Planning Your Career
Sometimes it may be difficult to make a decision whether to start a job now, pursue further study or what direction to take next. We have set out four steps below to help you make more informed career choices.
Contents
1. Know Yourself
It is important to understand your skills, interests, values and qualities. As well as possible areas for development with regards to choosing a career that is both enjoyable and fulfilling. You may even incorporate factors such as what you enjoy studying when choosing a career. You might even want to continue studying - or not.
Know Your Personality
You Can Use A Personality Questionnaire
Answer a series of questions designed to help you to understand ways in which you differ from other people by identifying your preferred ways of thinking and acting.
Understanding your personal preferences can help in your career development by helping you learn more about the way you approach your work and your relationships as well as career areas that you may be well suited for.
It is important, however, not to see the results of a personality test in a limiting way, as there are many jobs you may find satisfying whatever your preferences. Sometimes people like doing things outside of their preferred style as this offers new challenges.
Personality questionnaires can give you ideas about your style, values, motivations and talents which, combined with your experience and circumstances, can help you to make better short- and long-term career decisions. For example, personality questionnaires can help you to better understand:
- Types of work well suited to your personality
- Your style of working and how you approach different situations and people
- How others might see you
- Your main assets
- Areas to consider developing
- Career ideas to explore
Take a Personality Questionnaire:
Keirsey Website - Quick and easy personality questionnaire based on Myers-Briggs Type Indicator philosophy to help you identify your preferred behaviour styles.
Job Matching Exercises:
- Prospects Planner - use this online resource to review your skills and abilities and relate these to jobs.
- Adult Directions - A tool to help adults with their careers decisions, regardless of their occupational level or the extent of their career planning. Available in the Careers Centre and online by emailing careers@city.ac.uk. We will then email you the details.
Career Planning Resources
- Windmills Interactive - Use this resources in this site to help you think about you career objectives.
- Mind Tools - An online tool to help you understand various career skills including decision making techniques.
If you've taken one of the above questionnaires why not discuss the results with a Careers Consultant?
What Can You Offer Employers?
To know what you have to offer employers it is important to know what skills employers are looking for and to review everything you have been involved in (e.g. volunteer work, sport, internship/placement, casual/part-time work, GAP year).
Employers like to see that you have thought about the skills you can offer prior to completing an application or attending and interview as you will need to provide evidence demonstrating you have these skills using examples from any employment and voluntary work you have been involved in.
As stated in the Key Skills Employers Look For career guide, your degree alone will not guarantee employment; employers like to see that you have developed certain skills through paid work experience, community involvement or voluntary work.
Working through your cv with a Careers Consultant can assist you with identifying skills you have used. It may also be helpful to assess yourself in terms of what skills you have developed and enjoyed using and what skills you may need to develop further for your future career.
2. Decision Making
This section involves:
- The type of resources necessary to provide you with a list of careers that suits you.
- Information on various types of degrees and occupations.
- How to start networking.
Links to useful websites/resources:
- Prospects Job Profiles - Explore detailed job types, salaries and job specifics.
- Careersbox - Watch job profile films online.
- Options With Your Subject - Discover how best to use your degree.
- Your degree...what Next? - Explore the variety of options available to you.
- Leaving/Changing Your Course - provides more information if your thinking about changing your course.
Talking To Employers (Commonly Termed As Networking)
Networking is the ability to develop and maintain contacts and personal connections with a variety of people who might be helpful to you and your career (either face to face or on the phone or via email). Networking can help you to become aware of opportunities in your chosen field and gain first-hand industry knowledge from professionals in order to make more effective career decisions.
In recent years there has also been the emergence of online social networking websites such as LinkedIn and Facebook but be careful to maintain a professional identity as potential employers often use them for recruitment purposes. If you are a City University Alumni, find out more about using social media to network.
More information on networking can be found in the making the most of a career event career guide.
3. Opportunities
Search for Job Vacancies
- Vacancy Board - View vacancies advertised through City University.
- City Volunteering - Have you thought about broadening your experiences, learning new skills & networking?
The following are external sites which form a good starting place for your job search:
The staff at the Career and Skills Development Service are happy to offer their knowledge and expertise too. Call us on 0207 040 8093.
4. Move Forward
Key Questions
The key questions you should be asking yourself when moving forward in your career planning are:
- Where are you at the moment?
- Where do you want to be?
- How will you get there?
- What resources/time constraints do you have?
- How can I overcome any potential barriers to employment?
Book an appointment with a Careers Consultant to discuss these options.