A SHORTAGE of eligible heiresses has forced an increasing number of graduates to consider working for a living. The need for a career that offers one or more of fame, fortune and intellectual stimulation is clear; the tricky bit is choosing it.

1. Don’t wait around. “It’s going to take time, so start thinking about it as soon as possible,” says Liz Hagger, the e-guidance manager at Graduate Prospects (see box). And don’t think that taking a postgrad gap year or a higher degree will give you magical career insight; unless you know exactly why you’re signing up, you’re simply putting off making a decision, not making yourself more employable.

2. Use your envy. Do you find yourself looking longingly at your sister’s friend and her glamorous job in tax law? “Get in touch with them and see how they started out,” says Iona McLaren, the manager of Reed Graduates, the recruiters. Talking to them will give you an insight into the job.

3. Get help. “If you are a student, go to your careers service,” Hagger says. Websites can help you to define the skills that you’ve learnt from your degree; show how they can fit a range of careers; and detail exactly what those jobs involve.

4. Use your experience. Think hard about what you like and don’t like about everything you do: clubs, part-time or holiday jobs, work experience and so forth. “Review all that in detail and extrapolate to a graduate-level job,” Hagger says.

5. Narrow it down. Don’t worry if the top jobs on your list of possibilities seem no more than mildly interesting; you have to start somewhere. “Take three ideas and investigate them further,” Hagger says. “Try to talk to someone doing the job” — your careers service may be able to do this through its network of alumni — “and get relevant work experience.”

6. Really? “Do a reality check with friends and family,” Hagger says. “Do they think that you could handle another five years of study? Do they think that you have the skills to do the job you’re looking at?”

7. Skip the programme. “Remember that a graduate scheme is just one of many routes to a good job,” McLaren says. “Consider temping or taking a more junior role in an organisation to build your experience . . . and learn more about how you work, what you enjoy and what you want out of future jobs.”

8. You don’t have to say yes if you’re not sure . . . but be very polite about no, says McLaren. “Some sectors are very small and burning your bridges can be fatal.”

9. Something is usually better than nothing, Hagger says. Don’t hold out for the perfect job. You’re nearly always going to be better off in employment than out, not least because being in work helps you to see many more opportunities.

10. You can change your mind. It’s a job, not a life sentence. You can always quit, but make sure that you know exactly why, or you risk getting into the same position again in the future.

Find out more

The Graduate Prospects website is prospects.ac.uk. The site offers help to summarise your skills, based on your degree topic and personal attributes, and suggests careers that will use these abilities. People who have graduated from an EU university in the past five years can e-mail a careers adviser for more information.

Read a book. Try Careers Un-Ltd: How to Choose a Career that Deserves You, by Carmel McConnell and Jonathan Robinson (£6.99 plus postage from Amazon).

Feeling cynical about it all? There’s always Trainspotting (£6.99 including delivery from play.com): “Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career . . .”

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