Graduating without a job lined up? Don’t panic!
Graduating without a job can feel daunting enough as it is. Add a global pandemic and uncertain economy into the mix and it can feel pretty disheartening. While it feels like your peers are all celebrating their grad scheme offers, it can be scary knowing that you’re going to leave University without so much as a clear career plan. If this sounds like you, there is good news! It’s not too late to start planning and begin to build your dream career now. In this blog, we’ll look at what you can do right now in terms of career planning. We’ll provide you with the tools to help you in creating a strategy and tell you all about how Careers Network are supporting finalists with Get Graduate ready — a week of online events to prepare you for your next steps after graduation.
It’s ok to not to have a career plan
There might be a number of reasons why you don’t have a clear career plan yet. Maybe you still don’t know what it is that you want to do with your degree. Maybe you don’t know about the types of careers available to you. Or maybe you have tried to apply for graduate jobs but have been unsuccessful so far. Knowing which stage you’re at is the crucial first step here — this is where you can start to create a strategy and feel confident in applying this strategy successfully to your own career plans.
I don’t know what I want to do!
You might be surprised to know that many people leave University without so much as an idea of what they want to do. Megan Scanlon, Online Tuition Coordinator at The Access Project, graduated in the midst of the pandemic in 2020. Megan didn’t know what she wanted to do as she graduated and feared that she would struggle, as like many students graduating this year, she didn’t know what career would suit her. “I had no idea what I wanted to do. People that had so much more experience than I did were losing their jobs. But even though it seems so daunting, there are positives with new ways of working, it’s ok if you don’t have a grad scheme. It wasn’t like the media was portraying it — that there are no jobs out there. I was getting emails from Careers Network with new roles every week. In fact, my job was created as a result of the pandemic!
“When I was making applications, I found that some applications were easier to write than others, and that’s because I was more passionate about that area. There’s no pressure, you’ll figure it out. Take any opportunity, you never know what it’s going to lead to.”
If you want to start thinking about what you can do after graduation, you’ll want to attend our Thinking creatively about career options: how to think outside the box workshop as part of our Get Graduate Ready offer. This Career Planning workshop is designed to support students who are graduating without a clear career plan. You can also book an appointment with your careers adviser to start generating ideas.
But what can I do with my degree?
Maybe you just don’t know what you can do with your specific degree — there are probably a number of roles that your skills would be suited to, but if you don’t know they exist, then you can’t find them! With the changing landscape of the world of work, coupled with new technological advancements, there are jobs that exist today that didn’t exist even a year ago — Digital Artisan anyone?! Research is key here. There are lots of options that you may not have considered. It’s all about knowing where to look, knowing your stuff when it comes to the labour market and the sector(s) you’re interested in, and knowing yourself well enough to make the connections. It’s also important to be flexible and open-minded, creating a good network around you. LinkedIn is a really useful research tool that you can use to find out what University of Birmingham Alumni have gone on to do. You can also take a look at Careers Network’s plan your next steps pages for inspiration.
I’ve applied but I’m not getting anywhere
Most graduate schemes expect you to apply at the beginning of your final year, but with such a small window to apply, lots of students either miss out on applying or don’t get the offer they hoped for. If this sounds like you, remember firstly that graduate schemes are not the be-all and end-all of a sparkling graduate career. It is useful to start to think outside the box in terms of rob titles and employers. For example, have you considered working for an SME (Small to Medium Enterprise?) Have you searched for hidden jobs that may not be advertised on the bigger platforms? Have you considered approaching specialist recruitment sites? If not, it might be worth taking a look — in a recent Employer Survey conducted by the ISE, 63% of employers said that they used online professional networks such as LinkedIn more, due to restrictions around in-person recruitment. We’ve got some great workshops coming up as part of Get graduate ready around Building your networks and job search strategies that you won’t want to miss.
Once you’ve done this, you can start to look at your marketing outputs like your CV and cover letter, and acing interviews and assessment centres. From using our CV checker to practising your interview skills with Shortlist.me, see how Careers Network can help with making sure that you put your best foot forward when applying for jobs.
It’s not all doom and gloom
We know that the labour market has been affected by the pandemic, but to what extent has this affected graduate jobs? The ISE report also shows that nearly half of employers polled said that they will be recruiting the same number of graduates as last year, with 36% hiring more graduates than last year. Similarly, a report by Prospects shows that the graduate labour market has been the least affected part of the economy, with many areas of business services, IT and tech having made changes to the way that they work to avoid losing jobs. (Prospects what do graduates do — 2020/21).
We recently spoke to Joe Mitchell, Head of Employment Initiatives at Single Homeless Project. Joe graduated in 2008, at the height of the last recession and found that there were limited opportunities for graduates at the time, but he also didn’t know what he wanted to do. Joe decided to go to work for a refugee charity, as it was a cause close to his heart at the time “I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I still don’t! At the time, I just knew that I enjoyed it.”
Joe’s advice? “Don’t be afraid to speculatively reach out for volunteering opportunities — I love when people take the initiative to reach out — not all employers are going to be advertising positions. Also, don’t get too hung up on ticking every box the employer is looking for, and if in doubt, don’t be afraid to reach out and talk to employers”.
What next?
It’s over to you now — this is the perfect time to start creating a solid strategy for your career plan. Whether you are exploring your career options, developing your job search strategies and networking skills, or planning to apply for graduate jobs and further study, Careers Network is here to help you to identify skills you have to offer and to provide you with the tools you need to succeed after graduation with Get Graduate ready — a week of activities designed to support students who are graduating this summer.
