From Graduate to grown-up: Getting your Career Started
Research just published by the Graduate Recruitment Company (“Lost in Transition”, GRC) reports that university careers services are “under-funded, under-resourced and poor quality”. A survey of 700 graduates found that two-thirds of students are dissatisfied with the careers services on offer at their college, and one in five didn’t use them at all. The report has interesting implications for universities, careers services and students alike. Universities might need to think about providing more funding for careers services. Careers services might need to think about offering more stimulating and relevant advice. And students might simply need to think about getting their act together a bit sooner, and taking advantage of the career advice available to them.
The students of the future would no doubt welcome better provision of careers services by universities. But what do you do if you’ve just graduated, you don’t have a job lined up and, what’s more, you don’t actually have a clue about the career direction you want to follow? First of all, try not to fall into the twin traps of panic on the one hand or complacency on the other.
You’re only just starting out on your career, so there’s time for a bit of trial and error – in fact, for most people except those who knew from age 5 that they wanted to be a vet or a brain surgeon, that’s an inevitable part of the career planning process. You may well need to try a few things to see what suits you best. At the same time, it’s sensible to remember that around 30% of graduates are still out of work up to 3 years after they graduate, and even more will be stuck in low-paid administrative jobs. If you don’t want to be one of the “drifter” statistics who’s still temping 10 years down the line, now’s the time to get planning.
The good news is there is plenty of help available. Despite the slightly depressing findings of the GRC report, many universities and colleges have reasonable careers services, and will make their resources available to graduates as well as undergraduates. This is as good a starting point as any. While much of the information available is likely to focus on more “mainstream” careers, (management consulting, accountancy, the Civil Service, for example), a good trawl through what’s available will, at the very least, help you to eliminate career paths that don’t appeal.
OK, so you’ve exhausted the resources (and possibly the patience) of the University careers service. What next? One thing that I strongly encourage clients not to do is ask their relatives or friends for advice. This is because, however well meaning they are, the people who are closest to you will inevitably have a whole set of preconceptions and prejudices about what you could or should do. The decision about your career path needs to be yours and yours alone. Do, though, ask around friends and family to find out about the jobs they do, what they involve on a day-to-day basis, and what they like/dislike about their roles. This is all useful background research.
Also useful is an objective source of information and advice, such as a professional careers adviser. There’s a wide range of this kind of service available, with different approaches and price tags. Some use psychometric testing, for example, while others use in-depth questionnaires and interviews to help you to identify your key drivers, skills and interests. The trick is to find an adviser and a process that you feel comfortable with. Shop around: many will offer a free initial consultation which will give you a flavour of how they work, and possibly even some tips and pointers on the sorts of questions you should be asking yourself. Sessions with a career coach may seem expensive, but measure it in terms of your increased likelihood of making a good career decision, and it starts to look like an investment more than a cost. You might even persuade an indulgent relative to buy you a couple of sessions as a graduation present. (See details of special offer below*)
If you’re totally strapped for cash, help is still available. Online job sites such as www.monster.co.uk contain a wealth of useful information about career choice and jobseeking, and also have online forums where you can pose your question to a career professional and get some pointers. You can do some basic online careers tests for free at http://uk.tickle.com/, and there are lots of similar resources on the web. Don’t treat the results as definitive answers, though: at best they’re indicators of some of the directions that might suit you. It’s worth checking out what your local library has in terms of careers directories and other resources. And of course there are hundreds of books available on the subject of career planning. The classic is “What Colour is Your Parachute?” by Richard Bolles; “How to Get a Job you Love” by John Lees (McGraw-Hill), is one of the best I’ve come across.
KNOW YOUR VALUES
- You can’t find out what you want until you find out who you are. What are your values? What’s most important to you? What are you passionate about? What do you really want out of life and how do you want your friends and family to remember you? Taking the time to think about the things that really matter to you is a good starting point for finding your ideal role. Work is a very important part of most people’s lives, but it is only one part – so get clear about what you want your life and lifestyle to be like, and what kind of work-life balance you’re looking for. You need to have a context for your career choices.
SPOTLIGHT YOUR SKILLS
- The real secret to finding your career niche is to focus on the skills you like to use and things that you’re really interested in. Carry out a skills analysis: the trick is to focus on your favourite skills. The mistake that most of us make when we’re asked to list our skills is to focus on what we’ve done in the past, whether we’ve enjoyed it or not. Think about the aspects of your study or work experience that you’ve really enjoyed, and why. And be specific: to say that you are a “good communicator” doesn’t really throw a lot of light on the subject. But if you know that you like talking informally to small groups of people but hate making formal presentations, then you’re starting to get somewhere.
WHAT INTERESTS YOU?
- Once you know the skills you have and most enjoy using, the next step is to find the area or field where you want to apply those skills. The key here is to focus on what you’re interested in. Let’s face it, if you don’t care about what you’re doing or the environment you’re doing it in, your job satisfaction isn’t going to be very high. Write down every single thing that interests you – what books do you read, what films and TV programmes do you watch, what do you talk about at parties? How do you have fun? Put together a comprehensive list of everything that you get enthusiastic about.
PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER
- Now consolidate your findings. Use your skills analysis to draw up an ideal role specification for yourself: exactly what would you like to spend your day doing? Use your interests analysis to identify industries or sectors that appeal to you. Browse the Internet, newspapers, magazines and, yes, even careers directories for ideas. Brainstorm ideas with your friends – but remember you don’t want their advice, just their creative input. Think laterally, let your imagination run riot and, above all, listen to your gut instinct.
· Be aware, too, of the other factors affecting your career choice. What are the most important aspects of work for you? The money? Your work colleagues? The working environment? How do you want to work – on your own or in a team, for example? Do you want to travel or be based in one place? You need to know your preferences so that you can find a career that fits you. Don’t be afraid to be imaginative – the work environment is more flexible now than it has ever been, so allow yourself to think outside the “9 to 5” and “traditional career route” boxes.
At the end of the day, finding the career that suits you best comes down to a combination of self-knowledge and trial and error. You may not get it exactly right first time, but look on the process as a learning curve and an adventure. The most important thing is to get out there and get on with it.
City Life Coaching 2005
*City Life Coaching is currently offering a special rate for new graduates - a 90-minute one-to-one coaching session, which can be delivered either face-to-face or by telephone, will cost you just £75 (normal rate £125) if you mention this article when booking. Contact them on 020 7902 1988 or email jenny@citylifecoaching.com.
