Life after university can be a daunting prospect, as the challenge of securing employment and developing a career looms large. Thankfully, plenty of support is available from the Careers Team at York St John.
The team provides students with careers guidance and connects them with employers in Yorkshire and beyond. In this post, two third-year students explain what motivated them to attend the Yorkshire Graduate Fair in Leeds on Wednesday 3rd May 2017. Below are details of two more sessions being run by the Careers team, as well as details of how you can sign up.
Niamh Meehan
I decided to attend the Yorkshire Graduate Fair as I can say, with the collective unease of all students about to embark the minefield of adulthood post university, I don’t really know what I want to do. What I do know is that I want to keep all of my options open in the next few months, and henceforth apply for everything and anything that strikes me as a possibility. So the next step was to get informed about the opportunities out there, part of which included a trip to the University of Leeds, where the Yorkshire Graduate Fair was being held.
As over 90 companies were due to attend, the fair was spread across 2 large sports halls on the campus. At first it was overwhelming, but I had come to the fair with a few companies in mind, so I planned my route around the rooms and took advantage of the freebies available. Often the thought of networking is worse than it actually is and I found this to be the case throughout the fair; many of the employers were open, friendly and welcomed my questions. I came away from the event with a greater insight into the opportunities around graduate schemes, internships, full-time and part-time roles and postgraduate courses. I managed to make a few contacts in the companies I was interested in and got a better understanding of what those companies are looking for in their potential employees.
I would encourage anyone who is in doubt about attending careers fairs to go for it and stay informed – the Careers team will tell you when the next events will take place. I had a really positive experience and hope others will too.
Holly Pawlitta
In the midst of writing my final assignments, and the aftermath of my dissertation, I found it difficult to gather the courage to search for a job. However, when I found out that the Careers team at university were offering a trip to Leeds for a graduate jobs fair, I felt that I finally had a starting point in my search for employment.
Prior to attending the fair, I felt nervous about meeting so many professionals, but my fears disappeared when I arrived at the fair. There were many employers at the fair, each offering exciting job opportunities for graduates. All of the employers were friendly and more than happy to answer my questions regarding the jobs they had available for English Literature graduates. The atmosphere was casual, yet informative. Many employers explained what job roles they typically offer to those with degrees in English Literature, for instance publishing, editing, marketing and consultancy. Some employers offered to look at my CV, whereas others asked for my contact details.
Attending the fair really put into perspective how valuable my degree is in the eyes of employers. Having the opportunity to meet so many employers in person was a much more informative and enriching experience than searching for jobs online. I now feel that I have the confidence to speak about the skills and knowledge which attending university has given to me. I highly recommend that other graduates make the most of such opportunities.
Upcoming EventsÂ
It’s the Final Countdown! (15-18th May)
We are filling the last week of term with a series of workshops designed to help students develop their core job-seeking skills, including Kickstart Your CV, LinkedIn Lab, Interviews and Assessment Centres and Personal Branding. We’ll also be running transferable skills workshops on Commercial Awareness, Project Management, Negotiating and Influencing and Personal Effectiveness, to make sure our graduates are absolutely ready to hit the ground running.
Leadership Bootcamp Open Badge (15-18th May)
Students who attend all the transferable skills workshops and at least one careers skills workshops will be able to complete the Leadership Bootcamp Open Badge. This includes a full-day’s project management training run by Sarah Wilson of 54 Degrees.
The Leadership Bootcamp and Final Countdown sessions are aimed at final years, but open to all years. Please point them out to any students who you think will benefit!