Student Blog the opportunities to utilise while youre still at University University of Manchester Careers Blog

Student Blog the opportunities to utilise while youre still at University University of Manchester Careers Blog Written by Max Ibbotson, Final Year English Language Student and Careers Service Student Blogger This is it. You’re at the end. You made it through pre-school, primary school, high school, sixth form and now nearly university, the zenith of your Magical Mystery Educational Tour. Just. One. More. Year. You need to utilise everything your last year at university can offer â€" from getting yourself ready for a career to squeezing out the last bits of student fun. It’s as a list too, ‘cause who doesn’t like a list? CHANCE TO GET WORK EXPERIENCE UNDER YOUR BELT Most firms love to see work experience on your CV â€" it means you (probably) know what you’re doing, and it will be less effort for them to train you up. However, getting a bit of work experience â€" even if it’s only for a day â€" will help you decide what you want to do next. After some experience you may decide that it’s definitely the career for you, or you may go the other way and find that it’s not your cup of tea. STUDENT DISCOUNT Student discount is precious and fleeting â€" use it to the max! Spotify, clothes, cinema tickets, cheap food and drinks. Take advantage of the deals while you can. LIE INS You take them for granted, don’t you? You’re not in a lecture on a Wednesday morning, are you? It’s tough getting only 8 hours sleep every night, isn’t it? So, you decide to lie-in and eat your breakfast when everyone else is having their lunch and it feels terrific. Well, it ain’t going to last: a 9 a.m. once a week may seem like a nightmare but imagine that every day! While at uni, you are still â€" despite final year projects and dissertations and stress â€" allowed to have the odd mid-week lie-in. You have my permission. SESSIONS RUN BY UNI AND COMPANIES There are great sessions run throughout the year that are really informative and helpful. Whether it be huge firms such as KMPG or the BBC coming in to give lectures and presentations, or the Experience in Journalism day run by the Media Club. There are goldmines of careers information and experience everywhere you turn at university, these are the pick of the bunch. WATCHING ENDLESS RE-RUNS OF THE SIMPSONS Chances are you’ve seen more Netflix than you have your own lecture notes. And that’s fine â€" this is a safe space. In fact, my advice is to keep it up. Your final year is stressful. Really stressful. Make sure you balance the heavy workload by having your downtime and socialising with your mates. That way you’ll be able to come back to your work (just a little bit) more motivated. THE CAREERS SERVICE Being in your final year can be stressful because what comes next may be completely unknown to you. You might have decided what you want to do, you may even have got a job lined-up already, or you may have absolutely no clue what to do next. For wherever you may be at with your future plans, the Careers Service are able to help you in a plethora of ways. Maybe you need help updating your CV and writing a cover letter, or maybe you need help deciding what job is right for you. Well, we’re here to help. So, there you go. It’s a list that you can do what you want with. Bin it or follow it, makes no difference to me. However, it is potentially your last year at university â€" do what you want, but make it count, you’ll never get the chance again. Student blogs careers Careers fair Internships student blogger university