life after graduation
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Life After Graduation: What Should Do – Study, Work or Travel?

Posted on |Career, Education|, | 0

Turning those “what are you doing after graduation” questions into reality can be exciting but also pretty scary. Whether you have already planned your 9 to 5 or you are yet to discover all the available options, this article and infographic have something for everyone.

life after graduation

Choosing your path

You have just got your degree so that next? With all the available options, you need to remember not to feel overwhelmed and to take careful considerations into planning your future path. Have a read through these post-graduation options?

Going Travelling – Before stepping into the working world, you might want to take the time to go traveling.

Self-Employment – If you have the resources, confidence, and connections, self-employment could be for you!

Working Abroad – Volunteering or working abroad is a way of expanding our skillset and gaining unique experience. It is a great way of getting to see the world and learn new language skills whilst maybe exploring a new career path or learning career-changing skills.

Postgraduate Study – Postgraduate study is another option, where you can study your chosen subject in more depth and enhance your career. You can go for MBA, M.Tech, PGDEMA, PGD in Hotel Management, Certification in Finance and Accounts, business Accounting and Taxation, or study Prep Lounge’s recommended MCAT review courses.

Interning/Placement– To gain valuable experience for your CV and to get a foot in the door with a company, interning or working placement is a great option.

Covering The Basics

Here to guide you through some of the key steps and decisions you will have to make post-graduation, starting off with some of the basics. Below are some questions you can ask yourself to help get you started with your plans, as well as some pointer to remember.

  • Will you move back home or can you afford to rent somewhere with friends?
  • How are you going to earn money on your student loans?
  • Do you feel ready to work yet or are you itching to explore?
  • Do not be scared to claim Jobseekers’ Allowance to help get you started.
  • Remember to not panic, you deserve a bit of a break after all your hard work!

Going Travelling

How going travelling can benefit you – Some people might say that post-graduation is the best time to go traveling, as you can celebrate all your hard work whilst making the most your freedom and lack to commitments before starting your career, If you are thinking about going traveling, here’s how it can benefit you and how to go about planning your trip.

  • Pushes you out of your comfort zone.
  • It can help you learn a new language.
  • Might open doors you were not expecting.
  • It will help to make you more employable.
  • It can increase your cultural competency.
  • Increases confidence and independence.
  • Make you more organized.
  • Teaches you to not take things for granted.
  • It might give your friends around the world.
  • Broadens your perspective.

Your Employability – Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Whether applying for a part-time job, internship, graduate career or going into self-employment, your CV really needs to show off our experience and sell the reader. Try the following tips:

  • Customise your CV to the job application, including relevant skills and experience.
  • Include a short personal statement.
  • Keep it short and neat – ideally just one page in length.
  • Do not ignore the layout/ design of your CV, especially if you are applying for a creative role.
  • Get someone to proofread it.

Online Presence

First impressions matter on the internet as well. Before starting the job search and application process, you should clean up your online presence by doing the following:

  • Google yourself and clean up any results you don’t like
  • Check your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ profiles and clean up any results you do not like.
  • Spruce up your social networks with better profiles.
  • Get your own domain and use it as a digital portfolio and for a professional email address.

Extra Considerations

Some other things which you might want to consider to help you stand out from the rest of the applications are as follow:

  • If it is relevant to the job, put together a digital portfolio to reflect your experience.
  • Get some business cards printed to enhance your professionalism.
  • Get out and about for networking and meeting new people.
  • Start your own blog and write about your interests or industry-specific topics.
  • Enter competitions.

Postgraduate Study – Pursuing the postgraduate study

Postgraduate study is not for everyone but it can really enhance your depth and knowledge of a specific industry and therefore increase your employability. With an equal balance of pros and cons, it is really important to gather all the information available regarding postgraduate study and talk it through with your family, friends, and teachers.

Pros:

  • Enhances your employability.
  • Improves your skills and specialization
  • Increases depth of knowledge.
  • Opens up career paths.
  • Improves your chance of a higher salary.

Cons:

  • Further costs involved.
  • Less sociable due to a self-study nature.
  • Commitment and workload.
  • The extra time when you could be earning money.
  • Lack of postgraduate accommodation available.

“In the 2015-2016 academic years, there were 532,970 students studying postgraduate courses at UK higher education institutions.”

We believe this Entrepreneur post will help you make the right decision and choose the right path after graduation.

Amy Adams Author

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