Careers Q&A – 3: Cater work experience to a range of jobs

Q: For those who aren’t sure about what they want to do in their jobs, how can we cater the work experience we get in university to a range of jobs (including consulting)?

A: I think it is very common for undergraduates to not know what they want to do – even for me who is a PhD, I have no clue what my career will look like! The companies also are well aware of it – they never expect a UG student to come over with a “well-tailored” resume. I think what really matters is how you narrate your experiences. For example, if I want to apply for consultancy job, I will highlight on how I trouble shoot, do market research, or make presentation in completing my research project. Another good way, which I learned from UCL Career’s application advice session is that to single out a section in your CV dedicated to the experiences related to the position that you are applying. For example you can single out a “consultancy” section to throw all your related experience in – that will highlight your job-required expertise to the recruiter 🙂