Am I Ready for My Career?
Before University, I always had my heart set on a degree in psychology. At the time it seemed so simple and just from that, I thought my career would be laid out for me and that it would somehow just ‘find me’. However, from actually being in university, I’ve come to realise that it isn’t as easy as that, and my journey for being ‘career ready’ is far from over.
As part of my degree, I had to complete a 2-part questionnaire — a Career Self Efficacy and Digital Confidence Scale. These scales assessed my perceived confidence about my ability to start my career and what I need to do to get there, as well as assessing my confidence in my digital skills. This was to be completed once at the start of the year and again at the end.
Following the first completion, I was fairly confident in myself that I understood my skills and knew how to set and follow my goals. This was completed before any other assignments, such as creating a CV or doing an online interview etc. so it is fair to say that I was extremely naïve and didn’t truly understand the complexity of starting your career.
when reality kicked in…
Reality then set in after handing in my first CV and cover letter assignment — I had in the back of my head that it would be an ‘easy A’ and there wasn’t much to it. I couldn’t have been more wrong and was soon disappointed when I didn’t get the mark I had expected. At first, I was upset about my mark but looking back, I’m glad this happened as it made me realise I needed to put a lot more thought into my future.
This was the turning point where I finally registered that I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.
my journey has just began!
By the time I had completed the questionnaire for the second time, my thoughts behind my career path have changed massively. Whilst I do find my career and my future scary, I’m also excited, and I am beginning to realise that it won’t all happen at once and that I need to have fun finding my interests!
Looking back, I now know what went wrong with my CV, there was no care or attention to detail. I was vague and didn’t truly know what my skills are. By completing this unit, it has given me the clarity to understand my strengths — and what I need to work on (the main one being my attitude towards my future).
Although I still don’t have my ‘dream career’ (if there is one) set in stone, I’m working on it. I realise now what I need to do and the steps I need to take in order to get on the right path, rather than thinking I will just ‘get lucky’.