas

For applications and interviews you will be asked to provide relevant examples of skills and achievements gained from these activities, that will help you to stand out from the crowd.

Examples of online personality and skills questionnaires

There are a range of online skills questionnaire that can help you identify your abilities and skills and be a great starting point for pinpointing your strengths. You might want to look at these;

■ Cappfinity strengths profile – ask the careers team to give you a link to complete a questionnaire to produce an outline of your understood and unrealised strengths and suggested career areas

■ EY Future Skills Quiz – fscareers.ey.com

■ Buzz quiz - icould – icould.com/buzz-quiz

■ Skills assessment National Careers Service – nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/skills-assessment

■ Career Path Quiz – brightnetwork.co.uk

Step 4

Take time to explore and weigh up your options

Whether you are at the beginning of your course, in your second or final year, a recent graduate or are several years outside university, your unique experience and degree has equipped you with skills and has opened opportunities with a variety of employers and occupations. Develop a thorough picture of your options, be they:

■ Full-time or part-time work, graduate entry level roles, graduate schemes, a sideway move in an existing company or a total change in direction?

■ Further learning, postgraduate, professional training, a Masters or a short skills course?

■ Starting your own business or going freelance?

■ Pausing to take time out, to add to your experience or to consider volunteering?

Be realistic about the context

It is important to understand how the labour market is changing constantly and how it might impact on decisions you make. The National Higher Education Careers Service and Prospects www.prospects.ac.uk/ have some helpful insights and regular labour market updates and helpful tips on job hunting and staying positive. The BBC www.bbc.co.uk has regular employment updates and People Management www.peoplemanagement.co.uk has a regular blog.

Your options explained in a nutshell

1 Explaining work and graduate schemes

Numerous organisations are keen to recruit those who have completed a degree and many have established graduate positions and schemes that start once you have finished your course. These roles open from autumn onwards of your final year so start looking early.

A graduate scheme is a fixed term contract with a structured work-based training programme usually for 1 to 3 years, normally with larger employers looking to recruit future leaders. You will learn about areas of the business and be placed in different departments on rotation. The recruitment process takes several months and will often include an application, an assessment day, video interview and online tests.

A graduate job is often advertised with a smaller company, a role that requires a degree, however, is likely to be less structured than graduate schemes, but still designed to use the skills and knowledge you have gained to date. These roles will be advertised nearer the time they want to you to start, so towards the end of your third year.

2 Further learning

There are an extensive range of further learning opportunities to apply to, be it postgraduate, professional training, or a short skills course. There are a range of motivations for you to continue in higher education and study to a higher level. It may be to:

■ Become a specialist and to enhance your expertise and knowledge in a study area

■ Change direction and gain a qualification in a new area (E.g. Management, Law or Teaching)

■ Pursue an academic career – (E.g. To become a Lecturer and/or Researcher)

■ Gain a new life experience in a new place like Scotland, New Zealand or the USA

■ Broaden your knowledge and experience, wider than your degree, e.g. MA Leadership

■ A specific career demands it (E.g. Teacher, Social worker, Solicitor)

There are over 400 UK Universities and colleges in the UK and many teach an array of postgraduate courses, however there are some that specialise in certain areas.

Self-employment

Why not achieve your dream job by setting up your own company? You may have a business idea, want to work freelance, as a contractor or as a start-up/business? Do you have a product or service that you want to deliver or run? To be taken seriously you will need to articulate your offer and unique selling point, have a business plan and marketing strategy. Book an appointment with our Enterprise Officer, via CareerConnect to discuss your options and get advice on how to best navigate the world of enterprise, business ownership or freelancing.

4 Taking time out

You may want to take the opportunity to do something different, add to your experience, see the world, experience diverse cultures and experience different ways of working. Future employers will appreciate the understanding of diversity and range of experiences that you will bring to them.

Taking time to weigh up your options, decide where your professional interests lie, travel and gain life experience also helps you to make more informed career decisions. Part-time work, volunteering, travelling, or completing a short course during this time will help you to further your understanding of what you want from your career.

Step 5

Plan your next step

The best way to turn your ideas and research into reality is to establish a plan and formulate your next steps. An action plan is a checklist or steps to take to achieve your goals and it doesn’t need to be complicated. There are many different templates but here are 6 steps to explain an approach to achieve your goals.

■ Outline your goal or desired aspiration

■ List the steps you need to take or tasks to complete to reach your goal

■ Include deadlines and a timescale for each task

■ Include the names of the people who can help you

■ Consider what resources are needed to complete each task-how will you access them?

■ How will you evaluate your progress?

You might choose to put all the above into a table. Aim to keep your tasks SMART.

Suggested action plan within a table

Outline your goals or aspiration

List steps or tasks to do to reach your goal

Add deadlines or a timescale for each step

Write the names of the people who can help at each step

Outline any resources needed to complete each task

How will you know if this goal is reached?

Summary and recommendations

Whatever your circumstances, the Careers and Opportunities Hub is here to help you explore and navigate your personal career choices. Remember that finding the right path and making realistic decisions involves weighing up your options and circumstances, while at the same time, aiming to match your interests and motivations to your unique profile of skills, values, and attributes.

Activities to get involved with each year to add to your abilities and experience

In your first year? Level 4 employability plans and activities

Year 1 Semester 1: October - December

Welcome weeks Get the best start to your course

■ Attend induction sessions in your faculty and central Headstart sessions

■ Sign into CareerConnect our careers and opportunities platform dedicated to Winchester students, and set-up your profile

Get involved Commit to making the most of your time at university. Get involved with a range of opportunities like volunteering, part-time work, or a placement module.

■ Explore the range of opportunities available to you through the Students’ Union, be it clubs, societies or as a STAR representative for your course

■ Consider part-time work on campus or in Winchester to add to your skills and earn alongside your studies

■ Consider volunteering for a cause you feel passionate about

Skills awareness

■ Start to identify your skills by accessing the information and advice through this guide. Consider completing a couple of the online questionnaires

■ Consider which skills you would like to develop and how?

Year 1 Semester 2 onwards: January - June

Explore opportunities

■ Start to understand your range of options and explore our wide range of resources available on CareerConnect, including downloadable guides and videos

■ Use CareerConnect to book onto our events and workshops to support your research

■ There are many websites, full of job search and application advice, plus insights into jobs and occupational areas, key trends in the local, national and global jobs markets. In addition to CareerConnect look at Prospects: www.prospects.ac.uk, Target Jobs: targetjobs.co.uk and Bright Network: www.brightnetwork.co.uk

Develop your CV and build experience

Be ready with strong application documents

■ As you start to gain experience through the first year, create a CV that includes your degree and that demonstrates your experience so far. Use our guide or watch our online seminar to help you do this

■ Use this to approach organisations for part-time or volunteering roles

■ Create a professional LinkedIn profile

Think ahead and make the most of your summer

■ If you have opted to do a sandwich year allowing you to complete an industrial or workbased placement you may wish to explore the types of opportunities that will be available to you

■ To produce a strong placement application, it will be important to continue to build on your range of experience

■ Start to identify companies that offer summer work, placements, internships, or insight days for first year students

In your second year? Level 5 Employability Plans and activities

Year 2 Semester 1: October - December

First few weeks

■ Remind yourself how the Careers and Opportunities Hub can support you

■ Update your profile on CareerConnect, and set your preferences to receive a daily alert of opportunities that interest you

Add to your skills and get involved

■ Use your second year to get involved with a range of things like volunteering, part-time work, or a placement module

■ Are there some additional skills you would like to develop? What are they and what opportunities will help you to gain those skills?

■ Many charities have a wide range of activities you can get involved with, even for only a few hours per week so why don’t you consider volunteering for a cause or a particular charity that you are passionate about

■ Earn some money whilst studying. Develop your understanding of the working world, add to your skills by doing a part-time job, working on campus, being a Student Ambassador, undertaking a placement or volunteering module

■ Explore the range of opportunities available to you through the Students’ Union, be it clubs, societies or as a STAR representative of your course

■ Review your skills by accessing the information and advice through this guide. Complete some online questionnaires to see how you are progressing

Explore opportunities

■ Research some career ideas and consider which one’s appeal to you. Gain a better understanding of your career options and explore our wide range of resources available on CareerConnect, including downloadable guides and videos

■ Use CareerConnect to book onto our events and workshops to support your research

■ There are many websites, full of job search and application advice, plus insights into jobs and occupational areas, key trends in the local, national and global jobs markets. In addition to CareerConnect look at Prospects: www.prospects.ac.uk, Target Jobs: targetjobs.co.uk and Bright Network: www.brightnetwork.co.uk

Making applications

■ Update your CV to include your degree and additional skills obtained, demonstrate your experience so far and attend our sessions to help you do this

■ Use this to approach organisations for part-time or volunteering roles

■ Review and update your LinkedIn profile. Increase your contacts

Year 2 Semester 2 onwards: January - June

Think ahead and make the most of your summer

■ There is still time to apply for a sandwich year /work-based placement so ensure you are registered to the best sites like www.inspiringinterns.com www.ratemyplacement.co.uk, www.gradcracker.com, and www.targetjobs.co.uk

■ Update your preferences on CareerConnect to receive alerts of placements and graduate roles so you can begin to explore the graduate job market

■ Even without a placement module, it is vital to continue to build on your range of experience

■ Consider making a speculative application to an employer to gain work experience using our information and advice on CareerConnect

In your third or final year? Level 6 Employability Plans and activities

Year 3 Semester 1: October - December

First few weeks

■ Know how the Careers and the Opportunities Hub can support you in your final year

■ Register for events on CareerConnect to know your options and deadlines

■ Review your profile on CareerConnect, and set your preferences to receive a daily alert of graduate roles that interest you

Start planning for a great future and weigh up your options

Your unique experiences and degree have given you knowledge and skills to consider many paths, employers, and occupations.

■ Develop a thorough picture of your choices, be it to find graduate level or full-time work, study further, start your own business or take time out

■ Start to identify a plan to find the right next steps and generate some ideas by following this straightforward A.B, C, D

■ Attend webinars, Beyond Your Degree, career and employer events and talk to those in jobs you are interested in

■ Build in time for work experience, volunteering, or a placement

■ Complete an online careers questionnaire to help to generate ideas

■ Discuss your plans with a Faculty Employability Adviser

Find graduate opportunities

Graduate roles open autumn onwards so start looking early. There are plenty of opportunities promoted that you are qualified and skilled for.

■ Use CareerConnect Set your preferences to receive email alerts of graduate jobs

■ Register to get notifications on specialist graduate jobs boards such as www.prospects.ac.uk, targetjobs.co.uk, www.brightnetwork.co.uk

■ Use alerts and filters on various sites to hone your results. Use job titles, duties, or the word “graduate” on www.indeed.co.uk or www.reed.co.uk

■ Search the websites of companies you really want to work for. e.g. www.sainsburys.jobs and www.hsbc.com/careers/find-a-job

■ Make yourself searchable. Some job boards have a function for you to upload your CV to their database, making it visible to recruiters

■ Use sector specific job sites for industries. E.g. www.charityjob.co.uk, www.environmentjob.co.uk/jobs, and www.designweek.co.uk

■ Update your LinkedIn profile, connect with those in companies you are interested in. Link with contacts made through previous experiences

■ Use your contacts to find the jobs that are not publicly advertised. Send employers a well written CV and a covering email

Look good on paper, online and at interview

Produce a clear, well written and professional application to secure an interview.

■ Target your application to the job you are applying for and demonstrate that you are suited to them and the actual job

■ Ensure your application demonstrates that you meet all the essential criteria and as many of the desirable criteria of the job as possible, that are being assessed

■ Write an appealing cover letter to set you apart in the application process

■ Research and attend events on interviews and assessment centres

Year 3 Semester 2: January - June

There is still time to apply for graduate and other roles.

Make the most of your summer

■ Attend Beyond Your Degree and other events, all advertised on CareerConnect

■ Update job preferences on CareerConnect and the graduate specialist sites to receive alerts of graduate roles

■ Consider making a speculative application to an employer to gain work experience using our advice on the ‘resources tab’ of CareerConnect

■ Update your CareerConnect profile to a personal email address

■ Remember- your first job doesn’t have to be ‘perfect’! Any job allows you to gain valuable employable skills and experiences, which will help you to achieve your dream role in the future

Support from the Careers Team

The Careers Team will support you to explore your different options, your job search and study ideas and has a breadth of resources to help. Whether you are looking for graduate roles, considering more study, exploring self-employment, or still thinking about your options, we are here to help. You can still access CareerConnect and the Careers and Opportunities Hub as a graduate.

Resources to support you

■ You have access to CareerConnect, our careers and opportunities platform where you can:

■ Search for employers and work and set choices for job alerts that suit you

■ View and attend our workshops and events

■ Access information and advice

■ Book a short Job Search appointment or a longer careers guidance discussion with one of our Faculty Employability Advisers (Career Advisers)

You may book a 15-minute “Get your job search started” for a practical session to help set your job search criteria on CareerConnect, sign up to alerts to receive the most relevant opportunities and register to 3x job sites in your chosen sector(s).

If you want a longer 40-minute discussion and “time out” to discuss your future options, to consider your interests, values and challenges and to weigh up the implications of any career decisions, book a Careers Guidance Discussion with a Faculty Employability Adviser. They will work with you to take ownership of your own career planning, by listening to your ideas and helping you through the process of choosing and applying for job opportunities, further study, and other considerations, where appropriate.

Conclusion

Whatever your circumstances, whether you are a first or final year or a recent graduate, your unique experience and learning so far has equipped you to manage your plans and take the next step. Remember, many career routes are not linear, different opportunities will become available to you at different points in your life. Here at the Careers and Opportunities Hub, we aim to help you navigate your personal career path.

Give yourself time to consider your options, aim to remain positive, resilient and flexible and be kind to yourself too. Remember that finding the right path and making realistic decisions involves weighing up your options and circumstances, while at the same time, aiming to match your interests and motivations to your unique profile of skills, values and attributes.