Welcome to what could be the three, or perhaps four, of the most exciting, challenging and enjoyable years of your life. A voyage of discovery awaits. Figuring out how a washing machine and dish-worker works. Understanding what you can safely do in groups of 6 or less. All valuable life skills.
Whether you are new to Warwick or returning, this year will be an unprecedented one for all students at University. It’s up to you to make the most of the many opportunities that are available to you in, even with the restrictions that COVID imposes. This is particularly important during a recession when graduate opportunities will be fewer- though for those of you just arriving there has never been a better time to be spending several years ‘shielding’ in Higher Education. Our role is to:
- Help you explore different career possibilities
- Provide access to recruiters from different sectors
- Equip you with the necessary skills to present yourself compellingly to recruiters
- Offer 1-1impartial, personalised careers advice and guidance
Help you explore different career possibilities – getting started
A great starting point if you have no career ideas, is to complete our Careers Self-Awareness Moodle. https://moodle.warwick.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=25808 This short course will help you explore what’s important to you; your values, strengths, skills and motivations. This is really useful to do before you start on your career planning as this will enable you to focus on careers that are genuinely interesting to you. It helps personalise the process and will make it easier to decide later on why some jobs are more appealing than others. By knowing yourself you’ll find it much easier to answer the ‘why do you want this job?’ question. You motivation will be evident in applications and at interview- increasing your chances of a job offer.
Provide access to recruiters from different sectors
We are excited to be launching the Warwick Festival of Careers for the autumn term. The Festival of Careers is a programme of online events created to connect students with employers and help them to develop their skills and think about their future. The Autumn season of the Festival runs from the 28th of September until the 13th of November with a packed schedule of webinars, workshops and interactive sessions.
The Festival brings together 9 virtual venues from ‘The Boardroom’ business and finance hub to ‘The Creative Stage’. Employers include graduate recruiters, SMEs, and Not-for-profit organisations, from those on our doorstep to those from across the globe. There are also 3 virtual careers fairs to visit that offer a platform to meet with over 120 employers from all sectors.
Alongside employers, the Festival provides the opportunity to hear authentic and inspiring stories from Warwick alumni and to attend sessions run by career professionals in the Student Opportunity team designed to help student at whatever stage they are in their career journey. For more information please visit www.warwick.ac.uk/studentopportunity/festival. All events are bookable through MyAdvantage https://warwick.ac.uk/services/careers/events/
To make the most of the Careers Fairs, download the Careers Fair Plus App https://warwick.ac.uk/services/careers/events/fairapp This will help you see which recruiters are attending; which recruiters would like to meet you…and which recruiters you might like to meet. This will help you to be organised and make good use of your time .
Last summer many students were unable to take up real-time internships due to COVID. However many graduate recruiters still offered paid virtual internships- and these have been well-received by students. It could be that internships continue to be virtual this summer. Look out for details of opportunities through the Festival and through our Jobs and Internships portal within MyAdvantage. https://warwick.ac.uk/services/careers/findingwork/
Equip you with the necessary skills to present yourself compellingly to recruiters
We will be running many different careers webinars during the year. There will be more this term as they coincide with the graduate recruitment applications cycle. Topics listed will enable you to polish your skills and improve your CV and applications, prepare for interviews and assessment centres, help you create a good LinkedIn profile and provide support and reassurance if you’re lacking confidence or don’t know where or how to get started on your career planning. Full details of the workshops for this term are listed https://warwick.ac.uk/services/careers/events/. If you are unable to attend a particular event, most will be recorded.
You will find it helpful, before booking an appointment to complete our Action/apply Moodle course https://moodle.warwick.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=25810 . This will help you improve your documents before you request a review. A 1-1 review will enable you to improve your document still further based upon expert advice from the team.
Offer 1-1 impartial, personalised careers advice and guidance
We will be offering online careers appointments of 20 minutes with our skilled staff who can offer 1-1 help with your CV application, or with a quick careers enquiry. These take place on Teams – bookable through MyAdvantage. https://warwick.ac.uk/services/careers/help/
Careers Consultants and Careers Project Officers offer impartial advice and guidance and discussions are confidential. Our role is to provide the information and guidance to help you to make informed and realistic decisions. Don’t worry if you do not have a career plan or even know where to start, the discussion is your agenda and based on your needs. Our 30 minute appointments are on Teams and are bookable through MyAdvantage https://warwick.ac.uk/services/careers/help/
This term we will also be offering a limited number of face to face 15 minute appointments and group careers discussion in our new Student Opportunity Hub in Senate House on the Ground floor between 10.00am-2.00pm Mon – Fri. Please note there is currently no drop-in; all appointments must be booked in advance – through My Advantage https://warwick.ac.uk/services/careers/help/
Student etiquette
It’s important that when you sign up to attend workshops and employer events that you understand you are committing to turn up. Employers and staff will be expecting, and looking forward to seeing you there. Before booking a place on an event please ensure you are able to attend on the dates and times shown. If you are no longer able to attend a workshop or event please cancel your space, this allows someone else to take the opportunity.
Arrive on time to workshops and events. Employers will expect this in the workplace! With online events it is also easier to identify those arriving late. Inevitably sometimes you might be running late, in this instance look at the event listing and contact the event organiser to let them know ahead of the start of the workshop or event.
We look forward to meeting many of you at either our virtual events or in person during the year.
The Careers Blog 