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Tips for graduates: Transitioning from academia into employment

November 17, 2016  /   No Comments

Steve Preston

Tips for graduates: Transitioning from academia into employmentGot the graduation blues? Looking to move from academia into employment but unsure how to move forward?

If this is your first foray into the world of work after enjoying university life, for the majority of people it is a scary situation. The dawn of reality!

Regardless of whether you have any previous work experience, you have now reached one of the first milestones in your life and in order to make a successful transition into employment, there are a number of key questions that you must first ask yourself.

Be totally honest, otherwise you are likely to make key mistakes before you have even really started on your journey!

  • How important is your degree to you in a future role or is it just something that you can utilise to give you a better chance of employment against the competition?
  • Do you have any real idea of what job you would ideally like to do?
  • Are you looking for a job (possibly any job to get you started) or a career?
  • Have you researched the entry criteria?
  • How aware are you of your marketability and what you have to offer?
  • Do you know any contacts who might be able to network you in?
  • Do you have an up-to-date CV that really sells you in the best light?
  • Have you thought about what is important to you in your job?
  • What type of organisation do you ideally want to work for?
  • How far are you prepared to travel to work?

Before you can start down the road of making this key transition in your life, you must first address these (and many more) key questions. Your answers will provide many clues as to what action you need to take to help you move forward.

Here are my 10 top tips to make a successful transition into employment:

  1. Manage your transition like any project and develop a plan, as what gets measured gets done!
  2. Clearly define your goals, set realistic timescales to achieve them and review your plan on a regular basis – what is working, what isn’t, what additional help you will need and how you will access this.
  3. Even if you can’t secure a full-time job, get part-time work, temporary work and as much work experience as possible, so you can show your tenacity and positive attitude to a potential employer. 
  4. Research, research, research. Use your skills from university life to establish as much as possible about specific jobs of interest, the organisation, the culture, the vision, the opportunities, the recruitment process, their competition and anything else that can put you ahead of the pack.
  5. Learn how to sell and market yourself effectively by matching yourself to the job and organisation with your skills, attributes and attitude – both in any job applications and in interviews.
  6. If you know people who work where you would like to work, or know people who know other people who work there, ask if they can get you an introduction or some initial work experience. Once you have a foot in the door it is so much easier to make an impact. This way you have a great opportunity to influence whether the employer offers you a full time job.
  7. Seek help and advice to get you the best possible CV, as this could make the difference between making the yes pile for an interview!
  8. Although it may go against the grain, be prepared to start ‘at the bottom’ and work your way up, especially if the employer only recruits via graduate schemes or internships.
  9. There are many types of interviews nowadays. How well you plan, prepare and practice and how confident you come across will make the difference. Research how to win at video interviews, Skype interviews, telephone interviews, face to face formal interviews, group interviews and informal ‘coffee shop’ type interviews.
  10. Ensure you have a back-up plan in case ‘Plan A’ doesn’t work – but remember persistence pays, providing you channel your energy in the right way!

Steve Preston is recognised as the Career Catalyst ® A leading career coach, internationally acclaimed author and speaker and Managing Director of specialist consultancy SMP Solutions (Career & People Development) Ltd

Steve’s website can be found at www.steveprestonthecareercatalyst.com

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  • Published: 7 years ago on November 17, 2016
  • Last Modified: November 16, 2016 @ 7:30 pm
  • Filed Under: Industry Insider

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