Hello Everyone, I’m writing this to introduce…. Well ME!
I am the New Careers and Employability Graduate Intern. I recently graduated from the UoC Working with Children and Families course (July 2018).
I wanted to write this to introduce myself and describe some of the experiences I had as a student in relations to careers, future planning, time management and general student activities. Hopefully so you can see ways you can make the most of your time at Uni.
Future Planning – It’s never too early to start exploring what you want to do. I came to university not knowing what career path I was on or what pathways and avenues were open to me. However through exploring using the careers service, work experience and speaking to my course (both staff and students) I was able to focus on what was important to me and to get to somewhere I want to be.
Time Management – Obviously your course should be a priority to you, but if you plan and prepare efficiently then you can find the time to do other things. For those who have dependants or other responsibilities you have even more to balance before you can look to do other things (and, if you manage it, you deserve it). Whereas if you have free time there is so much you can do to boost your employability and improve yourself whilst at university:
Being a member of a society (especially if holding a leadership position or helping to start a society); work experience, voluntary or paid work; being a Student Ambassador, course representative, or serving on the student council/panel. All of these provide and demonstrate key life and job skills.
General Student activities – I’ll be honest I didn’t always turn up to lectures on time and if something wasn’t timetabled 50% of the time I wouldn’t be there (and if I was I might not have been fully invested). Looking back I would shout at myself and force myself to go to the extra events, to listen and make note. It was through one of these events I made contact with someone from an agency that provided me with work through my second and third years. They are there to help the students so use them to your own advantages.
My Career Enriched – There is now a Careers Hub called My Career Enriched where you can ask queries, book appointments, see advertised jobs (that you can also filter for relevance), and submit applications and CV’s for feedback.
You can find this in the student hub from the university login, or at https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/Student-Life/careers/My-Career-Enriched/
Career Ahead – Career Ahead is an employability award offered by the careers team. It is an award that is designed to make you ready for your career. There are different levels of the award and none of them are overly taxing to complete: Bronze, Silver and Gold. It is that extra thing to help you stand out and show that you have put in extra time and effort. This is available to every UoC student and is worth completing. I only did bronze myself but wish I had completed the full award even with all the experience I got with agency work and events through UCSU.
For more information visit here: https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/Student-Life/careers/Career-Ahead/
Graduate Success Guide – As a Graduate the university doesn’t just stop offering support, it is through ‘us’, you and whoever is in the next class of graduates that they can show their success. My Career Enriched is still accessible and the careers team even produce a guide on planning the next steps, for both further study and career support. The guide is a useful tool and worth looking at even whilst studying. As I said before it is never too early to start planning and it can be really daunting to transition from one thing to another, especially when your course has been your life for the last few years. This is here to help you light that dark time.
It is available here: Graduate Success Guide [PDF]
But it is also worth looking at: https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/Student-Life/careers/Graduates/
I hope this helps some of you, and remember, the student services are always here to support you with issues. I know they helped me a lot especially when I was unsure or felt lost. Hopefully we can help you too.
UoC Careers 