Graduate career readiness: Reflection and Resilience

What really matters to you?

Knowing who your authentic self is, and feeling confident in your values and beliefs is vital. It gives you the vision to set goals and the motivation to pursue them. Here are some self-help guides to get you going:

• Unique Me - identifying your values, interests and characteristics that form your authentic self.
• Best Possible Future Selves - imagining yourself in a future life using a creative writing exercise.
• Past, Present and Future - reflective writing to consider where you are now and where you might go next.
• Values Based Self Affirmation - writing about the good stuff you do to boost your self-worth and get in touch with your values.
• Confidence Builder - boosting confidence by capturing your capabilities using the Huddersfield Graduate Attributes.
• Cantril Ladder - using a 1-1- scale to identify how you feel about your life and what you'd like to change.
• Powerful Goals - do you own and believe in your career / life goals?
• Wheel of Life - using a coaching wheel to identify areas of your life which you'd like to improve.

Stay positive

If you want to work on your wellbeing, why not use the 24-7 Togetherall service, a confidential space to talk about your feelings and find support.

Sport and physical activity can be a great stress busters, so look gym, swim and classes available from ActiveHud.

And check out some of the self-help guides we've got on wellbeing:

• Hands Over Heart – finding the compassionate words we need to hear when things are tough.
• Power-ups – simple steps to feel more positive about each day.
• Managing Mistakes – how to move on constructively when things haven’t gone to plan.

Finally, finding it difficult to make progress with your career plan? A confidential Careers guidance appointment with our Careers Consultants can help you recharge your batteries and find new ways forwards.

Turning ideas into reality

Having a goal is one thing, but following it through is a different matter. These self-help guides are about finding ways to overcome obstacles, focus your efforts and use your support network to rise above challenges:

• A Fresh Start - how to use significant dates to kick start a change or take action.
• Bridge of Reasons - identifying all the benefits you can get by doing something.
• Cartesian Logic - considering what will happen if you do or don't do something.
• Rule of Three - simple but effective way to chip away at a challenge and make progress.
• Scaled-Up Plans - like SMART goals but better!
• Eyes on the Prize - how to focus your efforts to achieve your goals.
• Helpful Habits - how to use routines and habits to make it easy to achieve your goals.
• Hope Based Planning - finding more than one way to achieve your goal.