Written by Career Relationship Manager for DTA, Sam
The Career Studio offers support to all graduates from Staffordshire University with anything careers related. This academic year we have worked with many students from the Class of 2020 to support them in successfully obtaining jobs after they have graduated, and we will continue to support the Class of 2020 and other Staffordshire University graduates in the future.
All graduates can receive peer-to-peer support from our Career Coaches in the Career Studio with a variety of different employability related issues such as, finding opportunities, completing applications, writing a CV and cover letter, interview skills, networking, further study or simply thinking about what to do next. In order to access this support all graduates can email careers@staffs.ac.uk or chat to our Career Coaches at https://www.staffs.ac.uk/students/careers/careers-studio/chat-to-our-careers-coaches. We also have a dedicated website for the graduates of the Class of 2020 containing advice, support and information to help you with your future https://www.staffs.ac.uk/students/careers/support-for-our-graduates/class-of-2020.
If you are a part of the Class of 2020 we are running a Jobs Bootcamp on the week commencing 12th April. The event will feature a series of talks and workshops dedicated to helping you to think about what you would like to do in the future, find job opportunities and apply for roles. All sessions will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams and you can find out more information about this event athttps://www.staffs.ac.uk/jobhuntbootcamp
There is also a lot of positive news coming from labour market statistics. For example, from the CIPD and Adecco Group survey of 2000 employers, 56% of them stated that they were looking to recruit in the first quarter of 2021. In addition, the healthcare (80%), finance and insurance (65%), education (65%) and information and communications (67%) sectors had great hiring intentions. Also, the Office for National Statistics reported that in the week ending 12th February 2021, the number of UK jobs being advertised online was at 81% of the number advertised in the same week last year. This indicates that now is the perfect time to be looking for your graduate role so get in touch with our wonderful Career Coaches now for guidance on securing your next job!
Just as in life patience is a virtue, in the competitive employment market resilience is indeed a virtue. The ability to keep on keeping on, push harder, try again, pick oneself up after being rejected severally is much needed now more than ever before by recent graduates and jobhunters. It is so easy to give up and be indolent but what is even more beautiful and admirable is being able move past a disappointing situation and try harder.
In the generation we live in right now where everyone wants things to be done right away, everyone wants quick results and have no time to be patient, it can be quite frustrating and discouraging to be turned down during a job application or not be called back after an interview. In these times, it is quintessential for jobhunters to develop the virtue of resilience because it builds character and if well nurtured could build great confidence and an indomitable desire to persevere against all odds until success is achieved
People often view jobhunting solely as a means to an end. For them all that the jobhunting exercise entails is simply to search for a job, submit their CV’s, attend an interview and get the job. Obviously an individual only goes on a job-hunt primarily to get a job but there are so many other skills and experiences that can be built and developed during a job-hunt. By fully embracing the jobhunting process and all that comes with it, an individual can develop invaluable skills that will propel them to unfathomable heights. Success in a job-hunt, and in life generally, comes from our ability to pick ourselves up, and move quickly past disappointments. This is where resilience and perseverance come in.
Resilience is defined as ‘the ability to adapt successfully in the face of stress and adversity’, while perseverance is ‘persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success’. Developing these closely linked essential skills will enhance a jobhunter’s self-confidence and create opportunities for them as they become more self-assured in taking risks.
With perseverance, a jobhunter does not give up on finding the right position for them during difficult periods. The reason this skill goes hand in hand with resilience is because, in the face of rejection, the jobhunter can bounce back and see the prospect for personal development while pushing forward to attain their goal.
By developing the ability to face setbacks, unforeseen events, obstacles and failures without allowing them to dominate, derail or destroy one’s life, there is absolutely nothing that will be impossible for one to achieve. As a matter of fact, a lot of recruiters has cited resilience as a major skill they lookout for in a potential employee.
Resilience is not about being unaffected by stress or pressure; it is about how an individual manages stress and difficulties after hard and disappointing times in their life by recognising when you are affected by it and having coping strategies to deal with it. A jobhunter can adapt and learn how to become more resilient. Resilience could be built quicker or slower depending on a person’s jobhunting experience. Everyone’s experiences are different and the way a jobhunter react to highs and lows in their job-search will be different. It is important to understand that not all jobhunting experiences are going to be difficult, a person may find their perfect job within a matter of days or weeks while another may search for months or even years before landing their dream job. It is paramount to prepare oneself mentally, physically and financially for what is to come because things may not always go as planned.
When learning how to be more resilient, a person can look back on some of their harder times and think about how they made it through despite feeling so overwhelmed at that moment. They can then use their past experiences to make this time better because they will then realise that if they made it through those difficult times in the past despite feeling like it would be impossible to do so then this time would be no different. This realisation will make an individual cognisant of the fact that they will always come out the other end a stronger person, with the better career they had hoped for. They will grow and learn to feed off of the negatives and turn it into motivation. Not everyone is always good at this straight away. Rejection is not always easy, and some may dwell on it. So, resilience whilst looking for a job is a great skill to have.
When an individual is rejected by a job they really wanted, or any job, it is important that they ask for feedback. Getting feedback from an interview or a job application allows a person to move forward with the ability to take criticism and make the changes to help them further in the future. They will take the advice, use it and move on to their next opportunity. This is what resilience is all about, taking a negative situation, accepting the outcome and moving on. It definitely comes with practice, but over-time and throughout a person’s job search and their career, resilience will help them.
Resilience is all about getting up and trying again and so is a successful job search. Keep being the ambitious individual you are, and you will get there. Remember that you are doing this for yourself. Jobhunting can be a difficult task and building resilience can sometimes be even harder. It is a good trait to have but make sure you are not pushing yourself too hard. Take care of both your physical and mental health and you are more likely to achieve what you want.
To speak to one of our Career Coaches get in touch:
