Finding your purrfect job University of Manchester Careers Blog

Finding your purrfect job University of Manchester Careers Blog This is Felix She’s a cat She’s a cat with a job A job which includes a high-viz jacket and a name tag. She’s Senior Pest Controller for Trans Pennie Express at Huddersfield Train Station. OK so this this might be a bit of harmless social media fun but think about it with their amazing sense of sound and vision, agile bodies, ability to move silently not to mention their sharp claws cats are incredible hunters and are therefore perfect pest controllers- she’s just doing what she loves and comes naturally to her. Just as Felix has found a job that she loves and suits her skills set down to the ground so can you. To do this you’ll need to know yourself and know what options are out there. Knowing yourself is all about exploring what motivates you and what you are good at. Start by considering what you want out of a job or career.  Having an understanding of what you really want can help narrow down your options when you come to explore existing opportunities.      These questions may help trigger some thoughts Is money a driving factor? Is a work/life balance important? Are you someone who wants to help people on a day to day basis? Do you want a job that’s ‘hands on’? Where do you see yourself working â€" Outdoors? In an office? Abroad?  Next you need to think about the skills you have already developed.  Consider the following ·                 Your degree what practical, theoretical and/ or research skills did you need to succeed on the course? Did you gain any specific technical or scientific knowledge?  What did your course work involve? Writing essays and/ or reports? Did you have to do presentations, group work or exams?   How did you manage your time to ensure deadlines were met? ·                 Work Experience (e.g. part-time, internships, volunteering) what was your role? What tasks did you preform and what were you responsible for? Did you gain experience in a specific industry/ sector? Did you enjoy this role/ industry?    In any of your roles did you demonstrate any transferable skills such as an ability to work in a team or on your own? Communication skills? Initiative? Problem solving? Effective time management? Flexibility? Extra-Curricular activities what do you do outside of work or study? Are/ were you a member of any societies or sports groups? Do / did you hold positions of responsibilities within these groups? If so what tasks did you carry out? Use our I dont know what i want to do guide along with our website for more information on exploring what what motivate   you and what you are good at. Knowing your options involves researching different sectors and roles. If you are interested in exploring options directly related to your degree there are a number of resources that could help you.   The Prospects series What can i do with my degree and TARGET Jobs Degree subjects your career options would be a good place to start as would our Stating Point Series of guides. The majority of graduate jobs are open to any those who studied any discipline so if like me your degree dont automatically lead to a specific career path (I studied Theology) dont panic! The Which Career section of our website talks you through a range of different sectors. Once you find   a sector you might be interested in use   the job profiles available on TARGET Jobs and Prospects to find out more about specific job roles within those sectors. At this stage you may also need to take into account any limiting factors you may face. For example if the job roles that interest you would require further training think about whether you would be willing or financially able to do this. Another limiting factor may be family, mortgage or other responsibilities that would limit the geographic location you could work in. By limiting factors I am certainly not referring to disabilities or health concerns. Remember reasonable adjustments can be made Just like this one made to help Felix get though the ticket barrier! More information and advice on exploring your   options can be found in this guide. Now what? Its time to weigh up your options. By   Think about how well the roles you are interested in align with what you said you were looking for in a   job as well as the skills that you have   and you should be well on your way to finding you purrfet job! Again our I dont know what i want to do guide can help you come to some decisions and remember as a recent UoM graduate you can   still book a Careers Guidance appointment to talk your options though with us. All Graduate