Second Year: Start Your Career Planning Now

The second year is the ideal time to begin career planning. Graduate recruitment for many schemes opens in June of the second year, so starting early gives you a significant advantage.

Careers vs. Employability

Careers refer to your strategic direction, what you want to do. Employability refers to the skills and experience you need to get there. Think of careers as a map and employability as your toolkit. Career services support both.

Work Experience Matters

Research shows students with work experience achieve significantly better graduate outcomes. You don't need extensive hours; even one hour weekly of volunteering or part-time work is valuable. Work experience also tests whether your assumed career interests match reality.

Your Options After Graduation

Graduate Jobs are permanent positions requiring a degree. Most are advertised from September to January of your final year.

Graduate Schemes are structured programmes (1-2 years) with rotations across departments. These suit you if you know your preferred organisation but not your specific role.

Postgraduate Study includes master's degrees, conversion courses, and professional certifications.

Self-Employment offers flexibility and income potential, though without employment benefits.

Note: 80% of graduate positions don't require subject-specific degrees. Employers prioritise transferable skills.

Key Employability Skills

Employers consistently seek candidates with strong communication, problem-solving, self-motivation, digital literacy, and adaptability skills.

Networking

Many jobs aren't publicly advertised. Building professional networks through LinkedIn, events, and industry platforms creates access to these opportunities. Over the past decade, I've built professional relationships across voiceover, media, and creative sectors—and these connections have consistently opened doors that formal job advertisements never reach. Regular engagement with professionals in your field, whether through weekly networking groups or online platforms, compounds over time and becomes your most valuable career asset.

This is the number one rule for making the most out of your networking evening! If you sit back and wait for other people to approach you, you’re not going to get much out of it.(D'Souza, 2025)

Volunteering

Volunteering strengthens applications, develops skills, builds community connections, and supports well-being. Document your experience for future reference. Volunteering for an organisation like Mind, for example, allowed me to apply existing expertise while contributing meaningfully to mental health support in the community. These practical experiences become compelling evidence of your capabilities in future applications.

References

D’Souza, S. (2015) Effective business networking. Second edition. Harlow, England: Pearson.