Careers blog written by Irena Zientek, Operations Manager: Information & Engagement, Careers and Placements

On Christmas Day, after the turkey has been eaten, the presents have been ripped open and you’re recovering from too much pud, you can slouch into the sofa and breathe a sigh of contentment.

However, the Christmas vacation isn’t all about groaning at Christmas cracker jokes and watching festive celebrity editions of Pointless. It will probably bring you some slightly less seasonal activities too – you might have course work to complete or revision to begin. You may also have to fend off those tricky questions from parents, aunts and uncles. You know the ones – “what are you going to do after you finish at University?”, “have you started applying for jobs?”

Make time this vacation (before Christmas takes over) to take some positive steps, so you can answer those questions with confidence!

Unsure what career is for you?

Start to Get ideas from the web page of the same name! Our Career planning info sheet has lots of exercises and resources to help – you don’t need to look at them all, but there should be something useful for you to try.

Know what you want, but need to find out more?

Turn to the Job sector pages to research types of jobs and how to find work. If the sector you want isn’t covered, try Prospects’ Types of jobs section.

Need to get experience?

Work experience can come in many varieties – part-time work, voluntary work, formal internships, work shadowing. Some sectors and industries offer plenty of opportunities, while others might require you to be a bit proactive with speculative applications and networking. The Internships and work experience page should be your starting point to find out more.

Need to build-up your skills?

If you feel you don’t have all the necessary skills to do a particular job, think about how you can develop them. The Your skills page defines a variety of skills, employers typically seek in candidates, and gives you some practical ideas about how you might gain them while at York.  

Want to find job adverts?

Whether the jobs you’re interested in are advertised widely or whether they’re selectively promoted, check out our information sheets and Job sectors to find the general graduate vacancy sites or the more specialist resources.

So, with a little preparation before Christmas, you can enjoy those mince pies, guilt free!

Happy Christmas!