Being a student and a soon-to-be graduate is no longer the stress-free safe zone it used to be. With constant media coverage of the depleting jobs market and increasingly depressing statistics regarding graduate employment rates, the future can look less than rosy. It would be easy to bury your head in the sand and simply hope for the best when the time comes to entering the job hunt yourself. But a more productive solution would be to start thinking of ways in which you can build experience in the field that interests you most and strengthen your candidature in time for your first application.
There are many initiatives in place to encourage students to get active within their communities and this can be a great way to start building up professional experience. One of the major areas initiatives have targeted is education, creating a number of school jobs for students. If you are interested in working with children, whether it be in a teaching capacity or in a psychological, social or caring role, this in an excellent way to boost your CV. Different universities have different schemes in place – the University of York, for example, runs the York Students in Schools (YSIS) programme – or for more general inquiries see Guardian Jobs on: http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/jobs/education/.
If you are interested in getting into politics then governing student bodies are the perfect place in which to hone your political skills. From organising a campaign to turning policy into reality, to working alongside a team of people who may or may not have common goals and interests, student politics is an accessible way to get a head start in your political career. Many students who ran or took part in governing bodies during their time at university have gone on to get elected as M.P.s within a year or two of graduation.
Alternatively, if you’ve set your sights on the business route but failed to make it onto one of the coveted fast-track internship programmes from the biggest corporations, then why not volunteer to intern at a company near you? You may not receive as big a salary from month to month but the experience is likely to be just as valuable.
What is more, you will have a much greater chance of recuperating your losses in future when you land a fantastic job in business or commerce over the summer of your graduation, down to your hands-on experience and self motivation.
Got more thoughts about your career? Chat in our student forum!