By jp4,
Introducing Sally Thompson, Careers Relationship Manager for HSE!
To speak to one of our Career Coaches get in touch.
Email: careers@staffs.ac.uk
Twitter: @CareersAtStaffs
Instagram: @CareersAtStaffs
Facebook: Staffordshire University Career & Personal Development
LinkedIn: @CareersAtStaffs
By jp4,
Introducing Claire Bashford, Careers Relationship Manager for SBS!
To speak to one of our Career Coaches get in touch.
Email: careers@staffs.ac.uk
Twitter: @CareersAtStaffs
Instagram: @CareersAtStaffs
Facebook: Staffordshire University Career & Personal Development
LinkedIn: @CareersAtStaffs
By jp4,
Introducing Vicky Cook, Careers Relationship Manager for LPF!
To speak to one of our Career Coaches get in touch.
Email: careers@staffs.ac.uk
Twitter: @CareersAtStaffs
Instagram: @CareersAtStaffs
Facebook: Staffordshire University Career & Personal Development
LinkedIn: @CareersAtStaffs
By jp4,
Introducing Sally Smith, Careers Relationship Manager for CDT!
To speak to one of our Career Coaches get in touch.
Email: careers@staffs.ac.uk
Twitter: @CareersAtStaffs
Instagram: @CareersAtStaffs
Facebook: Staffordshire University Career & Personal Development
LinkedIn: @CareersAtStaffs
By jp4,
Written by Megan
Recently a blog was released on how important selling yourself on your CV and throughout the recruitment process really is, and over the past few days, I myself have experienced the reality of this whilst applying for a summer internship. Therefore, today this blog will be focusing on my own personal experience which will hopefully inspire those of you who don’t quite have the confidence to apply for that role you want and give you a push in the right direction.
In case you know nothing about me, I’m Meg, and I am a Career Coach at the Staffordshire University Career Studio. More so, I am a Level 4 Forensic Investigation student, after changing courses from Psychology in September 2019. During my time as a Psychology student, I had the long-term goal of undertaking a year in industry placement between levels 5 and 6 to gain the experience required for after graduation. If you don’t know why this is important, go and read our blog to give you a wider understanding. Trust me, you won’t regret it! However, since moving to a new degree meant re-doing level 4, my funding no longer allowed me to take a year out to complete my placement, and so I found myself in a predicament. The main question I was asking myself was ‘I’m stuck. This is a disaster; how do I fix it?’ with this cat being an accurate representation of my feelings at the time:
So I started to research my options, keeping in mind how important gaining experience was for me. Throughout my role, I hear about students wanting to undertake summer placements if they are unable to undertake year-long placements for whatever reason, however I never thought I would find an opportunity relevant to my degree that I would be interested in. Perseverance was key though, and FINALLY! I came across a role with the Criminal Justice system from June – September in my area. This to me seemed like the perfect opportunity, the perfect solution to my problem until I read the requirements for applying and all the hopes and dreams I’d managed to think of in the minute that had passed since finding the job came crashing down again. The requirements stated that you MUST (scary, shouty capitals in place) be in your penultimate/final year of your degree or you would not be eligible, and this for me was a giant red cross because I was no longer a level 5 student.
After sitting and staring at the entry requirements for 20 minutes, contemplating my life choices, I realized that out of the 5 or 6 requirements listed, that was the only one I did not meet. In my opinion, I was more than qualified in every other area apart from the fact that I am a level 4 instead of a level 5 student. This gave me a bit of a confidence boost and I decided I would apply for the role whether I was eligible or not because realistically, the worst thing they could say was…no. And given that I could then re-apply next year if I was not successful this time round, them saying no didn’t sound all too awful. So there and then, I filled in the application form as I would any job I wanted (to the best of my ability, which I didn’t believe was very well at the time) and pressed send. This was quite a nerve-racking move for me, with my self-confidence not being at its highest in regards to my professional abilities when applying for jobs, and despite my co-workers best efforts to support me and build my confidence, I was nowhere near convinced I was going to secure this job. Still, a brave face was put on and, on my application, you’d think I believed I was the Beyonce of the Criminal Justice world, using that inspiration from the ‘Selling yourself’ blog to try and put my skills out there.
After a long wait time, to my surprise… I was offered a face-to-face interview. Then, due to Covid-19, this was changed to a Skype interview which in my opinion, was even scarier than the original because it was something I’d never done before. After even more Covid-19 developments, I received an email stating that all interviews had been cancelled, and that the selection process would be based solely on the application submitted. In my mind, that was it, I was doomed, and the position would never be mine for the taking. Then, even more to my surprise, I did it! I secured the position and am now currently awaiting a start date for my new summer job.
In my opinion, the moral of this blog is if I can do this, then so can you. I’m no different to any other student, my skills are sometimes rocky, I get nervous and don’t believe in myself because I’m not qualified yet. BUT (and it’s a very big, important but) all you have to do is sell yourself and hope for the best. The braver you are, the more you think you can do it, the more you can achieve. I think it’s definitely safe to say that all you have to do to secure the role you want is…
Email: careers@staffs.ac.uk
Twitter: @CareersAtStaffs
Instagram: @CareersAtStaffs
Facebook: Staffordshire University Career & Personal Development
LinkedIn: @CareersAtStaffs
By jp4,
Written by Megan
When applying for a job, it is important to stand out from the crowd, especially when it comes to a popular company that everyone wants to work for. To do this, having a CV is a good place to start. However, having a CV alone, with no acknowledgement to any skills you may have acquired throughout your studies and work experience will not be enough to secure that job. Therefore, it is of upmost importance to make all your abilities, knowledge, skills, everything you have been working towards – stand out like a sore thumb. This is called selling yourself, and its quite possibly the most valuable skill you will ever learn to have when it comes to employability.
To do this, a strong skills section is needed. First list those skills you know that you have. Most people almost definitely have communication skills – we all know how to hold a conversation – and time management skills at the very least. Then it’s time to think outside the box. That time your football team won the league? Evidence of teamwork. When technology failed you right before a deadline, but you managed to pull it back and ace your assignment anyway? Evidence of problem solving. You will always have more skills than you expect yourself to have, you just need to look at your experiences from a different angle to see they exist. And why stop there? Evidence anything you may have learned so far in your degree – show the employers you have what they’re looking for and you’re exactly the person they want to employ. This can be done by listing relevant modules you may have undertaken that can be applied to a role being advertised.
So, you’ve now sent your CV off and been offered some interviews. Fantastic!! Now is the time to really lay it on thick. When at interview stage, this is your opportunity to show those employers what you are really made of, let them know that yes, you can meet their customer service standards, or yes, you can complete the administration tasks that will be set for you, and you can also do it in a quick and concise manner. Employers wish to know who you are, and what you are capable of, so don’t be shy in telling them. After all, selling yourself well can be the difference between landing the role you want, or letting it slip away to someone else.
However, all this is easier said than done. To help improve on this, think about people’s first impressions, constantly update your CV, LinkedIn and so on, to ensure that your skills and knowledge is always at its best. If you feel you don’t have enough skills to sell, undertake online learning on LinkedIn, and attempt to practice presentation skills away from people, then maybe in front of family or friends. There are also many videos available on how to sell yourself on Youtube which can be of great help.
There is no time like the present to understand the importance of selling yourself – there are blogs available across the Staffs Uni blog site that can help with developing skills, CV’s, etc., so take the initiative now.
To speak to one of our Career Coaches get in touch.
Email: careers@staffs.ac.uk
Twitter: @CareersAtStaffs
Instagram: @CareersAtStaffs
Facebook: Staffordshire University Career & Personal Development
LinkedIn: @CareersAtStaffs
By Grace,
Written by David
What’s in a song? Bunch of different instruments making noises and maybe someone saying some stuff over the top of it, right? I’m probably making some music students or musicians highly agitated right now, but please, bear with me.
CV’s …analogously, well, they’re kind the same (honest!) Think about it, you’ve got layers of content, instead of a strings, wind, percussion you’ve got a Profile and Interests and Achievements; we’ll call that bass – a CV isn’t complete without it but, lets be honest, most the time it’s barely thought out – keep strumming those root notes bro!
You’ve got Education and Work Experience that’s definitely the vocals and guitar, the melody that everyone hums along to (and then belts out the chorus before drunkenly going back to that humming verse section). It all ends with “References available upon request” (we’ll call that drums, its just kinda there, feels wrong without it, but no one thinks it’s all that important).
But you can’t just have a bunch of sections glued together and call it a song. It’s got to gel – it’s got to flow and it’s got to feel like a natural narrative that provides the reader with a comfortable experience. Most people don’t want to listen to songs that are just random instruments – like a bunch of beginner jazz musicians – you get it right through practice and then unleash it on people. A CV is the same. You get the basic message right, content – get those examples of skills, then you work out where they belong – Work, Education, Interests maybe even a Key Skills section. Wahey, getting there now! You pick the order of your sections – the form of the song, and you fine tune the wording so it flows, intro into verse, into chorus. There is form here now, there is structure. But it isn’t a finished song yet.
Let’s talk about post-production. Let’s talk about templates, stylistics and formatting. Let’s say, the tired cliché, less is more! What is a CV meant to do? It’s delivering a specific message to a specific reader: I am suitable for the job you are advertising. No, let’s go one further: I am the person you want for the job you must fill.
The content is what achieves this, but through style and formatting you can draw the readers eye to the right places, you can make the song feel natural, they’ll know when that chorus is coming because you’ve produced it right, they’ll know where to look for that hook because you’re a master at this, because, unlike music, writing a CV is easy. It just takes a bit of practice and confidence.
Our post-production comes in many forms – fonts, font-sizes, bold, underlined and italic, text boxes (and styling, colours etc). Just remember – Less is more. Use them for your subheadings, you want them to know this is the verse, this is the chorus. Use it for key elements – but don’t highlight bits that aren’t critical, and don’t accent it every time you drop the name of the key skill you saw on the job specification.
Minimise it and bring it in slowly, review it each time you make changes – ask yourself: Is it looking better? Is it helping me deliver my message? Is it still easy to read?
Did you find this blog post useful? Give it a like if you did!
To speak to one of our Career Coaches get in touch.
Email: careers@staffs.ac.uk
Twitter: @CareersAtStaffs
Instagram: @CareersAtStaffs
Facebook: Staffordshire University Career & Personal Development
LinkedIn: @CareersAtStaffs
By Grace,
Written by Holly
During this time, It may be tempting to chill out on the sofa all day eating all your quarantine snacks in one go and binging on the latest reality TV series for what may feel like an eternity with hair that needed washing last week, but this is the perfect opportunity to get things done that you’ve been putting off since you started Uni!
Top Ten Tips!
1. The best thing to do at the very start of the day is to firstly get yourself back into a good sleep routine. 8 hours a night is recommended for most adults (I know we question that word from time to time being a student) but it’s the best way to get your mood up, feel energised and even promotes healthy skin and a regulated metabolism! Not to mention it increases concentration levels so you can get stuff done better.
2. Make a to- do list- set yourself small achievable goals. This will help you as it allows you to focus on those things one at a time and it feels great when you get to tick them off your list.
3. The next thing I would recommend you to do is to simply make your bed and take a shower, these may seem like small steps in the grand scheme of things, but it really gets you set up for a positive and can do mindset ready to take on the day.
4. Get ready in the morning- Studies have shown that productivity levels increase when you are dressed and ready for the day!
5. A clear space makes a clear mind- make sure that the room and desk you are working on is tidy as the clutter, smells or mess can distract you from what you are trying to focus on.
6. Stay hydrated- This is key to optimising brain function and will also prevent you from getting headaches whilst you’re trying to concentrate.
7. Relax- meditation, listen to music, read, draw whatever it is that getting you in a good vibe. If you feel good you will feel more inclined to do something productive and you are in a positive mindset.
8. Light a candle, let in some light and open some windows to let in fresh air- This will also put you in a good relaxed state and fresh air and light will allow you to feel more awake, as well as your surroundings feeling comfortable to work in.
9. Take a walk/ work out/ yoga- This will promote endorphins to be released into the body which is a chemical that makes you feel happy. This will therefore make you work better as you are in a positive mood. Exercise also helps towards better quality sleep which in turn will make you feel less tired.
10. If you’re struggling to get things done still, try setting a timer for 25 minuets and take a break once the timer is up. Also try out the do not disturb function on your phone to keep you from distractions.
Did you find this blog post useful? Give it a like if you did!
Have you got any tips to staying motivated/productive? Let us know in the comments!
To speak to one of our Career Coaches get in touch.
Email: careers@staffs.ac.uk
Twitter: @CareersAtStaffs
Instagram: @CareersAtStaffs
Facebook: Staffordshire University Career & Personal Development
LinkedIn: @CareersAtStaffs
By Grace,
Written by Rosie
You might have seen previous blogs from the Career Studio about how job hunting and application processes are changing while we’re in the current lockdown situation. We spoke to a recent graduate of Staffordshire University who recently went through the application process for a supermarket role. Supermarkets near you are probably hiring right now to keep up with the increase in demand for online orders, cleaning and maintaining lockdown rules so it might be worth applying for these roles if you’re looking for work. She kindly provided details of her experience of the process and we hope this will help people who are nervous about what to expect if they apply for similar roles.
Firstly, she found the job on Indeed and it took her through to the supermarket website where she had to fill in an online form including personal details, the hours she would like to do and availability. Once this was finished, she received an email saying she had moved onto the next step which was a series of multiple-choice competency questions on the supermarket’s website. These questions included some scenarios to see how you would deal with certain situations if they arose at work. As soon as this round of questions had finished, it took her to a second round of questions that included some more specific competency questions. There was also forms to fill in about previous education and work as well as some written questions on customer service and team-work experience.
Everything up until this point had been the same application process for this supermarket as normal, all online with email communications and working through online forms.
The next round of the process is normally a face to face interview however the applicant received an email only a few hours after completing the questions with a link to an online interview. Support was provided on how to set up the camera, sound and lighting through the website. The applicant prepared by dressing smartly and making the room look professional with no clutter in the background. There were four questions that were sent in advance of the interview to allow time to prepare and when the applicant was ready they had 30 seconds to record an answer to the first three questions which included why they wanted to work at this supermarket and some basic introductions. The final question was about customer service experience and there were 60 seconds to record an answer for this.
After each answer there was a 30 second break to have a quick breather before the next question started. Prior to the interview there was a 30 second practice but after that, the recordings were automatically sent off and there were no chances for a second go.
The applicant described the online interview process as;
“The online interview was good because getting the questions in advance means you have time to prepare and plan the answers and you wouldn’t often get that opportunity in a regular interview. However, after the test run you only get one attempt to record it and if you mess up then that mess up gets sent off to the employers! It was nerve-wracking but at least you’re at home and in between the questions you get a 30 second break so you don’t have to be ‘on’ all the time like in a face-to-face interview.”
The next day, she received an email inviting her into the store for a face-to-face assessment day. To manage this while adhering to lockdown rules, they had to book a time slot to go into the store and once there, follow the 2-meter guidance. Here’s a quick summary of her overall experience;
“It was quite weird not having actually spoken to anyone directly until I was physically in the store for the assessment and it was all very fast paced. I found the job on Indeed and had been through 4 stages of the process and invited to the assessment day within 24 hours.”
Hopefully this has given you an idea of what to expect if you are applying for jobs right now. Obviously, your experiences won’t be exactly the same as this but there may be similarities that you can prepare for, such as practicing your online interviewing skills and competency questions. The Career Studio has some other blogs that offer some support in preparing for these situations so check them out and get in touch!
Thank you to our graduate for providing details of their experience to help support people who may be going through similar processes.
Did you find this blog post useful? Give it a like if you did!
To speak to one of our Career Coaches get in touch.
Email: careers@staffs.ac.uk
Twitter: @CareersAtStaffs
Instagram: @CareersAtStaffs
Facebook: Staffordshire University Career & Personal Development
LinkedIn: @CareersAtStaffs
By Grace,
Written by Rosie
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed pretty much every part of our lives, and while we’re getting used to working from home and managing the supermarket run, students have had to cope with a lot of change. This blog is a very brief overview of some of the ways students have been affected by COVID-19 and hopefully it will show people that they’re not alone in their confusion and stress.
1) We have many students who have childcare or caring responsibilities alongside a job and Uni work who are now having to cope working from home, during assignment time as well as acting as teachers for their kids! If you’re one of those people reading this now, you’re amazing and you’re doing a great job. Most courses are not taking attendance anymore so there is no pressure to sit and work at certain times of day, just do what you can, when you can.
2) Assignment deadlines are always a rough time for any student, living on a diet of coffee, red bull and crisps and pretty much moving into the library! However, this time round might look a little different. The University and Union have been working hard to try to put some support in place for assignments such as a two-week extension and more options for support available to those who need it. It has been confusing for students to keep track of the new changes and it is important to remember that different departments and courses might be dealing with it in different ways. This is because sometimes a blanket policy for the whole Uni is not always best for all the students. If you have any concerns or need some extra support, it is best to ask your course leaders and carefully check emails to be sure how your course is managing assignments as opposed to doing the same things as your friends who might be on other courses. The Union website is also a great place to keep an eye on what’s happening: https://www.staffsunion.com/news/article/staffsunion/Exceptional-Regulations-for-Exceptional-Times/
3) For final year students who were hoping to showcase their work at GradEx or exhibitions we know it’s a little disappointing that these events might not look like how they usually do. Careers are currently working on how GradEx will operate so watch this space for more details coming soon! Social media is already being massively relied upon right now so maybe you could consider showing your work on Instagram, blogs or making a website to showcase your work. The Career Studio can help you with LinkedIn profiles which is a really great place to show your work to potential employers and other people in the same field as you.
4) Working at home with all the COVID-19 stuff going on around us is not the most motivating position to be in and I know some people might be struggling getting focused and motivated to do Uni work. There is lots of talk at the moment on how you can make the most of lockdown by working hard, learning a new skill or applying for work and although yes, this is all true, it doesn’t mean it’s easy. It is important to stay busy but it’s more important to be kind to yourself. It’s okay to watch Netflix or sleep in if that helps you be in a better headspace because this in turn will help you to gain back some of your motivation to do work. No one needs to feel guilty if they come out of lockdown without having learnt a new language and taken up knitting. If these things help your mental health that’s great but if they don’t, be kind to yourself and you’ll get there.
Stay safe everyone, reach out for help and support in you need it because it is there for you and keep in mind that we’ll all be back to lectures and stressing in the library in the future!
Did you find this blog post useful? Give it a like if you did!
To speak to one of our Career Coaches get in touch.
Email: careers@staffs.ac.uk
Twitter: @CareersAtStaffs
Instagram: @CareersAtStaffs
Facebook: Staffordshire University Career & Personal Development
LinkedIn: @CareersAtStaffs