Summer is looming large, which means that many young people will be preparing for their next move – whether that it heading back to the classroom for another year (or two), packing up and going to university, or looking for an alternative. However, if the thought of going back into the classroom is the last thing on your mind, you may be thinking of what to do next – either this year or in the near future. A lot of people will start to think about finding work and starting a journey up the career ladder – but what is the best option for you?
As a school or college-leaver, you may want to avoid the competition for work that just looking at the local job vacancies throws up. Fortunately, there are ways for you to avoid competing with those who may have years of work experience already, those looking for a career change, or others such as graduates.
One option is to look for work opportunities aimed directly at school or college leavers. These type of roles are a great way to get your career started and should be designed to get you on your way by building on any work experience you may already have. When it comes to deciding what to apply for, you will need to think about the sort of things you enjoy doing, your skills and experience, and where you hope to go in your career.
Of course, for some young people, the idea of deciding what you want to do over the next few years can seem daunting, as if you are closing doors to other opportunities as soon as you pick a particular job. But this is not really the case at all, as these days most people have a number of different jobs over the course of their working life, often moving to different employers or even changing career entirely. There is nothing to say that you have to stick with your choice forever, and many of the skills you will learn in the workplace can be transferred to other roles later. The key is in making your move and getting started.
Bear in mind that your choice may be limited by where you live and the type of work that is available in your local area. You are unlikely, for example, to find many maritime careers in land-locked Leicestershire!
Alternatively, instead of choosing your next move based on the type of work you want to do, you might decide to look for a particular company or institution that you would like to join. For example, you might fancy working for the BBC, and would be happy to just get your foot in the door and see where it takes you once you are inside. This type of career path may involve moving sideways within a company, jumping between departments internally as you work out which area of a business suits you best. Perhaps you have an interest in a particular industry rather than a specific job, in which case this technique allows you to get involved and make some useful contacts while you work out exactly what job would suit you best, Don’t forget that a lot of companies advertise their jobs internally first – allowing you first look at upcoming opportunities!
There is nothing wrong with not knowing what you want to do next, and you may need a little inspiration to help you decide your next move.
Deciding what you want to do after you leave school or college can seem daunting, but it needn’t be such a big problem if you approach the situation from the perspective of what you like to do. Finding a job that you enjoy is a great tip, since chances are, if you like the work you will be happier in your job (although some people decide to go for the money over job satisfaction).
If you are still struggling to decide what you want to do after you leave school or college, we have plenty of advice to help you decide what to do next right here on NotGoingtoUni.
