Explore Your Career Path: Maximizing Opportunities After Your Degree

1. After Your Degree – What Next? Jenny Keaveney Careers and Employability Service www.kent.ac.uk/ces

2. Introduction • Where Next? • Where to look for jobs • Making Applications • How the Careers & Employability Service can help

3. Where Next?

4. Opportunities with your degree • What do graduates in your subject do? • What careers will use your subject knowledge? www.kent.ac.uk/careers/degreein.htm BUT …. • There is more to you than your degree!

5. Think about yourself …. • Your interests • Your skills • Your values • Your personal circumstances • Any other factors

6. What are your opportunities? • One-third of advertised graduate jobs are open to graduates in any subject • For example: advertising, accountancy, banking, marketing, personnel, public sector management, • Plus all the unadvertised graduate jobs! • And there are even more opportunities after experience and training

7. Making career decisions .. • Relate your skills, interests and values to careers and jobs by using computer guidance systems e.g. Prospects Planner • Look at job adverts and job descriptions • Talk to people about their work and how they got their jobs • Use careers websites and careers advisers • Get first-hand insight into careers of potential interest to you

8. Where to look for jobs • What are you looking for? • Graduate training schemes? • Other graduate jobs? • Internships? • Other temporary jobs? • Something different? • I’m not looking for a job!

9. Vacancy Sites – graduate jobs and training schemes • www.kent.prospects.ac.uk • www.prospects.ac.uk • www.targetjobs.co.uk • www.top100graduateemployers.com www.kent.ac.uk/careers/graddirectories.htm

10. Vacancy Sites – graduate internships As above, plus: • The Graduate Talent Pool http://graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk • Graduate STEP www.step.org.uk/step_graduate.aspx • Inspiring Internswww.inspiringinterns.com www.kent.ac.uk/careers/vacwork.htm

11. Are you looking for something different? The best way to find jobs may to use specialist resources e.g.: • Professional bodies • Magazines • Specialist directories • Specialist recruitment agencies http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin.htm

12. The Creative Career Search Network! • ask your friends • ask your relatives • ask your “network” • ask a past Kent graduate • ask a careers adviser Make applications on spec www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/CJ.htm

13. CAREERS FAIRS Graduate Events The Summer Graduate Fair ExCel, London, 29 – 30 May www.summergradfair.co.uk TARGETjobs/The Careers Group The London Graduate Fair Business Design Centre, Islington 20 & 21 June www.londongradfair.co.uk/summer For fairs elsewhere in the UK, see www.prospects.ac.uk/links/careerfairs

14. Recruitment Agencieswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/recruit.htm • The Graduate Recruitment Bureau www.grb.uk.com • Reed Graduates www.reed.co.uk/graduate • Brampton Stafford Recruitment www.brampton-recruitment-4-graduate-jobs.co.uk • The Graduate Recruitment Company www.graduate-recruitment.co.uk • Job Centres • www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Jobseekers/index.htm

15. How do I apply for jobs? • Different employers have different ways to apply • CV + covering letter • Online application form • Hard copy application form • See the Careers Advisory Service booklet or www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm for guidelines on making good applications • Careers and employability advisers can check your applications and give individual help and advice

16. Employer’s Application Forms • Contents – up to employer • Often competency-based – see: www.kent.ac.uk/careers/compet/skillquest.htm • Common concerns (Degree class, A-level grades, alternative qualifications, nationality) • References • Submit online or download to complete

17. Further Information • Careers and Employability Service website www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm • CES booklet “Making Applications” • Reference Books in Careers Service • DVDs “Your Job’s online” & “Looking Good on Paper” (available online at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/IntVid.htm • http://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/applications-and-cvs • http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cvs.htm

18. I’m not looking for a job! • Postgraduate study? • www.kent.ac.uk/ces/postgrad-study.html • Time out? • www.kent.ac.uk/careers/alternatives.htm • Travel? • www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sitesint.htm

19. The Careers & Employability Service • Where is the CES? • Who works there? • What does it do? • How can it help me?

20. Who works there? Careers and employability advisers Jenny Keaveney Kathryn Segal Bruce Woodcock Natalie Smith Amy Scamell Nicola Urquhart

21. Who works there? Support staff: Lara Cavill Sarah Farley Sue Perry

22. How can the CES help me? Careers advice: help with • choosing a career • Making applications • Preparing for interviews We offer this advice through ‘quick queries’ and longer careers guidance interviews • Careers information: including • online job vacancy database • Information on sources of specialised vacancies • Careers website www.kent.ac.uk/ces

23. When can I use the Careers & Employability Service? • Open to all students at all stages of their studies – and after you graduate too! • Open 9-5, Monday to Friday • Open term-time and vacation • Our website is freely accessible on and off campus – you don’t need a Kent login

24. @kentunices for job vacancies, events, news and updates

25. Careers and Employability Service www.kent.ac.uk/ces