Amidst results days and graduations, I thought it would be good to reflect on my own 职业生涯 journey and what 我 learnt along the way. Here are 5 tips for anyone who is about to embark on a new adventure, whether it be university, an apprenticeship or starting your 职业生涯.
你开始的地方不会是你结束的地方!
日益增长的 up, I didn't think too much about what my '职业生涯' would be but I knew I 我想要享受并对我所做的一切充满激情. 记住, whatever you study or work after you leave school does not dictate what 从现在算起，你要做5年. 我喜欢在 UCL and I developed a lot of transferable skills from my course like being able to write well, argue effectively and think critically. Although I knew I wasn’t going to be an anthropologist, I wanted my future to be led by what I found intellectually fascinating- and luckily, anthropology is still relevant in what I do now as a service 设计师.
Formal qualifications aren’t that important (if they’re not required)
你 might think ‘Well, I studied History, how can I get into design or 技术?’——对此我要说的是——不要让正式的资历占据你的地位 你放弃了自己感兴趣的事业. 我只听说 service design two years ago through an introductory training course at GDS and at first I assumed I needed a degree in design but you actually 不. 可转换的技能和经验比一份工作更重要 证书. 所以，努力获得尽可能多的经验和实践知识 在你的腰带下，因为这是在面试中闪耀的东西.
做 paid or free courses, bootcamps or even watching videos on topics and then applying it in a personal project or volunteering is also really 令人印象深刻的.
Sign up to 职业生涯 events, networking opportunities and industry meetups
It might seem like a chore at first or something outside of your comfort zone but going to industry events or meet ups really helps give you 更多的 context about what 职业生涯s are out there and what you might find 有趣的. 它们通常是免费的，面向年轻人或 转换职业. 我找到了 明亮的网络 我在大学的时候参加了很多活动，对我很有帮助 罕见的招聘 是谁帮我在公务员部门找到了第一份实习工作. 这也是 good way to get an inside scope into your future employer or industry!
我 only ended up in the digital and 技术 sector because I stumbled 在我大学最后一年的黑客马拉松上. 有趣的是 turning up to an event I knew nothing about had such a big impact on my 职业生涯. My advice is to look out for things on Linkedin or even Twitter, or websites like Eventbrite, and speak to your university 职业生涯s 办公室.
Find an employer that cares about you and supports your development
GDS has been instrumental in helping me shape my 职业生涯, from the moment I started I had incredible support and felt part of a community of amazing 数码专业人士. 我很幸运地得到了一份工作 2019年在伦敦政治经济学院攻读硕士学位，并获得部分奖学金. 我管理的 to work part-time at GDS and do my masters full-time with the support of 我的直属经理. GDS还资助了我其余的硕士课程 Cabinet Office higher education funding scheme for Civil Servants. 我 also had other training opportunities and support from the amazing GDS的设计社区.
Don’t be afraid to switch 职业生涯s or explore something different
我 switched from a 技术 policy role to service design, which sits within the 以用户为中心的设计族. My advice would be to always look at similar jobs to what you’re already doing or planning to do- you might spot something you’d like 更多的. There has never been a better time to switch 职业生涯s or try out something new, and there are tons of videos and content online about 不同的职业，所以大胆尝试吧!
现在作为一种服务 设计师, my job is mostly centred around helping users meet their goals 以最有效，用户友好和可访问的方式. 这可以是 through helping my team understand our users and how they experience a service or product like applying for a visa or starting a business.
If you’re passionate about putting user needs first and helping digital government work better for everyone, 了解更多
