University of Manchester Careers Blog

Over the twelve days of Christmas, we busted some of the common misconceptions about careers and the future that have been causing Manchester students anxiety over the academic year so far. If you were too busy with deadlines, exams and New Year festivities to catch any of these myths, here’s a refresher!

Myth #1: If you don’t get on a graduate scheme during your final year, you’ve blown your chances of a good job. No, no, no! Grad schemes are just a small portion of the many options open to final year students and graduates.

Myth #2: Your degree dictates your career. Sometimes your degree subject won’t lead directly into what you want to do after university. (But it’s also fine if it does!)

Myth #3: Getting a First gives you a better chance of getting a job. Actually, a well-rounded graduate with a 2:1 degree, some work experience and extracurricular activities on their CV will stand a much greater chance of being employed than a student who has only a First-class degree to their name.

Myth #4: There aren’t any jobs out there for graduates in this economic climate. Don’t worry! There are jobs out there, and employers are looking to recruit students throughout the year.

Myth #5: Internships aren’t paid. The good ones are.

Myth #6: Postgraduates have to work in academia. Only if you want to! If you’re becoming a bit disenchanted with research, there are plenty of other options available.

Myth #7: Networking is just senior professionals in suits schmoozing over canapés. Alright, so it can be sometimes. But really networking is just making connections, talking to people who work in the sector or company of interest to you (or are knowledgeable about it) and learning from others.

Myth #8: LinkedIn is just about showing off. LinkedIn is increasingly becoming a tool through which students find great jobs.

Myth #9: You need to know what you want to do in order to use the Careers Service. Not at all, and booking an appointment with a Careers Consultant is not the only way you can ‘use’ the Careers Service.

Myth #10: The Careers Service will tell you what job to do. So you don’t need to know exactly what you want to do before you come to us for advice, but we also can’t just tell you what job you should do.

Myth #11: You need to decide now what to do with the rest of your life. Great if you’ve got a plan, but no worries if you haven’t – many people have career changes at various stages in their lifetime. Focus on setting and achieving short-term goals to help you figure things out.

Myth #12: Nobody would want to hire me. One of the biggest barriers between students and graduate jobs is self-confidence. Be reassured that you as an individual will have qualities, skills and interests that will appeal to employers – and you have plenty of time to develop these further.