Graduating from WBS? Your careers support doesn't stop here

Not found a graduate job yet? Plans changed due to Covid-19? Caroline Egan, Alumni Careers Manager, writes about the careers support that is available to all of our Undergraduate finalists. 

If you don’t have any plans yet for after graduation, or your plans have had to change due to Covid-19, WBS CareersPlus are here to support you this summer and beyond. 

Finishing your degree is a big step and it’s normal to feel a bit confused, worried or even overwhelmed by the prospect of finding a job, especially in the post Covid-19 graduate job market.

Finding a graduate job that’s right for you - for the foreseeable future - is a process that always takes time, but it’s particularly important this year to make a start and not just hope it will resolve itself without some effort. Remember, in spite of these economically uncertain times, there are still great job and internship opportunities for graduates, and positive steps you can take to build your employability skills to increase your chances of success when applying for future jobs.

Here are some tips to deal with the immediate future post-graduation:

• Transition: It’s especially important to treat the period ahead as one of transition and manage your expectations of yourself in the current circumstances. Focus on building your transferrable skills - there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer at the moment, which will reflect well on you as well as giving you valuable proof of communication and people skills. You could work in hospitality; bars and restaurants (once re-opened) teach emotional intelligence, and sales and call centre jobs demonstrate resilience and potential in business development.
• Timing: Be realistic about the time it may take to get a paid or graduate job; due to the pandemic, it may take you longer than normal to find a job.
• Manage yourself and your expectations: Don’t compare yourself with others - focus on your own career plan and where you want to be. As the saying goes, ‘life is a marathon, not a sprint’ and if you persevere, you will eventually emerge stronger from this period of adversity.
• Be flexible: It’s likely that your plans have changed due to the pandemic. Look for the opportunities arising as a result of Covid-19 and make sure you know which sectors are growing, such as Tech, E-commerce (and associated packaging and delivery companies), Pharma, Food retailing, Telecomms, Media and Home leisure. Explore openings for what you want to do, in those sectors.
• Remember, you’re just deciding on your first step, not committing yourself to one thing for the rest of your life - in fact, it’s becoming the norm for people to change jobs and even careers a number of times during their working life.

Extra careers support this summer for our Undergraduate finalists 

If you don’t have any plans yet for after graduation, or your plans have had to change due to Covid-19, we in CareersPlus are here to support you.

Our extra support available for this year’s finalists includes:

• A series of interactive webinars in July and August which will cover everything you need to think about to ‘survive and thrive’ in the job market for new graduates this year
• Email guidance via wbs.ug.careers@warwick.ac.uk
• One-to-one online/video career coaching appointments (arranged via emailing wbs.ug.careers@warwick.ac.uk)
• Comprehensive online careers resources from CareersPlus here.

The Undergraduate programme team will be emailing every Undergraduate finalist further details of the above.

WBS also offers lifelong career and professional development support for all of our alumni. Later in the summer, the Alumni Careers team will be in touch about ongoing careers support and how to access it.