‘PEOPLE GET MORE HELP CHOOSING A TV THAN THEIR CAREER’, SAYS EXPERT
The Scotsman newspaper has put UK careers advice under the microscope – and the findings aren’t impressive.
All four experts interviewed for the article (including me) agreed that something is very wrong with the way we tackle careers advice in this country – from school through to university and beyond.
Graduate Fog’s favourite quote came from Chris Humphries, chief executive of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, who said:
“People get more advice and information to help them choose a television than a career.”
If the emails I receive from you lot are anything to go by, I agree 100%.
Although graduates say your university careers centre is bursting with info on basic stuff like how to write a CV or where to find advertised vacancies, their help doesn’t go deep enough and you really struggle to find useful advice on the trickier stuff.
Many of you come to Graduate Fog because you feel that university careers advice is aimed squarely at those who already know what they want to do – or those who want to get into highly structured careers.
Do the people who currently dispense this advice think you’re robots?
Because to you, it looks as if university careers advice is designed for the people who actually need it the least!
What about those of you who don’t know what you want to do – or have a clue where to start? Should you do an MA in the meantime – or would that be a total waste of money? What about those of you trying to break into hugely competitive industries like media? If you’ve been trying your luck for a year (unpaid) but it just isn’t happening, where can you go to discuss your options about what to do next?
You might be interested to learn that the five most popular ‘Advice’ pages on Graduate Fog are:
– How to choose your career
– How to find vacancies
– How to decide about further study
– How to understand recruiters
– How to fight the recession
Does this suggest that these are the areas where your university careers centres are falling short?
Another big problem – the experts agreed – is that careers advice is not updating itself fast enough in line with the way the world of work is evolving.
There is a clear mismatch between the help offered and the help you really need.
You are still being given rigid, static advice – as you enter a new world of work, where the rules are changing every day.
Graduate Fog believes graduate careers advice providers need to start presenting their information in the context of the real world as it actually in 2010.
I think we should move away from this idea of ‘planning’ your career up-front and then just getting on with it. Because these days, the truth is that most people just start somewhere and work it out as they go along!
They also need to help you factor in the way the world is changing, so you can properly assess the risks of entering an industry with an uncertain future (like media). They should also point you in the direction of industries with real growth potential, such as green energy and online social networking.
As Vivienne Brown, at Skills Development Scotland, put it in the Scotsman article:
“A friend of mine has a daughter who went to school for the first time this year. I was thinking she might still be in work in 60 years time. If you think about the amount work has changed in the past 60 years it give you an idea of the sort of challenge we face.”
No careers adviser will ever be able to give you all the answers – or predict the future.
But I do think the universities (and schools) could do a much better job of empowering you to make your own decisions about your future – and showing you how to navigate your career as you go along.
It’s a challenge – but it’s totally do-able.
Making a bigger effort to understand the needs of their customer (you lot) would be a good start.
I live in hope…
MESSAGE TO CHEAPSKATE UNIVERSITY CAREERS ADVISERS:
When I post on this subject I always get at least five emails from university careers advisers saying, “Well if you’re so smart, why don’t you tell us what we should be doing differently?” If you’re thinking of doing this, please don’t – because I won’t reply. Study Graduate Fog in your own time, buy Dude, Where’s my Career? and figure it out for yourself. It’s not my job to translate my work into a list of action points for you and your colleagues. You receive a fat paycheque at the end of every month, I don’t get a bean. If you would like to pay me to advise you on a consultancy basis, please contact me here – but I know you won’t because of ‘budget constraints’).
Graduates – did your university’s career advice work for you?
If not, why not? Do careers advisers have an impossible task? Or have they just got lazy – and forgotten how it feels to be in your shoes?
lol my typing is poor – but sometimes deliberately so.
As for the X factor comment – wake up and look around you.
“I don’t believe that ‘backside kissing’ is particularly effective either; rather a well thought out and precise application. This must be the true art of job seeking.”
I think it’s you who misses the point. Yes an application has to be well thought out but what you are missing is what you need to think about. Over selling yourself at both application and interview stage is as if not more dangerous than the reverse.
“I don’t believe that ‘backside kissing’ is particularly effective either” Don’t make me use the N word again… I hate to bring age into it but I’m 35 I have been in your position and have lived and worked in the real world for quite some time – think about what I’m saying
Many people are terrified off losing their job so think about who they will interview and who they will employ… this applies in good times but even more in bad.
I hate to tell you this but it isn’t fair and it isn’t a level playing field out there – what younger people don’t realise is just how unfair it really is.
Anyway good luck with finding something.
Cheers
I am a 2011 graduate looking for work, but back in the 2nd year of my Mathematics degree I arrived, fresh-faced and eager, at the Career’s centre to see if I could get some assistance in my future career path. I turned up at the desk and they’re reply was to hand me a folder with details of where alumni from my course were now working, pointed to a chair and dismissed with “bring it back when you’re done”.
The folder was not a very good read. Most mathematics graduates seemed to prefer further study or their job titles were under the heading of Customer Service (obviously falling back on the old part time job). One of them became a Marquee Erector.
This was absolutely no help to me, but it was the only form of help I was offered on that day so, needless to say, I didn’t go back.
I completely agree with the argument that career advice is provided to graduates who least need the advice. In all fairness, grades are the most important criteria but it would be reassuring to know that it’s not dead end if I don’t bring a first. It is very hard to stay motivated when advisers don’t seem to have any idea how to help me.
I would say job applications should be officially recognised as a modern form of torture. I have been warned and forewarned, but it doesn’t come close to what it feels like.
I currently suffer from job fatigue, and this website is good for my bruised and battered confidence. I love this website!