5 Tips of the Career Services
This will help you make more targeted study choices, e.g. picking electives that are relevant to your dream profession. You will also know early on whether it makes sense to obtain additional qualifications such as (language) certificates. Any additional skills you need can be acquired while you study.
For example, you could talk to fellow students or graduates who already work in your dream field or could exploit sources of information such as industry associations and company websites. This will give you a better understanding of what skills and competences are in demand in these areas and what your daily routine at work might look like, because sometimes people’s expectations do not match up with reality.
This will help you not only to apply your theoretical knowledge in practice but also to hone your curriculum vitae and build your network. You will also be able to find out whether working in this area would actually suit you and what your strengths and weaknesses are.
Some degree programs and faculties run careers days, where you can meet employers. These include the Faculty of Law and Economics and the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional, and Engineering Sciences as well as degree programs in Geography. Certain degree programs hold their own events. Departmental student bodies will invite you to alumni meetings, where you can find out where graduates from your degree program are working now.
The Career Service invites you to come along to its careers day during the Dies Academicus in December, where a series of talks, short workshops, one-to-one coaching sessions and advice stalls will tell you about making the leap from university to the world of work once you have graduated.
Figuring out what I personally can do as a career
Five questions for Dr. Anke Bohne, Careers advisor at the University of Bonn’s Career Service
Anke Bohne has been working at the Career Service for over 12 years and supports University of Bonn students and graduates who have questions about getting on the career ladder.
Why should students start thinking about career entry even before they’ve graduated?
On many degree programs, it’s not clear what kind of work I should be doing and where once I’ve graduated. To get an overview of my options and find out what work I personally am capable of doing—but also what it is I want to do—it’s worth thinking about my own career at an early stage. Doing so can also help me focus my studies more on a particular goal, which will bring me more personal satisfaction.
Is there also a “too late” when it comes to career planning?
There’s no such thing as “too late,” because career planning is an ongoing process. Even when I’ve landed a particular job, I’ll undoubtedly undergo something of a career change at some point. But the earlier you start, the better. And, by “early,” I even mean the second or third semester of a bachelor’s.
How do I as a student know what kind of job might suit me?
By trying out the areas of work that I’m interested in and finding out whether they’re really what I want to do and am capable of doing. For example, if I’m keen on working in a museum after I’ve graduated, I should get some work experience there with an internship, a part-time job or some volunteering.
Let’s talk about procrastination. The end of your degree might seem far away, but that’s often just an excuse. So how can you find the motivation to start career planning or apply for an internship or part-time job?
Just get stuck in. Enjoy wrestling with the question of what kind of work you want to do after university. This can also be a way to lend a sense of purpose to courses that are supposedly not always that interesting. Maybe take advantage of the Karriere-Sprechstunde offered by the Career Service. It’s completely confidential and not restricted to a particular subject and can give you a few suggestions for how you can take baby steps toward your career planning.
Do you think it’s a good idea to view every single activity during a degree program through the lens of a future career?
No, broadening your horizons and trying things out for yourself are part and parcel of your studies. And, after all, the question to ask is “What does ‘career’ mean to me personally?” This can have some very different aspects to it. At the Career Service, we define “career” as the pathway to the job that matches the interests, skills and values of the students and graduates seeking it and that gives them financial security. So it’s much more than simply a question of completing the standard period of study, getting the requisite grades or lining up a series of impressive internships, part-time jobs and all that.
Career Service consultation hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays,
14:30 - 16:00