Careers consultation

If you are a current student or former student who finished your studies within the last three years you are entitled to a careers consultation or interview. This is designed to help you through the planning process and identify an action plan for your future. (Non-students should go to the Contact page of this website for sources of careers advice.)

To contact a careers adviser by email, use our dedicated email service by clicking on the link on the right of this page. If you would prefer a telephone or face to face consultation, contact your regional or national centre. Contact details can be found here. Careers advisers may also be available at OU study choice events and residential schools.

Last year almost 2,000 students had a consultation either in person, by phone or by email with a professionally qualified OU careers adviser.

You may find the idea of talking with an adviser a little daunting. Here are some views of students.

I was slightly anxious about the meeting, but my adviser really helped me through the process.

The interviewer was very easy to chat to, professional, knowledgeable and amiable.

After my interview I was totally excited about my future prospects.

Planning your career can take a considerable amount of thought, research and organisation over a period of time. Some people are happy to go through this process alone, perhaps using the resources the OU or other organisations produce. If this applies to you then you will find the links below useful.

How to get the most out of a careers consultation

Think about what you would like to get out of the session.
Do some initial research – Career planning is a valuable starting point.
Complete any pre-interview questionnaires, provided by your regional or national centre, as fully as possible.

Remember a careers consultation is not like a job interview – the careers adviser will try to put you at ease and you will feel able to talk freely.

Try not to assume that you will resolve everything in one discussion. You may need to do further research and make another appointment later in the year.

A careers interview usually focuses on four areas. These stages of the careers guidance process are explained in Career planning.

An awareness of yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, values and skills.
Exploring possibilities – how to find out more about opportunities in further study, researching career options, career progression and development, and alternative work styles.
Action planning and decision making – how to make a decision about your future, strategies that may help you focus your plans.
How to learn from the changes that you have already made.

Please note: if you are an OU student based overseas and studying full time through one of our partner organisations and are not assigned to a regional or national centre, you will not be able to contact a Careers Adviser by email. Our partners provide certain services directly to students.

Please contact your partner organisation for further information.

Many students prefer to contact an OU careers adviser by email. You may have career ideas or plans, but not know how to achieve them, or simply no ideas at all. If you would like to contact a careers adviser then it’s probably better to get in touch earlier rather than later in your studies.

Preparing for a careers interview

The Preparing for a careers interview (DOC, 162KB) outlines how to prepare for your careers interview so you can get the most out of it.

Note: you will need your OU computer username and password to access this leaflet.