Staffordshire University’s Careers Network have an online programme called eCoach. This has lots of information and tools to help you to prepare for applications and interview and getting your career going. Some of the tools include a CV builder, advice from qualified careers advisors, and an interview simulator.
The eCoach website can be accessed from the universities website and your login details will be the same as your university login details. When you have logged in, you will be taken to the dashboard which is the home page.
As you can see the homepage gives you a little overview of the latest jobs, a quick job search tool and some quick links. At the top there is also a few tabs which take you to all the tools available from e-coach. First is the ‘My CV’ tab.
This tab allows you to go to the CV builder, CV review or my documents. My documents allows you to keep all your work related documents in one place and, because they are stored online, if your laptop breaks or wipes itself, you will still have a copy of these important documents. The kinds of documents that can be stored are those such as CVs, cover letters, job applications, and certificates. The CV review option allows you to send your CV to one of the coaches who can provide feedback and help you to improve it.
When you click on the CV builder option, you are taken to a page which takes you through step by step to build your CV in a way that is thorough and in a format which is appropriate to send to potential employers.
There are many options under the ‘My Career’ tab. One such option is ‘Meet a Coach’ where you can book an appointment to meet with an employability coach who can help you for a whole range of things to do with your career. ‘Career matching’ is linked to in this section which takes you prospects.ac.uk which matches your skills and personality types to jobs. This can be a helpful tool when you are unsure of types of jobs that you may want to go into and need some ideas. There are also links to videos and short audio lessons from employers and careers experts to give you advice and information on a range of topics and issues.
In the ‘quick links’ tab, options include an interview simulator and practice tests. These options can help you to prepare for some of the most difficult and stressful parts of the job application process. Personally I hate going for interviews because I get so nervous and either I start to not make sense or my mind goes complete blank. Preparation is always the key to making sure that you have a good chance of getting the job. Any tests that you are required to do for a job or even for further study or courses are also going to be a stress-inducing process so some practice may help to show you where you need to do the most work or put your mind at rest if you pass them all.
Overall I find this to be a very valuable tool to help me in preparing my CV and cover letters and I will definitely go back to this when it comes to time to apply for jobs. Remember, even if you don’t know what you want to do for a career in the future you can still visit and talk to the careers department as they can help guide you to possibilities.
I didn’t actually know that this was a thing the uni did, but it looks really helpful and something I will definitely be checking out!