Career Launch
Applying everywhere is not a strategy. It is the absence of one.
A graduate without a direction applies to everything, prepares for nothing in particular, and interprets every rejection as a verdict on their ability. This session helps them narrow to two or three roles worth preparing for, using what they can actually demonstrate.
Preparation without a target is just activity.
Six months after graduating, the usual pattern is a hundred applications, four unrelated certifications, and no clear answer to “what role are you preparing for?” — which is the first question any interviewer asks.
Direction is not a life decision. It is a decision about what to prepare for over the next six months, and it can be revised. But without one, nothing else in a job search works.
How to narrow the field
29 topics across 6 areas. Six ways to decide what to aim at.
Start From Evidence, Not AspirationWhat can you already demonstrate?5
Aspiration says “I want to be a data scientist”. Evidence says what you have actually built, studied, been paid for or been praised for. Start there and the shortlist writes itself.
- What have you built?
- What did you study deeply rather than pass?
- What have people asked for your help with?
- What did you enjoy enough to do unpaid?
- What can you defend in an interview?
Understand What the Role Actually IsMost people choose a title, not a job.5
- What does somebody in this role do all day?
- What are they measured on?
- What does entry-level work look like?
- What is hard about it?
- Who else does it well?
One conversation with somebody doing the job beats a week of reading job descriptions.
The Realistic ShortlistTwo or three roles, not ten.4
A shortlist should contain roles you could credibly apply for now, and one you could reach in six months of deliberate work.
- Roles you can apply for today
- Roles one skill away
- Roles two years away
- Roles you have ruled out, and why
Technical, Functional or ManagementThe three broad directions after a degree.5
- Technical: depth in a craft
- Functional: a business function such as marketing, HR or finance
- Management-track: coordination, process, people
- Hybrid roles: business analysis, product, technical sales
- What each rewards, and what each demands
Startup or Established CompanyThey are different jobs, not different logos.6
- What you learn in each
- How much structure you get
- How much responsibility arrives early
- How training works
- What risk you carry
- Which suits somebody who needs mentoring
Higher Studies, Now or LaterA decision that should have a reason.4
Postgraduate study makes sense for specialisation, research or a required credential. It is a poor way to avoid a difficult job market — and it is expensive.
- What am I hoping it will unlock?
- Could work experience achieve the same?
- Can I afford it, including the time?
- What would I do differently after it?
Reasons that are not reasons
- “The salary is highest” — for a role you cannot sustain interest in
- “Everyone is doing it” — the market for that skill is also the most crowded
- “My friend got placed in it” — their strengths are not yours
- “I already did a course” — a course is not a commitment
- “It is what my degree says” — your degree is a starting point, not a sentence
Questions students get to ask
- How did you decide?
- What did you turn down, and do you regret it?
- What does an entry-level person in your team actually do?
- What would you learn first if you started now?
- How much does the first role determine the next one?
- What do people misjudge about this career?
How the session runs
Practitioners from several directions describe what they actually do and what their entry-level colleagues are given. Participants then work their own evidence — what they can demonstrate, what they enjoy, what they have ruled out — into a shortlist of two or three roles, and leave with the specific gaps each one would require them to close.
What your students leave with
- A shortlist of two or three roles worth preparing for
- An honest account of what they can currently demonstrate
- A realistic picture of what those roles involve day to day
- The specific gaps between where they are and each role
- A reason to stop applying to everything
- A defensible answer to “what role are you looking for?”
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
You do not need to choose a career. You need to choose what to prepare for next.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.