Career planning for penultimate year students
If you're part-way through your university course, use this checklist to help you start your career planning and make job hunting easier in your final year.
Getting started
- Visit your Careers Service and sign up for their newsletter.
- Think about the sort of work that interest to you and what you want out of a job; generate new job ideas and check out your existing ideas.
- Identify an area you hope to specialise in and how you can get there.
Developing employability
- Talk to employers at careers events to find out what skills they are looking for.
- Think about what you can offer employers: the skills you have now and those you are developing through your studies.
- Identify the skills you need to develop to apply for jobs you're interested in. Plan how you will achieve this.
Researching employers
- Attend on-campus careers fairs and employer visits.
- Attend the gradireland careers fairs in June and October.
- Find out which employers are recruiting on careers websites and in the press.
- Read the gradireland directory, published in September.
Considering further study?
- Attend the postgradireland fair in Dublin in February.
- Read the postgradireland directory, published in November.
Work experience
- Identify summer work in your chosen sector. Customise your CV for each job you apply for.
- Consider working on a voluntary basis if you do not get paid work.
- After any work experience, amend your CV and add the new skills you have developed and specific achievements.