When I first arrived in London, one of the first appointments I made was with the LSE Careers team. I wanted to better understand the job market, how to go about applying for internships and jobs, how to frame my CV better and other general questions when it came to starting my career. I booked an online call with one of the team members who answered a lot of my questions in detail. They also shared a lot of resources that you can use to make a better CV and cover letter for job applications.

In addition to this, I attended a few in-person sessions where a member of the LSE Careers team spoke in great detail about job searching in the current market, the kind of job profiles that students from our department can target and the help and support that is available to students through the services of the Careers team. They also organise a lot of alumni panels that focus on graduates from your specific department and larger alumni panels where the speakers are from diverse backgrounds and currently in very interesting career fields.

LSE Careers is a very important resource that a lot of students can use, especially if you are an international student who is unfamiliar with the hiring practices and process in the UK. My frequent calls and correspondence with them helped me understand how I can improve my chances of finding a job that I want.

More importantly, while scheduling a call with them can help you get specific questions and doubts resolved, the LSE Careers page also has a lot of great resources that you may find useful. Some of their posts on improving your LinkedIn profile, how to network effectively and importantly how to plan your career have all proven very helpful to me in realigning my goals regarding my career.

Their resources also are a great starting point for someone who finds the process of job searching daunting. They share simple tips and advice that is easy to incorporate into what you are already doing and further your chances of finding the right job for yourself.

I would advise all incoming students to schedule at least one meeting with a member of the LSE Careers team to have a better understanding of your next steps, regardless of if you want to pursue another master’s degree, enrol in a PhD program or go out into the job market.