Tools for planning your career and future

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Depending on your situation, planning your career and future may seem like a very relevant and clear‑cut task, or a very distant and difficult one – or anything in between these two extremes. Because university studies do not always lead to a clearly defined career path, many students are still contemplating their expert identity, interests and options late in their studies.

On this page, we career counsellors at the University of Helsinki have compiled perspectives on questions that are often on students’ minds. This page provides information, downloadable pdf assignments and other tools to support your independent career planning. If you are considering questions specifically related to job search, please also see the page Tips for job search.

At Career Services, we also offer other forms of support to students and alumni who graduated less than a year ago for career planning and job hunting. Read more about our offerings on page Career Services.

Do I, too, have a career?

“Career is something fancy people have. I just have a job.” – student at a career counselling session.

The concept of career may seem fancy and distant – especially if you are pursuing your first university degree and have limited work experience, or if you are in the process of switching fields and feel like you are back to square one in your career. But career is a broad concept that applies to your entire journey through education, work and life.

We are all building our careers in the here and now, and each study decision you make is also a career decision. As decision-makers, we are all different, and our choices concerning our future can be based on, for instance, our interests, values, intuition, career visions or embracing chances and seizing opportunities.

How can I plan my career?

Career planning refers to an overall orientation towards the future, so the process is slightly different for all of us. But one thing goes for everyone: career planning does not happen automatically; it requires active processing and work. You can start by considering which questions about your future are relevant to you right now.

You can use the Kudin.fi self-assessment tool to help you analyse your career-planning thoughts, questions and challenges. When you are able to recognise these factors, you will be better equipped to improve your career readiness both during your studies and in your career. At Kudin.fi, you can assess your career readiness by completing up to three different questionnaires. Based on your replies, you will receive feedback and tips on which areas you should work on.

When is the right time to plan your career?

The right time to plan your career is whenever you feel like it. But it is wise to think about your future even when it does not feel absolutely necessary. This is because even if you won't ask questions central to your future, life eventually will – and not necessarily at the best possible moment. Pick any theme that speaks to you at the moment!

Am I an expert?

The Graduate Capital model divides an individual's career readiness into five capitals: human, social, cultural, psychological and identity capital.
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When do we qualify as experts, and what do experts need to know? There are no universal answers to these questions, but expertise and your expert identity develop as you move along in your studies. So expertise is not something you can start to accumulate only at work: you start building it up from the very first day of your bachelor’s studies. Recognizing your expertise can sometimes be hard, even late in your studies.

The processes of future orientation and expert identity development are unique, and we all go through them at our own pace. Instead of comparing yourself with others – possibly even people with more experience in your field – take time to consider your own skills and interests. Understanding these clearly will help you find your expertise.

Expertise in a nutshell

So what exactly is expertise? Expertise refers to the set of competencies, skills and strengths you have. This set of tools together with your expert identity development can also be seen as your career readiness. Career readiness can be approached through five interwoven forms of graduate capital. These are:

  • Human capital: knowledge and skills provided by degree studies as well as employability skills
  • Social capital: networking and awareness of options
  • Cultural capital: skills outside the scope of the degree and one’s position in the job market
  • Identity capital: values and strengths, motivation, experiences and goals
  • Psychological capital: resilience, self-efficacy and ability to adapt to changes

You can accumulate the different forms of capital in many ways and across many situations, both in your studies and in other domains of life. They develop at different rates, meaning that they can take different roles at different stages of your studies. We encourage you to consider which forms of capital are relevant to you at the moment and which forms may assume a greater role in the future.

What can I do right now?

  • Watch the ‘Studies, career and expertise’ video. This five-minute video will offer you an overview of the graduate capital model and of what it means to become an expert during your studies.
     
  • You can also complete the first Kudin.fi career readiness self-assessment questionnaire which is related to the above-mentioned five forms of graduate capital.
     
  • When you have familiarised yourself with the graduate capital model in a way that best suits you, you can assess your level of the different forms of capital by answering the following questions: Which forms are the strongest for you at the moment? In what ways have you developed them? Which form or forms of capital would you especially like to develop during your studies? What could be the smallest possible step in that direction?
     
  • You can use the following questions to consider your expertise and expert identity:
    • What knowledge and skills have you gained through your studies and in your professional life or hobbies, for example?
    • Which themes do you find especially interesting in your studies, in the world of work and in your hobbies?
    • How would you describe your own values and attitudes, your learning ability, or your self-management and self-leadership skills?
    • What have you received positive feedback for from others in different situations?
    • How would you describe yourself as a member of your work community?
    • What do you know about the working culture and practices in your field?
  • You can also have a look on the assignment: Create a meta-CV and document your journey on becoming an expert (pdf)

It can be difficult to get a handle on your expertise if you have trouble identifying your skills and strengths or if you are unclear on what career opportunities your degree offers. You can read more about these themes in the sections ‘What are my skills and strengths?’ and 'What kind of job opportunities do I have?'.

Building your expertise through thesis work and traineeship

You should also think of your thesis and possible traineeship as part of the process of expert identity development. Both allow you to use and deepen your existing knowledge and skills while also learning something new and developing your expertise.

In addition to subject-specific expertise, you will also use and develop your self-leadership and self-management skills, general career skills and your strengths in both your thesis project and traineeship. You are also likely to widen your network and gain new contacts, who may provide collaboration opportunities later on.

If you have not yet completed your traineeship or chosen your thesis topic, these will provide an excellent opportunity for you to think about how you want to develop your expertise and in which direction you want to take it. Even if you have already completed your thesis and traineeship, you can still learn a lot from them if you take the time to analyse them.

What are my skills and strengths?

Field of sunflowers.

Defining your skills and competence areas is not an easy task, but it is one that will significantly improve your job prospects. The process of skills identification is three-fold: first, identifying what kind of skills you have; second, finding a way to describe them; and third, communicating them clearly to others when looking for a job, for example.

It is important to be able to explain your knowledge and skills comprehensibly, including to people outside your field and its jargon. A good way to do this is to think of how you would describe your expertise to someone in another field, to your child or to your grandparent, for example.

Different skills, different strengths

There are many ways to categorise skills. One set of skills involves the understanding of the phenomena, questions and themes of your field. Another is academic skills, which include, for example, an understanding of theoretical knowledge, critical analysis or research methodology skills. General career skills, in turn, are skills accumulated through studies and all kinds of work experience: for example, you can improve your interpersonal skills or organisation skills through project-based courses or a job in the service industry.

You can accumulate knowledge and skills anywhere: not just through your studies or work duties, but also through your hobbies, elected positions and other activities in your everyday life.

In addition to the understanding, knowledge and skills that we acquire, we all also have personal strengths. Some of us are quick by nature and find it easy to grasp new things, while others are meticulous and thorough. Some are great listeners, while others shine when they get to be the centre of attention.

Different jobs require different strengths, so all qualities can be either strengths or weaknesses depending on the job. For career planning purposes, the main thing is that you are able to identify and describe not just your skills, but also your strengths, and in as many ways as possible.

Help with identifying your skills and strengths

When you analyse your skills and strengths, consider all your life experiences. What have your studies, work experience, volunteer work, hobbies and other experiences taught you? What skills have you accumulated, what kinds of things have you got to do and what strengths have you played to? What kind of feedback have you received from others?

You can practise identifying and describing your skills and strengths by completing the following assignments:

What are my hopes for the future?

A white lighthouse on a cliff by the sea.

If someone asked you what hopes you have for your future, what would you answer right now? Does your mind immediately bubble with wild visions and dreams, or does it go blank? How does this make you feel?

Hopes for the future are always the sum of many different factors. Your hopes, too, probably reflect your life experiences, interests, skills, strengths, the stage of your studies and your general situation in life in some way. They are fundamentally also affected by what options you can identify and what you have learned to consider possible for yourself.

The future holds many uncertainties, and it can sometimes seem easier not to plan at all or to put the ball in someone else’s court. But what it all comes down to are your personal values and the question of what constitutes a good life for you. This is why nobody else can plan your future for you.

Let your values lead the way

When you carefully analyse any of your hopes, you can start to see one or more underlying things that are important to you. These are your values. Values are the foundation of your hopes and concrete goals, and they give you strength to continue even when faced with adversity.

Goals based on your values create a sense of meaningfulness and direction in your studies, work and life in general. Although you cannot always be sure whether you will reach a certain goal, you can always find a new route that represents actions aligned with your values and the kind of future you aspire to have. So what would be the best thing that could happen to you?

You can think about your future aspirations and especially your work-related values by completing the following assignments:

What kind of job opportunities do I have?

A table with an open computer and notebook, drinks and flowers.

“I’m not sure what I want to do with my degree in the future. What kind of jobs do people with this degree even have? I’m not really sure how to even start looking for a job in my field.”

If you are still unclear on your career options, know that you are not alone. It is quite common that even students in the final stages of their studies do not have a clear picture of the various career paths open to them. You can have several areas of interest, which can lead to a dizzying number of options. It can also be unclear what different jobs require and what work in different organisations really entails.

However, there is plenty of information available, and we encourage you to seek it actively. This will not only help you better understand the requirements of professional life, but also identify your own interests and the kind of jobs that are a good fit for you. Here are our tips for good sources of information:

Career monitoring data. The University of Helsinki conducts annual career monitoring surveys to collect information on graduate employment and the skills needs of employers. The University’s Graduate employment page not only has most recent university-wide information, but also the career monitoring report of your own faculty.

The Töissä.fi service. On the Töissä.fi website, you can find information on the kinds of job titles university graduates have. You can also find information on salary levels and career stories with graduates describing their work.

Your current network and new contacts. We often know surprisingly little about the job descriptions and work histories of even our close friends, family members and relatives. People in your personal network can be a valuable source of professional information, which is why we encourage you to ask them about their work. If you do not yet have contacts in a field of your interest, you can quickly expand your network on LinkedIn, for example. LinkedIn is an extremely popular social media platform, both internationally and in Finland, focusing almost entirely on professional networking and career development. LinkedIn offers an easy way to network even with people you do not know and learn about their career paths and work duties.

LinkedIn alumni tool. The LinkedIn page of the University of Helsinki – like other universities – has a handy alumni search tool. You can use it to effectively research employers and job titles of recent graduates in your field and to connect with current and previous members of the university community.

Remember that your degree does not dictate your career path. In fields that prepare graduates for a specific role (e.g., dentist, pharmacist, priest or teacher), career paths tend to be fairly clear-cut, although a degree in such a field offers many other job opportunities too. In generalist fields, however, the range of possible jobs is tremendous, and the most important thing is to recognise the matters, themes and questions that you want to work with.

Is entrepreneurship one of my options too?

People working on their computers at the same desk.

In addition to paid work, entrepreneurship is an interesting and viable career option for many. It is often possible to combine paid work and entrepreneurship, and the boundary between the two is becoming more flexible. The skills you have acquired through university studies and other areas of your life will give you a good basis for entrepreneurship. If you also clarify your ideas about how you want to use your skills and what needs your skills meet, you are well on the way to thinking about entrepreneurship.

Part-time entrepreneurship can also be a nice way to try out an idea on a small scale without immediately going into the deep end of entrepreneurship. It is also an opportunity to pursue a meaningful hobby activity on a commercial scale.

The University of Helsinki, together with the City of Helsinki, offers you a variety of programmes to explore the world of entrepreneurship, from the very beginning to advanced idea development. The various programmes offer a stimulating and safe place to try out your ideas during your studies. The programmes will broaden your career horizons and offer you a great chance to network and to develop your other working life skills – which are always good investments for the future. Most of the programmes are offered in English.

Where to start?

Helsinki Think Company brings together university students interested in entrepreneurship in its co-working space and offers you basic information on entrepreneurship in its resource bank. It also organizes idea and solution competitions, where you can come up with ideas for products, services or business solutions.

Helsinki Incubators offers low-threshold pre-incubator and incubator programmes. In the pre-incubator you can refine your idea and learn basic entrepreneurial skills for 2 months, while incubators provide you with 6 months of guidance, mentoring, and support to start an actual business. Pre-incubator and incubator programmes are also offered in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area by the City of Helsinki's Campus Incubators network.

The HELSEED programme is of interest when you are seeking funding. The programme allows you to learn about entrepreneurship and to pitch your idea to representatives of the University of Helsinki Funds, who may invest between €10 000 and €50 000 in your business.

Business Helsinki offers a wealth of information and support if you are planning to start your own business. The city services offer you free business advice and their material bank provides guidance on a wide range of entrepreneurial challenges.

What will I do if my job search is unsuccessful?

A person in black shoes stands in the middle of a yellow circle painted on the floor or ground.

“I just can’t find a job. I don’t have work experience, and I can’t get any because I can’t get a job.”
“I never get a job interview. I must have sent a hundred job applications. What am I doing wrong?”

Your job search may not make the kind of progress or move along at the pace you would like. Do not lose heart: there is a lot you can do to improve your chances of getting a job. If your job search does not seem to pay off, double-check the following:

Are your job search documents in order? Do they convey your skills clearly? The competition for jobs and traineeships can be stiff. When this is the case, it is absolutely vital for you to stand out positively from the crowd. So draw up an impressive CV and cover letter explaining the things the recruiter wants to hear: how your skills, strengths and interests relate to the job or traineeship you are applying for. Please note that it is important to tailor your CV and cover letter specifically for the position that you are applying for! So for each position, consider the kind of skills the position requires and the strengths you should be emphasising. In your job search documents, focus on the matters that are of interest to the employer in question.

Do you know about where you are applying to? The more you know about the prospective employer and position, the easier it will be to tailor your CV and cover letter. Search for more information on the employer’s website or social media platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook). If you know someone who works or has previously worked at the same organisation or in a similar position, contact them and ask for more information. You can also find information on similar jobs and the skills required in them by reading other job advertisements.

Are you in charge of your job search? Your own initiative plays a key role in job hunting. Even if there are currently no openings for interesting jobs, using your initiative you can snatch a so-called hidden job, a vacancy that has not been made public. You can list organisations that interest you and send open applications to them at any time. Would it help if you made a job-seeking plan to keep you on the ball of what you will be doing and when? Have you tapped into your networks and told your contacts what kind of work you are looking for? Do you have people in your network who could offer you support or tips? An information interview is a way of getting answers to questions that interest you. It can also offer you valuable advice on looking for work in your field. The following assignments offer guidance and tips on proactive job hunting:

Are you aware of our support services for job hunting? At Career Services, we offer open workshops during academic terms as well as regular Drop-in support for job search that does not require an appointment. Read more on the links above and join us!

Podcast: Is the world of work for everyone?

Mustat langattomat kuulokkeet keltaisella taustalla.

‘Kaikkien työelämä?’ (‘Working life for everyone’) is a podcast where we broaden our horizons about the world of work and discuss the inequalities of the Finnish labour market with people who have dedicated their careers to doing something about them.

The podcast’s themes are

  • Racism and language barriers
  • Disability, partial disability and ableism
  • Gender and sexual equality
  • Ageism
  • Sustainability, democracy and inclusion at work

Each theme is discussed over two or three episodes with different guests. The podcast is produced and hosted by our career counsellors Jarkko Immonen and Heini Hult-Miekkavaara. All the episodes are available on podcast's own page.