The Careers Service: Supporting you beyond graduation

Graduation is a time for celebration, to reflect on the years you have spent working hard to achieve your goals both academically, personally and ultimately to move onto the next stage of your life. Your time with us at Imperial will have equipped you with a world class education and also exposed you to lots of opportunities to develop your key skills that will make you employable in the future. Your final year will have been a time of consolidation of all the hard work you have put in, and will also have been the time to look forward. Forward to the opportunity that now presents itself in terms of your future career, whether that is in the workplace or remaining in academia.

Of course, not all of you will be fixed up yet. This could be due to you wishing to travel and explore the world a little more before you settle down. You may want to gain further experience by volunteering or getting involved in your local area to enhance your transferable skills further while you take a bit more time to decide on your career path. Whatever your reasons, the Careers Service does not stop supporting you after you graduate. Imperial alumni can make use of the Careers Service for up to 3 years after they graduate. This will enable you to continue to access Jobslive and the thousands of opportunities that are on there. You can also continue to use the range of on-line resources available on the Careers Service webpages. If you need to speak to a Careers Consultant this can be arranged, either in person or by making a Skype appointment. To continue to benefit from the support that the Careers Service can offer, you simply need to register as an alumnus via the Careers Homepage (www3.imperial.ac.uk/careers).

Imperial has an excellent record in graduate employment and the annual Destination of Leavers from Higher Education that the Careers Service manages consistently shows Imperial Graduates outperforming the rest of the UK both in terms of graduate employment statistics and graduate starting salary.

We know many of you will have secured yourself graduate level employment and are excitedly waiting to take up your new roles wherever that may be. Congratulations on navigating the process and succeeding in what can be a stressful process in your final year of study. Moving into the unknown can be daunting but you should look ahead positively. To help you prepare for your new challenge if you are going into the workplace the Careers Service has produced a few tips for you to consider:

1/ The basics. Reread your joining instructions from your employer. Make sure you know your starting time, work location and any special instructions they have given. Often on your first day you will need to bring in various forms and documents to enable to you to become a formal member of staff. Usually this will involve a trip to the Human Resource Department to drop of forms and collect your identity card (and you thought you had left that all behind you when you took your College card off for the last time!)

2/ Be yourself, but be your positive self. Your first few days in your new workplace will involve meeting people. Lots of people. Be friendly and polite. It will be tiring but the impression you give to your new colleagues during your first few days will last.

3/ Show a positive attitude toward the tasks that you are given. It is likely that your first few weeks will involve an induction and this will vary according to the size of the organisation you have joined. It could be a full programme lasting weeks where you will undergo specific training on the systems in use and the various different procedures that you will have to become familiar with. Some of it may involve days, half days or a few hours out of your normal place of work. Smaller organisations may not have such a formal structure but you should expect an introduction to colleagues, systems and all the relevant health and safety information that are required to keep you safe in the workplace.

4/ Be realistic. You will have only just started and you cannot expect to know it all. Show a willingness to undertake tasks but don’t be afraid to ask for help and clarification if you are unsure. Your new colleagues will be willing to explain more and help you gain confidence in your new role.

5/ Enjoy. You will be exposed to a lot of new experiences, people and systems. Take some time to reflect on your first few months in your new role and look forward to building a successful and rewarding career. Before long you will be meeting up with your fellow alumni for a 1 year get together! It really will go that quickly.