Category Archives: Student opportunities

Post it notes saying "journey map" and "apply"

How to find summer work experience

Are you looking to expand your experience and skills during the summer vacation? Perhaps make new contacts and build your CV, LinkedIn or any other profile?

Taking on some unsalaried opportunities can give you the flexibility to try a variety of new experiences that fit round your other interests or commitments. If you are taking on any unpaid opportunities the work and opportunities fund could help you to meet any costs associated with this.

  1. What do you want to achieve or experience?
  • Reflect on strengths and experiences so far; consider what is missing or what you would like to experience more of.
  • Identify skills and experiences that fit with your career or personal development plans.
  1. Find out what is available
  • Online work experiences and internships are often short and workable in your own time. Schemes are available and are a great way to make connections and develop sector awareness.
  • Volunteering could be directly related to your programme of study, career goals or something completely different. It could be ongoing or as part of a one off event, at home or abroad.
  • Company Insight days and events are available throughout the year are often online. Attending them shows your motivation and can help you make career decisions.
  • Work shadow or short work experience. – an opportunity to observe and develop your understanding of a role, grow your network and commercial awareness and identify your career goals. You will likely need to arrange this opportunity yourself.
  • Self-directed projects. You could try entering competitions; Search social media, using hashtag to find opportunities. You could set yourself a research project, develop a design, product or business idea.
  • Search for opportunities on the Target connect portal.
  1. Decide on the opportunity you want and apply
  • Check company websites and social media. Find details of key contacts and check for any application or registration deadlines.
  • Check the application methods. Some may have structured application processes others may be undefined, requiring you to make a speculative approach.
  • What tools do you need? CV, cover letter/ email. Include evidence of motivation for the opportunity and prior experience in your application.
  • Ask the Careers and Employability Service for support to develop your CV or help with your application.
  • Remember to log your activities for Employability Points and update your CV and LinkedIn profile with your experiences, new learning and skills!

Good luck with your summer experiences!

Woman dressed smartly on phone with laptop

How to find a summer job

The summer vacation provides an ideal opportunity for students to secure paid work experience and to develop valuable employability skills. Read on to find out more about the types of work available, the top things to consider when searching for summer jobs, and how to apply.

Step one: Know your options

One of the first things to research when looking for a summer job is what opportunities are available. Examples include:

Step two: Identify your preferences

Considering your own requirements in advance will allow you to search more efficiently for relevant opportunities and can narrow down the vacancies to apply to. Some points to consider are:

  • Location
  • Transport links
  • Sector
  • Duties and skills involved
  • Hours and flexibility
  • Wage and overtime options

Step three: Search for opportunities

A good starting point for your search is the Careers and Employability Service website, which contains links to online jobs boards, organised by sector.

Other useful websites include:

You might also find it useful to check in shop windows for vacancies, or adopt a speculative approach. This involves contacting an employer directly (usually providing your CV and a cover letter), even if they do not have any advertised vacancies.

Step four: Apply!

Check the job advertisement for instructions on how to apply. This can vary depending on the role and organisation. Generally, the application process may involve:

Remember: the Careers and Employability Service can support you with applying! Book a 15-minute Quick Advice appointment to have your CV, cover letter or application answers reviewed by an Adviser, or book a 30-minute Interview Practice slot.

And that’s it! Four simple steps to give yourself the best possible chance of securing a summer job.

Good luck!

 

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Ready to start building your digital skills?

Your Digital Pathway is a new, free digital skills course from Santander in
collaboration with the Institute of Coding, and the award winning
TechUP initiative based at Durham University.

With 50,000 places available, the course is designed to help if you want
to take the first step on the pathway to building your digital skills, and
can support you to:

  • Return to, or start education
  • Return to or start work, or to pivot your career
  • Set up a business online

We know that everyone has a different digital skills starting point.

The course is taught at an introductory level and includes up to 8 hours
of content which can be completed in your own time, and at your
own pace.

Everyone who completes the course will receive a certificate of
achievement and will also be entered into a prize draw for the chance
to win one of 88 Santander grants worth up to £2,500 (T&Cs apply),
available to use on the tailored Santander Aspire webstore to purchase
a range of items including laptops, tablets and Chromebooks.

Registration for Your Digital Pathway is now open and applications
close on 29 June 2022.

Find out more about the course and how to apply.

Paid role: Curriculum Auditors for Sustainability Team

Our Sustainability Team are seeking student auditors to assess the extent of sustainability knowledge and skills in our undergraduate curriculum. The project will take place from the end of May through to the summer. Full training will be provided.

What is the pay?

The pay for this role is £10.29/hour.

What are the hours?

  • 3 hours training (paid) – Wednesday 25 May 14.00-17.00. Attendance and participation in the full 3 hours of training is mandatory. We will be unable to provide catch-up sessions or recordings of the training.
  • Training will take place on Zoom
  • There will then be a minimum of 6 hours per student of additional work to be completed remotely at a time to suit you. Depending on the number of students who attend the training there may be up to 20 additional hours available.

What will the role involve?

  • Students will be mapping the Sustainable Develop Goals (SDGs) and some other key sustainability elements against modules from course and modules at the University of Kent
  • We will be using the online course and modules list that gives an overview of each Module
  • Students will read the overview of the module, and then fill in our online form with your scores mapping them to the SDGs and ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) framework
  • Once students have completed the mapping, we will collate the answers to get a picture of the University’s inclusion of the SDGs.

Application closing date is 8 May 2022.

Find out more and apply.

 

Destination success bootcamp

Destination Success Bootcamp – free 3 day programme

Our Careers and Employability Service are running an exciting 3-day programme – ‘Destination Success Bootcamp’. This is a 3-day intensive training programme with the purpose of helping you map out your journey to success and build confidence in your abilities. This programme is suitable to those across all years, including recent graduates.

This programme will be delivered face to face on the Canterbury Campus (Tuesday 24 May – Thursday 26 May). Each day will start at 10.00 allowing time for those traveling from Medway. You need to attend every day in order to gain a plan on the programme.

The programme will focus on:

Understanding you – This module aids self-reflection so you can better understand how you work, this will include completing a personality profile, exploring your personal values, your strengths and development areas, imposter syndrome and the power of positivity, finishing with looking at what you want to get out of life.

Navigating you – This module with focus on how to nurture and build good relationships, focusing on team dynamics, exploring learning styles and rules of teamwork, having challenging conversations and how to communicate in the workplace.

Universal Life Hacks – This final module will give you a toolbox of ideas to hit the ground running, including decision making, planning, prioritising and delegating, mapping your skills and looking at whether you would employ yourself.

See the website for more information, including the joining instructions and to how to book your place.

If you have any queries, please email studyplus@kent.ac.uk

Residential Life Programme, college and community

Residential Life Assistant (plus accommodation discount)

Do you want to make an amazing student experience for students on-campus at Kent? Join the Residential Life Programme, gain invaluable work experience and get a huge discount on your on-campus accommodation for the 2022/23 academic year! Our Residential Life Assistants (RLAs) are at the heart of our College Communities.

You will build relationships both on and off campus, to develop the sense of belonging and community, whilst working together to create exciting events for your peers. This is an great opportunity to get flexible work experience alongside your studies, whilst actively contributing to a fantastic student experience at Kent.

Please read the Job Description, this provides a more in-depth description of the position available and requirements for applicants. To apply for the position, please provide us with a written statement, no longer than 500 words, expressing why you’d like to be considered for an RLA post and how your experience makes you the best candidate for the role. If you are successful, you will be invited to a short interview with the College and Community Life Team.

Please note, you will need to commit 12 hours a week and be in attendance at a training week on campus, to be arranged after the successful candidates have been selected.

Please send your application to hccl@kent.ac.uk  by Friday 6 May 2022.

We look forward to receiving your application, and hearing about how you would like to make living on campus a fun and memorable time for all!

Leadership elections, Kent Union

Nominations open: Kent Union VP Postgrad full-time officer

Kent Union have elected four of the full-time officers for the upcoming academic year and are looking for the fifth member of the team. They are running a by-election and asking students to vote for your representation once again.The Postgraduate Experience role is responsible for providing the postgraduate perspective on issues which impact their student experience. This role will be the lead officer on issues that may include postgraduate funding, training and support; academic issues such as supervision and GTA (Graduate Teaching Assistants) concerns; employment issues; welfare concerns such as finance and housing; and community development including events and activities out of term time alongside the Postgraduate Network.Election dates are as follows:

  • 25 April 12.00: Nominations open
  • 3 May 12.00: Nominations close
  • 12 May 7.00: Voting opens
  • 12 May 22.00: Voting closes
  • 13 May: Winner announcement

A full job description can be found in the resources section on the Kent Union elections webpage. If you, or someone you know, is interested in running for the role, you can recommend a friend (or yourself, we won’t judge!)Important dates for the successful candidate:

  • Wednesday 18 May: Officer team induction day on Canterbury campus
  • Sunday 26 June – Saturday 2nd July: Residential training in Faversham, Kent.

If you have any questions please email elections@kent.ac.uk and a member of the elections team will get back to you as soon as possible.Good luck!

E-scooters outside Templeman Library

Paid Summer Internship: Exploring effects of e-scooter use

What is the internship about?

The project will:

  • Explore the Physiological effects of E-scooter use
  • Use equipment in the Sport and Exercise Science Laboratory (e.g. HR, Gas exchange)
  • Improve understanding of motivations and attitudes to E-scooter use (E.g. Physical activity engagement, Transport habits)
  • Seek to provide recommendations around E-scooter use Eligibility*

How long is the internship for?

The internship is available for 5 weeks from 1 June (35 hours a week for 5 weeks).

What is the eligibility criteria?

The Summer Vacation Early Career Research Competition has been designed to address the lack of diversity in research. The aim is to encourage Black undergraduates in all disciplines to consider potential postgraduate study.

The internship is open to all Kent students and we particularly encourage applications from first and second year undergraduates who identify as Black, Asian or minority ethnicity, or come from an underrepresented group (ie. disabled, mature, lower socio-economic, care leaver, first in family to attend higher education).

Find out more and apply by 27 April 2022.

 

Join Kent’s Digital Champions Network and volunteer!

The University of Kent is teaming up with Kent County Council to support the local community in becoming comfortable with using digital technology.

As part of KCC’s Digital Champions campaign, the University of Kent is encouraging students and staff to volunteer for an hour or two to support people in accessing the digital world. Your efforts could help save people time and money, make people feel more connected and better informed. Despite this, many people have never been online.

A Digital Champion is someone who helps others to understand the benefits of being online and can spend some time showing them how. Digital Champions do a range of simple things like:

  • Teaching someone to use Google or a web browser
  • Showing a beginner how to set up an email account
  • Helping someone to use the internet to research and plan care
  • Explaining computer terms and internet jargon

In return you’ll get:

  • The opportunity to develop your own skills and knowledge about digital technology
  • Free online training so you know better how to work with others and what sort of things you could teach them
  • The chance to part of a community of Champions who can help each other and share ideas
  • Rewards and awards! You’ll receive a Certificate and an online Open Badge for each Digital Champion course you complete – you can put it on your CV and show others what you’ve done
  • Immense satisfaction that you’ve made a difference to someone else

What are we looking for?

You need a good level of basic computer skills, but you don’t have to be an IT genius. Much more important is having enthusiasm and patience to spend some time helping others to get online.

To find out more, join the introductory zoom meeting on Tuesday 26 April between 16:00-17:00

For more information, please feel free to contact James Corbin on J.I.H.Corbin-2@kent.ac.uk

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Apply for Summer Research Experience Placements

Apply now for a great Summer Research Experience Placement in social sciences.

The placements aim to give undergraduates from underrepresented groups a first-hand opportunity to undertake a research project supported by researchers and receive information on graduate study.

Successful undergraduates will gain benefits in terms of confidence, skills and experience that will enhance their career opportunities and any future postgraduate applications.

Research experience placement students will be made an employee of the placement host organisation and receive a salary for the duration of the placement.

Placements will take place during Summer 2022 for a maximum duration of 8 weeks.

Find out more and apply by 29 April 2022 on the South East Network for Social Sciences (SeNSS) website.