Career planning

Career planning is an exciting process - exploring career options and deciding which career path to take, but you also need to think about how you are going to develop a range of skills and gain varied experiences to make you more employable. This may seem daunting at first if you are not sure which steps to take.

Even if you do have a clear idea of the career path you wish to follow you may need further information and advice on how to get into your chosen career or help you to decide whether or not it is the right option for you.

Benefits of career planning

Increasingly career planning can be seen as a lifelong process. You are likely to face many changes in the labour market, you may even decide to make career changes yourself.

Working through the career planning process with professional guidance from the Careers and Employability Service will help you to develop the skills and understanding necessary to manage your career and achieve your career goals.

Professional guidance from the Careers and Employability Service.

Planning your career whilst you are still a student at the university will not only help you to get ahead in the graduate labour market but also provide you with access to the following support:

• Professional guidance appointments - available to both students and recent graduates, please contact us via telephone or in person to book an appointment.
• Career Development Programme - we offer a series of practical workshops to help you to develop the skills and understanding you need to manage your career; learn how to market yourself effectively via CV, application and at interview; gain practical information and advice on job hunting and much more. See the Events section for further information.
• Further information on the services we offer including quick query sessions.

Career Timeline

Making yourself more employable takes time - start in your first year

Employers take a good degree as a given - you need to use your time wisely at university to make yourself more employable and develop more than your academic ability.

Use the Career Timeline to find out what you need to be doing during each year of your studies to achieve your career goals and get that dream job.

Career Planning involves:

Self awareness- knowing yourself and what you have to offer

Career options - having opportunity awareness and knowing what is available to you

Decision making - advice on making decisions

Career action plan - making a plan to get you where you want to be

Changing or leaving your course

Career planning might involve making changes to your current career plan, see Changing or leaving your course and book a career guidance appointment to speak with a careers adviser.