Graduate Career Programme

Alright so you've graduated - now what?

You may feel a little overwhelmed, your whole life has been mapped out for you up until now - school, college, university. What on earth do you do with all these strings you've acquired for your bow?

There are so many choices open to graduates these days, but the competition is also far more fierce than it ever has been. In order to succeed you have to put everything you have into it - so you can imagine having reservations about your chosen career will only hinder your success.

Course is over - no idea what to do now?

Thinking about studying some more - but not sure which course to go for?

Now that you've graduated ... do you want to make sure the career you've chosen is the right one for you?

If you are unsure of the path you have chosen - or even if you haven't chosen one, Working Career can give you a hand. There are a few obvious avenues open to graduates these days which are often different to what was available to your parents. That's not to say their advice isn't valuable its just that they may not know all the options.

Go straight into office life

Law, accountancy, recruitment, finance, graduate training schemes, sales, marketing, administration etc...

The rewards can be fantastic both financially and for career advancement. Starting now, fresh faced from university, gets you on that bottom rung again ready to climb the ladder as high as it will go. Maybe you'll even be able to buy a house by the age of 26, have a decent pension and take yearly skiing holidays...

First of all - is that what you want? Yes? Great go for it. Wait, what if it's not ... what if you're not sure... what if you feel you have things to do first, things to try first. What if you want to continue training to get to the next level...

Go back to education

Postgraduate diploma, masters, Phd etc...

Staying at university to further arm yourself for the outside world is a great idea. It gives you a chance to hone your skills, specialise, maybe try something completely different but in a more mature atmosphere. You get to spend one or two years more at university, which in some cases fast tracks you to better graduate positions. You still get student discounts and Thursday is still the biggest night out of the week. Best of all - you don't have to wear a suit and you still have your freedom from the tax man.

Hang on ... are you just stalling? Are you leaning towards further study because the big bad world of work scares you? Do you desperately want to hold onto your freedom for as long as possible?

Go on a GAP Year

Travel, volunteer work, low paying no responsibility job etc...

Don't let anyone ever tell you a GAP year is a waste of time. It does however depend what you do with it. More and more graduates are using them as a legitimate CV booster and employers are sitting up and taking notice. We truly live in a global community and travel to remote places on earth has never been easier. A person with an open mind and 'life experience' is as valuable as someone who has spent the last two years hunched over a computer, and the right employer will recognise that.

Volunteer, teach English, build irrigation systems and schools, work in a vineyard, nanny, run a bar, be an aid worker - the point is work at something, see amazing things and enjoy it. It may even help you choose your path, but it will certainly satisfy your wanderlust and show you more than you could ever dream of.

It's not for everyone though - you might want to get started with your career, you might be sick of being broke, you might have the most amazing opportunity in the world presented to you and if you don't take it you'll never get that chance again.

GAP Years are not just for graduates - they will be there whenever you are ready to take them and with more work experience under your belt you will undoubtedly get better work opportunities abroad as well.