Guidance appointments are a great way to weigh up your different options for after you leave university. It’s useful to be able to talk to someone about the things you’ve been researching and considering, so you can make an informed choice on the route you want to take.
Hannah, Humanities finalist
Careers Guidance
This page provides information about Careers Guidance appointments, sessions and resources.
Careers Guidance Appointments
A Careers Guidance appointment is an opportunity to get impartial and confidential support from a qualified and experienced Careers Consultant. The focus of each appointment is on you and your needs – whether you want to get ‘unstuck’ and move forward with exploring and deciding your options, or have a specific query you need support with.
You can listen to our short podcast episode about guidance appointments: How a career guidance appointment helped me.
Each appointment is different, however some of the more common queries Careers Consultants support with are:
- I don't know what I want to do after my degree. How do I decide?
- What can I do with my degree?
- How do I decide what the right job/career is for me?
- I want to use my degree when I graduate. What are my options?
- I'm interested in postgraduate study. Can you tell me if it’s worthwhile?
- I’m thinking of leaving/changing my course. How might this impact my future choices?
A Careers Consultant won’t:
- Tell you what to do - they are impartial and non-directive in their approach to helping you.
- Do all your research for you - however they can offer suggestions for where to start and offer direction.
- Know all the answers to your questions - they aim to equip you with the skills and confidence to move forwards. This will often involve signposting you to resources so you can find out the answers yourself.
- Provide any alternative "shortcuts" into a job (such as a personal recommendation, or contact details of hiring managers)
- Contact employers on your behalf
At the start of the appointment, the Careers Consultant will seek to find out what you would like to get from the appointment and your reasons for booking it. They will then ask questions to learn more about your current situation and your ideas or thoughts on the topic(s) you want to focus on. Don’t worry if you don’t have any ideas – this is one of the main reasons why we offer Careers Guidance appointments!
Throughout the appointment, the Careers Consultant will listen carefully to you to fully understand your situation and questions. They will also often:
- Explore what you already know about your options and/or area(s) of interest
- Talk to you about your preferences, strengths, values and skills
- Help draw out your priorities, values and expectations
- Ask questions to reframe issues
- Gently challenge your motivations or assumptions
Towards the end of the appointment the Careers Consultant will summarise your discussion and you will agree on action points for you to take forward.
You may find that you get everything you need from one Careers Guidance appointment, however you are welcome to return for another appointment if you feel it would be helpful. The Careers Consultant may also recommend that you return for another appointment, for example, after going away to do some research to learn more about your options.
In most cases, you will need to book an appointment by contacting the Career Zone.
Careers Guidance Sessions
Career Consultants deliver a wide range of sessions designed to help you explore your options, reflect on what you want from a career and make decisions. These sessions are often delivered within your Faculty and/or discipline, however they also run the central sessions below.
To browse all career guidance sessions and register visit Handshake. Once logged in, you can search the title of the session(s) listed below that you are interested in attending.
Are you feeling lost, stuck or unsure about what to do after university? ln this session we will help you to discover key elements to consider during the career decision-making process. You will be guided in reflecting on your values and interests while being introduced to useful tools that will assist you in clarifying what you seek in your future career and work life. Centered around you, this session will help you build a solid foundation to begin exploring your options.
In this session you will discover how to research the wide range of sectors and job roles available to you, enabling you to make informed decisions about your future. You will also learn how to gain deeper insights into career areas with a particular focus on informational interviews.
This session will help you to identify the things you have come to value and how this may inform your career goals. You will broaden your understanding of employers wants and begin to action how you can use your unique strengths to enhance your career outcomes.
In this session you will have the opportunity to reflect on your motivations for doing a Master’s and explore key factors that could help you decide - including the important question: will a Master’s make you more employable? The session will also cover the different types of Master’s qualifications available and outline funding options in the UK. Please note this session is designed for students interested in Master's, not a PhD.
This session will help you consider whether studying for a PhD is right for you. It will cover what a PhD entails, key motivations for studying a PhD and future career options.
In this session you will learn about the 5 core things you could be doing when faced with setbacks in your placement and/or job search.
Many people worry about disclosing personal information to potential employers for fear of how this will be perceived. In this session you will learn about the law relating to disclosure, the potential benefits of disclosure, how to do it and how to find a supportive employer.
If you have queries to do with equality, inclusion and diversity including disclosing a disability or discussing reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, or whilst in the workplace see our specific EDI pages where you will also find useful information on how to find supportive and inclusive employers.
Careers Guidance Resources
Having a good understanding of your skills, values, strengths and motivations will help you make informed career decisions. To help build this self-awareness, visit the Profiling for Success page and take the questionnaires listed under the 'Self-awareness questionnaires' heading.
For more resources to help build your self-awareness visit the Help with self-awareness page.
The following resources will help you to explore options with your degree discipline:
- What can I do with my degree? - University of Exeter graduate destinations (Exeter specific)
- What can I do with my degree? - Prospects resource (generic)
Use the websites below to explore career sectors and job roles:
- Employment sectors – an A-Z of the most common sectors in the UK
- Prospects sectors and job profiles
- Help with researching career options - this page outlines the various ways you can research your options
If you are thinking about leaving or changing your course, this webpage has links to advice and options.