Careers season 101

I don’t know about you, but this month I have been bombarded with career information!

From emails about fairs to department-specific guest lectures, I have never felt so pressed to consider my place in the real world.

Consequently, I decided I would share some of the useful employability-related events I have recently attended, hosted by the Careers and Employability team at the University - and encourage that you consider these if you have not done so already!

Guest Speakers

I frequently receive emails from my faculty about upcoming guest lectures but I rarely attend - not because they aren’t interesting but purely because I can never seem to squeeze them in alongside my other extra-curricular activities and contact hours.

However, I would highly recommend you going to specific career-related talks that your faculty arrange, whatever year you’re currently in! Two weeks ago I decided to attend a talk about joining the civil service. I walked in the room thinking civil servants are basically all James Bond and left deciding that is the career I am determined to pursue! Now I am currently in the midst of applying for their Summer Diversity Internship Scheme to gain a taster of what it would be like to work for the government.

CV Drop In

I had heard about this service since first year and kept intending to update and print my CV to bring into the Careers Service, but never got round to it. In fact, I did finally get round to it after I had submitted my Masters applications (not the best idea in hindsight). The drop-in service appointment lasted 10 minutes and was enough to skim over and discuss my CV. As a follow up from the CV drop in, I booked into a 30-minute career meeting to discuss my future plans in further depth.

Top Tip: Take advantage of this service before you submit any university, placement or job applications!

Careers Appointment

Heads Up: The Careers team are extremely busy so it can take up to two weeks to get a slot! However, it is definitely worth the wait as it is reassuring to discuss future plans with a professional who is very helpful at providing information and guiding you in the career path you wish to pursue.

Business Fair

With over 95 exhibitors, this is one of the most popular events in the careers calendar.

Top Tip: Always check the event page on Facebook nearer to the event date as there is likely to be a link to purchase tickets/book spaces by then!

Having booked in advance, I attended the fair with a close friend of mine. Given that she is interested in law and accountancy whilst I am interested in international development, there were only few companies that were of mutual interest to us! Nevertheless, this turned out to be advantageous to us given that both of us chatted with companies we would have never considered otherwise.

Another Top Tip: Look up the list of employers attending the fair in advance so that you have time to prepare questions for any organisations you are keen for!

Opportunities Fair

This event was extremely different to the Business Fair – it was much smaller in size and had a real focus on what the University of Southampton itself provides. Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity to learn more about schemes such as the Excel Placement Programme and Business Innovation Programme and chat to the staff as well as previous participants.

To conclude this post, can we just take a moment to appreciate the Careers and Employability team? Outside of university, these kinds of opportunities would only be available for a substantial fee.

We really are fortunate to have such a great service here at the University and it would be a shame if students did not make the most of it.

Aditi