School of Sociology & Social PolicyFACULTY OF EDUCATION, SOCIAL SCIENCES & LAW

Emma Nelson - Student Support Manager, Faculty of ESSLAmanda Gannon – Student Placement Officer, Sociology &

Social Policy

Employability Faculty- and School-level Initiatives

• Engagement

• Avoiding duplication

• Relevance

• High impact vs individual journey

Employability in ESSL and SSP

• One week of ‘find out about’ and discipline specific events• Aim to target and engage students who ‘don’t know’• Also to improve ‘personal development’ scores on student

surveys• Opportunity to work together across Faculty within new

Student Support function of the Student Education Service • Integrated and synthesised approach to employability at

Faculty level• Supported by student interns and student presenters• Use of registration data to market specific events to

students based on reported current career position

ESSL Careers Week

The Week

MONDAY Careers Info Drop-In Speak to School staff, careers specialists and other students about your options.

Professional Jobs in UniversitiesNon-academic, professional career paths in higher education.

Life and Careers After PhDWhat are your career options post-PhD? 

TUESDAY Careers in Local Government Opportunities for working in government locally. 

Considering Further Study?Masters Programmes; PhDs; PGDips …. How and why to apply

Inside Law Find out what it is like to work in a variety of law settings. 

Careers in National PoliticsOpportunities for working in government nationally

WEDNESDAY

Things to Do at UniWork Experience; Internships; Study Abroad; Volunteering; Societies; JobLink.

Life After Graduation Recent graduates talk about their experiences in the ‘real world’.

Staying in Leeds Job and study options beyond graduation in Leeds and surrounding areas.

THURSDAY Careers in Social Work and related areasFind out about careers in social work or related areas such as family support.

Making Your Gap Year CountIf you’re considering taking a year out after graduation, find out how to make it count.

Routes into Teaching- doing your PGCE at LeedsQualifications, applications and advice.

Top Tips from Employers

“Practice being professional now”• Turn up to seminars / lectures / meetings

• Participate in seminars/Group assignments- Team working is a key transferable skill

• Turn up on time to seminars / lectures / meetings

• Proof read your assignments

• Professional communication styles

• “Can i c u in yr opn door? Thnx ”

• This will help both with job applications and in the world of work

Top Tips from Employers

“Check Your Privacy Settings”• “By all means have fun but if I can see photos of you half-

naked at a Full Moon Party, so can one of my clients”

• Employers will Google you

• It’s ok to have a Twitter or Facebook presence

• Follow future employers on Twitter – engage / retweet / reply

• Join LinkedIn

Top Tips from Employers

“Check Your Application Form”• Massive number of applications per job.

• One typo, one mistake, your form will be binned.

• If it says ‘use black ink’ …. USE BLACK INK!

• Your form is a representation of you – a first impression

• Get it checked – Careers Centre is available to Leeds Students before and after Graduation

Top Tips from Employers

“Shine your shoes”• If you make it to interview, well done.

• But that’s not the end of it.

• Make sure you are presentable, wear a tie, wear a suit, shine your shoes! Simple but many applicants get through door but turn up in jeans!

• Research your potential employer – you will be asked about the company and what you know about them.

Top Tips from Employers

“Use what you’ve got”• Take advantage of the resources available to you now.

• Workshops, Drop-Ins, One-to-Ones

• Careers Centre / LUU / School employability options and advice

• Taking the time to spend an hour accessing this resource could well make a difference in 6 months / 1 year / 5 years.

‘Pros’• Excellent ‘team building’ exercise for Faculty Student Support • Opportunity to work closely and individually with students (due

to small attendance figures)• Student presenters were well received• Feedback from attendees was excellent

‘Cons’• Registration data not received in time for individual invites• Large number of hours outside of workloads for SES staff

involved• LUU Employability week in week preceding ESSL Careers

Week

ESSL Careers Week - What We’ve Learned

• Liaise with and work alongside LUU to feed into any future planned events – perhaps an ESSL “stall”

• In any event ‘shrink’ to one day• Push for earlier registration data• Consideration of costs - £2k (majority on

student interns)

Going Forward

GRADUATE SUPPORT, EMPLOYABILITY & THE

DLHE STATS

(With a peek at what SSP’s doing)

DLHE…WHAT IS IT?

Nothing to do with this… But lots to do with these…

Where they are in 6/12 months

They may still be here… …or getting here..?

Why worry about DLHE stats?

We like to be competitive & compareAnd good results can attract more of these…

So what do we do with the DLHE stats?

Bad! Good!

QUESTION: Do we do enough to help our students and influence the DLHE stats

before they’re collated?Currently reactive rather than proactive?

Do we offer support to our students at the right time for them?

Do we have any idea what our students are doing before the data is collected?

Can we improve the stats with a few “timely interventions?”

Ready & Willing?ENGAGE, Decide, Plan, Compete

We can only ask…They might not answer!

But those who do, surely we can try to assist?

And therefore improve the student experience (plus the stats)

HOW & WHEN DO WE ASK?My Approach 2013

• Confession: It wasn’t thought about until about until Easter

• Initial Questionnaire; email & reception desk

• Asked staff what they knew…

• Graduation Ceremony

WHERE ARE YOU NOW - LIFE AFTER GRADUATION?Level 3 – About Your future Plans.

Some students may need support with their future plans on completing their degree programme. So I can offer help to those who want it, please tell me about your plans: PLEASE COMPLETE ONE OF THE BELOW (a-d): I have a job (please provide detail of company name, job title & start date)………………………………………………………………………………………………….. I am continuing in further study: (Please state course & educational establishment)………………………………………………………………………………………………… I am doing something else (Eg voluntary work, travelling etc.) Please state:……………………………………………………………………………………………….. I have no firm plans (Eg applying for jobs but nothing yet in place.) Please give more details eg of what you are interested in & any applications made.)…………………………………………………………………………………………………. IF YOU FEEL THAT YOU WOULD LIKE SUPPORT – EG ASSISTANCE IN MAKING YOUR CAREER DECISIONS OR IN LOOKING FOR EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES) THEN PLEASE GIVE YOUR DETAILS BELOW

Difficulties

• Students all at different points in Career Planning

• ENGAGE.., then Decide, Plan, Compete

• Careers Registration data would be valuable- if its more timely

• Email overload!

2014 and beyond?

• Vote buttons email• Respond accordingly• Teaching staff’s role?• Personal tutors?• VLE survey?• Graduation ceremony• Support from start of

LUU journey