Trinity Careers Service, Trinity Teaching and Learning

Contact Us Trinity Careers Service, Trinity Teaching and Learning

2nd Floor

7-9 South Leinster Street

Trinity College

Dublin 2

D02 K104

View the contact page for more contact and location information

careers@tcd.ie Gaeilge

How Map My Future can help your career planning

Ready to figure out your future career options but don't know where to start? Career development can be complex, so the Map My Future framework is here to help. Simply reflect on where you are currently and choose from one of the six pillars below to begin mapping your future.

 

Start Where You Are

Start where you are: How it works

'Start where you are' is all about reflecting on who you are and where you want to go in your career. This includes your strengths and interests, possibly related to your course or other activities. It’s also reflecting on your identity and values and identifying an approach to career planning that works for you. Explore our resources in the section below.

Identify and recognise how your Strengths, Skills, Personality and Experiences contribute to your career​:

  • Question for Reflection: Can you pick out a couple of key experiences you have had in your college course or in your life outside of college where you have felt energised and inspired to do more?’
    Jot down your thoughts on a piece of paper.
  • Question for Reflection: Using your imagination, can you fast forward to your retirement day and think about what you would like to be proud of. Ask yourself how you would like to feel as you reflect back on your career?
    Jot down your thoughts on a piece of paper.
  • Question for Reflection: Considering everything you have learnt in the recent past and everything you are learning at the moment, jot down the skills you feel you are strong at and the skills you feel you could work on. These can be soft skills like teamwork, communication, organisation and also technical skills like coding, MS Suite etc.
    • For more learning in relation to your skills in relation to your career, consider participating in our Career Skills Award

Evaluate the concept of career and identify different approaches to apply to your career:​

  • Questions for Reflection:
    • ‘What does planning your career mean to you?’
    • ‘Do you think you would like to apply a structure, planful approach, or a more opportunistic, spontaneous approach to your career planning? 

 

Reflect on the impact of your beliefs, identity and values in relation to your career:

Record and reflect on your experiences, achievements and learning 

See The Big Picture

See the big picture: How it works

'See the big picture' looks at the wider world around us and how it can impact on your career, and the kind of impact you would like to make on the world through your own career. Things like technology, culture, society, politics, the economy or the climate and biodiversity crisis might be important to you and may impact your career and in turn your future career choices.

  • Concerned about the climate and biodiversity crisis? Have a chat with your Careers Consultant about what impact you would like to make and how this might affect your career choices on MyCareer.

Balance Career And Life

Balance career and life: How it works

'Balance career and life' is all about exploring and experimenting with the kind of career-life balance you want. You could do this through taking part in student societies, part-time or voluntary work or award programmes such as the Career Skills Award. This area also covers supporting your wellbeing and knowing your rights in the workplace and broader society.

  • Question for reflection: Through the process of experimenting with different work-based learning experiences, you can explore possible selves in relation to career. What does ‘balance’ mean to you in the context of your working life?

  • Listen to what alumni have to say at Trinity Graduate Stories

  • Participate in our Career Skills Award

  • Explore our student careers portal, MyCareer:
    • View job vacancies
    • Discuss this theme further with your Careers Consultant. Book an appointment 

  • Consider applying for a Trinity Employability bursary (open for applications annually in April)

  • Have a look at the Silvercloud Space for Resilience online programme

  • Read about initiatives at Healthy Trinity

  • Read about initiatives at Trinity EDI office

Create Opportunities

Create opportunities: How it works

'Create opportunities' challenges you to give things a go, get out there and meet people who may be able to assist you on your career journey. Whether it’s attending one of our mentoring events or pitching an idea for a start-up to a friend, the aim is to understand the important role connections play in career development.

Build Your Career

Learn from graduates, how they progress their careers through connecting with them on LinkedIn and through Graduate Stories Podcast

  • Explore our student careers portal, MyCareer:
    • Register for our career fairs
    • View job vacancies
    • Discuss this theme further with your careers consultant. Book an appointment 

Explore Possibilities

Explore Possibilities: How it works

Under the Map My Future framework, the 'Explore possibilities' theme is all about seeing what is out there, what opportunities you can avail of, and if certain options could have a potential future. It's about doing all the research so that you are as prepared as you can be when it comes to applying or performing at interview. In this video, Natalie explores the resources our team have built to help your journey.

Reflection Questions

Identify and evaluate potential options for your career​

  • Question for reflection: Thinking about your first steps after your studies, what are the key activities you would like to take part in or skills you would like to use or develop in your first job?

Actively seek out and analyse careers and labour market information to support your career choices​

  • Questions for reflection: When looking at career options, which ones most interest you and why? Could there be other options worth exploring? Are there options you have previously dismissed that might be worth a second look?

Research and reflect on workplaces, workplace culture and expectations​

  • Question for reflection: What is your understanding of workplace culture? What kind of workplace culture do you think would suit you, and what kind do you think would not be beneficial to you

Learn about recruitment and selection processes

  • Question for reflection: Do you feel you have a clear sense of what employers are looking for, and how to communicate what you have to offer to employers?

 

Explore Possibilities Resources