Written by Jenny Sloan, Careers Consultant at The Careers Service
With the move to online lectures and podcasts, you may find yourself staying at home to study rather than coming onto campus. In the same way, you don’t have to leave your house to enhance your employability. There are lots of things you can do online to expand your skillset, increase your commercial awareness and network with recruiters and alumni.
- Increase your self-awareness
Before you look for graduate jobs, it’s important to figure out what’s important to you, what your natural strengths are, and which skills you enjoy using the most. There are a range of online tools to help you understand what roles and sectors would suit you, and what you have to offer. Use Prospects Planner to match your skills, motivations and desires to career paths and specific roles that could be perfect for you. Profiling for Success can help you to work out your strengths and preferred ways of working.
- Explore your options
A large proportion of graduate level jobs are open to graduates of any degree discipline, so don’t feel restricted by what you’ve studied, because chances are, there are lots of things you can do after graduation! All you need to focus on is your next step forward, not your whole career. As a starting point, why not consider the skills that you’ve gained from your degree, and explore different occupations and sectors to see if anything sounds interesting to you?
- Build your networks
Start researching and following graduate recruiters that you’re interested in on social media. By using social media for networking and job hunting, you’ll keep up-to-date with graduate opportunities and the latest sector developments
If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, now is the perfect time to create one! LinkedIn is a key global professional networking site, and is a great tool for current students and recent graduates to connect with alumni and recruiters. Check out our guide to getting started with LinkedIn, and learn how to use it to connect with Manchester graduates and join useful groups. You can find out more about creating a profile, if you’re new to the platform, or improving the one you already have.
- Enhance your skillset through online learning
Online courses are a great way of learning new skills and strengthening the ones you already have, as well as making yourself more employable. The University’s My Learning Essentials have a whole host of courses, the Open University’s OpenLearn have almost 1,000 courses across eight different subjects areas, and Google Digital Garage offer a plethora of courses in data, tech, digital marketing and career development. All are online, free and available for you to start right now!
- Stay connected
The Careers Service has lots of support and resources available online to help you figure out your next steps, from application advice and guidance on video interviews, to information about postgraduate study and common careers concerns. We also have our Careers YouTube channel packed with webinars about enterprise, Manchester Graduate Talent and careers confidence, plus many more!
Remember to keep up-to-date with our latest news and resources by following us on social media. If you’re in your final year, you can also get careers advice delivered to your inbox by filling in our short What Next survey before 8th April. For recent graduates, it’s What Now.
University of Manchester Careers Blog 
Leave a comment