Imaging you are, a few years from now, sitting in an office being interviewed for your dream graduate job. The interviewer turns and looks at you and asks ‘what did you do during your time at University?’
Your mind races and all you can think of is attending seminars and lectures, which ultimately secured you a 2:1. Consequently, you fail to provide an adequate answer.
This nightmarish scenario can be avoided by ensuring you develop valued employability skills by undertaking co-curricular activities alongside your studies. A great way to do this is through Kent’s Raise and Give (RaG).
RaG is the official fundraising body at Kent Union, where students fundraise and support local, national and international charities. A large proportion of this funding is achieved by undertaking challenges, which have included:
- Climb Mt Kilimanjaro
- Uganda Gorilla Trek
- Escape and Evade
- Snowball
By undertaking these challenges, in addition to fundraising through ‘raids’ (bucket collection), you can develop the following skills:
- Dedication
- Resilience
- Cultural Awareness
- Team work
- Problem solving
- Planning
- Customer service
- And much more!
Ultimately, employers really appreciate seeing graduates, who dedicated some of their time, whilst at University, to the benefit of others. Consequently, the University of Kent’s Employability Points (EP) Scheme fully supports Kent RaG and offers points for the undertaking of different activities:
- Membership 15 points
- Committee role 30 points
- Raids 10 points
- Organising events 10-25 points
- Challenges 10-40 points
Consequently, if you are looking to get more involved with RaG or you are a current member, make sure you are logging your activities for Employability Points. By doing so, if you meet certain thresholds, you will have the chance to redeem these rewards on work experience placements, internships and training sessions (and much more).
The EP Scheme will reward you for your dedication and ultimately help ensure you are more employable through providing experience of work!
For more information on Kent RaG, please see here and for the EP Scheme, please see here.