Countdown to University Challenge

Director of Careers Service, John Watkins, begins the countdown to the start of a new University Year…..…..

A Level results are out, which means that a new group of students are now formally starting to prepare for a new environment. Congratulations to all – and particularly those who will be heading to Surrey!

This milestone also reminds returning students that they are a little over 6 weeks away from returning to continue their studies (or begin a professional training year).

It is an exciting time and it will no doubt rush by, but here are some thoughts on how to use the final month and a half:

– Visit campus; as a new student it can be daunting if you arrive en masse and have no real sense of where things are. Returning students may need to visit the Library, Careers Service or new accommodation
– Update your social media profile; remember that you are en route to a professional status and thus now is the time to be reflecting this in appropriate social media (by all means keep a ‘studenty’ presence on the personal media, carefully setting privacy levels
– Plan; think about what you want to get out of the year ahead. This gets ‘heavier’ the further you go in your Higher Education, but is useful at any time to try to make sure you optimise this unique period of your life
– Wise up financially; whether it is parents, elder siblings, trusted friend or AN Other, if you recognise that budgeting and financial awareness are weak points, act now to prepare yourself
– Think about getting a part-time job during term time; many will work, both for the development of employability skills and the money. It will be really competitive in the first week, so get registered with Unitemps or examine options in town, so that you don’t miss out
– Consider your personal brand and how you will manage it; see below

A new student has a chance to establish themselves afresh. Their ‘school brand’ remains but now the opportunity arises to present themselves to a new group of people and establish a new reputation. This may be how they introduce themselves – Victoria rather than Vicky – if that is your preference, even if friends from home know you as Vicky. It might be in your attitude/behaviour – I’m going to try new things, push myself forward rather than hold back, play up front even though I always had to play in goal after volunteering to do so aged 11.

As a returning student, your brand is already established. You can address the poor aspects – always late, scruffy, swearing – but bear in mind that you’ll need to stick at it to undo the reputation you have established. You can reinforce and build on the positives – supportive of others, confident and outgoing, willing to take on new challenges.

For finalists (and therefore earlier years take note that this is what you should be moving towards) there is greater focus on employment and thus the personal brand needs to fit with what employers will be searching for in their recruitment processes. This will be wide-ranging but is likely to include at least the following:

– Reliable and Trustworthy
– Personally organised
– Strong work ethic
– Commercially aware
– Adaptable

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Employability Skills

Director of Careers Service, John Watkins, comments on the results of the employability skills audit of University of Surrey students…

In October 2012, the Careers Service gathered data from 450 students. 12 months on and the equivalent exercise generated 730 responses – a really meaningful population size.

The confidence rating of 1-10 on the CBI defined employability skills is a self assessment and thus brings with it a health warning. Nonetheless self-awareness is the first indicator and who knows us better than ourselves?

Key finding number 1 – the single highest scoring category is positive attitude. This is not a big surprise. Asked whether you have a ‘can do’ approach, it’s rare to indicate a tendency to be negative. And yet the media are constantly telling us that employers are appalled at the lack of stamina, drive and poor work ethic of new graduates. How does this tally?
My view – employers have high expectations (not always realistic) but the average graduate has not had their attitude tested in ways that often crop up in the modern day workplace (see business awareness point below). Reality shows with instant ‘success’ also confuse short-term endeavours with long-term commitment.

Key finding number 2 – there are frailties in the communication and literacy and application of numeracy categories. This is particularly important given the ongoing relevance attributed by employers, not least in the consistent use of verbal and numerical aptitude tests, both as part of recruitment processes and a barometer of subsequent career success.
My view – The education system has added a level of sophistication to some aspects of learning but the reliance on computers and calculators has undermined the ‘basic’ grasp of communication and financial competency employers still see as pre-requisites. Add in instant messaging and social media – excellent tools but at odds with some of the formal practices in many workplaces

Key finding number 3 – business and customer awareness is the lowest scoring category with students readily accepting that their formative education and limited exposure to the workplace has yet to equip them with a full appreciation of commercial reality.
My view – the average student lacks the experience to really understand the commercial complexities of the workplace and perhaps this helps to explain the mismatch in the ‘positive attitude category above. University life is a wonderful place to develop this skill, with constant exposure to employers and, of course, a personal case study in assessing return on investment

From the Careers Service perspective, the exercise is powerful as it encourages individual reflection and hopefully action. Themes are important and there is support needed in a number of key areas, but we’ll watch carefully to see how things progress. Last year, the category that appeared to have been most optimistically scored was teamwork – it proved to be the one that subsequently challenged students much more than anticipated when originally completing the questionnaire….

University of Surrey Careers and Placement Fair

Director of Careers Service, John Watkins, begins the countdown to the big event….

Thursday 10th October 2013 sees the University of Surrey Autumn Careers and Placement Fair take place on PATS Field on the main Stag Hill campus. The Fair itself will start at 3pm and run through until 6.30pm.

From 10am there will be an opportunity to visit the Employability Zone at the front of the marquee to engage with experts on social media, volunteering, commercial awareness and members of the Careers team.

At 2pm our Placement Showcase will commence with opportunities for students and employers to talk to those that have had a Professional Training Year (including work and study abroad). The personal and corporate benefits will be clear for all to see.

From 3pm students will have the opportunity to engage with more than 120 exhibitors. We are delighted to have many familiar faces as well as some first time visitors – a full list of employers is available on the Careers website.

It is an exciting time of year and this event promises to be one of the highlights…..

Free ice cream

Director of Careers Service, John Watkins, will be at the front of the queue….

On Tuesday 1st October a Ben and Jerry’s van will park up outside the Library and the Freshers of Surrey will think that this University life is pretty awesome.

As with any giveaway, though, there is always a purpose. The Careers Service are delighted to facilitate this one, given that the two main beneficiaries are key stakeholders. The student population are the obvious winners – delicious ice cream, on a day forecast to still have a feel of summer and the only price to pay could be a fairly lengthy wait to reach the front of the queue.

The other party to gain from the event is the employer, Unilever, as Ben and Jerry’s, for all its American heritage, is infact a division of the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate. Thus Unilever are making the venture onto campus, with generous intentions, but also the aim of firmly establishing the identity of this famous brand alongside their own household name.

For new students the concept of commercial awareness is often rather a novelty, but this exciting start to their undergraduate days might just offer a useful lesson, if they take time to reflect, post scoffing.

The action starts at 9-30am, so here is another important lesson, sometimes lost on the student population – there is a great deal to be gained if you engage in campus life in the early part of the day…

Uni starts in 6 weeks

Director of Careers Service, John Watkins, begins the countdown to the start of a new University Year…..…..

A Level results are out, which means that a new group of students are now formally starting to prepare for a new environment. Congratulations to all – and particularly those who will be heading to Surrey!
This milestone also reminds returning students that they are a little over 6 weeks away from returning to continue their studies (or begin a professional placement year).

It is an exciting time and it will no doubt rush by, but here are some thoughts on how to use the final month and a half:

– Visit campus; as a new student it can be daunting if you arrive en masse and have no real sense of where things are. Returning students may need to visit the Library, Careers Service or new accommodation
– Update your social media profile; remember that you are en route to a professional status and thus now is the time to be reflecting this in appropriate social media (by all means keep a ‘studenty’ presence on the personal media, carefully setting privacy levels
– Plan; think about what you want to get out of the year ahead. This gets ‘heavier’ the further you go in your Higher Education, but is useful at any time to try to make sure you optimise this unique period of your life
– Wise up financially; whether it is parents, elder siblings, trusted friend or AN Other, if you recognise that budgeting and financial awareness are weak points, act now to prepare yourself
– Think about getting a part-time job during term time; many will work, both for the development of employability skills and the money. It will be really competitive in the first week, so get registered with Unitemps or examine options in town, so that you don’t miss out
– Consider your personal brand and how you will manage it; see below

A new student has a chance to establish themselves afresh. Their ‘school brand’ remains but now the opportunity arises to present themselves to a new group of people and establish a new reputation. This may be how they introduce themselves – Andrew rather than Andy – if that is your preference, even if friends from home know you as Andy. It might be in your attitude/behaviour – I’m going to try new things, push myself forward rather than holdback, play up front even though I always had to play in goal after volunteering to do so aged 11.

As a returning student, your brand is already established. You can address the poor aspects – always late, scruffy, swearing – but bear in mind that you’ll need to stick at it to undo the reputation you have established. You can reinforce an build on the positives – supportive of others, confident and outgoing, willing to take on new challenges.

For finalists (and therefore earlier years take note that this is what you should be moving towards) there is greater focus on employment and thus the personal brand needs to fit with what employers will be searching for in their recruitment processes. This will be wide ranging but is likely to include at least the following:

– Reliable and Trustworthy
– Personally organised
– Strong work ethic
– Commercially aware
– Adaptable

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Basic but important

Director of Careers Service, John Watkins, reflects on the importance of basic skills……..

Michael Gove is instructing civil servants to write in a manner their Mum would understand. Essentially he is looking for jargon to be removed and emphasis placed on concise, polite and precise correspondence.

This ‘return to basics’ is an important illustration of the key skill of communication. At the recent Open Days at the University of Surrey it was interesting to see this skill in action. We had large scale presentations, including delivery by some excellent students, numerous one to one exchanges, written material was distributed, not to mention conversations in (or about) different languages. If you add in the primary form of communication – body language – it was pretty much non stop communication all day long.

In discussions with parents, where the general consensus was that they were very well informed, and the prospective students themselves, many aspects of discussions about careers did revolve around this basic skill. Whatever your area of interest, you will need to communicate effectively to earn the degree, and to articulate your capability in applying for jobs as the studies progress.

Interestingly the other frequently mentioned skill was numeracy. From the management of personal finances to the commercial appreciation of the labour market, a strong grasp of numerical skills was highlighted as important and often overlooked in a compuer reliant era.

These two basic skills are of course the ones that remain compulsory at school for the longest. One hopes (and rather suspects) that Mr Gove’s changes reinforce these important qualities……

Wimbledon stalwarts show the way

Director of Careers Service, John Watkins, admires the dedicated Wimbledon fans…….

Increasingly recruiters are citing the mindset of candidates as being just as important (sometimes more) than the skillset. At the top of the University of Surrey Careers Service Employability Pyramid are two boxes which indicate that we see these two aspects sharing joint significance in the quest for employability:

– Commercially aware with relevant technical knowledge
– Organised, trustworthy, reliable, focussed, positive attitude

It is often easier to evidence the skillset – academic achievements are neatly categorised and you can explicitly test knowledge.

The softer, transferable, employability skills are altogether harder to prove. Competency based interviewing probes for examples of real experiences but well prepared candidates can usually respond appropriately – generally there is always a positive example to be found which illustrates how you might behave in their workplace.

Candidates will rarely admit deficiencies, so it is down to skilled interviewing or assessment centres to get beneath the skin of what they are really like when the pressure is on.

Individuals can change, develop and refine skills and behaviours but a good starting point is to understand your inherent attitude.
This is where Wimbledon comes in. There are lots of people that love the excitement of the fortnight but only a relatively small proportion resort by camping out overnight! Ask yourself (assuming a love of the sport/atmosphere) whether you are willing to commit to an uncomfortable night surrounded by strangers (who might become friends) not knowing whether your dedication will yield either entrance or the opportunity to watch your preferred matches.

If you not only answer positively but then follow through you will have demonstrated; passion and commitment, organisational skills, self-management, optimism, adaptability and flexibility, enterprise and initiative. These are all explicit or implied building blocks of the Surrey Employability Pyramid and are qualities most leaders would want in their team.

To push it to another level, repeat the exercise assuming the weather forecast is for heavy rain…….

Matrix success for University of Surrey Careers Service

Director, John Watkins, is delighted that the Careers Service team has obtained deserved recognition…….

The Matrix quality standard for information advice and guidance services has been bestowed on the University of Surrey Careers Service following a comprehensive independent external review.

The assessor had access to a wide variety of stakeholders and sought evidence of compliance across a wide spectrum of activities. Current students, alumni, academic colleagues and employers were interviewed as well as members of the Careers Service staff.

Whilst such reviews inevitably find areas for improvement, which are extremely helpful to maintain momentum in the aftermath, it also provided a rare opportunity to bask in unbiased praise!

Some quotes that feature in the report give a sense of satisfaction, reinforcement that we are doing the right thing and the confidence to push on. These included:

‘I was introduced to careers that I wasn’t aware of….other avenues open to me’
‘I’d never heard of the company I’m now working for, but I met them at the October Careers Fair which was massive and broad ranging.’
‘The students appear commercially aware…I am very impressed with the upskilling and raising of employability skills.’
‘I had a very targeted mock interview which helped me think about what the company would be asking.’
‘I got what I wanted….I got the job.’

The Careers Service team can be rightly proud of this achievement and their contribution to the University’s achievement in reaching 8th place in the recently released Guardian league table. There is still much to do but Matrix accreditation is a further sign that things continue to move in the right direction………

Surrey Careers Fair – Tuesday 21st May

Director of Careers Service, John Watkins, counts down to the University’s Summer Careers Fair…..

The event is fully booked with more than 60 employers across a variety of sectors planning their trip to Guildford on May 21st.

The attraction is an impressive cohort of students, eager to impress and be impressed. Employers seek brand awareness, filling of their last graduate vacancies, engagement with those who might undertake short internship or one of Surrey’s renowned Professional Training Years.
As an added bonus this year, there is a showcase of student talent from a dozen final years who undertook a placement in 2012. Aside from demonstrating the personal development they took from it, they will emphasise the commercial benefits derived by the organisations they worked for. And this extends to the post placement period as students return to campus to share the experiences with others and promote their former employer.

After breaking records by attracting 124 organisations to the October 2012 Autumn Careers and Placement Fair, the Careers team at Surrey can be rightly proud to have once again maximised the opportunities for employers and students to meet and build relationships.

Careers Fairs don’t work for all employers or all students but the Summer Fair is just one feature of a full programme of events in ‘Before You Go Week’.

And of course there are multiple other aspects to the Service to suit all needs, including daily Quick Queries sessions, one to one advice from a careers adviser and a vacancy database that tops 420 jobs at the time of going to press.

University of Surrey Summer Careers Fair – Tuesday 21st May 2013

Director of Careers Service, John Watkins, is excited by the arrival of May….

A new month, Guildford bathed in sunshine, and the Summer Careers Fair is within sight.

The event is fully booked with a waiting list of employers hopeful that some careful fine-tuning can make space for a few extra.

The attraction is an impressive cohort of students, eager to impress and be impressed. Employers seek brand awareness, filling of their last graduate vacancies, engagement with those who might undertake short internship or one of Surrey’s renowned Professional Training Years.
As an added bonus this year, there is a showcase of student talent from a dozen final years who undertook a placement in 2012. Aside from demonstrating the personal development they took from it, they will emphasise the commercial benefits derived by the organisations they worked for. And this extends to the post placement period as students return to campus to share the experiences with others and promote their former employer.

After breaking records by attracting 124 organisations to the October 2012 Autumn Careers and Placement Fair, the Careers team at Surrey can be rightly proud to have once again maximised the opportunities for employers and students to meet and build relationships.

Careers Fairs don’t work for all employers or all students but the Summer Fair is just one feature of a full programme of events in ‘Before You Go Week’. And of course there are multiple other aspects to the Service to suit all needs, including daily Quick Queries sessions, one to one advice from a careers adviser and a vacancy database that topped 400 jobs as Mayday finished.

Roll on the summer……