What they wish they had known – Education Guardian
In this piece four professionals reveal what they wish they had known when they graduated. It can sometimes feel, especially in the current job climate, that you need to have your entire career mapped out. So, it’s quite reassuring to read that this isn’t always the case and that many successful people started out without a plan.
One piece of advice from singer-song writer Emma Lee Moss, of Emmy the Great, particularly stuck out: “the job that you do straight after university isn’t going to define you for your whole life”. As somebody doing a non-vocational degree, and with no obvious role in mind, this was very reassuring.
In retrospect: Hear what recent college graduates would have done differently – Hescar.com
So, in the post above we hear from those in the public eye, but here are some insights from recent graduates. To find out what new graduates would do differently, Adecco conducted a survey into what changes they would have made to their actions upon graduation. I’ve picked out a couple of interesting findings below:
“I would have started my job search earlier: 26%”
“I would have networked more prior to graduation: 29%”
Having just finished my second year of university, I found these insights particularly juicy since I am in a position to act upon this advice now. I knew networking was crucial to those on the job hunt, but didn’t realise it was something I should be doing as an undergraduate.
News from the HESA report: How likely are you to be employed? – Datablog
For some insight into which courses and which universities turn out the most employable grads, have a read of the Guardian Datablog’s dissection of the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s recent graduate destinations report.
It was pleasing to read that more graduates are being employed this year, compared to previous years.
In this piece Patty Mara, a recent graduate from Marquette University, Milwaukee, USA, writes honestly about her exploits of applying for everything and anything post graduation. Her tales supplement the experts’ advice that the scattergun application approach is often a waste of time.
You may also want to follow the author’s personal blog: Instant Gradification.
Personal branding: advice from a dance management and training professional – The Lost Generation?
Profound but interesting tips here: “If we know who we are and what we are good at we can sell ourselves.”
In this blog an unemployed dance graduate talks about advice she has received on how to brand herself as an artist. It’s quite arty focused, but her experiences have lessons for graduates of any degree.
