Firstly, we’re so excited to have you back on campus this term!

With the start of Michaelmas just around the corner, you might be wondering how you can begin embedding career planning into your LSE experience. If so, this is the blog for you! (If you’re not quite there yet, that’s okay, we’ll be here when you are).

Here are five questions you can ask yourself to help kickstart your planning process…

1. What motivates me?

When it comes to planning your career, or even thinking about planning your career, considering your values is a great way to start. Are you motivated by being an expert? Is creativity important to you? Does earning a large amount of money play a key role in your career plans?

Read our blog all about specific techniques for understanding your values and how they motivate your career plans.

2. What experience do I already have?

Even if you’ve not got any formal work experience just yet, you’ve probably already got some handy transferable skills – even if you don’t realise it! Whether you’ve done an internship, volunteered with a local charity, or learned specific analytical skills during pre-university projects, these are all valuable experiences you can use to help plan your next steps.

Consider what experiences you’ve had, which ones you enjoyed, which ones you didn’t, and try to identify why. Even just having a list of skills you’ve developed so far can be really useful in working out what to do next, and where you might like to focus your attention.

If you’re already keen to develop new skills and build your experience, that’s great – check out our Skills at Home video series, covering everything from entrepreneurship to volunteering.

3. What one question would I ask a careers professional if I had the chance?

That might be ‘Where do I even start?’, or it might be ‘I am I doing the right things?’, or maybe you’re asking ‘How can I change my career path?’. It could literally be anything, and is a great way of identifying what stage you’re at.

The good news is we’ll be in the School’s Welcome Square marquee during the first three weeks of term, with LSE Careers staff available for you to speak to. While we won’t be able to answer specific questions, we’ll absolutely be able to point you towards how you might like to use our services, whether that’s specific events or a specialist online resource.

Read more about the Welcome Square marquee and how to get started with LSE Careers in the School’s Welcome Guide.

4. What small step can I make this term to boost my career prospects?

Thinking about your career can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. A key element of our approach to career development is emphasising the importance of small steps. Even if the idea of getting work experience feels too much at this stage, committing to making just one step to help you move forward ensures you are embedding career planning into your LSE experience, which will help you avoid feeling like you’re playing catch up at the end of your degree.

Check out our career planning webpage for ideas of small steps you can take right now to start preparing for the working world.

5. Am I in the best position to stay up to date with all things LSE Careers?

We have a varied range of events, opportunities, appointments and resources available each term as part of our ‘offer’. The best way to stay up to date with all things LSE Careers is to:

1. Check your LSE email regularly – we’ll be sending all the good stuff straight to your inbox!
2. Browse our blog: lse.ac.uk/careers
3. Follow us on social media

• Twitter: @lsecareers
• Instagram: @lsecareers
• Facebook at: /LSECareers
• LinkedIn at: /lsecareers