Your Masters...what next? : Action plan

Planning is an essential first step towards the successful career you want. Action planning is a process which helps to focus your ideas and to decide what steps you need to take to achieve your goals. It is a statement of what you want to achieve over a given period of time.

Knowing yourself and what you want

• Skills exploration - self-reflect upon your own skills and strengths. These may have been gained through your Masters but also through extra-curricular activities such as responsibilities from leisure activities or paid or voluntary work experience. Specialist software can help to identify your skills and potential career path, e.g. Windmills .
• SWOT analysis - a Personal SWOT analysis  can help to identify your skills and areas for improvement. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
• Feedback from other people - try asking friends, family and careers advisers for help. Those people close to you may be able to give you feedback on the activities you enjoy and what they see as your strengths and talents. Careers advisers can then offer a more objective viewpoint.
• Career questionnaires - numerous career questionnaires are available online for you to complete which may offer suggested career areas or occupations for you to further explore. Try what jobs would suit me and some personality psychometric tests. Some universities have their own resources for psychometric testing so it is well worth exploring this with your own university careers centre.

Researching your career options

• Online - explore websites to investigate the industries and careers that interest you and to help you reach a decision on which would suit you the best. See industry insights and types of jobs for further information. Use professional networking websites such as LinkedIn  to get in touch with relevant contacts and to network.
• Careers fairs - attend local and national fairs to find out more about the sort of companies that are recruiting and what they look for in an employee. You can also learn what it’s like to work in a certain career and what the entry level would be like for you.
• Professional groups and events - find out if there are any professional groups you can join that relate to your chosen career area. Professional bodies often offer student membership which can provide access to many networking opportunities such as events and conferences and keep you up to date with news in the industry.
• Careers service - visit your university careers service to find out what information they have on the career area and whether there are any employers scheduled to visit the campus. 

Making a decision

• Put it on paper - write down a list of the pros and cons for the particular option you are considering. Or list the criteria you are looking for, e.g. location, expense/salary, flexibility, etc. and give each option you’re considering a score for how closely it matches your ideal.
• Intuition - what does your heart tell you? Can you imagine yourself in that role? Studying in that location? Consider what your instinct says.
• Try it out - arrange to work shadow for a day at a company or visit the campus of the institution to help you get a feel for the environment.
• Discuss you options - talking through your thoughts and ideas can help to bring perspective and clarity. Try talking to friends and family as well as visiting careers services to talk to advisers there.
• Be honest - think carefully about what you really want to do and what will make you happy. Are you only considering a certain career because of the salary or thinking of doing further study because you’re not sure what else you could do? Make sure you’re making the right decision for the right reasons. 

Developing your skills

• Placements - a work placement in a relevant career area can significantly increase your chances of getting hired for a role. It can give a useful insight to the job and show you what skills you need for the role and then help you to develop those skills. 
• Part-time work - even in an unrelated area part-time work can help develop key transferable skills such as team-work, communication and customer service, which employers typically look for. They value employees having a wide range of skills from past experience to draw upon. Find out more about what do employers want.
• Volunteering - it is sometimes easier to secure volunteering positions rather than paid work. These are just as valuable and can help to develop skills and knowledge in your chosen area and show your dedication to the role. Work experience of any kind is highly valued by employers with many believing that a graduate with no work experience whatsoever would struggle to be successful in a job application (High Fliers, 2011). See types of work experience for inspiration on the sort of work you could do.
• Networking - this can help you to develop your communication skills but may also increase your chances of securing a job. Don’t be afraid to ask contacts from your work experience or professional networking sites such as LinkedIn for introductions to others, or ask their advice on how to get into the career. Find out more on networking. 
• Further study - after your Masters degree, further study may be advantageous or even necessary depending upon your chosen career. Further study can help you develop relevant subject knowledge as well as additional skills such as planning and prioritising.
• Join a club or society - employers are looking for well-rounded individuals with a passion for their career choice. For example, if you are interested in a career in marketing, joining a university marketing society or the Chartered Institute of Marketing could demonstrate a real tangible dedication to your interest.

Making applications

• Finding opportunities - many large graduate recruiters advertise vacancies on mainstream graduate websites and with local university careers services. Certain employers may use specialist websites to advertise their jobs, e.g. GradCracker for engineering and technology graduates. Others will advertise on their own company website. See job hunting for further ideas.
• Research - it is important to fully research the employer or educational institution before applying. See job application advice for hints and tips.
• Register online - register with relevant job websites where possible to receive notifications of newly advertised positions as they arise. Being aware of a suitable vacancy early on gives you more time to prepare your application.
• Tailor your CV - the key point to remember is ‘relevancy’- is what you have included relevant to the role? Don’t include a generic application and instead make sure it is specific to the employer so they can see how well you match their criteria. See CVs and covering letters.
• Speculative applications - don’t always wait for vacancies to be advertised. Target companies you would be interested in working for and send a speculative application to enquire whether they have any upcoming vacancies.
• Feedback - getting a careers adviser to look over your CV or application is recommended. While you may think the way you have phrased a sentence is clear, another person may not and so getting feedback is a must.

Reviewing your progress

• Employer response - assess how successful your applications and interviews are going. Keep a record of your hit rate for getting interviews e.g. one every five applications. Try to get feedback from employers if you are unsuccessful as you can address the points raised in your future applications or interviews.
• Skills check - review your skills against what employers want. Are you communicating those skills effectively? Do you need further training in some skills to make yourself a stronger candidate?
• Stay motivated - handling rejection can be difficult sometimes. Try to stay positive and remember your strengths. Consider joining job hunting support groups and make sure you have a good support network around you with friends and family.
• Check your goals - look again at your goals. Are they still the goals you want? Are they SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) goals? Do they inspire and motivate you?
• New opportunities - vacancies may arise for which you have not planned or you may be asked to volunteer abroad. Unexpected opportunities can appear from anywhere; consider whether they would fit in with your short or long term goals.