Graduate Tookit
What route is right for me?
Where to start
We know that making decisions about what to do next can seem overwhelming - it can feel like graduation marks the end of a chapter, and you may find it difficult to know where and how to start. Don’t feel pressure to know exactly what you want to do – there may be many different opportunities that could suit you, so keep your mind open and find out what’s involved in the jobs and industries that interest you. Do not compare yourself to your peers, this is no race, everyone’s journeys after graduation will look different and that is fine.
To help you to get started with your career exploration, let’s break this process down into a few different steps.
Step 1: Better understand yourself
By better understanding what you’re good at, what you enjoy, and where your areas of development are, you’ll have a much better idea of what types of careers or types of work you may be interested in or suited to. A good starting point is to reflect on your previous experiences and head in the direction of the ones you enjoyed. Taking time to think realistically about your skills, values, interests, and personality will also help you to identify the careers you’re most likely to succeed in and enjoy.
Think about how you might answer the following questions:
- What am I good at/what are my strengths?
- What do I enjoy doing?
- What don’t I like and why?
- What are my values/what is important to me?
- What motivates me?
- What skills do I want to use?
- What environment would suit me best?
There are also a number of online tests and questionnaires that will help you to know yourself better:
Step 2: Explore your options
It’s not always obvious what different career paths and possibilities are open to you when you leave university.
If you’d like to learn more about the different industries and career paths available to you, Prospects is a great website to help get you started. Prospects have over 400 different job profile pages which you can explore to find out what a specific job is, what a typical day might look like, what the required qualifications are, as well as where that career could take you in the future. The site has a career planner tool which, after answering a few questions, will provide you with a curated list of job profiles based on your skills and motivations. There is also a job match tool which can help you work out which job groupings appeal to you most; from there you can look in more detail at specific job roles. You can discover what you can do with your specific degree subject and read about job sectors for information on different industries and advice on how to get into the sector.
Bright Network's career path test can help you to understand what career path you might be suited to and how to get started. They've analysed data from thousands of their members who work in graduate roles across a range of sectors to understand which personalities, skills and values best fit each career path.
TargetJobs frequently asked careers questions guide can help you understand what you can do with your degree, how to get in specific career fields and career inspiration if you are unsure where to start. It can provide advice right from the start of your career planning journey to when you have an interview or assessment centre.
Our sector specific resources bring together a wealth of expertise and information on a wide variety of different sectors and careers. You can also gain inspiration from the careers of past University of Leicester graduates by using the LinkedIn alumni tool.
Interested in pursuing a career in a particular sector? Take Bright Network's sector 101 module to learn more about the sector, what it entails and what to expect from a graduate role in the industry (you'll need to sign up to Bright Network to access).
Remember, you do not have to decide on an option you’ll do forever; as you develop, and things change you may decide on a different career – many people do!
Step 3: Plan your next steps
Once you’ve got a shortlist of different career options you’re interested in, now you’re ready to start planning out your next steps! This could be reaching out on LinkedIn to ask some questions about a career or company, starting to work on your applications, identifying some further work experience to gain or develop your skills, or reaching out for some support.
If you’re looking for some support with planning your next steps, or with exploring your options, we would recommend that you book a Career Coaching appointment with an advisor in the University’s Careers and Employability Team.
Career Coaching appointments are for exploring what you want to do after university, assessing what career paths are open to you, how to gain relevant experience, or discussing whether starting a business is right for you. We can also support you with upcoming interviews, assessment centres and psychometric tests. To book, login to your graduate MyCareers account. Select to 'search appointments' and you will then see our full range of appointments - click on the appointment type that you require (click on 'find out more' in the menu for each appointment type to show you what support is available). Click on 'view appointments' for a full list of appointment time slots that are available, and you can then pick a slot to suit your availability. You will receive an appointment booking confirmation email that will also include links to any helpful information and suggested preparation.
In need of some further inspiration?
Researching and networking
Speaking to people who can share their experiences and offer advice and insights into roles/areas is a helpful way to research the different industries, organisations and job roles you’re interested in.
Throughout the year, take advantage of the many chances to meet and talk to organisations and further study representatives:
- Our Festival of Careers and industry panel events are a great way to hear from and meet professionals and recruiters.
- Our Alumni in Residence and Employer in Residence sessions provide you with the opportunity to chat to a recruiter or alumni one-on-one. You can ask questions about their career journeys, top tips, opportunities, gain advice on the application process and find out more about the organisation they work for itself.
- Our postgraduate open events let you chat to academics, admissions teams and current postgraduate students.
- You can attend one of our inspirational career talks for insight into key sector areas and industries. Join top industry professionals and alumni to discover what a career in that sector might look like, how to get your first role in the industry and top tips for applications. Keep an eye on MyCareers for details, including how to book your space.
- You can also use LinkedIn to find alumni you might approach directly.