Planning your career

The following Action Plan provides a brief overview of the whole process of career planning, development and management. This will place all the steps, which will be more fully explored later, into context.

A career action plan for students

There are a variety of things you can do while still at university to make the most of the opportunities available to you to develop the skills that employers will be looking for!

Increase your self-awareness

List your strengths and weaknesses. Use others to help. Continually update the list.
Actively seek feedback from colleagues, staff, close friends and family.
Note which experiences really motivate you.
Establish your values and underlying beliefs. You will not be comfortable if you do things which work against these values.

Make an informed decision about what, how and where to study: In a survey of recent graduates, 30% said they would probably not take the same course if they had their time over again. Do some research before committing to a course.

Why do a degree? Consider exactly what you will gain from a degree and whether it the best option. Consider too the timing and the how much of your life it takes up. If possible, think about what you would like to be doing in five or ten years’ time and plan accordingly.
What is your preferred learning style? Alone or in groups, in the morning or evening, on-line, using set questions, attending lectures, home study, essays? These questions need to be answered before you can make an informed decision about what to study and where.

Gain relevant work experience

This can be through vacation work, work experience programs or by choosing a course that involves industry based learning.
Any work experience is useful. Customer service work develops communication skills.
If you can’t get paid work, voluntary work can be just as useful.
If you already have some work experience, try to make your next job more focused on your intended career.
Use family and friends to find work.
Small business experience is good. You may be given more responsibility and exposure to a wider variety of tasks.
Spend occasional days work-shadowing family and friends to explore many more options.
Think about what you have to offer your employer: This will enable you to "sell yourself" more effectively.

Develop skills for the workplace

Skills may be developed through the curriculum or in outside activities such as university clubs and societies.
Become involved in teams.
Take responsibility and initiative. Start something new, and lead it to completion.
Make different kinds of presentations to different kinds of audiences, including factual and persuasive presentations.
Make the most of opportunities to travel to practise a language and learn about the local culture, economy and politics.
Log evidence of skills learned. This will help prepare you to write your résumés and to answer interview questions.

Use your contacts and develop the art of networking

Start with family and friends. Draw up a list of those who might be able to support you and help you find work.
When networking, ask people for advice and whether they know other people who might be able to help, and whether you can mention their name.

Explore options

Don’t rely on academic results alone. Read a newspaper. Talk to people - be active.
Visit the careers service to look for vacation work. Find out about the changing graduate jobs market. Attend careers workshops.
Be proactive. Set objectives and do some 'action planning'.
Make the most of your final year projects. They can be lead to employment.
Practice negotiation skills and recognise all the opportunities to develop them in everyday life.

Do something different

What will make you stand out from the other thousands of graduates? Perhaps you could learn a particularly useful language, take up a distinctive hobby, be entrepreneurial or set up a new voluntary organisation.

Tackle this action plan in manageable chunks and review your progress regularly. You will find you can achieve a great deal over three or four years if you start now.