It Is a myth that most people know what they want to do for a job. In today's employment market, your career is likely to feature several changes of direction as you increase your skills base, take advantage of new opportunities and reflect on your skills, interests and motivations at work and in life.
First steps
Consider some of the questions below when starting to think about your future career direction:
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What am I good at?
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What am I interested in?
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What do I enjoy doing?
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What work environment would suit me?
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What are my practical needs in terms of money and location?
Some of the tools listed below may help focus and structure you thoughts about your skills, aptitudes and what motivates you.
Considering vaules and motivations
Windmills
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Developed by the University of Liverpool|, Windmills is a programme of career and life management exercises divided into three main sections:
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Where am I?
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What sort of life do I want?
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How can I start working towards my kind of life?
The Life Fitness Check quiz at the start is designed to assess where you are currently, then point you toward relevant areas and exercises.
GradFutures|
Provides a wide range of advice articles. If you are exploring career ideas, try the Skills and Values sections and the Personality section for a links to several online personality testing tools.
A job exploration tool that helps you to identify your motivations: what you want out of a job, and your skills. The system allows you to assess your findings against the types of position you are already considering and can suggest new options and ways to research them.
Vacancies and resources
My Careers Service|
Search for vacancies on the LSE Careers online vacancies board. Register/log in under the alumni section.
Careers Tagged|
Univeristy of London's Careers Group, Careers Tagged allows you to search for job vacancies, books, useful recources, and helpsheet which you can download for free.
Recommended reading
Reference copies of these titles are stocked in the Careers Information Library, Tower 3, Floor 3 - take a look at our Shelfari| site for our full collection. Styles can vary widely, so take time to choose a book that suits you.
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What color is your parachute?, Richard Nelson Bolles, Ten Speed Press, 2003
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How to get a job you'll love, John Lees, McGraw-Hill, 2008
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Build your own rainbow: A Workbook for Career and Life Management. Barry Hopson and Mike Scally, Management Books, 1999
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Finding the right career path, Mary Ann Bailey, Wetfeet, 2006
LSE Graduate Destinations
Graduate Destinations| gathers data from a range of surveys looking into what LSE students do as their careers. The website contains
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Typical job paths.
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Skills outlines.
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Detailed alumni profiles for each LSE department.