I Graduated With a Psychology Degree: Now What?

I found myself asking this question too many times. I have also seen many recent graduates from this field asking that same question: what do I do now?

It is especially difficult to lose a part of your identity as a student – the structure that was integral in your day-to-day life is suddenly over, the months that you kept your head down and kept yourself busy are done. You have found yourself still, alone and with all the time in the world. Now what?

For a while, I lived in a constant state of anxiety post-university, imagining that there must be some deadline that I missed, an assignment that I didn’t complete, an email I forgot to send.

This was the fear of letting the student part of me go.

So, I started to apply for jobs. I spent 3 months applying for any roles that at least slightly resembled what psychology stands for. I have always wanted to work in the mental health sector, so I had started to look more closely at roles such as support worker and healthcare assistant, which I soon learnt meant exactly the same thing.

Unfortunately, the person specification for all these roles required some previous experience in mental health. Of course, as a recent graduate, I had none. However, I still applied for every single role that looked interesting to me, despite whether I had the right qualifications or the right experience. The person specification usually never specifies that they are looking for professional experience. Loophole! Knowing that I had a lot of personal experience in mental health only encouraged me to apply more and state this in the application process. It does not matter whether you have experienced mental health difficulties, or have been around family or friends who have struggled with their mental health. At the end of the day, that is still experience – if you have learnt something from it.

As I mentioned, I applied for mostly ‘support worker’ and ‘healthcare’ assistant roles. I set personal goals for myself such as to send off one application per day. This was realistic as some applications took more than an hour to complete fully. Within a few days of applying, rejection emails started coming in. And they didn’t stop. Almost every day I’d wake up or look at my phone with yet another email starting with “Thank you for applying, but unfortunately..” After about two months of applying and countless rejection emails, I had started to receive emails inviting me for interviews.

I have to mention that some roles were slightly misleading, and only when I arrived at the interview, I had found that the company were looking for ‘care support worker’ – this is someone that would help a patient with personal care such as washing, dressing, cleaning etc.

After my first interview, I received two more. Although now I was aware that these companies and these roles I was not particularly interested in, I still went to the interviews. Yes, it was still a care role, but the questions and the interview format were a good way to build up my confidence and interview skills. Although I received offers from these interviews, I had said no. I was desperate to get into the field, just to get my foot in the door, but I had to remember what I loved and what I was passionate about. I knew that personal care is important, but it would not be something that I would love to do. With a heavy heart, I had to say no. It was extremely difficult, because I kept thinking, “what if this was my chance? What if I said no, there won’t be another offer?”. I knew I had to keep going.

In the next few weeks, I received an invitation to attend an interview for a Clinical Support Worker role on an acute psychiatric ward at one of the NHS Trusts. I knew that by now, I had built up my confidence, but this was a position that I wanted with all my heart, so naturally, I was nervous. It was a panel interview consisting of the ward manager, charge nurse, and a service user who each asked me three questions. The interviewers were aware that I did not have any previous professional experience in the field, but they were kind enough to draw on my personal experience when phrasing their questions.

I am pleased to say that after two days of the interview I got the call, confirming that I had an offer.

What I have learnt from this process is that perseverance is really important. I know that I am very lucky and very fortunate to have gained a job that I love, in the NHS, within months of graduating. But to those who are not there yet – know that I am with you. I know the struggle, I know how it feels to receive those rejection emails, I know the time it takes to complete the interviews, and I know how nerve wrecking it must be to attend them. My advice is: keep applying. Doesn’t matter whether you love the role, whether you have the necessary experience, or the qualifications. You never know. At the very worst, it’s important to practice those long application forms. That’s another skill gained. I know it can start to look quite bleak at times – but there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel.

If you have any questions about my role, about the application process, the interview or anything else at all – please feel free to drop me an email or a message!

By featured writer, Evelina Bakanaite. See ‘Team’ for more information and contact details.