Damien Harateh, Kent graduate and Software Developer at IBM, shares his advice to final year students on how to make yourself stand out from the crowd in a fast-paced job market.
What did you do whilst studying to develop your employability skills?
“During my studies, I spent an enormous amount of time pursuing several initiatives and engaging in a number of roles. I got heavily involved in student representation and student societies, as well as co-organised a number of conferences. I also held a number of positions at the University, such as being a Residents Support Officer for Keynes College and Employability Representative at Careers and Employability Services. I engaged in those roles not because of the employability skills per se but because I always had a desire to try different things and to develop useful skills.
You really want to be graduating from the University of Kent with more than just a degree. To put it bluntly, having just a degree is simply not enough. You will be competing with thousands upon thousands of graduates with similar degrees. The way to make yourself stand out from the crowd is by developing valuable skills and squeezing the most out of your time at the University. University of Kent provides a plethora of opportunities – get involved in student societies, become a student representative and make sure to get some work experience. The skills developed as a result will be the pillars to your future success. Do not sleep walk through your degree.”
What are you doing now, and how did your involvement with extra-curricular activities at university help you to secure a graduate job?
“Currently, I am a Software Developer at IBM, with one foot in project management. My undergraduate degree had nothing to do with computer science at all — this is an area I pursued solely in my free time, developing websites on the side, and helping several student societies with their IT side of things. Undoubtedly, having worked on a number of projects besides my degree allowed me to develop a range of very useful skills.
Having recently started managing a team of my own, the skills such as effective communication, leadership skills, and thinking innovatively to solve small and large problems have been very useful to me — I started developing all those skills at the University, and I cannot imagine being able to jump at the project management opportunity at my firm, had I not had those skills and experiences. Nowadays, less and less employers care about what you studied, but care increasingly more about how you present yourself and what defines you as a person. What defines you are the projects you worked on, your hobbies, your accomplishments, among many other things. If you can pinpoint exactly what you learnt from each of the projects you worked on, then you will have much easier time persuading the potential employer that you are the person they are looking for.”
Did you use the Careers and Employability Service whilst at university? If so, how did they help you?
“I started using the Careers and Employability Services (CES) very early during my time at the University. The simple truth is that you do not know what you do not know. Unless you get familiar with the information and the services offered by the CES, you will simply be unaware of the many opportunities out there. CES, apart from providing interview coaching, CV and cover letter feedback, also has a vast amount of incredibly useful information on their website. Therefore, you should make sure you know their website inside out. Your career development starts the day you arrive at the University. It is much easier to navigate your University years when you know the direction you are heading.
Personally, I used CES throughout my whole undergraduate degree. Their website provided me with many useful tips and recommendations, and thanks to their newsletter, I also learnt about many opportunities I would not have heard about otherwise. As a student, this is a service you really need to use to give yourself a head start. Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity. Therefore, make sure you are proactive about your career development from day one.”
What key piece of advice would you give to final year students looking for a graduate job?
“My key piece of advice would be to think about the kind of companies you would like to work for. What industry interests you most? Why does it interest you? Do not look solely at the rankings or the salary. Ask yourself, is this the kind of company I would be happy working at for X number of years? Also ask yourself if you identify with the company’s mission. Reflecting on those questions will dramatically change how you approach job-hunting.
Besides that, you should consult Career and Employability Services about your CV and cover letter. I cannot stress that enough. Imagine being a recruiter, who receives two applications. Both of the applicants have similar degrees and similar accomplishments. Which one of them are you going to pick? The one with a tailored cover letter and a meticulous CV or the one whose CV has not been updated since 6th form? Now, imagine that there are 20 applicants for every position available. The first impression is literally based on those two documents, so do make sure that they are both exemplary.”
-Damien Harateh, Law, Accounting and Finance graduate (2018)
