Establishing Your Career Pathway

It is never too early to think about possible career choices for the future. While you are studying, think about how you can improve your profile as an applicant for the career you want. 

Here are some points to remember:

• Don't be afraid to change the focus of your degree if your goals or interests change
• Take responsibility for getting the sort of grades and experience an employer will value
• Start getting organised for the job search before you have finished your degree
• Build up your CV by taking part-time or volunteer work in areas related to your career goals.

Tailor your programme of study towards a career

Research all careers that interest you
Try the Career Services rapuara online which provides a comprehensive list of job opportunities. You will get information on what the job entails, entry requirements (i.e. Bachelors degree or postgraduate qualification), pay scale and related industries.

Look through the Situations Vacant
Find out what qualification(s), skills, experience, and abilities employers require for specific jobs.  Keep yourself up to date with what the market needs. 
Some useful websites you could visit are:

Career Jet www.careerjet.co.nz/
New Zealand Government Jobs Online
www.jobs.govt.nz/ 
New Zealand Local Government Careers and Job Vacancies
www.localgovernmentcareers.govt.nz/
New Zealand Herald Jobs www.jobs.nzherald.co.nz/
New Zealand’s University Jobs Website www.unijobs.co.nz/ 
Seek www.seek.co.nz/
Trade Me Jobs www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Jobs/

Talk to an Adviser
There is a wealth of support available to help you to achieve your career goals.  Consult university student advisers or academic staff for their advice on which papers or subject combinations to take to meet your career goals.  

Visit the Careers and Employment Centre on campus to seek gain practical tools and strategies focused on your future success in the job market. 
Also seek advice from a professional careers consultant.  There are a number to choose from both locally and nationally.

Specialise or widen your scope
Broadly speaking, at tertiary level you have the option of choosing a professional degree, such as the Bachelor of Social Work and Bachelor of Environmental Planning, or a more general degree like the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Social Sciences. 

Some students will choose an arts, social sciences or tourism degree so they can keep their options open.  Others may wish to focus on one area.  One thing for sure though is that you should never underestimate the power of a good arts or social sciences degree: employers say we make excellent employees because of the skills we develop while studying.

Consider Graduate and Postgraduate Study
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences strongly encourages its students to think about studying a graduate qualification after they complete a Bachelors degree. This may be a graduate or postgraduate diploma (e.g., Graduate Diploma in Teaching, Graduate Diploma in Marketing, or Postgraduate Diploma in Second Language Teaching); or an honours degree, such as a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) or a Bachelor of Arts (Honours). 

The reality is that some of the careers you are interested in will require postgraduate study.  If you are unsure about graduate study you could start working and think about specialised postgraduate study a little bit later.  Talk to a Graduate Adviser about your options.

Develop employment-related skills

• Build up your communication skills and confidence through class seminars, group work and presentations
• Include at least one good writing skills paper and at least one good research skills paper in your degree (e.g., Critical Reasoning, English.Confidence, The Practice of Social Science Research)
• Add some career-focused papers to your BA or BSocSc (e.g., Introduction to Management or The World of Electronic Commerce) or a Work Placement at 200 or 300 level (see the Faculty Office for details)
• Gain practical experience through part-time and/or volunteer work
• Join a campus or community club relating to your interests or hobbies. (Skills acquired in many clubs are transferable to all kinds of careers even if the clubis not directly related to your study. For example, organisational skills, leadership skills, and the ability to communicate with a diverse range of people)
• Apply for positions in the Faculty or the wider University, because they do come up from time to time (e.g., enrolment assistants over the summer break, tutoring positions and student ambassadors). This experience can leadto full-time employment.

Network

• Speak with someone who is in your ideal job and ask them what qualification(s), skills and experience you need to be a strong candidate for a similar position
• Set up a research project as part of your degree (for example, many subjects offer Directed Studies at 300 level) or enrol in a Work Placement (see the Faculty Office for details), which will take you into an organisation you might like to work for
• Arrange work experience during the semester break or ask if you can shadow someone for a day to find out what they do on a daily basis.

Careers and Employment Centre

The Careers and Employment Centre on campus is a free service for all students and alumni of Waikato University.  The Careers and Employment Centre will help to find the best pathway that suits you.  It provides students with the following services:

• Informal discussions on topics such as CV writing, covering letters, application forms, interview skills and assessment centres.
• Career skills workshops held throughout the year
• Employer presentations
• Current vacancies
• A resource room with videos, newspapers, magazines and books, job descriptions, company information and databases all available for your use.

Careers and Employment Centre
Room G.10 The Cowshed
Tel: (07) 838 4466, ext. 6622
Email: careers@waikato.ac.nz
www.waikato.ac.nz/sasd/careers/

Getting a Job

For many students the months leading up to graduation can be overwhelming. How do you go about getting a job?  What if you can only get a lower paid or part-time job?  Do you continue with a graduate or postgraduate qualification?  With a general degree, the connection between study and a career isn't always direct and immediate.  There are a number of ways students can avoid getting stuck in this transition period.

Just because you gain a degree does not guarantee you a job.  So be intelligent about utilising your degree and:

• Focus on 'marketing' yourself - your skills and abilities, your personality, your values and attitudes, your work experiences
• Maintain your technical literacy and make sure you keep up with technological changes, especially those relevant to your disciplines
• Be prepared to prove your abilities in a lower-level job initially as you may not get your ideal job the day after graduation
• Consider moving to where the job is. A job in a small town branch office means that you will gain experience in a wider range of tasks and you may be promoted to a more senior position of responsibility earlier than in a larger firm
• Have confidence in your strengths.