UCC Careers Service - Getting a Job

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Career Planning and Decision Making

If you need help in choosing a graduate career or just deciding where to start, then you are on the right page.  

Education can be like a railway. You rattle along the track with the route pretty much laid out in front of you. But then the track runs out at the end of your degree course and you're left hanging over the edge.
That's how many students feel. Some feel that they have no direction after their degree, others have feelings that their preferred path has been wiped out by the competition. But there could be more options than you think.

The following are just a few...

A good degree will not by itself ensure that you will gain employment but certainly it helps. Your Degree is more that just a qualification, you have developed a strong knowledge base as well as a skill's base from which you can find work. 
You need to aware of all the things you have learned in your degree not only your subject base but also your skills set.

Download our Skills for Work work-sheet as a useful resource to identify various transferable skills that you would have gained in your degree and your work experience so far.


Some of the skills gained from most degree programs include:

  • Intellectual Skills
  • Analytical
  • Problem solving
  • Conceptual
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Communication skills
  • Linguistic
  • Cultural
  • Networking
  • Team work
  • Leadership
  • Organizational Skills
  • The ability to cope with pressure
  • Priorities work
  • Meet deadlines
  • Identify procedures associates with tasks
  • Technological Skills
  • Keyboard skills
  • Software skills
  • Entrepreneurial Skills
  • Imagination
  • Creativity
  • Enthusiasm
  • Energy
  • Innovation

Most of the skills developed by degree courses are valued by employers. In recruiting graduates employers will look for evidence of these and other skills which they refer to as transferable skills. Transferable skills - means that these skills can be transferred from the academic sphere into a work environment. Many of the transferable skills looked for are those developed from your hobbies, interests and leisure pursuits. Employers will generally examine these in the application form and at interview. 
Decide what skills you have gained form you course and develop a list, which you can you, use in applying for work.  Try GradIreland Careers Report to help you identify some of your skills.

This is a very common situation, so be assured there will be many students like you who still haven't decided what to do next.
It's never to late to start thinking about what you want to do next with your life. This decision making will take time and will not happen overnight.
 

You may find yourself going in circles - this is normal. For many people finding their career path will involve two main issues:

  • Thinking about what their own needs and requirements are
  • Knowing about the jobs market

After considering those you can make some initial decisions and then you should fine-tune your choices by talking to a careers advisor or to someone in your chosen career area.

 

The gradireland Careers Report will reveal your strengths and skills, pinpoint graduate jobs and careers that suit you, and set you on a positive plan of action.The gradireland Careers Report uses questionnaires and psychometric tests to explore your interests, strengths, personality and abilities.  Click here for a quick short-cut to Careers Report or carry on reading for further information.

Over 200 job descriptions for graduates to choose from - this is a comprehensive list, courtesy of GradIreland.com

Further job descriptions are also available on prospects.ac.uk - http://www.prospects.ac.uk/types_of_jobs.htm

 

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Find out what each job involves, the qualifications and skills needed, and where to find more information.

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