Is your child going to study in the UK? Thinking about future careers?
For students who have decided to study in the UK, we need to make sure that the big transition will be worth it. As an experienced careers adviser, I am going to share with you 5 ways to help your child do just that…
Encourage them to get involved at university
One of my previous jobs was working as a Student Residential Manager at a university and whilst there I noticed something very important. The students that were willing to get involved in university life whether it be partying at freshers week or joining the debating society, were the students who made friends and enjoyed their time more. Many of those that didn’t involve themselves, ended up out of their comfort zone and wishing they were back home with their parents. Those first 3 weeks really do count so try and postpone any family get togethers until after that initial period.
Suggest they join the FREE 7 day CV Challenge…
Getting some employment under their belt is a great idea, yes even in the first few weeks. Why? This will help boost their CV and give them the opportunity to learn transferable skills. My advice to any student is to get a really top notch CV in place as soon as possible. This is a skill for life, and once your child has learnt how to create a killer CV, they hold the secret to standing out from the crowd. This is key and I have developed the FREE 7 Day CV Challenge to help students do just that. The best part is, it takes less than 15 minutes a day, over the course of 7 days. http://7daycvchallenge.com
Understand the Importance of LinkedIn!
I encourage all students to develop that all important LinkedIn profile. Having a LinkedIn profile is key as students need to demonstrate their skills from the off! Generally speaking, the goal of education is to get that Graduate job, so let’s start with this in mind. If you’ve not come across LinkedIn before, the easiest way to explain it is like an online CV, but it also provides the opportunity to connect with business people.
Completing the 7 Day CV Challenge first can really help your child to create a great LinkedIn profile. Another reason why LinkedIn is worth considering is that it helps students to display a professional online presence where they can also be endorsed or recommended by people they have worked with. This is another great way to add some credibility to their profile. If they choose to take part in the Free 7 Day CV Challenge your child will also receive an added bonus resource, how to use LinkedIn for students!
Make use of the Careers Department
Every university will have a careers department and they all offer a range of opportunities for students. Encourage your child to make friends with this department from day 1, and not leave it until Year 3 when their course is just finishing. A career is something to build on, and should be viewed as a ‘slow ramp.’ By this I mean it’s something that always needs maintaining even after employment!
Viewing a career in this way allows for the development of the skills required to move upwards. Your child will learn how to create a winning CV, improve their presentation and interview skills, telephone manner, networking ability and if necessary, the confidence to better be able to approach and complete psychometric testing and passing company assessment selection tests.
Encourage them to complete relevant voluntary work to test out their career ideas, gain an internship, join a club or society, as well as developing their online presence for potential recruiters.
All of this will of course take time and patience. Time is key, preparation is important but unfortunately a significant amount of students see thinking about their career as something to consider at the end of their degree (when in fact they should be testing their ideas while still in school!). The skills I’ve outlined above cannot be acquired just in the last few months of a degree – they are built and developed over a number of years.
The Next Step
If your child is unsure about their career plans, seeing a careers adviser will help them get more direction and advice on how to get there. However, my advice is don’t apply too much pressure. Work experience can be like dating – you may have to kiss a few frogs! However, it really will give them an insight into what a certain type of career could involve.
Something like Student Gems is a really good starting point for paid jobs and experience. Each university offers support and 1-2-1 guidance for students, and I’m available for contact from anywhere in the world, through my own 121 Career Launch.
About the Author
I love helping people! My job is to help students navigate their way from education to employment. It all starts with a great CV and having a vision to check out my www.susanburkecareers.com and
I have 10 FREE places available for students to join the 90 Day Career Kick Start: How to make your degree worth it! Get in touch via and the first 10 that hit reply, win their spot. Offer ends 1st October.
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