By 
The Employability & Placements team would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and happy New Year. But before you head into the Christmas break, we wanted to remind you that the holiday is a great opportunity to boost your employability skills and get your CV ready!
Here are our top employability tips for how to make the most of your Christmas holidays:
Stage 1 students:
Research Insight Weeks for first year students and check the deadlines for those you want to apply for. Insight Weeks can last anything from a few days to two weeks and are a great way to get a feel for an industry and the jobs available for graduates. Many take place in the Easter break and deadlines are likely to be fast approaching in the New Year.
Stage 2 students:
An internship is a fantastic opportunity to see if you are a good fit for a particular sector but also to gain valuable work experience and develop sought after skills. The majority of internships are for students in their second year (or third year if doing a four year course or going into post graduate study) and take place over the summer. Now is a good time to research what internships are being advertised in your field of interest and start applications. Deadlines will be coming up soon so don’t delay!
Stage 3 students:
Many graduate programmes close in January or February so the Christmas break is the ideal opportunity to work on those applications. Reflect on the skills you have gained during your degree and work experience and highlight them in your application using the STAR technique. You can find some examples of the types of skills you may wish to mention here.
Find out how to articulate the skills acquired at university in a way that is attractive to employers.
CV help and Interview practice:
- Develop your CV and get advice on how to improve it using CareerSet
- Practice assessment centre tests using Graduates First – log in with your Kent email address to get free access
- Prepare for interviews (including video interviews) online with Shortlist Me
Are you considering postgraduate study? Postgraduate study enhances your specialist knowledge and refines your research skills. Most taught Master’s courses start in September so now is a good time to start researching what you would like to study and find out about the requirements. It’s also good to look into funding support options as well. If you are interested in Research / a PhD, start contacting supervisors in the school that you wish to study in.
More information about Postgraduate study can be found here.
Did you miss any of our alumni talks?
Get inspired for your future and listen to Kent alumni discuss their experiences of finding work in their desired sector or profession after graduation. This term, we hosted several events with alumni who are working in: the Public Sector; Finance, Consultancy & Economics; graduate schemes with top employers. You can listen to the recordings here.
Useful resources to kickstart your job search:
- BMJ Jobs in Mental Health
- Bond – Jobs in International Development, NGOs and international charities
- Bright Network – A comprehensive list of graduate schemes by sector with application deadlines
- Careers in the Financial Services sector
- Civil Service Careers
- Conservation Careers
- Environment Jobs
- Graduate Jobs – Graduate jobs, schemes, internships & advice
- Guardian Jobs
- Indeed – extensive job site and resources
- Jobs.ac.uk – research positions in the UK
- LinkedIn – Build your professional network and search job openings by role or company
- Milkround – student and graduate career resource, with a variety of internships, placements, graduate jobs and schemes
- NHS Jobs
- Prospects – graduate jobs, postgraduate study, work experience, internships and graduate careers.
- Target Jobs – Graduate jobs & employers
- University of Kent Careers Service (CES)
- University of Kent Careers Service Vacancy Database (Target Connect)
- Work for an MP