Jobless Corner

Self-knowledge

Making career decisions can be challenging and sometimes graduates struggle to know where to begin. Looking at vacancies is a common starting point but not one that would be advised. Many vacancies are never advertised, so looking at job adverts will only ever give you a biased and partial picture of the graduate labour market.

If you are unsure which career will suit you, you would be better to spend some time thinking about yourself. Become better acquainted with yourself; be aware of your skills, interests and what motivates you. Consider any background issues or constraints, such as mobility, affecting your choice.

You can then start to use this information to identify matching jobs, courses and potential employers. Think about the skills you wish to use at work, your feelings about further study, which working environments appeal to you, the sort of lifestyle you want and so on. Try to tackle this in a structured way:

• Talk to a careers adviser in your university careers service.
• Make full use of the information on this website, particularly What jobs would suit me? and interactive advice.
• Check if your university careers service offers psychometric tests. These can help with your self-analysis. Numeracy, literacy and diagrammatic reasoning tests can highlight your skills and strengths. They also provide a practice run for some employers’ selection processes.
• The psychometric tests section of this website also contains a range of online tests and self-assessment exercises.
• Your university careers service may have books and exercises on self-assessment.

These activities should help you to produce a personal profile, which will be useful when you are making applications. You should be able to use your profile to provide evidence that you have the competences that employers require.

Your skills

What do employers want? The one thing they are all looking for is evidence of skills; in particular, the general skills used in a wide range of jobs.

Make a list of the skills you have developed during your studies. Here are some to get you started:

• Working independently;
• Planning time effectively;
• Working under pressure and to deadlines;
• Reading, analysing and synthesising vast amounts of material;
• Solving problems;
• Thinking originally and imaginatively;
• Taking the initiative;
• Articulating ideas and thoughts orally and in writing;
• Adapting to different circumstances;
• Presenting information in various ways (seminar papers, examination questions, group discussions, projects or presentations, laboratory reports).

In your leisure time and vacations you will have added other skills/experience to your portfolio through jobs or work experience:

• Organisational skills;
• Ability to take responsibility for self and others;
• Knowledge of the world of work;
• Willingness to care/empathise;
• Motivating others;
• Improved communication skills;
• How to work in a team;
• Ability to deal with difficult situations.

Do not overlook hobbies and interests, voluntary work or community involvement – they can provide evidence of your abilities. It is important to start thinking about yourself in this way because employers will.

If you are a mature graduate or job changer, or have been made redundant, you will probably have more evidence of relevant skills and experience to draw on. Present this in a positive way that an employer will value. It is easy to take your skills and experience for granted. Banish words like ‘only’ and ‘just’ from your vocabulary.