So you’ve turned 25 and you feel as though your career hasn’t gone in the direction you’d hoped.
Perhaps you feel like you are stuck in a dead-end job or maybe you haven’t been able to secure yourself a graduate-level role as yet, despite graduating a few years ago.
Whatever the case may be, there’s hope. With the right help and professional careers advice, you can transform your career prospects at 25.
In this post, we will provide some actionable tips on what to do if you are 25 years old and need some career direction and guidance.
All is not lost, career success is not a linear trajectory
Before we share our tips, we’d like to reassure you that your career path is not a straight line. Whilst you may feel that by 25 you should have your career path sussed out, this is not realistic for everyone.
Throughout your career, you will experience many highs and lows. Your career path is essentially a journey of personal growth and self-discovery. It is also a journey that is completely unique to you.
Right now, at 25, you might be reflecting on your career so far and feel as though you have nothing to show. But give it 5 years or so and this stage of your life will make much more sense.
How we navigate the low points in our careers builds our character, resilience and self-motivation.
The fact that you typed “25 and no career path” into Google to find this post shows that you want more from your career and are determined to be the best you can be.
So without further ado, here are some top tips if you are 25 and are unsure of your career path and prospects.
#1: Reflect positively on your life experiences so far
Right now, perhaps you’re stuck in a rut and spend a lot of time thinking about how successful you should be by now.
This way of thinking isn’t helpful. It won’t help you to progress.
Instead, reflect on everything you have done so far in your 25 years.
Think about your:
- Education. What did you study at university? Was there a part of your degree you enjoyed the most? What did you hate? Which skills did you learn at university?
- Extracurricular activities. It might seem like a while ago now, but what else did you do at university? Did you run a society? Fundraise? Play sports? These activities helped you to develop your soft skills more than you might realise.
- Employment. Did you do any internships or placements at university? Did you enjoy them? What did you dislike? Since graduating, have you had any jobs? Reflect on all of the skills you have developed so far.
Use the STAR method to give an example of how you have developed your skills so far. This will help you to conduct a self-assessment of your competencies and level of employability.
#2: Get some professional careers advice from a graduate coach
A graduate coach specialises in helping graduates to successfully navigate their early careers and to lay the foundations for a highly successful career.
Getting expert advice will help you to discover your career path, understand the job market, and ultimately help you to land a good job.
You might feel apprehensive about hiring a graduate coach to help you. But think of it this way – if you wanted to get really good at swimming, you’d get a swimming coach. If you wanted to learn how to drive, you’d get a driving instructor.
This is no different. If you want to land your dream job and thrive in your career, invest in expert help.
As you progress through your career, you will quickly realise that coaching and mentoring will play a huge role in your career development.
Here at Graduate Coach, we have helped hundreds of graduates who came to us feeling lost, confused and even depressed about their career situation.
Through our rigorous coaching programme, we have helped them to transform their career prospects and get their career on the right track.
Career coaching case study:
We recently helped a 25-year-old who graduated from Leeds University with a BSc in Geology/Earth sciences. He came to us after working at a supermarket for over two years for professional advice on how to get a graduate-level job.
We enrolled him on our six-stage one-to-one coaching programme. On the program, we discovered his aptitude for a career in digital marketing and helped him to become highly employable in this field. Then created his achievement-based CV and taught him how to perform highly in interviews.
He is now gainfully employed and thriving at a leading digital marketing agency in London in a programmatic display role.
Find out more about our coaching successes here.
If you are 25 and feel completely lost with your career direction do not hesitate to contact us. Regardless of what you studied, how much work experience you have or how long ago you graduated, we can help.
Alongside coaching, we also offer self-help career books and online courses.
#3: Upskill
We can’t emphasise enough how important it is to identify and communicate your skills. If you have a good degree, that is great, but won’t impress graduate recruiters and employers. They are looking for work-ready graduates who will add value to the company.
Make some time to develop your skills. One way to do this is to take online courses and work on personal projects.
Here are some platforms for developing your skills online:
Online courses are a great way to take control of your own personal development. It is a good idea to focus on developing tech, digital and IT skills as there is an increasing demand for digitally-skilled graduates.
It is really important that you understand the demands of the graduate job market and ensure that you have desirable traits, skills and competencies. This will help you to become much more employable.
Photo by Julia M Cameron from Pexels
#4: Consider your career options
Even though you are 25, you still have several different career options available to you. Remember, people, change careers at all ages and stages of their careers.
You could:
- Apply for a structured graduate scheme
- Get a good graduate-level job
- Complete a graduate training program
- Do a paid internship to gain more work experience
- Look into Graduate apprenticeships
- Read books aimed at graduates who want to excel in their careers
- Take a look at job websites for graduates to gain a better understanding of the job market and the in-demand skills.
- Consider applying for a structured graduate scheme. Many people think that they are too old at 25 to do a graduate scheme however, this is not the case.
Before deciding on changing careers, adopt an open-minded approach and consider all of the career options available to you carefully.
#5: Leverage the experiences you have gained so far
Now that you are 25, you have probably had a few jobs (even if they have been part-time). You have probably also gained some life experience from travelling, socialising and pursuing hobbies.
These experiences combined have shaped you into the person you are today. Employers are interested in hiring people that will fit into the company and make an impact.
Aside from your work experience, employers value your non-academic achievements.
Having these experiences will help you to stand out in the competitive graduate job market.
#6: Improve your interview technique
Regardless of which career path you choose, you’ll need to master the art of interviewing.
Knowing how to interview really well, will open up several doors for you to secure opportunities that will help you to advance throughout your career.
Many people experience anxiety and fear when it comes to interviews. This usually hinders people’s ability to perform well.
There are two main ways to improve your interviewing skills. The first is to learn from failing several interviews and learning from your mistakes and feedback. The second way is to get interview coaching to learn how to succeed in any type of interview.
#7: Build your Network
Sounds cliche, but your network is your net worth.
If you are looking to change your career at 25, you’ll benefit from having a network of professionals that can help you to find opportunities and share with you what they wish they knew when they were 25.
Take action:
- Optimise your LinkedIn profile and work on your personal brand
- Expand your network on LinkedIn
- Reach out to family and friends and stay connected
- Connect with alumni from your university
25 and no career path: Transform your career prospects: summary
It is really common for people to reach 25 and to reflect deeply on what they have achieved so far in their lives. Careers play a big part in everyone’s lives, therefore, if you don’t feel as though you have achieved in your career as yet, it can be concerning.
However, you still have plenty of time to transform your career prospects and land a career that will fulfil you and your career aspirations.
Don’t lose hope or motivation. Get the right help and be proactive as you strive towards landing your dream job.
FAQs
Is it too late to start a career at 25?
Absolutely not. At 25, you will know yourself better and have a deeper understanding of what your interests and aspirations are.
Leverage these insights to launch your career in your mid-twenties. Remember, people, change careers at many different ages and stages throughout their careers. There is no “prescribed career path” your career journey is unique to you. So it doesn’t matter if you start your career at 15, 25 or beyond.
Can I change careers at 25?
Yes! You can change careers at any age. Before you embark on a career change, do your research, build your network in the industry you wish to work in and get professional advice from a career coach for additional support.
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