We’re seeing quite a few finalists (and recent graduates) in careers activities recently who are wishing that they’d started thinking about their careers earlier.

There may be many reasons why – caught up with a new romantic partner, working all hours to pay the bills, changing the world through activism, focusing on grades, too overwhelmed by the thought, or perhaps just having too much fun!

Whatever your reasons, it’s fine – no judgement from us – we are here to help you when you are ready to be helped.

So, if you are one of those people here’s what you can do now:

Go easy on yourself
Don’t waste your energy wishing things were different or beating yourself up. Unless you have a time machine, there’s nothing you can do about it anyway.

Take stock
All your life up to this point you’ve been experiencing and learning (even if most of the time you were messing about with your mates like I was) so:
– How do you like to spend your time?
– What situations do you try to avoid (and why)?
– What are your strengths?
– What motivates you?
– What do you care about?
– How do you want to live your life after uni (straight away, in 10 years etc.)?

Ask your friends about their plans and what they are doing (and why)
Reflect on those – some may seem silly, some sensible but boring, some will inspire you.

Have a look at what Careers has to offer
We’ve a whole suite of activities for finalists, called Finalist Futures, which include online courses, pop-up events, access to mentoring and more.

Book in to speak to a Careers Consultant
They can help you order your thoughts and pull together a plan of action.

Finally, pace yourself
Your new found focus on career planning needs to be sustainable – you still have a course to complete and a life to lead. And you only have so much physical and mental resource available.

 

Good luck!