Why is it important to access your university careers service as a postgraduate student?
Whether you are studying towards a taught or research-based master’s, or undertaking a PhD, you can still access support through your university’s careers service.
Whilst you may have opted to pursue postgraduate study with a specific career goal in mind, your future decision-making and career planning is likely to be shaped by your experience of working towards your further qualification(s). With this in mind, it will be beneficial for you to access the range of support available to increase your awareness of your future options, keep you on track with your plans, and support you in preparing for future recruitment processes.
Exploring your future options
University careers services will have qualified advisers offering information, advice and guidance (IAG) across a range of disciplines and sectors. Many will offer the opportunity to meet one-to-one with an adviser for them to understand more about you as an individual.
A guidance appointment, specifically, is likely to delve into your personal qualities, what motivates you, what your skills, strengths and values are, as well as offering you some tangible ideas of roles you could look to pursue once you have completed your postgraduate studies.
Your careers service will also likely signpost you to a range of online resources – whether they are exclusive to your institution or widely available – to support different aspects of your career planning.
Securing experience alongside your studies
Many postgraduate students will be keen to secure experience alongside their academic studies. This is likely to be for two main reasons:
- Postgraduates are facing higher tuition fees and pressures with increases in the cost of living, so many need to work alongside their university pursuits to support their studies.
- Depending on the sector or position you are hoping to pursue longer-term, there may be the requirement to secure some relevant experience to support your applications, enhance your skills, and to prove your suitability for specific roles.
University careers services are likely to be able to support in a number of ways:
- Some may host their own dedicated jobs board with a range of vacancies, including paid part-time roles, volunteering, internships or placements.
- Others may proactively use their networks to connect you with employers, whether that’s by offering mentoring, employer talks, larger-scale recruitment fairs, or partnering to offer insight schemes or internships, which can all enhance your future prospects.
- Some master’s and postgraduate courses may have in-work developmental activities built into their structure, enabling you to put your learning into action to help you maximise your competitive advantage once you graduate. Advisers may support these placements by encouraging you to reflect on your participation as part of assessments focused on your personal and professional development.
Identifying what you can offer as a candidate
Key to securing your next opportunity – whether that’s linked to your postgraduate research, or something that takes you in a new direction – will be building your confidence in conveying what you can offer to a prospective employer.
Before you can take that step, you will need to reflect on your experience through your academic studies, extra-curricular activities, and/or previous paid positions. This will allow you to competently evidence the skills, strengths and abilities you want to discuss with an employer.
This is where one-to-one support with advisers will be valuable, or you could explore the offer of events, workshops or activities to support you with this aspect of your career development.
Articulating what you can offer an employer
Once you have developed a sense of what you can offer a prospective employer, and have identified positions you are keen to apply to, your careers service will be able to support and assist you with communicating this information as part of the recruitment process.
This could be through the following aspects of their service offer:
- Application support: whether you are applying to further study – for example, progressing from a master’s to a PhD – or are pursuing a role in industry, your careers service will be able to assist you with different aspects of the application process.
This will include how to target your CV, producing a tailored cover letter or supporting statement, or what to include in a portfolio, if required. - Interview preparation: advisers will be on hand to discuss typical interview questions based on the job description and person specification provided. They will advise you on how best to prepare your responses, providing hints and tips to ensure you offer detailed answers to evidence your suitability and motivation.
- Mock interviews: some career services may offer mock interviews, which provide a valuable opportunity to receive feedback on your performance, as well as building confidence to discuss your achievements through your postgraduate studies with others.
Events, workshops and other career-enhancing activities
Whilst the provision across university career services is likely to vary, many will offer a programme of events, workshops and other activities linked to your career planning and professional development that can be accessed throughout the academic year.
Some institutions offer dedicated workshop series targeted at postgraduate students, covering a range of topics, including how to discuss achievements through your further studies, resources to support your future job search, and what skills employers are looking for from postgraduate candidates.
Other career-enhancing activities to support postgraduate students might include:
- Volunteering: this could include one-off volunteering events, fundraising activities, longer-term community-focused voluntary roles, or work experience/shadowing.
- Mentoring: some institutions may offer professional mentoring schemes, providing the chance to work with a mentor who can offer insights and opportunities within the workplace.
- Skills awards: increasingly, universities are offering skills award programmes to recognise achievements linked to extra-curricular activities.
- Enterprise support: some university careers services will have staff that specialise in enterprise/start-up support, advising on the process of starting your own business with guidance on developing your business idea, market research, funding, and how to grow your business.
Support after graduation
Whilst there are different offers across universities, typically ranging from 6 months to 3 years, most will offer access to employability support for their graduates. This is likely to include access to advisers, graduate job alerts, events and workshops, and any institution-specific initiatives.
Overall, there is wide-ranging support available for postgraduate students, wherever they are with their further studies. It will be important to consider and utilise the service available to you throughout your time at your institution, and beyond, as you make the transition into the graduate labour market.
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