Developing Tailored Careers
Support for Humanities Students
David Gee
Careers Consultant
www.uwe.ac.uk/careers
Introduction
• Key employability issues faced by humanities
students
• 3 examples for addressing these:
– Humanities GDP level II workshop – considerations
when training staff
– The Graduate Futures Project
– English Independent Learning Module
Key issues facing humanities
students
1. Uncertain career trajectory
2. Diffidence compared to contemporaries
3. Recognising/articulating the marketability of their
subject
4. Recognising/articulating the marketability of their
experiences
5. Work experience within non-placement courses
English Language GDP workshop:
Using your second year effectively:
Identifying your skills and
building your CV
Introducing the graduate labour
market
• Highly competitive – need to make yourself
stand out
• More than half of all vacancies open to all
graduates
• Relevant work experience is a crucial factor
• The most proactive get the jobs
Introducing career pathways
• Careers related to Linguistics/English Language
– Signposts sheets
• Careers beyond subject – the ‘66% rule’
• Selling skills of your degree as well as subject
• Using destinations
Introducing skills
• We are looking for strong communication skills and
an accurate writing style. You should have a
meticulous approach, with strong research skills and
attention to detail.”
• “You'll need to be a real team player and an effective
negotiator and communicator...”
GradSouthWest Vacancy Database
Key transferable skills
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Communication skills
Problem solving
Teamwork
Time management
Presentation skills
Flexibility
Initiative
Interpersonal skills
Willingness to learn
Numeracy
IT skills
Selling your English language
degree
• Traditional/well-recognised subject
• Academic – means academic rigour
• High-level literacy; advanced written
communication skills
• Verbal communication skills
• Research
• IT skills
Introducing ‘evidencing’ –
examples for communication skills
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Essays; dissertations; reports etc.
Presentations
Group projects
Customer service in part-time work
Speaking to public through voluntary work
Student ambassador work
Member of student committees
Evidencing exercise
Skill Additional
Example of an occasion when skill was demonstrated
Being persuasive
Convinced a group of friends to raise funds for Oxfam by running a
mini marathon
Adaptability
Successfully undertook office duties as a temp for 3 employers in 6
weeks during vacation work
Able to handle pressure
Worked part time for 3 months answering brake-down calls in very
busy call centre
Research technical information
using the www
For final year dissertation used UnCover and Bios Previews to find
articles not held by own library
Introducing skills articulation:
competency-based questions
• Describe how you have achieved a goal through influencing the
actions or opinions of others.”
• “Describe a situation where you have worked in a team context to
achieve a particular objective.”
• “Describe a challenging project, activity or event which you have
planned and seen through to a conclusion.”
• “Describe a time when you were required to change your approach
and do something in a different way? “
S.T.A.R
• Situation
• Target
• Action
• Result
S.T.A.R Example
Situation
Task or Target
You set out to
achieve
Actions you took to bring this about
Acting as relief
supervisor at Pizza
Hut when a customer
began to loudly
complain about the
service being slow.
To satisfy the person
without upsetting
other customers who
were also waiting for
their food and who
had arrived earlier.
Listened carefully to the customer, used
moderate language, quiet voice and
carefully explained about the lack of staff
through illness. Reassured the customer
that his order was being dealt with and
offered complimentary drinks whilst
waiting.
Result (this could be
the concrete
outcome or the
personal learning
that took place)
The customer calmed
down, could see that
it was not deliberate
and decided to wait
quietly, with the free
drinks.
Introducing the role of work
experience
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UWE Community Volunteering Programme
Employability and Diversity Project
UWE Outreach Centre
Student newspaper, radio etc.
Speculative Approaches/Networking
www.uwe.ac.uk/alumni/mynetwork
Graduate Futures Project
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Based on the ‘Blueprint for Life’ model (www.lifework.ca)
Aimed at developing employability and enterprise skills
Ultimately at improving performance in the recruitment process
Accredited by Institute of Leadership and Management
Pilot with Business (non-sandwich), Psychology and English
students
• Students to have recent work experience
• Students complete a portfolio against ILM assessment criteria
• Culminates with student presentations to ‘panel’
Implementation
• Delivered over 3 full days by specialist staff
• 25 places offered to each cohort
• Students complete a personality type indicator and
learning style tests, and prepare CV in advance
• Also one-to-one contact with Careers Consultant to
review work experience and CV.
Content
• Day one: Self Awareness
• Day two: Enterprise and creativity skills
for success in the labour market
• Day three: Putting it into practice
Graduate Futures findings
re: English students
• Found the language and concepts of career
management and planning particularly challenging
• On day one felt that it was ‘gobbledygook’
• However by the end of the course felt they had vastly
increased their understanding and that this would
enhance their employability.
• Excellent presentations – ‘better than MBAs!’
Student quotes
• “Especially good for humanities students as it makes us
think in a different way to on our course”
• “It has got me thinking about my skills and relating them
to experience and the future”
• “It has increased my confidence and my understanding
of careers”
• “Very useful in gaining more understanding about the
skills I have learnt on my degree and how they are
transferable to the workplace”
English Independent Project
Module
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Final year students
Produce a piece of investigative writing
Total 10,000 words
Look beyond the dissertation
7 options – take into account common career
aspirations of English students
7 options – links with
careers/employability
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Dissertation
Research-based creative writing
Criticism and review (journalism)
Module design (teaching)
Editing and Anthologising (publishing)
Group project
English in the workplace
Work experience option
• Includes a 2,000 word reflective piece on work
experience
• Can also refer to work experience in main body of work
• Students seek work experience at the end of the second
year
• Careers service involvement: support process of finding
work experience; careers discussion in final seminar of
year III
Summary
• Careers support should be underpinned with the key requirements
of humanities students
• These include: understanding/developing career options;
marketability of studies; role of work experience, and articulating
skills effectively
• The Graduate Futures Project enables students to understand and
also use key skills through exercises such as developing ‘brand’
presentations
• The English Independent Project module is an example of how to
relate a humanities subject to the world of careers
Key Resources
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www.uwe.ac.uk/careers – staff pages
www.prospects.ac.uk
www.heacademy.ac.uk
www.lifework.ca
http://pdp.northampton.ac.uk/subject-index.html