Hi! I’m Abby, a second year student studying English Literature. I am also currently doing a placement with Careers & Student Opportunities. I have recently completed the Kickstart Open Badge as part of the Career Award and I thought that I would share my thoughts about it.
The Kickstart badge is the first of three badges you can do as part of the Careers Award. It is ideal for first and second year students who are starting to think about what they would like to do after university. The badge involves completing tasks such as building a CV, creating an action plan and watching videos relating to the use of social media to enhance your job search. It is really easy to complete and gives you the chance to introduce yourself to what the careers team have to offer.
The award also gives you the opportunity to build towards the Engage and Take-off badges. As well as preparing you for life after university it can also help for finding part time work during university as you have to register with Jobs and Opportunities which can give you information on part-time and voluntary work. Also developing your CV can help to improve your chances of getting your next job.
The ‘What Motivates You?’ quiz is a particularly useful tool that helps to focus what you want to get out of your career. It is interesting to look at the careers you have outlined in your career plan and to see whether the information you gained from the quiz matches up with the careers you want to go into. This can help to narrow down your career paths.
It is a badge that can stand alone or you can complete all three of them (Kickstart, Engage and Take-off) to gain the overall Career Award. It is an excellent way of showing prospective employers that have engaged with information surrounding careers. It also helps to build some of the resources and skills that are needed when applying for future jobs. For example you are expected to build CV and attend a careers workshop. Both of these can help to prepare you for the future, whether that is a graduate job, part-time work, a work placement or voluntary work.
[Editor’s note: don’t forget the Career Award is also eligible for HEAR accreditation! See the Gradintelligence website for more information.]
I would definitely recommend the Kickstart badge to any student who wants to prepare for the future by creating the resources they need and narrow down their careers options. It would particular appeal to 1st and 2nd year students that are starting to think about the future or those who are thinking of applying for part-time work. I would give it 9 out of 10 as it is a really useful resource to have and good for introducing ways to prepare for the future.
Abby McMurdo is a 2nd year student at York St John
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