Nouse.co.uk » Securing your future in difficult times

Securing your future in difficult times

November 10, 2009
Camilla Jenkins

Those of our parents that graduated from university with a decent degree were almost guaranteed a good job in a sector that appealed to them. Unfortunately, the reality for our generation is very different. One in ten of those that graduated in 2008 were still unemployed come January and are subject to settle for something less than their dream job.

However, while the recession and the rapidly increasing numbers of students graduating from universities has made the job hunt more challenging, all is not lost yet. The university is doing everything it can to provide us with the tools to be successful once we enter the real world but it seems the student population isn’t really taking full of advantage of what’s on offer.

Ninety percent of those surveyed had never entered the careers office although one second year Politics student commented: “It does make sense, really, that we have one. I guess I just never put that much thought into it.”

Liz Smith, the Director of the Careers Service, is not only attemptingto completely revolutionise the way students interact with the service, but is also in the process of ensuring it’s on their radar from the very beginning.

“I think our message will always be the sooner the better really. If students come and see us when they are a fresher, once we start that dialogue, then we can really help them plan their time at university. It doesn’t need to be a lot of time, just a couple times a year, to make sure that they’re thinking about things.”

She goes on to explain that it is a mistake to leave things till the last minute which is “quite common.” However, even if you are a final year student and have taken absolutely no steps to ensure you graduate with decent career prospects, there is still hope to be found in the careers office. Gayle Johnson, Operations Manager says “often we do have specific activities in the summer term for finalists who have left it till then. However, we would rather people came and saw us throughout the year just because it’s less stressful for them.”

Smith explains: “For the panicking final years, its never too late and we can continue to help people even after they’ve graduated, we’d just rather it was sooner rather than later so that we can do more to help.”

Over 900 students come into their office every year and many are surprised to find out how many service are on offer. Even the free coffee machine was designed to make the place as comfortable as possible for us.

“We want students to wander in and ask for our help. They can make an appointment or come to the front desk and talk through their options. We have a whole library available for getting started and one of the first things people can do if they’re not sure about is try out our self-assessment exercises which are also available online and find out what makes them excited and what really turns them off. That’s a great place to start and we’ve got loads of resources on our website.”

“We want [students] to make the most of their time at York and from the start you can take advantage of things you probably won’t be able to do anywhere else, whether thats student societies, student newspaper or sport. All of this is going to help you shape what you want to do in the future. It will give you an idea of where your interests are and where your strengths and weaknesses lie.”

The Careers Service is very keen to emphasise that they can be beneficial to all year groups. “One of the key messages for freshers is to see what’s out there and grab it. It doesn’t matter if you’re not sure if you want to do it or not but give it a go.”

While they do provide formal interview training and CV workshops, they are also the gateway to some really interesting programs provided by the university including the York Award, volunteering opportunities and the Student Internship Bureau.

The York Award is one of their key projects that is designed to provide some structure to the otherwise laissez faire university curriculum.

“It’s the University Certificate of Personal Development and Employability skills. When you graduate, you will go and get your degree but you will also get the York Award Certificate. It’s designed to recognise all the skills and learning you get from things like being part of a student society or doing work experience. It helps to put a framework around what you already have and what you want to develop.”

I described it as sort of a Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award for university students and, considering that most of us are probably doing a reasonable amount of extra-curricular activities anyway, it makes sense to have a point of contact to encourage you and ensure that you’re working to make yourself as employable as possible. Signing up will put you on the mailing list which can be done online or at the careers department and you’ll be privy to a huge amount of opportunities that you never knew existed.

According to Johnson, I am not the only student who was unaware of the York Award: “We were at the YUSU fair and loads of second and third years were saying they wanted to sign up for it to – its a framework -if you sign up for it, you can pick and choose what you want to do. It’s all about developing personally and leaving university with more than a degree.

“We coordinate with student activities, YUSU, a lot. We’re about doing and experiencing things. Students can get involved in a number of ways there’s the York students in schools programme and at the moment, we’ve got a project going building sensory gardens in special schools.”

Although YUSU does provide opportunities for getting involved, Johnson explains the difference: “Ours tend to be things started from scratch, we gather the students together and they have complete autonomy over how they want to undertake the project.”

The Student Internship Bureau (SIB) is another great way for studens to find out businesses are looking for interns to help out. They’ve had over 25,000 internships advertised in the last 18 months and are always on the look out for new opportunities for students. Jobs advertised vary from 12 week programs with local businesses during the summer or term time or formal intern programs with banks and law firms.
“On our website, you can log in and look at all the vacancies that are available. There is even an events calendar to help you stay informed about what’s going on. All students have access to it and it’s completely free. You can select specific sectors that you want to work for.”

Having experimented with the SIB, I learned that it was not only easyto use but also that JP Morgan was looking for a second year student with a degree that I am doing to work in London this summer. Success.

Although the application process looked a bit daunting, Johnson explains that they’ve always willing to help. “We’ve got loads of CV resources on our website. We run workshops throughout the year, usually about once every three weeks. We also do one-to-one CV appointments were students can come with questions and we’ll go through it.”

Smith used to work as a recruiter for a big firm and says that she’s seen a lot of pretty disastrous CVs in her time. “It’s often little things like attention to details – cutting and pasting your application and forgetting to change the name at the top.

“I’ve seen in time and time again despite the fact that most people don’t think they’d be that stupid. The problem is, no matter how good your work experience or qualifications, you’ll never be able to rebound from a mistake that dire.”

However, the information from the Careers office does not stop once you’ve secured the internship or job you want: “We do interview workshops on how to succeed and we offer practice sessions. Basically, you do it in front of groups of five and then everyone feeds back on your performance. We run these all term and, if you tell us you’ve got an interview coming up, we can arrange a one-on-one mock one that is videotaped and tailored, as much as possible, to what you’re applying for.”

“We try and inform people about the skills that employers are looking for and we can talk about those and what sort of ways are the best to demonstrate those. We also do talks with employers about what they want – we’ve got a big one coming up with the Co-Op on business awareness.”

While all this is quite daunting, both Johnson and Smith insist, for most people there is no need to panic if they do not have a job yet. “You still have time to start researching the companies and reflecting on what skills they have to offer.”

“We’ve got loads of paper information and a reading room and staff who are willing to help. We have a coffee machine, you can come, have a free cup of coffee and just have a look around. If you have any questions and don’t want to speak in person, we have an interactive system where you type in a question and get it answered.”

Overall, the message is reassuring. Although they can’t do it for you, they will prepare you as much as possible for the battle ahead.

“We’re about tooling people up. We can’t give people jobs or tell them what jobs are right for them but we can give them the tools to find out what is out there and help them decide what to do with their lives.”

Writing Your CV

*Attention to detail is important: make sure things are spelt correctly and the name on the top of your application is actually the person you’re applying to.

*Ensure your CV is geared to the job you want and do your homework before writing the application.

*Personal statements at the top are generally a waste of time. There is no point in saying you’re competent and dedicated unless it’s connected to evidence.

*Analysis is more important than lists – make sure you explain why your work experience was valuable.

*Your email address should be professional. No one wants to hire “hotlips69@hotmail.co.uk”

*Avoid the temptation to apply to 500 companies. Ten really good applications are far better.

*Two page CVs are fine but the big banks and American finance firms tend to look one pagers. It depends on what you’ve done and what you’re trying to achieve.