BBU Blog June 2020 | A letter to the class of 2020
Dear Built Environment Graduates 2020,
Congratulations.
It’s here, it’s finally happened after years of research, writing, exploring, experimenting and exams, you have crossed the threshold and become a graduate! Huge congratulations to all of you.
No matter what course you’ve completed, by graduating you have achieved something amazing by investing in yourself and navigating many highs and lows during your journey - well done! And for those of you who need to retake, don’t be discouraged, you may need to take a few more steps but we see your hard work so far and with determination, you too will graduate.
Graduation in the year 2020 looks like no other points in time. Many of you will have imagined this as a time of celebration, relief and throwing caps into the air in unison. What you may not have envisioned, and indeed what none of us could have imagined, was that the summer of 2020, would be anything like this!
Challenging times
There is no doubt that the crisis that we are facing in public health, social justice and economic factors is challenging and scary. On a personal level, recent events may have also left you feeling lost, frustrated and angry at times. We also recognise that for some of you the route to working in a sustainable career has required additional work navigating non-inclusive bias and processes.
It is important that you remember that you are not alone. Make sure, as you take the next steps in building your life, that you take time for you to take care of yourself, that you prioritise wellness and create networks of nurture and support.
Many of you will be thinking about your next career moves and you may be worried that the plans you had in mind before 2020 hit hard, of taking a gap year, starting a role or exploring your options, have changed. While some of these steps may have to be put on hold for now, they won’t be postponed indefinitely.
Planning your career and seeking work - tools and tips
We know that current and future circumstances will be unpredictable and challenging, so we want to share with you some tools and tips which we hope will be helpful as you prepare for the next stage of your life. Understanding and selling your skills and resources. For those of you putting together or refreshing a CV profile, it can feel quite daunting to get started and know what to prioritise and how to edit. If you are feeling a little overwhelmed consider preparing a plan. Built By Us has put together a one-page tool called the Career Design Canvas (CDC), to help you to do this.
Unlike a CV or LinkedIn profile, the CDC is designed to support you in understanding your personal career mission, the resources you have at hand and the development required to get there.
Seeking opportunity. The number of vacancies available for employment and/or training may reduce but they won’t disappear entirely. It may be harder, therefore, to break through, as competition increases for positions. Remember to keep your CV and online presence under review and to tailor your applications as much as possible to specific roles. You may find that you need to pivot, for now, working in an aligned or completely unaligned sector while the economy recovers. Don’t beat yourself up about not having the dream job straight away. Different roles will allow you to develop skills that can be invaluable and transferable later down the line.
A bit on the side. It may not be possible for you to volunteer but for those who can, I’d definitely recommend you do this! Also, consider if any of the skills you currently have or wish to develop could help you to develop a side business or micro-enterprise! Social media, graphics, project management, copy-writing, to name but a few, are a number of areas which could be explored as skills for sale, and anyone of these could be an additional benefit to your future career in so many ways.
And finally… don’t forget that Built By Us, along with other brilliant organisations, offers support to those wishing to start or progress their careers in the built environment. If you are seeking one-to-one advice on careers why not sign up for one of our forthcoming Speed Mentoring events in July aimed at graduates and students. We are inviting practitioners working in design, engineering, manufacturing, surveying and more to act as mentors at these speed mentoring sessions.
Please use this link to register your interest as a mentee or as a mentor.
