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The much awaited graduation has occurred and now you've got hold of your hard-earned degree, the world is your oyster - in theory.
The good news is that unless you plan to enter law, medicine, science or architecture, most occupations don't really need a specific degree - it's all about skills, aptitude, personality and enthusiasm.
Your intangible skills, such an ability to learn, honesty and reliability are just as valid as your technical skills at this stage of your career. Employers will see your degree as important and worthy, but probably less important than who you are, and what potential you have.
Creating a skills profile
When deciding what you want to do it's a good idea to analyse the skills you have gained or identify opportunities to develop a personal and academic skills profile.
Your degree course will have given you skills in at least some the following areas. Think of example of where you have used these skills and how much you want them to be part of your future career.
- Teamwork
- Leadership
- Customer service
- Oral communication
- Written communication
- Foreign languages language
- Self-awareness
- Self-confidence
- Networking
- Problem-solving
- Computing
- Flexibility
- Numeracy
- Commercial awareness
- Creativity
- Commitment
Degrees in English, History and Humanities do not necessary lead to jobs in Publishing, Teaching and Journalism. So don't think about the specific projects you worked on, think about what you learned while you were doing them so you can persuade potential employers that they are relevant to the roles you're applying for.
An ability to describe and give examples of your skills is crucial to completing application forms, developing your CV and answering questions at an interview.
Converting skills to a career
A good understanding of your skills profile aids self-awareness which, in turn, aids the development of a well informed, realistic career decision.
If you really want to get to the top, you actual degree is really not the issue. Your degree has given you confidence and conveys to others your ability to learn and complete an undertaking.
If your degree is a perfect logical fit to the occupation you want to pursue then that is great. If you have a degree in English and want to become an Editor, or a degree in Maths and you want to become a Financial Advisor then you may find it easier to settle into the criteria of the roles more easily.
The fact is that many graduates pursue jobs and careers that match their personality, character and personal aims, not their degree. All you need to decide is what do you really want to do, and spin your degree so it's relevant to any situation.