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EMPLOYABILITY & PLACEMENTS EVENTS
- Are you interested in career mentoring?
Would you like to have a career mentor? We are inviting all first and second year students, as well as students who will be enrolled on a Kent postgraduate course in Autumn, to participate in a career mentoring programme starting in October.
Kent Career Mentoring aims to connect Kent students with Kent alumni, to receive guidance and support in achieving their career ambitions. We aim to match students with an alumnus working in a profession they are interested in. As a mentee you’ll experience a wide range of benefits from your mentoring partnership which could make a big difference to your future career prospects.
Find out more here or click here to apply now!
- Destination Success Bootcamp – 24-26 May
The Careers and Employability Service is launching our first ‘Destination Success Bootcamp’ which is a 3-day intensive training programme with the purpose of helping students to map out their journey to success and build confidence in their abilities. This programme is suitable to those across all years, including recent graduates. We have limited places so would recommend booking early to avoid disappointment.
For more information, including the joining instructions and to book your place go here – https://www.kent.ac.uk/ces/DestinationSuccess.html
OPPORTUNITIES
- One-year post-graduate job scheme for Psychology graduates – working with primary school children
Graduating this summer and interested in working with primary school aged children? Two Bridges School in Tunbridge Wells is looking for a Psychology graduate to work alongside the programme lead on their Primary Focus programme; a nurture-based programme to support primary aged pupils with social and emotional coping strategies.
- Psychology student wanted for part-time therapy role (Head First)
Head First provides access to mandatory training and brain injury specific training. Head First also provide regular 1:1 clinical supervision and 24/7 emergency on-call support. This is a great opportunity for a therapy assistant to assist a 14 year-old girl with her independence and ongoing rehabilitation.
- Volunteering Opportunity: Make Education Fairer!
CoachBright are looking for Kent students to work with school pupils from low-income backgrounds to help them improve their grades, confidence and access to university. As we navigate life in a post-covid world, it’s more important than ever that our most disadvantaged pupils are getting the support they need.
Click here to find out more and help make education fairer!
- NatWest Insight Weeks for Women – apply now!
Applications now open for NatWest Insight Weeks for Women. This is a great way to learn more about NatWest and a career in banking; network with colleagues to hear about their experience and get a feel for the culture. The programme will run over four days from 30th August to 2nd September 2022.
- How to get a graduate job – free online course!
Make your graduate job search easier and land the graduate job you want with help from the UK’s leading graduate coaching company. Understand the graduate recruitment process and prepare for the world of work to land the job you really want!
BOOK A 1-1 CAREERS CHAT
Need some advice on your CV or future career? Book a one-to-one appointment with our Employability Officer who can support you with your job and work experience search, help you look for and secure work (we review CVs, applications, and offer interviews and assessment centre training and advice). Use the link below to make an appointment:
https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/aspirations/book-a-careers-chat/
CAREERS SERVICE EVENTS
Monday 9 May
How to make the most of your vacation, 13:00-14:00, Online
Suggestions for activities you can do during the vacation to boost the skills and experiences on your CV.
Building resilience for the recruitment process, 15:00-16:00, Online
What is resilience in relation to the recruitment process? Steps to develop this vital skill and demonstrate resilience to employers.
Tuesday 10 May
Asking for Reasonable Adjustments, 11:00-12:00, Online
What are reasonable adjustments, and should I request them? Telling an employer about your disability is a personal choice, but there are benefits to doing so – one of these is asking for reasonable adjustments to enable to bring your whole, best self to work.
This session will give you some ideas of different adjustments you may benefit from, and how and when to speak to an employer about them.
Litter Pick, 13:45-15:15, Meet at the Careers and Employability Building, Canterbury Campus
Clean and green environments can nurture positive mental and physical wellbeing and promote a happier community. A litter-free place reduces damage to local habitats, and by recycling materials that might otherwise become litter, natural resources are also protected.
It is well known that litter breeds litter; people are generally less likely to drop litter in an area that is clean. The first and most effective method of prevention, therefore, is setting the example in your community, so why not take part in our Litter Pick.
Join up today and start making a difference to the spaces around us.
This links with goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and goal 15: Life on Land on the UN sustainability goals.
Employability Points will be earned by volunteering.
What to expect at an Assessment Centre, 14:00-15:00, Online
This is an information session which will cover what to expect at an assessment centre, the types of exercises undertaken, how to approach case studies and group exercises and tips for preparing.
Wednesday 11 May
Study Plus – Editing and Proofreading at work by Jakki Bendell, 09:30-11:00, Online
Editing and proofreading are transferable skills that will be valued in any job role. At work, you will need to check your own emails and reports. Your employer may also ask you to check other people’s work as part of your role.
This session will give you the skills, tools and resources to check written work effectively. It is highly interactive including group discussion and practical exercises.
After completing this 90-minute online course, you will be able to:
- Understand the difference between editing and proofreading, and why they are difficult
- Know how to check and improve the readability of documents
- Identify techniques to edit and proofread your document systematically
- Know what to look for
- Use free software editing tools
Study Plus: World Class Manager Programme Introduction, 13:00-13:30, Online
This session will introduce you to the online World Class Manager programme. This programme can be completed at your own speed, introducing you to the actionable and highly practical ways to help managers get their best for themselves and their teams. It is designed around 12 habits of great leaders.
You don’t need to be a manager to attend the introduction and complete the course. This is designed to provide you with the knowledge you can take forward to your future employment.
Graduating? Your career action plan, 13:00-14:00, Online
How ready are you for graduation and making job applications? This checklist will help you reflect on your career readiness and help you to set actions to fill the gaps.
CVs, Cover letters and Application forms, 15:00-16:00, Online
Join this information session to find out the key things you need to include in your CV, application forms and cover letters.
We will cover the dos and don’ts and ways to tailor your documents to make you stand out.
Thursday 12 May
How to get started with LinkedIn, 11:00-12:00, Online
Not joined LinkedIn? It is one of the most useful places to network. Find out how to get started with the basics.
Graduate Careers with MI5, M16 & GCHQ, 13:00-14:00, Online
At MI5, MI6 and GCHQ we are proud of our mission to protect National Security and UK interests overseas. We’re also proud of our people and upholding our values. Our working cultures encourage open minds and attitudes and are supported by a welfare and benefits structure that enables our workforce to be at its best. From training and development that helps employees expand their skills, to flexible working patterns that support a healthy work life balance at MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to create an environment where everyone can achieve their full potential.
Between us we have many ways to use your skills, so we offer variety and potential to switch between agencies. We are so proud of our awards for diversity and inclusion, which underpin everything we do and hold important. Come and join us on Thursday 12th May at 1pm, where we will be sharing with you a presentation about what it is like to work for us, explain our missions further and show you some of the many routes to joining us.
Study Plus – The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace by Ali Whelan, 13:00-14:30, Online
To provide an overview of Emotional Intelligence and how it underpins personal effectiveness within the workplace.
You can expect to come away knowing:
- The 5 elements of EI
- The importance and impacts of EI in the workplace and for career building
- Actions you can take to increase your own EI
Commercial Awareness, 15:00-16:00, Online
Commercial awareness is one of the top skills employers are looking for from students and graduates who are applying for internships, placements and graduate roles.
In this session you will find out what commercial awareness is, how employers test for it during the recruitment process, how to make yourself more commercially aware and some useful techniques to help you demonstrate this.
Friday 13 May
Study Plus – Personal Energy Management for Optimal Workplace Performance by Ali Whelan, 10:00-11:30, Online
Moving past time management, energy management relates to understanding your optimum performance times during the day/week/month and how you can manage workloads and task prioritisation around your peak energy times.
Students can expect to come away knowing:
- The concept of energy management
- How to recognise peak and low energy periods
- Different strategies for managing your life, working with energy fluctuations
- How to deal with working effectively outside of your optimum hours when you have no choice.
Graduating? Your career action plan, 11:00-12:00, Kennedy KENSR10, Canterbury Campus
How ready are you for graduation and making job applications? This checklist will help you reflect on your career readiness and help you to set actions to fill the gaps.
Volunteering in the Kent Community Oasis Garden, 12:15-14:15, Meet at Careers and Employability Service Building Reception, Canterbury Campus
Come along and join us at KentCOG. You will meet fellow students, learn new skills and get the most out of gardening, socialising and wellbeing opportunities. We also aim to run workshops supporting the local wildlife.
Please wear sturdy footwear, bring waterproofs (always be prepared for the wet weather!) There is shelter in the potting shed and also in the polytunnels.
All tools will be provided.
This links with goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and goal 15: Life on Land on the UN sustainability goals.
Employability points will also be allocated through volunteering.
Interview skills including video interviews, 13:00-14:00, Online
This session will cover common interview questions and how to approach them, including competency, strengths based and motivational questions. The session will also look at steps to take to prepare for an interview, helping you to feel more confident for the real thing!
Study Plus: Understanding stress and self-care – Planning for your future, 14:00-16:30, Online
As you prepare to enter, or re-enter, the world of work taking stock of your wellbeing is an important reflective practice. Not only will it ensure that you know when you are feeling overwhelmed, but it will provide you with strategies and tools to help manage your stress levels and enhance your resilience.
You will have the opportunity to explore the symptoms of stress (physical, emotional, and behavioural) and then think about the steps you can take to develop your self-care routines and those important work-life boundaries that will keep you well.
This webinar will be a whirlwind tour of best practice, free resources, and signposting to help you think about your wellbeing and resilience for now, and for your future career. There will be time for Q&As at the end of the session so attendees can share best practice and ask questions about their specific challenges.
Monday 16 May
Study Plus: Writing for the Web and Social Media at work – by Jakki Bendell, 09:30-11:00, Online
Many organisations now expect all employees to help write quality web content. These skills are a great asset to any company and your career, whatever your academic background and job role.
Whether writing web pages, a corporate blog or helping to build a social media campaign, this session will give you the basics for writing compelling online content. It is highly interactive including group discussion and practical exercises.
After completing this 90-minute, online course, you will be able to:
- Understand how digital writing differs from academic writing
- Know what to write about and how to engage your readers
- Plan and structure your content
- Get to the point quickly
- Ensure the language and tone is right for the audience
Life After Uni – Why you might want a job in the fastest growing sector of UK industry, the Creative Industries. With The Design Community Hub, 12:00-13:00, Online
A conversation with Deborah Dawton CEO of the DBA, Tim Greenhalgh, Chief Creative Officer at Landor & Fitch and Emily Foulkes, Project Director of the Design Community Hub on all the routes into and through the creative industry.
Life After Uni – Inclusive Careers: Imposter Syndrome by Sal Pearman, 12:30-15:00, Online
As much as we want to stay optimistic, focussed, and productive, it can be very easy to slip into negative patterns of thinking. To ask, “Am I good enough?”, “Can I do this?”, “Am I a fake?” With the huge impact of a more digital and global community it’s easy to feel less capable, less confident, and perhaps less worthy than our peers.
In the world of work, we will all face barriers and challenges but being able to differentiate between skills gaps vs. our own limiting beliefs is such a useful and empowering awareness to have. This half-day workshop will demystify the truth behind Imposter Syndrome and will provide practical tools and techniques to accurately understand, communicate and celebrate our abilities.
Over the half-day workshop, we will cover:
- What is Imposter Syndrome (is it a real thing?)
- How we might experience Imposter Syndrome and how it can impact us
- How to accurately label our skills and experiences
- Challenging negative self-talk and self-doubt
- Mental reprogramming: thinking differently and thinking positively
Life After Uni – CVs, Cover letters and Application forms, 15:00-16:00, Online
Join this information session to find out the key things you need to include in your CV, application forms and cover letters.
We will cover the dos and don’ts and ways to tailor your documents to make you stand out.
Tuesday 17 May
Life After Uni – Make yourself impossible to ignore! 10:00-11:00, Online
James Gray is Head of Digital at Wonderful, an agency specialising in taking complex business problems and fusing creativity & technology to deliver wonderfully simple digital solutions. In an ever changing digital environment, Wonderful exists to take the complexity out of brands’ Digital Marketing, Website Design and Development, App and Software Development and Data Analytics by joining the digital dots, delivering award-winning strategic solutions and campaigns. James has worked in marketing and the digital industry for 15 years, working across B2B & B2C industries including everything from nightclubs to automotive, healthcare to commercial real estate, FMCG to travel.
Life After Uni – Accepting a job offer and negotiating contracts, 11:00-12:00, Online
Congratulations – you got the job! Now it’s time to consider the details. This session is your guide through the steps from a verbal offer, to signing on the dotted line and how to make sure you get the right reward for your hard work ahead. The session covers:
- How to say ‘yes’ (or no) to a job offer
- What to expect in a job contract and what to watch for
- Tools and tactics to prepare for effective contract negotiations
- Predicting the difficult questions that might arise if you have multiple offers
- How to weigh up the non-contract benefits of different offers for your career journey
By the end of the session, attendees will be able to:
- Make informed decisions about different job offers
- Know what to expect in a job contract
- Negotiate the terms of a job contract
Life After Uni – Using LinkedIn, 13:00-14:00, Online
With 87% of recruiters using LinkedIn, having an online presence is crucial! But how do you use LinkedIn successfully?
In this session find out how to build your LinkedIn profile and use the platform effectively to showcase your skills. The talk will also share how employers use LinkedIn to recruit and how to grow your professional network.
Wednesday 18 May
Life After Uni – What to do in the first three months of your role? 11:00-12:00, Online
The move from university to work is a huge shift in culture, expectations and measures of success. This session is about starting out in work. The session covers:
- The induction process and how to make a good first impression
- How to get to know your role fast and get stuck in
- The key things you can do to build a good working relationship with your boss
- Taking care of your mental health during a time of change
- Managing hybrid working
- The reality of starting salary
The session shares tips on receiving feedback and how to action it, advice on how to be yourself at work and evidence based approaches to supporting your wellbeing. It also includes some practical exercises on how to plan your first three months and get ready for your six month probation.
Life After Uni – Interview skills including video interviews, 13:00-14:00, Online
This session will cover common interview questions and how to approach them, including competency, strengths based and motivational questions. The session will also look at steps to take to prepare for an interview, helping you to feel more confident for the real thing!
Life After Uni – World Class Manager Programme Introduction, 15:00-15:30, Online
This session will introduce you to the online Certified World Class Manager programme. This programme can be completed at your own speed, introducing you to the actionable and highly practical ways to help managers get their best for themselves and their teams. It is designed around 12 habits of great leaders.
You don’t need to be a manager to attend the introduction and complete the course. This is designed to provide you with the knowledge you can take forward to your future employment.
Thursday 19 May
Life After Uni – Mentoring. Give yourself the best start to your career. With Dan Hawes from GRB, 13:00-14:00, Online
Give yourself the best start to your career. Learn how to access over 200 Mentors from Facebook, Google, Coca-Cola and many more and get your CV checked over, brainstorm ideas and boost your personal brand!
Litter Pick, 13:45-15:15, Meet at the Careers and Employability Building, Canterbury Campus
Clean and green environments can nurture positive mental and physical wellbeing and promote a happier community. A litter-free place reduces damage to local habitats, and by recycling materials that might otherwise become litter, natural resources are also protected.
It is well known that litter breeds litter; people are generally less likely to drop litter in an area that is clean. The first and most effective method of prevention, therefore, is setting the example in your community, so why not take part in our Litter Pick.
Join up today and start making a difference to the spaces around us.
This links with goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and goal 15: Life on Land on the UN sustainability goals.
Employability Points will be earned by volunteering.
Study Plus: Goal Setting and Goal Achieving – tips to help feel motivated and productive at work by Jeffrey Wotherspoon, 14:00-15:30, Online
People generally know the importance/benefits of setting goals but most people do not know how to do so effectively. Others might describe goal setting a little like marmite – they either “love it or hate it”.
This interactive 90-minute workshop is for you wherever you are on the spectrum. If you love goal setting and want to upskill and learn more this is for you. However, if you have given up on goal setting because it hasn’t worked for you in the past or you just don’t know the benefits of it, this workshop is for you too.
During this workshop, you will have the opportunity to create a goal and learn tips that will help you achieve it.
In addition, we will cover the common mistakes and pitfalls people make when creating goals. And there will be a Q&A where you will have the chance to ask questions and gain clarity on why some goals may not have worked for you.
Life After Uni – Postgraduate Study, 15:00-16:00, Online
Find out about how to find courses, the application process and how to write a personal statement.
Friday 20 May
Life After Uni: Journaling Tools to help Manage Time, Efficiency and Wellbeing by Esther van Hout, 11:00-12:30, Online
Research shows that journal writing has extensive health and wellbeing benefits, as well as being an effective way to help you plan the life you want. This workshop can help with situations as varied as gaining confidence in writing, exploring personal challenges or keeping organised.
This workshop explores a variety of techniques that you can take away and use immediately, designed to support self-care, creativity and life management skills. A variety of practical exercises and readings will be provided. It is suitable for all standards of writing.
Participants will not have to share their work in the group unless they would like to.
Intended learning outcomes:
- Learn what journal writing is and how it can benefit mental wellbeing.
- Practise different journaling techniques, to focus your attention and express yourself through writing.
- Learn how journaling can help you with self-care, creativity and life-management.
Volunteer for The Kent Community Oasis Garden, 12:15-14:15, Meet at Careers and Employability Service Building Reception, Canterbury Campus
Come along and join us at KentCOG. You will meet fellow students, learn new skills and get the most out of gardening, socialising and wellbeing opportunities. We also aim to run workshops supporting the local wildlife.
Please wear sturdy footwear, bring waterproofs (always be prepared for the wet weather!) There is shelter in the potting shed and also in the polytunnels.
All tools will be provided.
This links with goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and goal 15: Life on Land on the UN sustainability goals.
Employability points will also be allocated through volunteering.
Life After Uni – Graduating? Your Career Action Plan, 13:00-14:00, Online
Are you graduating this year?
In this session we take you through the process of reflecting on your readiness to engage with industry and apply for jobs.
Use the checklist to review your personal progress and work readiness and set actions for effective opportunity searching.
Life After Uni – Stress – How to manage it well when you are busy or have a heavy workload by Jeffrey Wotherspoon, 14:00-15:30, Online
Stress is something that affects everyone. It causes students to feel overwhelmed with their studies, accounts for huge percentages of absences at work, and can negatively impact our mental and physical health. Simply said if you do not take a proactive step to manage stress it could have terrible consequences.
This 90-minute workshop looks at what stress is and explores some of the benefits as well as the negative impacts of stress. Most importantly this workshop will provide you with practical tools you can implement to manage stress.
By attending this workshop, you will learn:
- how stress can aid you
- what to look out for to manage stress
- how stress can impact you physiologically, emotionally & mentally
- tips to manage stress.
OTHER CAREER INFORMATION AND EVENTS
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- The Adobe Digital Edge Awards…
an industry-recognised award, which credits the best student examples of digital literacy in the country. This is a fantastic opportunity for students who are applying to placement or grad roles, to demonstrate desirable employability skills such as creative thinking and communication.
From engineering to geography, business to architecture, the Digital Edge Awards are open to all UK university students. To enter, students should submit coursework where they’ve showcased digital literacy skills – that’s work that shows off creative problem solving, critical thinking and visual communication! The awards are judged by a panel of experts, including
the founder of RateMyPlacement, Oliver Sidwell!
As well as the opportunity to receive an accolade for their CV, two winners will receive a £9,250 cash prize, alongside six runner-up prizes of £1,000!
You can find out more about the awards here. Entries close 31 May.
- GRN Member Invite: Fresh Insights Webinar
Our Fresh Insights series of invitation-only webinars continues on Wednesday 11th May at 12.30pm and I’d be delighted if you could attend.
Topic: Employment Law Update with Simon Bloch, Employment Partner at JMW Solicitors LLP. Discover the latest employment legislation for graduate recruiters covering employment law plus key employment cases.
Date: Wednesday 11th May 12.30pm-1.30pm GMT.
Interested? Book your free place here.
Don’t worry if you’re already booked up that day because once registered you will have access to a recording of the webinar on-demand.
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