How to start building your career while you are still at university (Part 1)
I am a member of a whole bunch of Facebook groups for UCAS advisers, parents and prospective students. They give incredible insight into the questions and motivations of different people, and occasionally I’m able to help answer some of the questions asked.
Earlier this year I saw a post by a parent which basically said:
“My son is in his final year of Finance and Accountancy, and we are wondering where he should be looking for jobs, as we aren’t really familiar with this sector.”
This is an unnervingly common question, and every time I see such questions I’m left pretty dumbstruck: How did it get to the point that three months from the end of a degree, parents are still worrying about their son’s next step?
Perhaps it is all down to a lack of communication between the son and his parents? Perhaps he has it all worked out and just hasn’t told them?
That may have something to do with it, but I also suspect there are thousands of students who really don’t have a clue what they will do next as they approach the end of their studies.
How do you make sure that isn’t you?
It would be easy to blame the university. They should have had more employers visit and speak to students; they should have had more opportunities to work on real industry problems. They should have…
But ultimately, this is your education, it’s your career, and it’s your life. So regardless of what support is offered to you by the university, this is not something you want to leave entirely in their hands.
And regardless of what subject you are studying, you are going to need to seek out a whole load of opportunities outside of your course in order to prepare yourself for your career ahead.
So how should you do this?
Well, a good starting point is to be fully aware of why you are going to university in the first place, and what type of course you are studying. Knowing this will help you work out what opportunities you should seek out while at university.
Below, I’ve characterised four different approaches to university, and begun to explore what type of opportunities each of these ‘characters’ might be advised to focus on.
Do any of these resonate with you?
The profession seeker
Perhaps you are going to university to prepare to enter a profession; you aim to get the professional qualifications required, and the experience to build your career. You are studying something like Medicine, Teaching, Accountancy, etc. You have a clear career path, and clear qualifications to gain.
Whatever profession you are looking to enter, your course will give you the broad knowledge and skills you’ll need, but to build your career you need to show that you can apply these in today’s setting, bringing value to an employer.
So you are going to want to seek opportunities outside your course, to keep you up to date with what is happening in your profession, and build your experience, including volunteering, internships, and part-time work; and the more relevant they are to your chosen profession, the better.
The problem solver
Perhaps you are going to university to gain specific knowledge and build particular skills in order to pursue a career in a particular industry or solve a specific problem. You might be studying something like Finance as you want to set up your own company, or you are taking Psychology so you can work with young people with special needs.
For you it’s a little more obvious that your course is not going to be enough. You can’t rely on skills and course knowledge alone; you are going to need to know about the industry you want to enter, and start to lay the groundwork for your career through activities in parallel with your studies.
Once again, you’ll be seeking out opportunities to gain experience in your chosen industry through clubs, societies, volunteering and internships.
The subject explorer
Perhaps you are going to university because you like a particular subject; you want to explore the subject further, potentially going on to become an expert and work in that area. Maybe you are studying Economics, History or Biology, but you don’t know where it might lead you.
For you, it’s a little more tricky. You need to keep pushing forward your knowledge in the subject you’ve chosen, but not to the exclusion of other opportunities. You might well want to seek out opportunities that are related to your subject, but don’t limit yourself. Now is absolutely the right time to broaden your horizons, and look at alternatives.
This was the category I found myself in. I went to university to study Law, but with only half an eye on becoming a lawyer. It was by opening myself up to loads of different opportunities available volunteering with the Students’ Union that I found what would turn out to be my actual career!
The skills builder
Maybe you just want to learn a whole bunch of transferable skills and explore different opportunities, precisely because you don’t have a clear idea of what you want to do after university.
For you it’s a matter of being completely open to opportunities and exploring everything. Don’t limit yourself to things related to your subject, and certainly don’t assume your course or university will provide you with everything you need.
Start out at university by throwing yourself into a wide range of different activities, including some that are right outside your comfort zone. And then, one by one, drop the ones that don’t quite fit, replacing them with new ones.
As time goes on you’ll begin to find activities, challenges and roles that resonate with you; where you find your motivation, and your crowd. And only then you can start to double-down on the things you most enjoy and start to build your career.
So which are you?
Right now, take a few minutes to reflect on why you are going to university. Are you a profession seeker, a problem solver, a subject explorer, a skills builder, or something else? Perhaps you are a combination of these? How might this impact on the way you approach university, and what kinds of opportunities will you seek out when you start?
Once again I’ll be super clear. University study alone does not entitle you to a job, let alone a career; on its own, study will not get you where you want to be in life.
If you are a student, you have now been told. It’s now on you to do something about it.
If you are a parent, it’s now on you to help your son or daughter to recognise this (which is, of course, far easier said than done!)
Next week, I’ll take a more detailed look at what I mean by “opportunities”; what exactly is available at university that you can do to explore, build skills and make contacts relevant for the next step in your career.
Ps. None of this means that you shouldn’t do things outside your studies just for fun; just because you enjoy them. We all need interests outside of our work or study, we all need downtime, and we all need to spend quality time with those we care about. Your university time is no different!
