Over 300 million people around the world use LinkedIn to maintain their professional network. There are other professional social networking sites which are popular in certain countries or for certain industries, but LinkedIn is currently the largest and most diverse. They have created some useful videos and help guides for students.
Think of your profile as your online CV. Remember that people are likely to skim-read it so focus on key strengths and experiences rather than listing everything you’ve done and all your duties and responsibilities.
Understand how to use privacy settings on your other social media accounts. When people search for you online, you want to be able to control what they find.
Join and contribute to LinkedIn groups. There are thousands of groups on LinkedIn. Make sure you pick relevant ones that you can be active within. There are lots of groups for students studying specific subjects as well as for professionals.
Research information about companies and look for the profiles of people with whom you may be interested in making contact. LinkedIn’s alumni tool (Topic 5 on the LinkedIn for students website is a good way to find out what graduates from your course are now doing.
Start to build your network by sending connection requests to relevant people. Alexandra Levit’s article “4 Steps for Effective Online Networking” and Alyssa Walker’s article “How to Build a Professional Network Online” have some tips for how to do this effectively. Most people will ignore the standard request sent by LinkedIn “I would like to add you to my professional network” unless they know who it’s from, so make sure you tailor each connection request. You’re also more likely to get a positive response from people you have met.
You might already have heard of the Future-Ready Award, Queen’s employability and skills award that recognises extra-curricular activities. It looks great on your CV, but why?
Well, it shows employers that you have learned much more at university than just what was taught on your degree.
Future-Ready Skills show recruiters you have the potential to transform organisations and add value early in your career.
What employers want: Cognitive/intellectual skills
What the Future-Ready Award can equip you with:
Problem solving skills. The ability to analyse issues, identify barriers and offer/implement potential solutions. This may involve prioritising tasks, coping with complexity, setting achievable goals and taking action. It may also involve innovation at relevant points.
Applying subject knowledge and understanding: potentially from the degree pathway.
What employers want: Professional attributes/attitudes
What the Future-Ready award can equip you with:
Communication skills: the ability to communicate effectively in a range of professional contexts (both orally and in writing).
Teamwork: the ability to work with others in a team, to communicate, influence, negotiate, demonstrating adaptability/flexibility, creativity, initiative, leadership and decision-making.
Interpersonal skills: includes ability to engage with and motivate others, sensitivity, global and cultural awareness, moral and ethical awareness and the ability to adjust behaviour accordingly.
Leadership skills: leading other individuals or groups through a set of complex decisions as part of goal achievement within projects or significant and challenging activities.
What employers want: Technical skills
What the Future-Ready Award can equip you with:
The ability to utilise modern technology: associated with work place or work-related activity.
Information technology skills: includes ability to learn, apply and exploit relevant IT programmes.
What employers want: Business and organisational skills
What the Future-Ready Award can equip you with:
Business operational skills/ Commercial awareness: understanding of relevant commercial, marketing, management and/or financial processes/principles. Awareness of differences in organisational cultures and practices.
Business communication skills: Written, verbal and/or online.
What employers want: Language Skills and Cultural Awareness
What the Future-Ready Award can equip you with:
Proficiency in foreign languages: developed through courses or overseas experiences.
Cultural awareness/intelligence: and the ability to implement this in a variety of multicultural contexts.
Film & Theatre Making student Christian Green spills everything you wanted to know about Queen’s Career Development Programme in NYC.
What inspired your trip to New York?
I applied for the Career Development Programme to NYC because, as a film student, I have long considered the option of moving to America post-graduation. The trip appealed to me because of the focus on developing skills and personal traits that employers look for, like confidence, communication and professionalism. It also promised to help us to develop a, “global/cultural awareness”, and despite me being to America with my family on multiple occasions, I had not yet developed that awareness of America’s business landscape and what it is like to network and put yourself forward as a young business professional in that kind of environment. I was more than interested in the diverse range of pre-planned company visits and also the specific visit of going to meet a BAFTA winning filmmaker.
What were the highlights of the experience?
On a personal level, my top highlights of the trip would have to be:
Meeting with filmmaker Marcus Robinson at the World Trade Center and receiving an open invitation to come and work with him post-graduation.
Seeing the city for the first time. The hike I did on my own through Manhattan (visiting most of the iconic locations within the city as well as iconic film locations).
Going to see The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.
The Queen’s Alumni Networking Evening where I had the privilege to speak in front of past Queen’s students from all fields and generations.
Last, but certainly not least, getting to meet such a diverse and wonderful group of Queen’s students whom I had the pleasure of sharing this experience with. Everyone was able to take a lot away from the programme and we all made memories and developed friendships that will last us a lifetime.
What was the most surprising thing about the experience?
What surprised me the most whilst in New York was the fact that the world of business (whether that be corporate or commercial), even within a large city like New York, is not as intimidating as it is made out to be. When people think of business in its stereotypical form (briefcases, suits and all), we all instantly picture the elite, the select few. Who handle money and have careers that some of us could only dream of. My main observation from one meeting to the next during the visit was that this is not the case at all. Yes, you do need to have certain qualifications, a specific work ethic and can-do attitude in order to succeed but once you are in, everyone is just like you. Most of the people who spoke to us were either Queen’s alumni or natives of Ireland or Northern Ireland and because of that, they interacted with us all on a very personal level. They wanted to hear about us and what we studied and aspired to do just as much, if not more, than they wanted to talk about themselves and their companies/success stories. Even some of the CEOs that we met, who initially seemed quite intimidating and powerful, were not that much different from the nine of us seated around the table. They simply worked hard, dreamed big and made the right decisions when the opportunities came along. As sung by the legendary Frank Sinatra, “If I can make it there, I’m gonna make it anywhere”, and that just about sums up the world of success and professional business within New York; if you can get your foot in the door and be heard, the possibilities are endless.
In what ways has the trip been life-changing?
For myself personally, the key life-changing piece of information that I learned from the programme is that “corridor vision” can narrow down your career options and that ultimately, you can tailor your own future for yourself. For the people who are maybe are not so sure of what they want to do or they are open to the idea of alternatives, at each and every company in New York we were told in some shape or form, “If you come from a university like Queen’s with a good degree (no matter what field), that shows a certain kind of determination and aptitude to learn”. And with that, the opportunities for post-graduates who simply have the confidence to make the move and the determination to succeed are almost endless. Whether it be the likes of internships at KPMG or Moet Hennessy or the TwitterU programme, your degree does not tie you down to one door at the end of the corridor, one job. Do not become so fixed on this one role that you ignore all of the other opportunities that present themselves to you along the way.
In what ways did the trip enhance your CV?
In terms of my CV, the trip helped me add the credibility of being a Global Ambassador for Queen’s but also helped me to develop a lot of my own skills which I can now list with confidence such as public speaking, team work, team leading, presentational skills, organisational skills and professionalism. It really did open my eyes to what it is going to take for me personally to go out to the States and take in the culture shock but also adapt to it.
Peter Moor, BA English graduate lists seven ways to get involved with the Careers Service at Queen’s.
Trips
This has to be the best bit about the careers service – the different trips on offer! I went on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York and Washington D.C as part of the Global Leadership Programme. For just £250, we went away for a week to learn leadership skills and all about the future of work. Each year, around 30 students go on the trip to a different exotic destination so this year it’s Toronto. There are also different trips to the likes of Germany, Brussels and London – all of which give you invaluable experience of what it’s like to work in different places across the world.
CV clinics
To get any form of work placement or graduate job, you’re going to need a mighty fine CV. The careers service offers regular CV clinics to make sure your CV is the very best it can be. These are free and have been so useful for me gaining different work placements. They’ll even have a nosey at your LinkedIn profile, making sure it is up to scratch.
Interview Practice
When you’re going for that graduate job, the likelihood is you’ll be put through your paces with a range of interviews. A good way to gain confidence in this area is to meet with one of the careers consultants to give you some hints and tips! Also, the Student Guidance Centre, where the careers services are based, have a room available if you ever need to do a video interview by webcam.
Careers Fairs
If you have no idea what area you want to go into then the Careers Fairs are perfect. Every few months, you’ll find a fair with representatives from all the big graduate employers. It’s a great opportunity to network with the people that you could one day be employing you! They’re also really good for finding work placement opportunities. A lot of degrees now include a paid year out in industry so these fairs are the best way to find the company you want to spend a year working with.
Social Media
One way to get involved Queen’s Careers service is to follow them on their social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. You’ll find tonnes of useful advice and reminders for any events coming up. As a student, you’ll also have access to their online portal MyFuture to book onto any careers related event.
On-Campus Jobs
On the MyFuture portal, you can find lots of different part time jobs on offer at Queen’s. These range from being a campus tour guide and student ambassador (my job!) to helping with catering on campus. All of these roles are really flexible so if you have exams or assignments due, then you don’t have to do any work if you don’t want to. It’s also a good source of income to top up that student loan.
BSc (Hons) Human Biology student Hannah Badger on how Queen’s careers team can help you find your purpose and follow your passion.
Where can I find it?
The Student Guidance Centre (situated beside Elmwood Hall) houses a number of services to support you throughout your academic journey. This includes the Careers, Employability and Skills team at Queen’s. They’re a team of people united in the goal of helping you find your ideal career, improve your employability and assisting you in gaining the skills employers want.
What is the SGC Hub?
On the ground floor of the Student Guidance Centre is The Hub. Here you’ll find the student assistants who can show you how to use MyFuture, inform you of skills workshops and fairs and assist with any careers-related queries. Additionally, you can find lots of takeaway resources from CV checklists to sector specific information (from the University and industry). The ground floor of the SGC is an open area and students are welcome to come in to relax or study when presentations aren’t taking place.
Who can I speak to?
Every student in the University has access to a careers advisor who they can meet for careers-related help and advice. Face-to-face support can come in the form of a CV check or careers consultation. Most students receive this face-to-face support through appointments booked on MyFuture. However, throughout the year, careers advisors go to locations across the University, such as the McClay Library, to offer on-the-spot CV checks. Your subject-specific careers advisor will also send you a newsletter every month informing you of relevant opportunities.
Meeting Employers
A number of large careers fairs are held throughout the year in Whitla Hall, allowing students to interact with employers. These fairs usually have a theme, whether that is work experience or placement, graduate recruitment or global opportunities. The opportunity to speak to employers directly is invaluable. From my own personal experience I’ve discovered companies, got specific details of recruitment processes and found opportunities I didn’t know existed – both in Northern Ireland and further afield.
Smaller careers fairs also run over the course of the semester – usually they’re subject/area specific and held within your school. The companies that attend would like graduates with your specific knowledge and experience. The larger fairs can be a little overwhelming, but the mini-fairs are less daunting.
Gaining Experience and Skills
Development Weeks are another aspect of university life promoted by the CES team. Each year, you’re given three weeks to take part in workshops or skills enhancing experiences that you may not have the chance to take part in while you’ve got scheduled class. There’s an extensive range of programmes and with little difficulty you can find several programmes of interest to you. The majority of activities are also Degree Plus accredited!
Online Access to the Service
The careers service can also be accessed through the Careers, Employability and Skills (CES) website or MyFuture. The CES website is loaded with information from sector relevant careers resources to room bookings for Skype interviews. Additionally, MyFuture can be used to browse upcoming events, sign up for workshops, book careers appointments and apply for jobs.
For those of you on Facebook, Instagramand Twitter, CES has their own account which they use to advertise and promote various opportunities throughout the year as they arise.
It’s been a long journey from the start of my degree until now. My final semester. The decision between further education or employment has become very real. It can be difficult to get your head around it all – there are so many options out there – but your careers advisors are there to help.
As a way of a final note, all of the resources, help and guidance you receive is for FREE so why not see what Careers, Employability and Skills can do for you.
