Plan your next step

If you're graduating soon or have just
graduated, you might be thinking "What
next?" If you don't already have long-term
career plans it can sometimes be hard to
figure out what you should do straight after
university. But if that's you, don't worry.
Many graduates take time to find their career
path, and sometimes it's hard to work out what
kind of job or career is right for you until you
try different things (ie through work
experience). Sometimes it helps to separate
the short-term and the longer-term plans; you
don't need to let uncertainty about what
career you ultimately want to pursue prevent
you from taking action now.
The most popular 'next steps' for new
graduates are:
.Get (more) work experience
.Look for a graduate job
.Go on to further study, eg a Masters course
.Take time out

Which path or combination of paths you
choose will obviously depend on many factors,
such as how much work experience you have
already, whether you have clear longer term
career plans and whether you feel you need a
break before jumping into the job market.
Let's examine the options in turn
.

Make yourself more employable.

Most graduate recruiters now expect you to
have at least some work experience. Even if
the experience isn't specifically relevant to
the job you are applying for, it will probably
have helped you to develop some of the
'transferable skills' employers look for, such
as communication, teamwork and organisation
skills.
For the most competitive career areas (for
example, the media or law) relevant work
experience in that field is essential in most
cases.
If you don't know whether you have enough
work experience to start applying for
graduate jobs, have a look at some
advertisements for graduate jobs you are interested in and see what kind and level of
experience they are asking for.

You're not sure what you want to do for a
career.

If you have a few career ideas but are not
really sure whether they're right for you, a
graduate internship or other work experience
can help you test out different options. You
can read about different career options on the
internet or go to careers talks, but until you
actually get out and try a particular type of
work for yourself, you won't know how well it
will suit you.

Looking for a graduate job

If you already know what type of work you're
interested in and you feel you have the kind of
skills, qualifications and experience relevant
graduate employers are looking for, you might
be in a position to start applying for graduate
jobs straight away.

As well as the specific job role, think about
what type of organisation you want to work
for - for example, the culture of a small
business can be very different from that of a
large organisation.

You might be considering doing further study
(for example a Masters) after graduation.
Typical reasons for choosing this option
include:
1. You enjoyed your degree and you want
to pursue the subject further
2. Your chosen area of work requires an
additional qualification - this may be a
natural progression from your first
degree or a new field
3. You are considering an academic career
4. You don't feel ready for the transition from
being a student to the world of work
5. You think that a postgraduate degree
will compensate for disappointing A
level results or a 2:2 degree
classification
6. You believe that, in a competitive
graduate job market, a postgraduate
qualification will automatically make
you more employable than someone with
'just' an undergraduate degree.
Some of the reasons for doing further study
are arguably sounder than others.
Unfortunately, most companies that require a
specific number of a 2:1 or
above in an undergraduate degree will still
demand those, even if you have since obtained
a higher-level qualification.
While a postgraduate qualification is essential
for some areas of work, for others spending
time getting more work experience may be
more valuable. In terms of employability,
many graduate employers do value additional
qualifications, but the onus will be on you to
explain why you chose to do further study and
what you have gained from it that sets you
apart from other people in terms of your
suitability for a particular job.
Hope you can figure it out now? Goodluck!