Career options and opportunities

Understanding yourself is an important part of career development and can be helpful when making career decisions or speaking to employers.

Skills and Strengths

Knowing your skills and strengths can help you to identify what you are good at and what you have to offer. These resources will help you start to identify your skills and strengths:

• The QAA Subject Benchmark Statements provide information on the knowledge and skills generally expected of graduates. Discover the Subject Benchmark Statement for your subject area.
• Identify your strengths by taking our strengths assessment

Personality

Reflecting on your personality can you help you when exploring all the opportunities available to you.

• Find out about your personality style by taking the personality insight assessment
• Identify your personality preferences by completing the temperament assessment

Values and Motivation

Knowing your values and motivation can help you understand what you want from life and work.

• Find out what drives you by taking the Motivation at Work assessment

Many employers don't require a specific degree, but if you want to get ideas of where your degree could take you, the following resources may be a helpful starting point.

• Discover options related to your degree: What can I do with my degree?
• Learn about the destinations of graduates from your undergraduate degree by searching for your programme at Discover Uni.

Researching career options can help you generate new ideas and support your career planning and decision making. Many graduate careers do not require a specific degree subject, but some might require further study in the form of a master's degree, a professional qualification or training. Learning about sectors, roles and employers can help develop your career ideas.

Job sectors

You might be interested to learn more about the different sectors or already have one in mind that you would like to work within. It can be important to stay up to date with sector trends and changes and you can apply this knowledge to your career planning.

• Explore job sectors on Prospects.

Job roles

Do you want to explore a role in more detail or are looking for inspiration? Prospects and Target Jobs provide individual role profiles with a breakdown of salary, responsibilities, key skills and qualifications and typical employers.

• Explore what jobs might suit you by taking the Prospects Career Planner quiz
• Explore job profiles on Prospects
• Explore job descriptions on Target Jobs

Attending career and employer events

Attending careers fairs, employer events and presentations can help with researching organisations and opportunities.

• Find out more about career and employer pop-ups, presentations and events on myFuture.

Networking is an important skill to learn. Talking to professionals can help you to explore occupations and employment sectors.

Informational interviews

An informational interview is a conversation with a professional where you might speak with them about their job, organisation or career. They can be a valuable tool to help you get realistic, up-to-date information on a career, build your network and help you to make informed decisions.

Find out how you can make the most of an informational interview.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn can be a tool to search for jobs and keep up to date with what's happening in industry. It can also be a source of potential contacts and works well as a research tool to help you identify and reach each out to alumni or other professionals working in areas of interest to you.

• Follow Edinburgh Napier University on LinkedIn
• Follow Student Futures on LinkedIn

A graduate scheme is a structured program offered by many companies, typically larger corporations or organisations, designed specifically for recent graduates. These schemes provide graduates with an opportunity to gain valuable work experience, develop essential skills, and kickstart their careers in a supportive environment.

Usually lasting between one to three years, graduate schemes often rotate participants through different departments or roles within the company. This rotational aspect allows graduates to explore various areas of the business, gain exposure to different functions, and discover where their strengths and interests lie.

Recruitment for graduate schemes can be a lengthy process with several stages and usually takes place between September and December to start the following summer.

You can find information and graduate scheme opportunities at:

• Prospects
• Target Jobs
• Grad Cracker
• Student Circus (for international students)

Graduate jobs offer recent graduates the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge and skills in a real-world professional setting. These positions can vary widely across industries and sectors, ranging from entry-level roles in finance, marketing, engineering, IT, healthcare, and many more.

Unlike graduate schemes, where participants may rotate through different departments, graduate jobs typically involve a more focused role within a specific team or department. This allows graduates to specialise and develop expertise in a particular area from the outset of their career.

Overall, graduate jobs provide a direct entry point into the workforce for recent university graduates, offering the chance to gain practical experience, build a professional network, and embark on a rewarding career path in their chosen field. Recruitment for these roles can take place at any time of year.

You can find graduate jobs advertised at:

• Prospects
• Target Jobs
• Grad Cracker
• Student Circus (for international students)
• S1 Jobs
• Indeed
• Good Moves 

A graduate internship is a temporary work placement offered by companies, organisations, or institutions to recent university graduates. Unlike graduate schemes or jobs, internships are typically shorter in duration, ranging from a few weeks to several months, and are designed to provide graduates with hands-on experience in a specific industry or role.

Graduate internships serve as a valuable stepping stone for graduates looking to gain practical skills, explore potential career paths, and enhance their resumes. These opportunities allow graduates to apply their academic knowledge in a real-world setting, gain insights into industry practices, and develop relevant professional skills.

One key aspect of graduate internships is the opportunity for graduates to network and make connections within their chosen industry. Interns often have the chance to work alongside experienced professionals, receive mentorship, and build relationships that may prove invaluable in their future careers.

You can find graduate internships advertised at:

• Prospects
• Target Jobs
• Grad Cracker
• Student Circus (for international students)

Graduate schemes or roles within large corporations are not the only career possibility for graduates. Another option involves working for a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). SMEs are businesses with fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover of no more than £50 million. Across Scotland, SMEs thrive in various sectors, offering diverse opportunities for graduates.

Working in an SME can offer numerous benefits for graduates embarking on their professional journey. SMEs often provide a dynamic and close-knit working environment, offering graduates the opportunity to have a more significant impact and contribute meaningfully to the company's success.

In SMEs, there is typically greater visibility and recognition for individual contributions, allowing graduates to receive direct feedback and recognition for their achievements. This can be incredibly motivating and conducive to rapid skill development and career progression. Additionally, working in an SME can mean working closely with senior management and company leaders, providing valuable mentorship and learning opportunities that may be harder to come by in larger organisations.

SMEs tend to offer a more flexible and agile work environment, with the potential for greater autonomy and decision-making responsibilities. This can be particularly appealing for graduates who are eager to take on challenges, make an impact, and play a significant role in shaping the direction of the company.

You may be considering self-employment and starting your own business after graduation. You may have a business start up idea, or have particular skills or interests that would lend themselves to self-employment such as sports coaching, fitness instruction, private tutoring, journalism, performing arts, creative industries, culinary ventures, web development and design.

If you are self-motivated, have good business awareness, the ability to market and promote what you do and network effectively then starting your own business could be a fantastic option to explore.

Visit the Prospects website to see if self-employment is right for you.

Edinburgh Napier University can offer business start up support through the Bright Red Triangle. They provide free lifelong enterprise support to a community of Edinburgh Napier University's students, staff and alumni to develop enterprise skills, increase entrepreneurial activity, and capture opportunities.