Case Study – New Graduate looking for career direction.
Katie graduated with a good 2.1 degree in Psychology but had no idea of the direction she wanted to go in her career. She had not had any careers advice at school and even less at university. She came to us to find out what sectors and jobs most suited her.
We worked closely together during three face to face meetings. Initially it was important to find out what her main skills were. We looked at her skills, career needs and wants and key motivators. We talked about what she looked for in an organisation and listed her top ten “must have’s”. At the same time I took her through three personality based assessments including MBTI. It was important that I was clear what made Katie tick and how she liked to work. This would have a bearing on her career options.
We discussed what sectors Katie liked and had considered. She enjoyed writing and being creative and naturally gravitated towards journalism and PR. We also talked about Advertising and Marketing. We covered in-house roles, working for an agency and working in consultancy. We also looked at internships and Graduate trainee roles with large organisations. I emphasised the need for her to get her fee under the table in a business where she could learn the ropes across a wide range of activities. I asked Katie to bring to our meetings copies of advertisements of roles that interested her and we discussed them. I asked her why she was attracted to each company and job. Our discussion was full.
At the same time we were preparing her CV. Katie’s work experience was good but not as focused around her favoured areas as it might have been. We needed to spell out what she had achieved in a way that gave an impact. It was key that her CV reached the top of the “interview” pile rather than ended up in the bin so we took time to give it as much bite as we could with a persuasive Personal Profile and a good selection of achievements as evidence to support her work experience.
Katie managed to secure an internship working for a small niche PR agency. She had been offered the role for an initial three month period after which her position would be reviewed. When I contacted her after three weeks to check how things were going she told me that she had been offered a permanent role. Although the salary was lower than she had wanted she knew that she should take it. I told her to go for it and then once she had got some experience after a few months she would be better placed to raise the issue of her salary. I pointed out to her that as a new graduate she should seize an opportunity when it came her way especially in the current job market.
Katie has used her contacts and has done well to have secured a paid role especially given the intense competition from other graduates with similar degrees many of whom are having to resort to internships as the only way to get a foot in the door.