Leaving university can be really daunting, as the world is your oyster and you have so many options of what to do next. So, we’re here to help. We’ve put together 4 productive things you can do to start making a move towards a positive future, without rushing into a decision or particular path if that’s something you’re cautious of.
Assess Your Priorities and Options
The first thing that you should do once you’ve finished your degree is to sit down and take a few hours to assess your priorities and the different options you have open to you. In terms of priorities, consider do you want to get into work as quickly as possible? Do you want some time to travel or at least take a few months before you start a full time job? Deciding one of these two paths will help you with your next steps.
Once you’ve decided on one of those paths, think about your options. If you’re wanting to get into work, do you have the experience you need to start applying for jobs? Do you want to stay in your hometown or want to move away? For those of you wanting to travel a bit, are there any friends you can go with? Do you have the money you need right now? Would you consider solo travelling?
Now, the important thing to remember here is that you absolutely don’t need to know the answer to all of those questions straight away. This is much more of a mind-mapping exercise, where you can write down all of your different options. Just to get a bit of mental clarity knowing everything is in one place and you can revisit it when you’re ready to. If you want to take some time completely away from work or make these decisions, that’s okay too, as you know they’ll be there when you need them.
Consider A Summer Of Seasonal Work
If you are struggling to decide on your next steps, something extremely fun and productive you could do is a summer of seasonal work. Between when you finish University in May and the end of the summer, you have the perfect opportunity to do a few months of seasonal work. This type of work tends to attract younger people in a similar position to yourself, so you know you’ll have an absolute blast, make some money to help pay off your overdraft if you’ve got one and it’ll give you some thinking space to decide on what you want to do next.
A great opportunity if you want more travel is to look for something based around that, from working in a hotel abroad and getting time off in between to travel to a travel guide or resort rep, working on superyachts or being a camp counsellor. You have so many options where you can clear your mind and decide what you want to do next, whilst having the best time.
Look At Your Finances
Something else you should do (which is a bit more boring than working and travelling) is to look at your finances. Sit down and have a look at how much money you have and any debt you might have, to help you come up with a plan moving forwards. You should focus on paying off short term debts (like your overdraft on student cards), then also looking at how much money you might need for what you want to do next. For example, do you need to pay for a flight for your season abroad, or do you need a deposit for a flat saved and a month of rent upfront if you want to move to a different city?
Whilst this may seem like a boring task and also one that might be overwhelming, it’s so much better to know where you’re at currently and what you need to work towards, rather than burying your head in the sand when it comes to money!
Get Work Experience
Last but certainly not least, you should focus on getting work experience. If you don’t already have any work experience, then this is the time to do it, as when you’re applying for jobs, people will want to see that you’re willing to put yourself out there in your free time to learn more about the industry. Even if you’re unsure exactly what route to take, that’s completely okay. Contact a few companies that interest you and see if they’re taking interns. Perhaps you do a week such at this design agency Manchester based, then a week at another digital marketing agency, and so on.
This is a great opportunity to learn about different industries and specific departments within those industries, to get a better idea of what you might want to do moving forwards. We’d definitely recommend spending a couple of months doing this if you have no experience, as your idea of a specific industry and the reality can be quite different, so it can definitely help you save time later down the line.