As we begin the second week of lockdown, we hope you are keeping safe and well. This week we are focussing on career preparation, for those who are undecided about their next steps. Below you’ll find advice about how to explore careers and further study, identify your skills and update your CV!

Exploring Careers

When considering your future career, it can feel quite overwhelming. Luckily there are things you can do to narrow down your career choice:

• Book a Careers Guidance appointment to discuss your options with a Careers Adviser. Appointments are available daily.
• Complete our Careers Award! A free online programme that gives you the chance to think about your career and what type of opportunities are open to you.
• Listen to Bright Network’s talk on How to work out what you want to do, part of the Bright Network Academy, with practical steps you can take to discover your interests.
• Take a look at our I want to work in pages – a great starting point when researching! Also, sites such as Bright Network, Targetjobs and Prospects have a range of job profiles!

Access careers resources.

Exploring further study

Are you thinking about further study? There are many reasons why you may consider postgraduate study, and we can support you throughout the process. A few things to do when looking into further study are:

• Book a Careers Guidance appointment to discuss postgraduate study with a Careers Adviser. Appointments available daily: careers@kent.ac.uk
• Attend our Postgraduate Study workshop (this Wednesday at 2.30pm!) to find out about the application process and writing a personal statement.
• Take a look at our Further Study pages – a great starting point when researching!

Identify your skills

When exploring careers, it’s important to know what your strengths are, as this will help you to know the type of role which you would be suited to. To do this, you can:

• Access our Choosing a Career guide, with useful advice covering self-awareness, opportunity awareness and career exploration.
• Try taking a personality questionnaire to help you discover your personality type and how it relates to career choice. The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a well-known tool to try, access a free assessment based on MBTI, as well as other tests via our Choosing a Career Guide (pg.9)
• Book a Careers Guidance appointment to discuss your interests and career options. Appointments available daily: careers.kent.ac.uk

Updating your CV

It’s really important to keep your CV up to date, and relevant to the role and industry you are looking to work in. To do this, you can:

• Attend our Talk about your skills workshop (Friday 20 Nov at 9.00) to learn how to articulate your skills to an employer.
• Book a Quick Advice appointment for a CV check. We can provide feedback and advice about how to tailor your CV for a specific job. Daily appointments available: careers.kent.ac.uk
• Access our CV guide for tips and CV examples. You can also access our Creating a great CV workshop slides via our Moodle page: DP4450.

Keep updated on our social media pages:

Facebook; @UKCES
Instagram: @unikentces
Twitter: @unikentemploy