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Handy tips

Planning your future

Home > Handy Tips > Planning your future

Planning for future begins at university. If you start early, you will be much better equipped to know what you want to do, and how to do it, once you have graduated. But the opportunities open to you while you are at university should not be neglected, as they can have a big impact on your future too.

For more advice, see the Personal development planning section.

Taking a year out after university or mid-course
Pros:

1. It will give you the chance to consider your career or study options.

2. It might allow you to travel abroad and widen your experience.

3. You might do some voluntary work: this is always impressive on a CV.

4. You will be able to take a break and reduce your stress levels.

5. It will allow you to reassess your skills base and work to improve it.

Cons:
1. You may find it prohibitively expensive.

2. You might feel out of touch with study or career opportunities.

3. Without adequate planning, you might feel that your time is being wasted.

4. You might begin to lose confidence in your existing course of study.

5. You might find the return to work or study difficult unless you plan your time well.


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Choosing a work or study placement
Pros:
1. It will give you the chance to consider your career or study options.

2. It might allow you to travel abroad and widen your experience.

3. You might do some voluntary work: this is always impressive on a CV.

4. You will be able to take a break and reduce your stress levels.

5. It will allow you to reassess your skills base and work to improve it.

Cons:
1. You may find it prohibitively expensive.

2. You might feel out of touch with study or career opportunities.

3. Without adequate planning, you might feel that your time is being wasted.

4. You might begin to lose confidence in your existing course of study.

5. You might find the return to work or study difficult unless you plan your time well.


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Undertaking a work or study placement
Do:
1. Find out exactly what is involved before you opt for a placement.

2. Be prepared to be proactive in finding exactly the right placement for you.

3. Get a support network in place before you go off on a placement.

4. Tell your tutor in advance of any problems that you think might arise.

5. Enjoy yourself: this is a great opportunity.

Don't:
1. Forget to include any costs associated with a placement in your budgeting.

2. Assume that there will not be a placement to suit you: talk to the tutor.

3. Be afraid to ask questions: even minor problems can become major if ignored.

4. Forget to get hold of all of the necessary material before your leave your placement.

5. Overlook any career possibilities within your placement organisation.

For further advice see Work Placements - A Survival Guide for Students by Christine Fanthome


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Studying abroad
Pros:
1. You will have the chance to improve your language skills.

2. You will be able to explore career opportunities abroad.

3. You will experience new ways of working and studying.

4. You will have something exciting to talk about at an interview.

5. You will feel that you have taken full advantage of your degree opportunities.

Cons:
1. It can be expensive, even if it is a regular and expected part of your degree course.

2. You might feel cut off from your family and friends.

3. It will be hard work, adjusting to a new country and new ways of working.

4. You might find that the courses that you are taking are not as you expected.

5. Returning to your university can be difficult after an extended period away.

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Preparing your CV
Do:

1. Prepare a 'career file' at university with details of what you have achieved.

2. Target each CV to the type of work for which you are applying.

3. Use your Careers Advisory Service at university for help and guidance.

4. Make it clear how each job that you have done has improved your skills base.

5. Make sure that you have your draft CV checked before you complete and submit it.

Don't:

1. Be too modest: you have many marketable skills and achievements.

2. Make it longer (or too much shorter) that two A4 pages.

3. Ignore your hobbies: show how they have helped you to develop.

4. Just give the title of a dissertation or work placement: write about it at some length.

5. Forget to include any work placements, showing what you achieved in that time.

For more advice, see the Career Skills companion website.


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Attending interviews
Do:
1. Leave plenty of time to get to the interview.

2. Take your CV and any other references or testimonials with you.

3. Think in advance of some examples to demonstrate your skills and achievements.

4. Practise your answers to some of the most frequently asked interview questions.

5. Be ready to be interviewed by a single interviewer or a panel.

Don't:
1. Think that the interview is over until you leave the building.

2. Forget to call the organisation if you are unsuccessful: ask for feedback.

3. Try to bluff your way through impossible questions: smile and ask for help.

4. Forget to smile and make eye contact with each member of a panel.

5. Let yourself get too flustered: take a deep breath and keep going.

See also Personal development planning.


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Further training

Pros:
1. It might be essential, depending upon your career choice.

2. You will have time to consider your options as you train.

3. You might be able to train whilst doing paid work.

4. You will be more employable, and should be able to enter a career at a higher level.

5. You can enjoy continuing to study before you have to face a full time career.

Cons:
1. If you cannot get financial support, you might increase your debt burden.

2. There is no guarantee that further training will get you the job of your choice.

3. You might be tired of studying and need a break.

4. If you are unsure about your career, you might feel that you are wasting time.

5. You might become impatient, wanting to get on with the next stage of life.

See also Personal development planning.

Presentation Skills for StudentsThis content has been written by Joan van Emden and Lucinda Becker, authors of Presentation Skills for Students.



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