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Find out where life might take you

Posted on Career planning

“When it comes to your future, you need to make your own decisions and this material provides the gentle guidance to do this and start thinking about the possibilities.” – OU Student, Paige, about Your Career Planning Guide

OU Careers Consultant Leigh

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. OU Careers Consultant Leigh says students ask him those questions all the time. It’s a positive sign you’re ready to start planning your future.

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 exciting but daunting, 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
  • 🧠❤️ what motivates you
  • ❤️  and what feels important

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. Turn off your inner critic whilst exploring. 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 tap into the ideas of other OU students in our regular careers forums, where casual conversations change lives.

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

OU Careers and Employability Services