So you don’t know what to do after Warwick?

Career Planning for final year language graduates

Fiona Kent

This session

You

What

Planning

Turn to your neighbour and tell them

When you were a child(9/10/11) what did you want to be when you grew up? Why?

Why did you decide to study languages?

What, if anything, has changed?

What subjects do you love the most?

1 minute waffle

Pick a subject (any subject) and tell the person next to you why you love it so much

What is really important to you?

What do you value?

Things that drive you mad (or push your buttons) are often clues to what we really value

Think of a situation where you got really frustrated – what was the value underneath that was being disregarded?

What are you naturally good at?

Think of a time when you have been completely absorbed in something, where you felt satisfied and content.

What were you doing that came so naturally?

What would other people observe you doing that you make it look so easy, yet they may find it difficult?

Write down 5 of your strengths

Killer question

On a post–it:

If all jobs were paid equally, and you were guaranteed a position what would you

choose?

Generating ideas

Career-Planners (questionnaires) http://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-report http://www.prospects.ac.uk/myprospects_planner_login.htm

Look at current job vacancies-use Keywords to search https://myadvantage.warwick.ac.uk/JobSearch.chpx

OptionsGraduate jobs using your existing skills and experience-see http://targetjobs.co.uk/graduate-job-search

Short-term/longer-term work to gain experience in a particular sector

Part-time or full-time masters for a qualification

Work abroad for language and experience

Other?

Journeys

Warwick graduate stories

French and English 2010After leaving Warwick I knew straight away that I wanted to go back to Paris, where I had spent my year abroad. Before going back out, I found a few jobs advertised on expatriate networks and local magazines. This helped me to find a short-term job in a bookshop, and then one at an online magazine. These first experiences of employment in France were essential in getting my current job, where I work in translation management for major luxury companies.

Italian Studies, 2011After graduating, I spent my summer in Lisbon organising wine exhibitions and tastings for ViniPortugal, a governmental organisation responsible for promoting Portuguese wine to consumers and producers from across the world. The internship was arranged and sponsored by the European Union and their Leonardo da Vinci programme, which seeks to place recent graduates in practical job roles across Europe. The programme gave me real career direction, something I severely lacked and I highly recommend it to anyone eager to build up some vocational experience and learn a new language in the process.

Directly after my placement in Lisbon, I enrolled on a three-month business course in central London while simultaneously applying for graduate schemes in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. I focussed specifically on the food and drink sector and after countless rejections, was eventually offered a place with Diageo, a global spirits and wine distributor with whom I will begin work in September in a sales and marketing capacity. Until then, I am waiting tables at Pizza Express, saving up to go travelling through Africa and maybe Asia, with a spot of volunteering along the way.

French Studies with German 2010

After graduating, I found work as a recruitment consultant for investment banking. This was a demanding role, requiring effective communication with professionals at different levels of seniority as well as in different countries, so naturally, my language skills were vital. I was the primary contact for French and German speaking contacts, often translating CVs or correspondence, promoting candidates or positions, and arranging interviews around the world. 

In September 2011, I enrolled on a Masters program at King's College London in Terrorism, Security & Society. I am applying to join the Royal Navy as a Warfare Officer.

French and German 2004After Warwick, I worked for Beiersdorf UK Ltd Graduate Programme-Sales for 2 years.

Eager to return to foreign shores, a quarter life crisis saw me take an overdue gap year and work as a holiday rep in St Anton, Austria and Lake Garda, Italy. Knowing the dream had to end I returned (after 2 years) to do a PGCE in Secondary Modern Foreign Languages with a Primary specialism.

After completion I took up my first post teaching German, Spanish and PE in an Independent school in Cambridgeshire

German and English 2007Leaving Warwick, I was dazed by the prospect of job interviews and CVs and all that comes with making decisions about your life. Looking back, I wish I had not felt under so much pressure to equal the perceived successes of my peers and seen that you just aren’t able to make one sweeping decision that will set the course of the rest of your life, or even the next five years.

After endless rejections (which is to be expected, by the way), I got a job at a political pressure group. The job was primarily coordinating events, which was fantastic during the busy periods, say at Labour Party Conference or in the run up to our annual fundraising dinner, but during the quieter times it sometimes got a little dull. You will most likely be bored or discouraged in your first job, as you are at the bottom of the food chain and no matter what organisation you work for – big or small – you will always start off doing the tasks no one else wants to. I wish I’d known then that only with time do you progress to the more interesting work.

continued

After several years of working in London and, more importantly, experiencing the city’s rich cultural life, I decided to apply for the MA in Film Studies at King’s, which I am currently undertaking. Had it not been for the break, I would not have had the distance to find the course that was best for me and certainly would not have appreciated to the same extent the pure delight of returning to study after experiencing office life.  

French and History 2010I am currently working in Paris as a language assistant in a secondary school, teaching small classes of teenagers conversational English. Last year I spent an amazing time travelling around Europe working as a Tour Leader with groups of mainly Australian tourists, showing them the main sights and getting them on and off trains and buses on time.

Now I’m about to embark on a new adventure. I’ve worked tirelessly on creating what I believe to be an innovative new tour company, Most Curious. We offer guided tours of Great Britain with a focus on the arts. http://mostcurious.co.uk/

OK, here we go..

Planning

“For me there is security in planning, making order out of the chaos..”

Short-term planning

What would you like to be doing:

→ July-September, 2013?

→ October-December, 2013?

→ January-June, 2014?

Longer-term planning

Beyond the short term (in 2 - 5+ years)

Step back, relax + don’t compare yourself to

others

What makes you tick? + What are your

criteria for work? What industry can offer

you that?

Your ideas

For the short term

For the longer term

Make a Plan

Write down three things you are going to do after this session that will help you feel clearer about what comes nextFor example:

Who do I need to speak to?

What actions do I need to take?

What else do I need to find out?

One step at a time – this is a journey so you may decide to go in different directions...

Put a reminder on your mobile phone or schedule a time in your diary each week – treat it like you would a commitment to play football or meet a friend – don’t give up that time!

Pair up with someone else choosing a career – someone to be supportive and who can challenge you into action

It’s not all about the destination,

so don’t forget to enjoy the journey!