Graduate career readiness: Explore

Want to develop your skills and discover yourself?

Developing your skills and discovering what you like doing and are good at, are a key part of the Explore stage. There are many ways you can do this, including: 

• Volunteering
• Students Union roles
• Joining clubs and societies
• LinkedIn Learning
• A great place to start is by browsing the Opportunities Catalogue
• Use our timelines to see how this fits into your student journey.

We've also got some self-help guides you might like to use, including:

• Unique Me - identifying your values, interests and characteristics that form your authentic self.
• Wheel of Life - using a coaching wheel to identify areas of your life which you'd like to improve.
• A Fresh Start - how to use significant dates to kick start a change or take action.
• Best Possible Future Selves - imagining yourself in a future life using a creative writing exercise.

Don't have career ideas yet?

The Explore stage is about more than just jobs, it's also about exploring and understanding yourself through tools like the Prospect Career Planner and the Reflection Log that can be found in the Develop section of our career planning pages. 

Here are some other things you may find useful:

• Try out the Job Match Beta Tool on Prospects to see how your skills and interests link to different industries and career paths.
• Check out our Career sector resources and links to explore and get ideas
• Book a confidential Careers Guidance Appointment

We've also got some self-help guides you might like to use including:

• Feed Your Imagination - using stories and videos to widen your career horizons.
• Day Dream Journal - identifying clues to your career ideas by recording your day dreams.
• Wanted: A Job For Me! - a creative way to crowd source career ideas from family and friends.

Have career ideas and want to start researching?

There are a plenty of resources you can use to research your ideas:

• Browse Prospects Job Profiles to find out what a career is really like.
• Book a 20 minute Advice Appointment or a 45 minute Guidance Appointment to gather advice on researching a career or look in depth at careers you are considering and think about how suitable they are for you.

Remember, in the Explore stage you don't have to make decisions about which career to choose. That can come later. So, give yourself permission to explore widely and change your mind. Here are some self-help guides you can use:

• Feed Your Imagination - using stories and videos to widen your career horizons.
• Curious About Careers - career research using a curiosity led approach.
• Thumbs Up - a light touch way to see which of your initial list of career ideas look promising.