Final year of college is intense. You’ve exams, final projects, a thesis or dissertation, all while the ever-looming worry of wondering what you’re going to do with the rest of your life is percolating in the back of your mind.
For those in career-specific degrees, this transition can be a little bit easier, according to Mary Quirke, a career guidance counsellor and PhD researcher at Trinity College Dublin.
“If they’re moving on from college and they’re coming from professional courses, probably people coming from nursing, dentistry, doctoring, engineering, they tend to try to feed into that area of work,” she said.
“If they’re coming from more general degrees, oftentimes they can be confused about what they can go for now.”
However, Ms Quirk said this is actually an “exciting time”, because education has shifted to allow individuals to retrain, reskill or specialise.
“Back in the day, you had one crack at it at 18 and you couldn’t go back again. [Now] they can also choose to pick an area that they may be particularly interested in and focus on that,” she said.
“By way of example, if you’re coming from business, you can look at professionalising in accountancy, professionalising in law, or going into HR, or different aspects of business. For every single general course, there are so many fallout areas now and they’re growing.”
According to Peter Lewis, career coach at TU Dublin, there are questions soon-to-be graduates should ask themselves when trying to ascertain their desired career route.
“They should ask themselves what are their motivations, what are the drivers, what they’re excited about and what will get them to give 110 per cent in a role,” he said.
“Think about the organisations they work with, what are the values of that organisation, how do they work. They need to explore what work environments companies offer and if that will be a good fit for them.”
Finding your interests and passions, and seeing if you can apply them to a job is also important, he said.
These questions can often be answered through the careers events that universities and colleges host for students.
“All of the colleges run graduate fairs, and recruitment fairs, and it’s amazing how many people think that it’s not for them,” Ms Quirke said.
“You should go, meet, talk. Every single company requires a number of different types of skills and you could find yourself in the right place at the right time.”
Mr Lewis added that throughout the year Government ministers announce job opportunities when companies expand or arrive in Ireland.
Students should get a notebook and keep track of these companies, he said, so when they’re ready to apply for position, they’ll have a list of companies they know are hiring.
Students should also speak to course alumni and those working in their desired field in order to hear some first hand experience of what the job is like, he added.
Ms Quirke said career events are also a great opportunity to make connections in companies you may want to work for, but for roles for which you might feel underqualified.
“Some employers just want a graduate and they don’t care what your degree is in. They’re picking you because of your personality, your competencies, your ability to think critically, your ability to write. You learn that doing Irish folklore, or doing a degree in geography or history,” she said.
Mr Lewis agreed, adding that there are many online courses available if graduates felt they needed to brush up on a certain skill before applying for these jobs.
“Students need to put themselves in the best position possible, and to get the best marks they can. For a lot of roles out there, there can be a grade requirement. Sometimes people lose sight of that, so make sure you do as well as you can in your course,” he added.
While academic results are important, so too are the extracurricular activities on your CV, according to Ms Quirke.
“A lot of people tend to just focus on their degree or qualification, but if you look at someone’s CV or LinkedIn profile, that only takes up about two sentences,” she said.
“It’s a very good thing to get involved in clubs and society, to do volunteer work. That’s what makes you different, that’s your personal selling point. The variety comes in terms of what they did over their summer months, what they did in their down time, what they did in their evenings and weekends.”
Work experience is also very beneficial when applying for jobs. Not only is it something you can add to your CV, but it also gives you insight into what areas of a sector you do or don’t like working in.
According to Mr Lewis, many companies offer structured graduate programmes with rotations, which enables graduates to try a few different roles before deciding which one is best for them.
“For that two to three year period, the student rotates which is a really, really valuable tool to get exposure to different areas of the company. So definitely a good way to help students who aren’t sure what subsection of a company or industry they’re interested in working in,” he added.
Speaking of CVs, they need to be sharp, concise and tailored to the job for which you’re applying, the two career counsellors said. Ms Quirke said preparing for the actual interview itself is also critical to success.
“I don’t think you can walk into an interview without preparing. First of all you have to prepare yourself on the company and employer: what values do they have, you need to know who you’re going into, what’s their customer base,” she said.
“The next piece is in terms of being ready to talk about yourself. That’s something, culturally, in Ireland we’re not so good at. You need to put your best foot forward, and really sell yourself.”
[Panel of] Five top tips
1. Research
One of the biggest downfalls prospective employees have is not researching the company for which they’re applying. You should know what they do, how they operate, what their business base is, and how you could contribute to its operations.
2. Experience
To really stand out from other graduates, you should try to get as much work experience as possible. Many companies offer summer internships every year, or allow for job shadowing. Cold calling a company you’d really like to work is another way of getting your foot in the door so they know your name before graduation.
3. Network
Everybody is a potential contact. Lecturers, guidance counsellors, employers, alumni. Reach out to everyone and anyone you think might be a good contact to have. Even if they’re not in a position to help you get a job initially, they certainly could prove useful in the future or offer insight.
4. CV
It seems obvious, but a clean, concise CV is what most prospective employers want. They don’t want reams of information they’re never going to read. Keep it short and sweet, make sure your contact details are up-to-date, and proofread all of your spellings.
5. Extracurricular activities
While grades and academic achievements are important, many prospective employers want to know about you as a person. Joining clubs, societies or undertaking volunteer work can show interviewers a little bit about your personality and interests, helping you stand out from the crowd.
