What To Do When You Finish Your University Course

There's an odd stretch every year when coursework wraps up before term officially ends, and students suddenly have real free time while still technically enrolled. What you do with that gap depends a lot on where you are in your course.

If you're a first-year student

Use the time to get some genuine work experience, even informal. Reach out to local businesses, ask around family or personal networks, or look for university societies with a social media presence that could use a hand. Employers value initiative, and even an unsuccessful pitch shows proactivity. Anything that works out becomes useful material for your portfolio later; anything that doesn't still demonstrates you're willing to put yourself forward.

If you're a second-year student

This is the right time to start a digital portfolio. The earlier you begin, the better, since it becomes a working document that grows as your skills do rather than something built from scratch at the last minute. Free platforms like Squarespace, Weebly or WordPress make this straightforward without needing any coding experience.

If you're a third-year student

If your portfolio isn't built yet, that's the priority now. If it is, shift your focus to networking. Update your LinkedIn to make clear you're open to work, refine your headline and banner, and post regularly about university projects, work experience, and anything relevant happening in the industry. Visibility now genuinely pays off once you graduate.

If you need a hand with any of this

Whichever stage you're at, our team at Lead Kinetics works specifically with graduates building real marketing experience, and we're happy to help you figure out the right next step. Second and third years building out that portfolio may also find 5 things you can do at university to increase your chances of getting employed in marketing useful.

Get in touch today to connect with trusted UK freelancers and build a marketing team that delivers.