Career Tips

Start by attending career fairs, joining professional clubs, and connecting with alumni on LinkedIn. Don't be afraid to reach out to professionals in your field for informational interviews. Building genuine relationships now will pay dividends throughout your career.

Send a personalised LinkedIn connection request or email within 24–48 hours. Mention something specific you discussed and say you would like to stay in touch. Keep it brief and professional, and suggest a short call or coffee chat if it feels right.

Set aside dedicated time blocks for your search, even if it's just 30 minutes a day. Turn on job alerts, keep a CV and cover letter template ready to tailor, and track your applications in a simple spreadsheet. Consistency beats occasional all-day sessions.

Use Notion, Trello or a simple spreadsheet to track opportunities and next steps. Set calendar reminders for follow-ups, save interesting roles as you find them, and keep your CV and cover letter templates somewhere easy to reach.

Lead with transferable skills from coursework, projects, volunteering, student societies and part-time work. Use action verbs and add numbers where you can ("grew club membership by 40%"). Tailor your CV to each role by echoing the skills the employer asks for.

Yes, a short one helps, especially early in your career. In two or three sentences, say who you are, the skills you bring and the kind of role you're looking for. Tailor it to each opportunity and skip generic lines like "hard-working team player".

Beyond your course, employers look for communication, problem-solving, teamwork, digital confidence and a willingness to learn. Show these with real examples from projects, internships, volunteering or student leadership rather than just listing them.

Research the company and the role, then prepare short stories that show your skills (the STAR method helps: Situation, Task, Action, Result). Practise answering out loud, plan two or three questions to ask them, and check the time, location or video link the day before.

Quality over quantity is key. Aim for 5–10 well-researched, tailored applications per week rather than 50 generic ones. Each application should be customised with a relevant cover letter and CV adjustments.

Follow up with a polite email 1–2 weeks after applying. If there's still no response, move on but don't take it personally — many companies receive hundreds of applications. Keep applying and refining your approach.

Reflect on the work that energises you, try a career assessment, and research roles that match. Talk to people in fields you're curious about, and use internships or part-time roles to test a path before committing.

It helps. A portfolio can hold projects, case studies, writing samples or presentations from any field. It shows your skills more clearly than a CV alone and gives employers real evidence of what you can do.

Your best work samples, a short note on your role and impact for each, your CV and your contact details. Keep it clean, easy to navigate and readable on a phone.