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Welcome to the Careers Writers Association. We are a professional network of highly experienced careers writers and editors. Our members create articles, books, videos, podcasts and other resources on a wide range of careers-related topics for many different audiences and clients. Many of our members are also qualified career guidance professionals, offering career guidance services in schools, colleges, universities and with private clients.

Our blog is filled with useful careers content on a wide variety of topics. Visit the Looking for a careers writer? page for more details on members, including our areas of expertise. Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments, and if you’re interested in joining the CWA we would love to hear from you! You can also find us on LinkedIn.

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Latest blog posts from the Careers Writers Association

6 ways to make the most of a gap year

Beyond the backpack: Alternative gap years Taking a gap year used to mean buying a round-the-world flight ticket, staying in crowded hostels, and spending months lounging on tropical beaches. While that classic route is undeniable fun, a growing number of young people are looking for something different. They want their time away to mean something…

When is a gap year worth it?

Who should do a gap year The end of school or college for any young person can feel like standing at the edge of a cliff. You’ve got the world at your feet, but not everyone is ready to leap straightaway into university or an apprenticeship or, indeed, full-time work/training. So when should you, as…

Analogue dreaming

There is a case to be made for developing technological competence (with generative artificial intelligence and related technological tools) for working in the 21st Century; “graduates with greater mastery of AI tools report greater job placement”.1 However, there is a growing case for safeguarding analogue-led processes, including the skills developed through long form reading, such…

Career gaps for everyone: Why it’s never too late to hit pause

Clare Lewis writes about the growing popularity of career gaps mid-career and later in life.  Career break, career gap, sabbatical, gap year. Whatever the label, time out for an extended period of travel, learning, volunteering or personal development has traditionally been synonymous with young people leaving formal education. Yet increasingly professionals in mid-career and beyond…

Mindset… Lifeset

Over the years I have worked with a number of young people who are dismayed with the “life” that the 21st century seems to present them with. The popular modes of consumption, consumerism and culture, supported by the 9-to-5 of work, for whatever reason doesn’t resonate with them, or they see little point, sense or…

Future-proofing Father Christmas

Clare Lewis shares some wise advice with Father Christmas on the importance of staying relevant in a fast-changing jobs market… Happy Christmas!

Festive Games

Chris Targett reflects on how the games we play in the holidays can teach us valuable lessons for our career development thinking

What is a “good career” anyway?

There are lots of people out there pushing what they think a “good career” looks like. In many cases this is “careers advice” masquerading as “careers guidance”. It is disconcerting on multiple levels, as it pushes people down paths that might not be for them. It applies pressure, via judgement, that only certain types of…

Featured: content by careers writers

Considering a career in animal science? Check out this article written by CWA member Mark Yates, originally published in Career Matters and then republished on Careerfocus Essex.

Navigating the Job Hunting Process

Finding a new job can feel like a full-time job in itself! But with the right approach and some planning, not only will your chances of finding a new opportunity increase, you will be able to balance this with ‘having a life’ at the same time. What, why, how? First off, you need to think…

Featured: content by careers writers

In this article on Careerfocus Essex, CWA member Mark Yates shares information on advice for applying to international universities as a UK student.

Options at 13-14: Ten questions to help students with their choices

Decisions, decisions! Never easy at the best of times, but particularly when it may be the first time students have been faced with having to make some major choices. Deciding on school options at the age of around 13 or 14 is straightforward for some, but some students struggle to choose between different GCSE/Scottish National…

What are the Gatsby Benchmarks and why are they important?

A guide for the uninitiated In short, the Gatsby Benchmarks are one of the major influences on how we prepare young people in schools and colleges for the world of work. What? How come I’ve never heard of them? Well if you work in a school or college, you really should have heard of them.…