Generating Career Ideas

Janice SimpsonCareers Consultant

This workshop aims to help you to:

• Gain an insight into your strengths, interests, motivations, personality and values

• Generate careers ideas for yourself

• Research specific jobs and sectors

• Understand what jobs might relate to your degree discipline

• Explore how your degree skills and knowledge could be transferred to other career areas

Career Decision Making

1 Self

Awareness

3 Deciding

and Doing2 Opportunity

Awareness

Stages of Career Planning

Is it that straightforward ?

• You might be someone who learns about themselves and their preferred work environment/role by doing

• You might have restrictions that impact on your choices

• Working things out can take a long time

• Portfolio careers are becoming more common

• The labour market is changing rapidly

Considering your options

Skills, strengths

Ambitions, restrictions

PersonalityValues,

motivations, interests

Experience

There is often an element of chance

“I just sort of fell into this job”

“I didn’t really have any idea of what I wanted to do, but I

got offered this job”

Planned Happenstance

• Unexpected opportunities happen

• Be ready for them by having a good understanding of yourself, your motivations and interests and what you have to offer to decide if it’s a good opportunity

Waiting for a Career Epiphany ?

Waiting for a ‘knowing moment’ which precedes definitive career decision

Fear of making a wrong decision becomes a decision barrier

Maximising preferences:

• A quest for certainty

• Needing to know everything prior to making a decision

Or Satisficing preferences:

• Knowing just enough to make a decision

• Being in the wrong job can act as a ‘misery push’, driving motivation to seek a better career role and a more effective decision

The Graduate Labour Market

• Changing rapidly – new roles, new opportunities, especially for STEM graduates

• Need to be adaptable, flexible, keep skills up to date

• Your first job is not your ‘forever’ job – don’t stress over it

• Opportunities in SMEs, public sector, through recruitment agencies – don’t just consider grad schemes

What Kind of Work/Life do you Want ?

• What do you want a work role to be like ?

Desk based, outdoor, working with others, educational,

business focused, project based, research, dress code,

controversial, work-life balance .…

• What motivates you ?

Helping others, completing projects, financial reward,

campaigning, opportunity for promotion, making a difference….

• What interests you ?

What issues/topics /modules catch your attention, what do you

feel strongly about, companies/sectors….

• What are you good at and enjoy doing ? (York Strengths)

Skills, knowledge, strengths, personality…..

Next…

Use the handout to work through websites and activities relevant to your interests

Careers and Placements

Careers appointments

CV/Application appointments

Careers Advice appointments (at Careers and in Faculty)

Mock Interviews

www.york.ac.uk/careers/gateway

Daily Careers Drop-ins 11.00 – 13.00

Events

www.york.ac.uk/careers/events

Department timetable and emails