Graduate Careers

Looking for career ideas

Some people come to university with a clear sense of the exact career they want to go on to; some have a rough idea of the broad area they are interested in; others start off with little or no idea.

If you’re not sure what career you want to enter at the end of your degree, here are some starting points to help you get some ideas:

• Careers with my degree - explore the options open to you with your degree subject
• Graduate case studies - read the career stories of graduates from your department
• What jobs would suit me? - match you skills and interests to graduate occupation on Prospects, the national graduate careers website

Moving forward with your career ideas

There is a lot you can do at university to enhance your chances of entering your chosen career.

Occupational profiles

If you know what career you are aiming for, find out about the skills employers look for and the opportunities for gaining work experience, by looking at the occupational profile on Prospects. Then think about things you can do at university: relevant part-time jobs, volunteering, internships; making contacts through academic staff or employers visiting the campus; relevant modules or projects on your course; extra-curricular activities and positions of responsibility.

If you don’t have a specific career in mind, you can still use your time at university to gain skills and experience which will be beneficial no matter what career you eventually decide on. Student jobs, voluntary work, placements, work-related modules and projects, employer presentations, careers fairs, extra-curricular activities and positions of responsibility – these all help you to gain an understanding of what different jobs are like, and to build up skills and experiences to put on your CV and talk about at interviews.

Look at the options on the left hand menu to find out how.