Do you know what you want to do when you leave University? If not, don’t worry, you are not alone. Many students leave university not knowing what to do next and there are many reasons not to panic.
The most important thing to start considering is what do you like doing? Do you like working on your own or in a team? In an office or out and about? Do you want to use your degree? What particular aspects of your degree do you enjoy? Where do you want to work – in a big city or even another country? What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
The University of Kent Careers Service has a very useful website which is a great source for helping you think about what you would like to do. http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Choosing/ChoosingCareer.htm
A useful section is called I want to work in…and gives information on all kinds of careers: http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin.htm
If you have an idea of what you would like to do, try and talk to someone who works in that area. If you do not know anybody come and speak to us as we may know an alumni who is working in that area. Or use LinkedIn or Kew-Net (http://www.kent.aluminate.net/), the University’s mentoring platform, to search for alumni who are working in the area you are interested in.
Work experience and internships are incredibly useful when thinking about what you would like to do. It gives you a taste of what life is like in an area, without the need for you to commit to a specific job. Generally when you do work experience or internships you are given the chance to see more than one area of a business, which can help you decide what route you would like to take.
A really good step is to make an appointment to speak to Jenny Keaveney, the Careers Adviser for Social Sciences with the Careers and Employability Service: email: J.A.Keaveney@kent.ac.uk or telephone: 01227 827600
Remember…
You can always speak to John or Katie about any employability issues or if you want someone to look through your CV/application.
To contact John email: j.d.peirson@kent.ac.uk or Katie email: k.marshall@kent.ac.uk
Don’t worry about having false starts when choosing a career, finding out you don’t want to do something is just as important as finding out what you do want to do.
An education in Economics provides you with a number of transferable skills. These include problem solving, analysis, data analysis, numeracy, oral and written communication, working in groups, IT, critical thinking, managing your own learning and performance.