University of Manchester Careers Blog

  

If you are thinking ‘What am I going to do after university?’ or perhaps ‘What am I going to do this summer?’ It is never too early to start planning ahead. Whether you are in your first year, penultimate year or about to graduate, it is definitely a good time to prioritise exploring what you want to do. As a well-known Latin phrase says CARPE DIEM, which means in other words, seize the day!

As a University of Manchester student, the Careers Service can provide you with the support and advice to explore options and much more, check out the Careers Website or pop in and contact us in The Atrium in University Place.

To get you started, here are some thoughts and ideas:

I have really no idea what I want to do for the future?

• Check out our I don’t know what to do starting point guide
• Register with Prospects and take their Career Planner questionnaire to generate some ideas
• If you want to use your degree and unsure of some ideas where it will be useful, check out the Prospects – Options with your degree section.
• Come in or give us a call, you may also need to talk to one of our careers consultants with a guidance appointment

Where do I start looking for jobs or internships?

• Look on our online CareersLink database and search under student placements/ internships or graduate internships
• Check out the information on the Careers website on finding internships including our guides to download to help.
• Research the sector to find out about where your industry may advertise. Are there any specialist recruitment agencies, industry journals, or professional bodies with jobs boards?
• Look on graduate level websites like Prospects, TARGETjobs, RatemyPlacement
• Explore your own network of contacts, find and research companies of interest from LinkedIN, set up your own profile on LinkedIn and read our advice online.
• If you are in your final year, check out the Manchester Graduate Internship Programme , more information on what it offers and how to apply to vacancies.
• If you are about to graduate check out the employers coming to the Graduate Recruitment Fair in June and register to attend.
• You can book an appointment to have your application, CV, Cover Letter or application checked for a specific internship or job role you are applying to.

I have an interview but unsure how to prepare?

• We have information on interviews in the Careers Service website and within our Preparing for Interviews starting point guide
• There are a number of other resources that may also help depending on the type of interview, or recruitment process including Presentation Skills, In-tray exercises, Assessment Centres & Psychometric tests.
• We also have videos on interviews on the website that give advice and help.
• We can also book a guidance appointment to give to support you going for interviews, get in touch with the Careers Service and find out more.

What else can I do over the Easter vacation to help with my future plans?

• Thinks about who you know that works in the career area that interests you, it may be family, friends, ex-colleagues or other contacts. See if you can arrange a chat to talk about what the career or job involves to help you decide if this is what you want to do. (Read our Getting Conntected guide about the importance of building a network of contacts).
• Arrange some work shadowing for a day or a few days volunteering within the area that interests you. This will give you an idea of what happens on a daily basis, the culture and work expectations etc.
• Make a plan of action of what you need to do over the next Summer term to work towards finding an internship or graduate job, or to explore your career options. Look at our Getting Started section and use the CareersKickstart questionnaire to help your plan of action. Don’t leave it to the last minute, plan realistically around your study and revision commitments!