Map your degree to possible roles using evidence from your work

List the work before listing the jobs

Collect five pieces of work from your studies, paid work, volunteering or responsibilities outside university. For each, write the problem, what you did and what happened. Include ordinary work: checking records, explaining a process, organising an event or analysing a source. You are looking for activities you can demonstrate, not trying to make every experience sound extraordinary. Remove confidential details before sharing examples. If you have little formal experience, a well-explained course project is more useful than an invented internship story.

Translate subjects into observable capabilities

A module title does not tell an employer what you can do. Translate “research methods” into the work you actually completed: framed a question, selected sources, noticed a limitation or explained a finding. NACE’s career-readiness framework provides vocabulary for transferable capabilities, but the evidence must still be yours. Distinguish what you did independently from work completed with guidance. That distinction helps you choose a suitable first role and identify the support you need rather than overselling your readiness.

Build three role hypotheses

Choose a close route that clearly uses your current knowledge, an adjacent route that shares several tasks and an exploratory route you want to understand better. Read several genuine entry-level descriptions for each in your intended location. Record repeated tasks, required credentials and differences between employers. A senior job description can distort your view of beginner work, so check the experience level. Do not count every software name in an advert as an equally urgent learning requirement.

A worked example: one degree, three investigations

Imagine a geography student with a map-based project, a survey report and experience organising a college activity. They could investigate spatial-data work, research-support roles and project coordination. The examples are possible directions to research, not a promise of eligibility. Spatial-data work may require tools they have not used; research support may need stronger writing; coordination may involve budgets and schedules. The student’s next step is to compare real beginner tasks and requirements, then try a small task for the route with the biggest uncertainty.

Separate three different gaps

An eligibility gap is a formal condition you do not meet. A capability gap is work you cannot yet perform. An evidence gap means you may be able to do the work but cannot currently show it clearly. Each needs a different response. A portfolio may address evidence, but cannot replace a mandatory qualification. Another certificate may add little if the real issue is explaining a project. Mark the gap honestly and ask a practitioner or adviser whether your interpretation of the role is realistic.

• Role task: what would a beginner actually do?
• My evidence: where have I done something comparable?
• Gap: eligibility, capability, evidence or still unknown?
• Next action: a requirement check, practice task or clearer work sample.

Make a two-week application decision

Choose one role hypothesis to investigate through a small work sample and one conversation. Set a date to decide whether to apply now, prepare further or change the target. You do not need to resolve your whole career before submitting a thoughtful application. Keep your degree, interests, practical constraints and evidence on the same page. If a later assessment suggests a different direction, use it to generate another question; do not discard real work evidence because a report orders career themes differently.

Next actions

1. Collect five honest examples of work and describe your contribution.
2. Compare a close, adjacent and exploratory role using actual beginner descriptions.
3. Choose the most important gap and address it with one concrete action.

Continue this career investigation