Thinking about careers can easily slip to the bottom of the list when you’ve got other things on. The uncertainty of “what next” can be de-motivating and sometimes it can be simpler to just not think about it.
At the Careers Service, we meet students every day at different stages of career planning. Examples of questions we hear include:
- “Where should I start with thinking about careers? What can I do with my degree?”
- “I’d like to get an internship, have I missed all the deadlines?”
- “I’ve heard about LinkedIn, but don’t really know if I should use it.”
- “I’ve got an interview next week and I have no idea how to prepare.”
- “Should I be using AI in job applications?”
- “I took some time out, will employers ask me about the gap on my CV?”
- “Which employers are most likely to sponsor international students?”
- “Will a Masters make me more employable?”
Whilst it may be tempting not to think about it, we know small steps can make a BIG difference. We want to help you break down the big things into manageable chunks.
So, if you only have 30 minutes or a couple of hours, maybe even your time on the bus to uni, where should you start? Should you just Google it or ask ChatGPT? How do you know if the information is credible? How do you cut through the noise?
Start with our guides on mycareer
We recommend starting with our impartial career guides. Accessible 24/7 on mycareer whenever you’re ready, our guides have been written by our experienced careers advisers, with Bristol students in mind, to equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to make progress with your career. The guides can be applied to different circumstances – but don’t mistake that for being generic. The content is informed by the job market and sound career planning principles. There are also guides on specific career areas, and for different student groups.
The guides cover a vast range of topics, and you can browse all of these from our resources index (definitely a link to bookmark!)
We don’t have space here to feature them all, so here are some of our favourites:
- Not sure where to start, or what you can do? The exploring career options step-by-step guide will help you to focus on what’s important to you, to help you make an informed decision about your future.
- Got some ideas, but need a bit more information to make an informed decision? Go straight to research sectors and employers, particularly our sector guides. Whenever we uncover useful websites about different careers, this is where we save them so it’s all in one place to help with your research.
- Struggling to find jobs or internships? We have specific guides for part-time work, graduate jobs, and work experience and internships. These will enable you to find a job-hunting approach that works for your areas of interest (hint: not all jobs are advertised!)
- As a university student, you are ideally placed to develop your professional network, no matter what your starting point is. We break down how to get started in our Networking and LinkedIn guides.
- Need to write a CV, cover letter, or application? Been invited to interview or assessment centre, or to complete an online test? Get prepped with our dedicated guides on the recruitment process.
- Thinking about a Masters, PhD, or other further study? Make sure it’s the right choice for you, explore funding and learn how to get started with our further study guides.
About the Careers Service and further support
The Careers Service is for ALL students at Bristol. Not just final years, not just people who know what they want to do, not just those who want a corporate graduate scheme, and not just people who want to stay in the city of Bristol after graduating.
We support all undergraduate years, postgraduates and graduates for up to 3 years after finishing your course as well.
Not sure if there’s a guide for your question? Get in touch and we’ll help you find it.
Prefer to learn in a different way? Our term-time programme of online and in-person talks and workshops might be for you.
