University Students: When is the Right Time to Start Thinking About Your Career?
Thursday, 07 October 2021
Find out when you should start thinking about your career here and make sure you are preparing for the future the right way.
"When should I start thinking about my career?" Many university students ask themselves this question. The truth is that it is actually that they start preparing for their careers as soon as they enter college. Why? Let’s see.
If you leave career planning to your last year at university, you may realize that it is too late. On the other hand, if you start planning your future career after college, you will make sure you maximise all the opportunities available to you.
This means that the sooner you start, the better, because, this way, you can tailor your whole studies towards your career goals, take the courses you need to pursue your career or even a more advanced degree.
Tips to help you start thinking about your career the right way
1. Plan ahead
You will have plenty of opportunities to develop skills that are highly demanded in the workforce during your university studies. Make sure you don’t waste these opportunities!
As you get closer to your final year, start applying for internships, which will give you the opportunity to acquire experience in the workforce even before you graduate.
2. Explore your career options
Start exploring the career paths your degree leads you to as early in your studies as possible. This way, you can start preparing for the specific path you want to take.
In addition to that, you need to consider how you would like to work, whether it is doing research, working in an office, being a freelancer, etc, so that you can see if the degree you are studying enables you to work the way you want to work.
3. Work hard
Many students think grades and academics aren’t that important, at least until their last years anyway! However, a strong academic performance must be a priority the whole time, as it will enable you to prepare for the future and stand out from the rest.
Employers demand a set of skills that you need to develop during your whole studies so that you can have them naturalized when you go on to start your career.
4. Work while you study
Even though you will develop transferable skills during your studies, if you get a part-time job or an internship while you study, you will acquire experience and work-related skills that will prepare you even further.
5. Prepare your CV
You will need a well-crafted résumé that sets you apart from your competition once you start applying for a job. For that reason, you need a CV that is tailored for the role you are applying for, which means you should start crafting it as soon as possible to make sure you have time to improve it.
Making sure that you don’t leave career planning to the last minute will enable you to be very well-focused on your goals and align your studies with them. These are some tips that will help you prepare for your career as early in college as possible.