Find out where life might take you

Posted on 11 October 2019 • Career planning, Forums and webinars

I was greatly encouraged and more determined to finish my degree now knowing the range of careers I can go into after completing my degree.
– OU Student

Have you ever thought “what can I do with my degree? How do I get into that role? What do I do with my life?”. You’re certainly not alone. As OU Careers Consultant Leigh tells us, students ask him – and themselves – those questions all the time. It’s a positive sign you’re at the start of the career planning process.

What next? Leigh has your starting points covered in three simple steps.
 
 
 

1. GIVE YOUR HEART AND MIND SPACE AND TIME

Are you career confident? Figuring out what you want to do with your life and career can feel both exciting and daunting at the same time, especially if you’re not sure where to start. If you feel confused and crave clarity, this is the time to take a step back. Focus on getting an understanding of what you’re good at (mind), what motivates you (both heart and mind) and what feels important (all heart). This will help you find potential careers that suit your values, interests and skills.

The first section of Your career planning guide , “Know yourself”, will help you take stock and think about your career and life goals. Work through the activities. Before you know it, a clearer picture of who you are will start to emerge.

2. HAVE FUN GENERATING IDEAS

Imagine the person you might like to become. You might find our interactive careers diagnostic quiz helps you generate ideas based on your own unique strengths and skills. Make notes on your ideas as you would when studying module material but keep them simple. Don’t over-think and turn off your inner critic. You can refine and evaluate your ideas at a later stage. Try researching careers with your OU subject to find possibilities you hadn’t thought of. Tapping into your intuition (that gut feeling) about career ideas will help your brain process the information more quickly.

3. PREPARE FOR YOUR JOURNEY AND TAKE THE FIRST STEPS

Every great journey begins with a small step. This stage is when you need to start acting and running with the ideas you feel most strongly about. Search the internet and our Careers website to find more information about what those career options require. You might want to look at our article “Unlock the secret doors to a new career”. Rummage around OpportunityHub to get a broader view of roles that are out there, and explore our sector-specific careers forums to tap into the ideas of other OU students and our expert guests working in all sorts of sectors and fields.

Now you’ve read Leigh’s three tips, have a go and let us know how you get on using our feedback form.