Former Culture Editor Keir Holmes lists five possibilities for graduates who have not yet figured out their next steps.
By the time this article is published, most of you readers will have just graduated. Many of you already know what you will do next: you may have a graduate scheme to start, an MA lined up or a year abroad booked. But I suspect that a few of you are now in the same position I was a year ago: out of education and employment with no clear path forward.
Those who leave university without any plans have a unique set of challenges to face. Not knowing what you want to do at this stage can be daunting and seeing your friends move forward with their lives while you’re still figuring out what to do with yours gets frustrating. Still, you shouldn’t let these feelings get to you. Using the right approach, it is possible to make this year productive. With that in mind, here are five things you can do to ensure your first year away from university is a good one.
1. Get a retail or food service job as soon as you can
I get why you wouldn’t want to do this. You’ve just finished the most gruelling academic year you’ve had. Don’t you deserve a break?
Well, a break might sound appealing the moment you leave university, but within a month or two you’ll be bored. Besides, you don’t want a gap in your CV.
To quickly get a job in a shop, bar or restaurant, you should send in as many applications as possible. I recommend making a generic CV and cover letter, then adjusting these to suit each role you apply for. You should aim to apply for roughly one hundred jobs a month. This may sound excessive, but if you use the approach I just outlined and treat sending in résumés as though it were a full-time job, it should be doable.
Don’t underestimate how effective in-person applications can be. While the days in which you could get an entry-level marketing role this way are long gone, many local pubs and cafes will gladly take the CV you hand them.
Following this advice should be enough to get you a stable income and something to do while you figure yourself out. Make sure not to agree to customer service roles that are too demanding. If you work twelve hours a day six days a week, you won’t have much time to apply for jobs more relevant to your degree on the side. If you don’t think you can handle a full-time role while applying for other positions, consider doing something part-time.
2. Volunteer
A full-time job in retail or food service is a good start but, unless you intend to stay there, you should complement it with volunteer work.
Although volunteer opportunities can still require lengthy application processes, it is often a little easier to get an unpaid position. Because of this, you can afford to spend more time looking for voluntary roles relevant to your ambitions. Think about where you might want to be in ten years and then apply for something related to this. Who knows, if you’re a good enough volunteer, they may eventually hire you.
Even if you don’t know what your aspirations are, volunteering may prove worthwhile. Trying out different things will help you figure out what jobs you do and do not like. Moreover, by volunteering for a charity, you will be able to further a cause you care about.
3. Start a side hustle
If you like money too much to volunteer, you may want to consider starting a side hustle.
To be serious though, starting a side hustle will not only get you some extra cash but can also make you look more employable in the long term. Telling interviewers that you’ve set up a blog or your own little business will be sure to impress them.
There are too many possible side hustles to count, so I cannot provide specific advice here. However, I would recommend doing something connected to your interests rather than cynically trying to make money. Lots of the people telling you how to ‘get rich quick’ through online side hustles are scammers and I doubt you’re really that passionate about dropshipping.
4. Search for graduate schemes
You can still apply for graduate schemes after graduation. I would recommend you start looking into them as soon as possible.
Applications for many schemes are either about to open or already have; most will close in October and November, so you still have plenty of time to apply.
Don’t worry too much if your efforts here fail to lead you anywhere. The majority of students don’t end up on graduate schemes. It’s a good option, but not the only one. Just look around to see if there are any you’re interested in and go from there.
5. Travel
Every piece of advice I’ve written so far has been related to work, but that’s not the only thing you should think about.
If you have the funds for it, consider going interrailing soon after you graduate. An Interrail or Eurail Global Pass will allow you to get train rides between countries at a lower cost than you could without one. Once you have one of those in hand, simply book some hostels, prepare the items you’ll need to take with you and then you’ll be good to go. If this appeals to you but your lack of cash prevents you from travelling, save some of the money you’re getting from your retail job until you can afford to go somewhere.
As long as you’re willing to do a bit of work, you can also find ways to get paid to travel. The most obvious way to go about this is to teach abroad. Getting a certificate from a CELTA course will allow you to do that almost wherever you want. Just keep in mind that some countries offer more teaching jobs than others. If you don’t mind waiting a while, you can also apply for international exchange programmes such as JET and EPIK. With a little research, you can find other jobs to do abroad, but I’d recommend that you be a bit cautious when looking around. Optimistic graduates are easy prey for scammers.
Although the near future may still seem more uncertain for you than it does for some of your fellow graduates, this advice should help you envision a way forward. For the first time in your life, you are free to do whatever you want; from now onwards, it’s a matter of figuring out what that is.
Former Culture Editor for Roar News.
