January is a bleak month, the sparkle of the festive season is behind us and many undergraduate students at Bath will be busy revising for their upcoming exams. In and among all this it is easy to put off career planning. The New Year presents an opportunity to make a fresh start, but with just 8% of people achieving last year's resolutions, how can you make sure you meet your career goals? My advice is to focus on small achievable career tasks and below are some suggestions to get you started.
- Application health check: a strong application is a the key to securing a job interview. If you have been sending applications but haven't had any success securing an interview, you may want to consider getting some informal feedback. Take 15-minutes out of your revision and talk to a Careers Adviser. We can provide support in person, over the phone and via Skype.
- Expand your Network: to me networking is having a conversation with a purpose and it is important in job seeking and exploring your career options. By talking to people you may discover unadvertised vacancies, develop commercial awareness and benefit from invaluable advice. The Good and Bad of Networking post offers some interesting advice.
- Update your online profile: Don’t have a LinkedIn profile? Get one. Have one but never sign in? Resolve to do so regularly. Google yourself and see what comes up - are your social media settings secure, is your profile up-to date and does the search throw up anything that is unprofessional?
- Reduce Stress: Ask yourself if the stress is coming from outside sources (your peers, parents, housemates etc.) or is it self-induced. Perhaps you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. If so, step back and start with the simple things like sleeping and exercising more. Check out the wide range of fitness classes and gym facilities available to you at Bath.
Finally consider participating in the Guardian's live chat on How to Find a Job you'll Love on Wednesday, 7th January. A panel of experts will discuss how you assess your goals and priorities, provide advice on sticking to your career resolutions and share tips on finding a job that suits you.
Respond
