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This is often the toughest stage and one many final year students struggle with. Before you start to make any decisions, it is important to have a clear understanding of who you are, what your skills are and what is it you want. We have some excellent resources to help you identify your skills (being clear on these is a vital skill allowing you to articulate these clearly to an employer). If you remain unsure take advantage of our 121 career appointments to help you explore your options.

When you know what you want to do, it is then important to develop a plan to help you achieve these goals. Top tip for your final year is, if you can, plan early. It allows you time to identify things you are missing, which could be additional skills, work experience or knowledge. If you identify gaps our plan section is full of tips including mentoring, micro-internships (2 weeks work experience), volunteering advice and resources where you can research your options.

Once you know what you want, and what you need to do to get there, you are ready to ‘c´Ç³¾±è±ð³Ù±ð’. This section includes a wide range of practical support to help you develop a CV/cover letter/write an application form. It also includes advice for those of you looking at postgraduate courses or self-employment. Take advantage of which will review your CV for you or practise your interview technique with .

One of the big worries final year students have is that they have left it too late to apply – don’t worry. Graduate recruitment is complex with different companies advertising at different times. The best advice is, although there is no ‘right time’ researching and applying as soon as possible will help ensure you don’t miss out on deadlines.

Many of the big graduate employers start their recruitment process a year in advance, so you will start to see positions being advertised as early as September for a start date the following September. If you like the idea of working for a big company, make sure you are monitoring opportunities throughout your final year. For many of these vacancies the period between September and January is key.

Although many of the graduate schemes are seasonal there is a growing trend to have a rolling recruitment process so vacancies are available throughout the year. To make sure you are not missing out on the industry of your choice you need to do your research – sign up for the main graduate recruitment websites and directly with employers. Our Looking for graduate jobs page is a good overview of where to look and how to apply.

1. Update your preferences on – by doing this we can notify you of vacancies and contact you to inform you of relevant events and opportunities. You can amend these preferences at any time.

2. Get started with – it can be a great way to get involved with professional groups or bodies, follow employers and make yourself visible to recruiters. We have a dedicated LinkedIn support webpage and we run regular Master LinkedIn Accelerate workshops which you can take advantage of.

3. Explore the digital resources available to you – there is so much information and support available, if you don’t know it’s there you are at a disadvantage.

4. Book an – if you need some help – please use us. Our duty team offers appointments throughout the year where we can help you tackle a wide range of needs. This can be especially useful if you are feeling overwhelmed or not sure how to achieve your goals.

5. Attend a careers event – we put on a broad range of events across all faculties. Please take advantage of these, be brave and ask questions. If you can glean valuable information on an employer or industry this can pay dividends when you start making applications.

6.Take one step at a time – if you are not sure what you want, take little steps towards making yourself more aware. This could be making a list of what you are good at, researching what you want or exploring different career options. Sometimes finding out what you don’t want can be just as valuable.

7. Get job ready – if you know you are looking for a job at the end of the year – get prepared. The final year usually flies by and you will be applying for jobs or further study alongside juggling multiple course requirements. Having an up-to-date CV and cover letter that can be adapted to each vacancy can ease the stress of making applications.

8. Know your industry – be aware of the industry you are applying to, who recruits when, are there particular factors affecting them? Following organisations, professional bodies, leading individuals on social media can help you be ‘clued up’ for applications.

9. Consider further study – it may be that your degree has left you with a desire for more focused further study . Look around at your options, attend open days and ask lots of questions about the course and where it can lead.

10. Don’t panic – probably the most important message of all. As much as leaving higher education can feel daunting with a wide range of options open to you, it is also an exciting time where you get to put all your newly developed skills and knowledge into practice.