Career Action Planner
Year one timeline
Your first term at university can be a challenge with the possibility of new living arrangements, finds and activities, along with a new level of work required for success in Higher Education English Studies. During your first term, it is important to begin investigating opportunities so that you can plan your next years strategically and make the transition to work or postgraduate studies quickly and easily. □ Dip into the ‘After English’ website http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/afterenglish/welcome/index.htm and your Careers Service’s website better to understand career possibilities and what you need to do to prepare during your course. □ Participation in induction week. Learn what activities are available. Join those of interest. □ Register with the careers service and, if available, your university student employability service. □ Find out when work experience fairs are taking place and prepare accordingly. □ Explore the availability of personal development planning (PDP) With one term or semester behind you, it may be easier to act on things you have learned. □ Begin to think about the self-assessment process. Get help form the careers services and/or your PDP tutor. □ Get involved in campus activities that will help develop new skills and experiences. Continue your activities throughout your course to ensure continual development. □ Consider exploring career options through work shadowing (i.e. spending sometime with someone in their workplace). □ Consider options for volunteering, work placements, summer jobs or overseas work experiences. □ Learn about the importance of networking and work towards building your network of contacts throughout your course.
1
January - March
September - December
English Subject Centre | Timelines developed in association with the Psychology Network
The first year is coming to a close but before you celebrate, plan. □ Ask your Careers Service for advice on how to research specific careers. □ Consider study abroad programmes such as ERASMUS (www.erasmus.ac.uk) □ Apply for summer volunteer work, work placements or jobs based on what you’ve learned about yourself. □ Consider options for second year. Discuss them with tutors and people in jobs that interest you. □ Investigate what previous graduates are doing now. Use your summer vacation to test out career ideas, learn about work environments and develop skills. Consider the following options choosing those that best fit your situation. □ Try out various work placements (two to five weeks) experiencing different roles, seeing which you enjoy; do a longer placement in a career area of interest; work in paid employment in something that will help you to gain skills and experience useful to your career; gain work experience abroad.
July - August September - December
2
April - June
Year two timeline
The start of year two is a time for reflection, planning and action. Consult with your PDP tutor or careers service to reflect on your experiences, make career decisions and develop action plans. □ Begin actively researching different jobs and identifying those of interest. □ Consider options for your independent research project. Identify topic related to your career interests. □ Participate in careers service events and workshops now and throughout the rest of your course. □ Consider applying for vacation placements for Christmas and Easter. □ Considering a sandwich year placement? Ask your department or careers service for help in identifying companies and apply early.
English Subject Centre | Timelines developed in association with the Psychology Network
If you have not already done so, consider the following. □ Develop a CV relating the details of your experience and education to your career interests. □ Develop a profile of yourself that you can use to describe yourself to employers. □ Find out about and attend careers fairs, employer visits to campus, and career talks sponsored by your careers service or department. □ Considering postgraduate study overseas? Start researching now. The process can take up to 18 months. □ Apply for summer volunteer work, work placements, jobs or overseas opportunities; consider gaining experience and developing networking contacts in your chosen career. Ensure your plans are in motion for the summer and act on the following as appropriate.
April - June June - August
3
January - March
□ Learn about interviewing skills through workshops or doing mock interviews with careers service if available. □ Ensure you know how to get the most out of your summer work experiences by reviewing appropriate resources. □ Considering postgraduate courses and scholarships? Act now. Closing dates can be more than 12 months before programmes start.
Use your summer vacation to gain experience and skills that will build your CV and make you more attractive to employers or postgraduate programmes. Consider the following ideas choosing those that best fit your situation. □ Try out various work placements (two to five weeks) experiencing different roles, seeing which you enjoy; do a longer work placement in a career area of interest; work in paid employment in something that will help you to gain skills and experience useful to your career; gain work experience abroad.
English Subject Centre | Timelines developed in association with the Psychology Network
Year three timeline
You may be busy with your third year project but don’t lose sight of your career goals. □ Reflect upon your work experiences and course thus far to gain a clearer picture of your skills, interests, values, personal qualities and career goals. □ Update your CV based on your reflections relating summer experiences to career goals. □ Ensure everyone you know is aware you are graduating soon and will be looking for a job (if applicable). □ Attend relevant presentations from employers, careers fairs or postgraduate fairs. □ Interested in Primary PGCE, Diploma in Law conversion course, Post Graduate Social Work course or the Civil Service Fast Stream? Apply now. Note, some courses will not consider you without additional experience or may have other specific application requirements. □ Considering postgraduate studies in the US? Take GRE and/or GMAT in October or November. □ Considering work with a large organisation? Apply now for graduate training schemes. □ Interested in postgraduate research at your institution? Talk to your tutor and ask about possibilities. □ Considering postgraduate studies elsewhere? Research opportunities now. If you have prepared thus far, there is not much to do! □ Considering other postgraduate courses including secondary PGCEs? Apply now for places and postgraduate funding from Research Councils. □ Write a cover letter and review this with your careers service to check your understanding of appropriate letter format and content. □ Become familiar (if you are not already) with job postings from online sources and elsewhere. If you have sorted your career goals; gained experience; developed a good CV, interviewing skills and a network of contacts; you will be in a good position to take the final steps in your transition from university to career or postgraduate study. □ Remind everyone in your network that you are actively looking for a job and ask for advice if appropriate. □ Identify companies that are of interest to you and make speculative enquiries. □ Apply for jobs in local and national newspapers, internet sites, careers service listings and register with job agencies
4
April - June
January - March
September - December
English Subject Centre | Timelines developed in association with the Psychology Network