With the start of the 2017-18 academic year just around the corner, you may be thinking about joining a student society during the Fresher Fayre.
If so, Kent Union offer societies covering academic interests, volunteering, cultural beliefs and special interests! There is literally a society to suit nearly all interests and by joining one, you can really enhance your University of Kent experience.
Furthermore, by getting involved with societies, you are also boosting your overall employability! The EP team caught up with Tomas Christodoulou, Talent Acquisition Agent from Enterprise Rent-a-Car, to hear his views:
“University graduates can stand out by getting involved with co-curricular activities, your University degree is not enough to make your CV stand out from the crowd. Get involved with a sports team, get yourself an internship or even join the Harry Potter society! Any of these activities give you transferable skills which will help in the world of work – leadership, communication and organizational skills to name but a few.”
Tom continued to explain:
At Enterprise Rent-A-Car we work alongside the Union and the Employability Points Scheme looking for these types of people – passionate, confident and hardworking individuals who have gone the extra mile in improving on their employability. Get involved anyway you can around your campus, have fun and do new things, you never know – getting that dream job might be fun!”
This sentiment was also shared by TMLEP, with their Legal and Commercial Director, Oliver Maughan, commenting:
“Demonstrating co-curricular involvement is crucial in setting you apart from other candidates, especially when applying for highly competitive roles. Qualifications typically indicate academic ability, whereas co-curricular abilities give you an opportunity to display your personality – both personality and academic abilities are crucial for most roles. Co-curricular involvement will therefore make your application far more personal to the assessor, helping to build your profile and make you stand out as an individual during an application process.”
So with this in mind, make the most of Freshers Week by talking to society members and look to get yourself involved with as much as possible. Just don’t forget, you can claim Employability Points for all relevant co-curricular activities.