The University of Kent Careers and Employability Service

Degree Nearly Over? What Next?

You can download a copy of this presentation atwww.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

Bruce Woodcock

• Duty Adviser is available to help with QUICK queries between 10.30 am to 12.30 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. every day You don’t need to book an appointment to see me at these times.

• Email: careerhelp@kent.ac.uk

• Can also make appointment for interview – book at Careers Reception or ring 01227 823299

• 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays• Open throughout summer vacation.

SUMMER GRADUATE RECRUITMENT FAIRS

Summer Fairs Many graduate recruiters you can talk to: a cattle market!

Run all year round in all areas of UK, but peak in June

Research the employers attending on the fair web site to decide who to approach

Arrive early and dress smartly

Take CVs and a black pen

Be prepared to shake hands. Smile and make eye contact!

Prepare your 30 second verbal CV: “Hello I’m Jo Smith. I’ve just completed my Law degree at the University of Kent and got an Upper Second. I’ve a strong interest in retail management as I’ve had several part-time retail jobs and enjoyed the fast moving environment …”

Note the name of the person you talk to

Don’t just see the big companies: others may be just as good and their stands will be less busy.

• www.prospects.ac.uk/events.htm

• Staying in Kent

• www.kent.ac.uk/careers/kentopps.htm

• Going to another part of the UK

• www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sitesgen.htm

• Help from other university careers services

• www.prospects.ac.uk/links/CareersServices

International Students

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/InternationalStudents.htm

Work Abroad

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sitesint.htm

Year Out

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/alternatives.htm#TIME

• Teaching English Abroad

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/tefl.htm

• Working Abroad

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sitesint.htm

• Voluntary Work

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin/voluntaryWork.htm

What can I do with my degree subject?

• www.kent.ac.uk/careers/degreein.htm

Postgraduate Study

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/postgradmenu.htm

www.hotcourses.com useful for cheap courses in your area: type in postcode to find courses.

Choosing a Career

• CHOOSING A CAREER BOOKLET - available from Careers Service.

• Prospects Planner - powerful career choice program. www.prospects.ac.uk/links/PPlanner

Vacancy Sources

• Kent University Vacancies Database http://www.kent.ac.uk/ces/vacancies.html

• Prospects Web www.prospects.ac.uk

• Directories

• Recruitment Agencies

• www.kent.ac.uk/careers/recruit.htm

• I want to work in ….

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin.htm

Job Hunting

• Still lots of jobs out there – 300+ on our vacancy database www.kent.ac.uk/ces/vacancies.html

• Make sure your CV is top qualitywww.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm

• Need to be flexible in terms of choice of job and location: don’t wait around for your ideal job.

• We support you for up to 3 years after graduation – weekly vacancy emails, careers interviews etc.

• Other hints and tips atwww.kent.ac.uk/careers/servicesforgraduates.htm

Moodle Careers Employability Award 14 Quizzes: need 75% to pass but allowed

unlimited attemptsComplete 3 of the following seven

assignments•Employability skills quiz•Employability skills quiz: drag & drop•How to develop the skills employers want?•Test your spelling and grammar!•What makes you happy at work?•How commercially aware are you?

•Special interests topic lesson•Interview preparation•Practice interview•What are the most common interview questions?•Aptitude tests and assessment centres•CV quiz•CVs and covering letters: drag & drop quiz•Career planning drag and drop quiz

•Analyse your skills and learn how to make top quality applications

•Do you want to live to work or work to live?

•Researching careers 

•Choosing a career

•Submit a CV

•Social media

•Action planning

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htmDX_CEA Closing date 31st July

 

The University of Kent Careers and Employability

Service

You can download a copy of this presentation atwww.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

Careers Employability Award on Moodle

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htmReduce your chance of unemployment by half in a day!Closing date is 31st of July

Comments from students who have completed the award

You get a really nice certificate!

It was so easy, quick and I learned a lot.

Without realising, you have finished the course

and have already put together a very good CV

and covering letter.

It really blew my mind with some ideas I’ve never known

before, such as portfolio working and working from

home. I never thought about obtaining happiness from my

work before.

It would be mad to apply for a job or attend an

interview without doing it! Before the course I had only a vague

idea of my career path and opportunities. Now I am applying for summer internships and know how to

effectively sell my skills to a prospective employer and have a much

more focused plan for my future.

The module is very, very useful! I really love how it makes you to think about your personality and helps you to identify your

strengths and weaknesses.I found the module to be highly thought-provoking as it really

encouraged me to consider how my degree will benefit my future and what I can be doing now to

improve my graduate employment prospects.

I enjoyed the depth of the module. It went far beyond some general tips on

how to write a good CV and prepare for an interview. Rather it went in to detail

about the whole process of graduate job search from the beginning to the end. It

was very instructive .

The amount of time put into this is astounding! I actually spoke to friends from other universities who said they

wished they had something like this.

It has made me feel a lot more confident when it comes to

applications and interviews and has also made me think about skills that I didn't think I had

before. I recently had a very successful interview

largely because I put the advice on the module into

practice.