Careers and Employability Service
Theatre Studies
Nicola Urquhart
Careers Adviser
October 2012
What we will cover:
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What is employability ?
Options with your degree
Graduate schemes
Using social media
How the Careers and Employability
Service can support you
Wider University initiatives
Action points
What is Employability?
‘A set of attributes, skills and
knowledge that all labour
market participants should
possess to ensure they have the
capability of being effective in
the workplace – to the benefit of
themselves, their employer and
the wider economy.’ (CBI, March
2009)
Changing world of work:
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Global economy
More career changes
New technology/social media
Roles change
Changes to graduate
recruitment
Changes to graduate recruitment
Employers increasingly focusing
on attributes in addition to
traditional employability skills
Successful candidates need to be
able to demonstrate these
attributes on their applications
and articulate them at interview
Your degree can help you to do
this!
What skills and attributes do employers want?
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Transferrable skills
Communication (oral,
written)
Negotiation
Team working
Planning and organisation
Time management
Leadership
Problem solving
Attributes
Adaptability (flexibility)
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Energy
Drive and resilience
Confidence
Reliability
Enthusiasm and passion
Self awareness and
confidence
What do drama graduates do?
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Actor
Stage manager
Arts administrator
Drama teacher
Television production
assistant
Radio presenter
What do drama graduates do?
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Advertising manger
Personnel manager
Journalist
Market researcher
Events manager
Publisher
PR officer
Charities administrator
And many more!
Graduate Schemes
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Many to choose from…
Especially common in
business, finance and law
40% of opportunities open to
graduates from any degree
discipline
Majority ask for a 2.1(some
also request UCAS points)
Majority of deadlines before
end of year
Common selection procedures
Example graduate Scheme (Asda)
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Finance
Human Resources
IT
Logistics
Marketing
Property
Purchasing
Retailing
Example Graduate scheme (Bloomberg )
• Finance
• IT
• Media
• Sales
Example graduate scheme: DIFD
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Engineering
Finance
General Management
IT
Purchasing
Research and
Development
Others…
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European commission
Loreal
Lidl
Mars
Civil Service
NHS
Rolls-Royce
Sainsbury’s
Savills
Sky
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Teach First
National Audit Office
MI5
Publicis UK
IMG Media Ltd
Vocus
Accenture
The Co-operative
Redrow
Smith & Williamson
GRADUATE SALARIES 2012
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Arcadia – retail management £18,500 - £23,000
Boots - brand/buying/marketing grad scheme £24,000 + £1k welcome!
Barclays Bank - future leaders development programme £36k (+£8k
bonus!)
Civil Service - up to £27,000
Explore Learning - education management £21,000
Exxon Mobil - graduate schemes £34,000
FiveTen Group - recruitment £20-£25k
GCHQ - defence research £25,000 (+ benefits)
IBM - range of schemes £27,000 - £32,000
Jaguar Land Rover - purchasing grad scheme £27k
John Lewis - buying/retail management/merchandising graduate schemes
£25,000
L’Oreal - management training scheme £28,000
McDonald’s - trainee business manager £18,500-21,500
MI5 - £24,750 + benefits - varies by function!
Motability - £28,500 (+ joining bonus!)
Slaughter & May - training contract £38,000
Waitrose - retail management £25,000
Key features of working in the creative sector
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Self employment
‘Portfolio career’
Reliance on
networks/contacts
Professional attitude and
approach required
CV/ portfolio of work
necessary
Majority of opportunities
are gained speculatively
Speculative approach
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Produce a professional, graduate level CV
Identify companies/contacts to approach
Prepare a suitable covering letter
Make phone contacts to find out who to send your cv to
and get their e mail address
ALWAYS follow up
Use a combination of approaches
Consider producing a creative CV, however get the
content right before focusing on the design
Be persistent!
Social media
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Social Media: “an umbrella term
that defines the various
activities that integrate
technology, social interaction,
and the construction of words,
pictures, videos, and audio.”
www.wikipedia.org
Enabling conversations
Facilitating discussions
Why should you be using social media?
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Enables you to build links and to learn about an
industry and potential employers
Allows you to connect to networks and explore
possibilities
Some employers will expect you be using it e.g.
the media, advertising, publishing and many
more.
Can provide you with an excellent platform to
showcase your knowledge and interest in a
career area.
Allows you to make an impression (good and
bad)
Some platforms to consider
Linkedin
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Increase your awareness of the
sector, link with potential recruiters
Twitter
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Follow recruiters, twitjobsearch
Blogging
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Demonstrate your commitment ,
business knowledge and passion.
Why use LinkedIn?
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Exploring career ideas
Finding out about an employer and their competition
Professional networking
Opportunity to join groups
For self marketing and increasing your visibility
Asking for advice
Staying in touch/reconnecting
Your LinkedIn Profile
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Setting up a profile go to www.linkedin.com and
enter your details.
Be sure to include:
Profile photo
Profile summary/ Professional headline
Education details
Details of current and past job roles/volunteering/
internships etc
•“You are 40 times more likely to receive
connections if your profile is 100% complete” Denise
Taylor ‘How to Use LinkedIn to find a new job”
Getting started - Networking
•You start by adding people you know in the “real world”
• Connect with others with similar interests or goals
•Explore 1 and 2 degree connections
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Finding out about organisations/groups
Companies/Organisations:
Search organisations and find out more about their line of
work
Learn more about an organisation, access their vacancies
Groups
Find out more by joining groups
Ask questions, answer questions, find out what people in the
industry you are interested in are talking about
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Useful information
Training Videos:
 www.learn.linkedin.com
 www.learn.linkedin.com/students - 6 step video to
success
New Users Starter Guide
 http://learn.linkedin.com/new-users/
Webinars:
 http://learn.linkedin.com/training/
What is
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Twitter is a form of micro-blogging
Twitter gives you 140 characters per ‘tweet’ to
say what’s on your mind
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You can follow people/companies/ recruiters
who interest you.
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Gather an audience
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Ideas on who to follow:
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Companies/employers you are interested in working for
Industry experts/bloggers
Professional networks and industry/professional
publications
Job sites and job boards
Recruiters / head-hunters / HR personnel who are hiring
for the roles you're targeting
@unikentemploy
What is Blogging?
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A personal diary, a
political soapbox,a
collection of links,
your memo to the
world – a website
you update on a
regular basis.
Your Blog
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Get an account eg. www.posterous.com
Write a paragraph post explaining who you are
Tell your friends, lecturers and if you feel
confident potential employers about your blog
Respond to comments
Link posts to things in the news and media
When you post – tell the world (Linkedin,
Facebook, twitter, etc)
Keep at it
What employers say…
"Few students are able to
articulate what they have
gained from their
experience in higher
education." (Association of
Graduate Recruiters, 1995)
Producing a CV
What is the purpose of a CV?
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To inform the employer about
your education, work
experience, skills and
interests
To show how you meet the
criteria so the employer can
not deselect you
To ‘sell’ your qualities and to
persuade the employer to
invite you to interview
Matching up your CV with the position/company
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It is not ‘one size fits all’, you
need to tailor your CV to each
position you apply for.
Research the organisation. Do they
have a mission statement or core
values? What will they be looking for
in you? Who works there at the
moment? What are they passionate
about?
What makes an effective CV and covering letter
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Right format
Well presented
Proof read/consistent tenses
You have included all the
necessary information
Your skills and abilities are clearly
evidenced
Conveyed your understanding and
enthusiasm for the job
Targeted it to the job
What does it need to contain?
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Personal details
Education and qualifications
Work experience
Skills
Interests and additional information
References
However don’t be constrained by headings.
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Scholarships/Awards
Voluntary work
Relevant experience
Positions of responsibility
Publication/Presentations
Conferences attended
Research skills
Additional skills
Languages
Hints on wording
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Avoid personal pronouns No “I’s”
Avoid producing a passive
CV
Start with verbs wherever
possible
Use short sentences &
concise phrases
Focus on accomplishments
Refer to specific projects
with quantifiable results
Make use of Action Verbs
created instructed analysed produced
negotiated designed calculated maintained
administered controlled reviewed observed
consolidated delivered founded increased
studied invented supplied detected
programmed recommended distributed
developed solved prepared installed selected
arranged formulated solved started
How the Careers and Employability Service can
help you.
What we do
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Careers Talks and Workshops
Careers Library: Employer Directories, Occupational
Profiles, Books etc
Comprehensive Web Pages
Careers Employability Award (CEM) on Moodle
Vacancy Database
Alumni Careers Network
Annual Careers and Recruitment Fair
Drop In - Quick Query
Careers Guidance Interviews
Careers and Employability Service
Web Site: www.kent.ac.uk/ces
Careers and Employability Service Web Pages
and
Prospects
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What can I do with my degree in drama
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/drama.htm
How to create a portfolio
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/portfolios.htm
Interview Reports
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/ivreps/ivrepsmenu.htm
Interviews (includes assessment centres and psychometric
tests etc.) www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm
Example CVs & Covering Letters
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htm
Spelling and punctuation
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/tests/spelling.htm
Prospects
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/public_relations_officer_job_de
scription.htm
Careers Employability Award (on moodle)
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm
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The module takes about 12 hours to complete
But this can be done at your own pace
You do this by completing:
9 quizzes
3 short assignments
1 feedback form
Comments from students who have completed
the award.
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“I liked the fact that the assignments relate to how you
would fill in answers on a graduate job application step
by step and provides examples of how to fill it in.”
“I really enjoyed the quizzes. They effectively
highlighted the gaps in my knowledge, as many of the
answers surprised me. I also found the module on
creating my own CV very useful, these skills will be
invaluable for tailoring my CV to particular jobs.”
“There is a wealth of information about everything; I
especially liked the individual information about
specific job types and the advice given about interview
skills.”
Attend Careers Talks and Workshops.
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How to make effective
presentations
Commercial awareness
Postgraduate study
Summer Internships
More information available
http://www.kent.ac.uk/ces/events/
Employers visiting campus
Examples this term include:
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MBDA
Bloomberg
RAF
Teach First
Majestic Wine
NHS
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Careers and Employability Service Fair
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Thursday 1st
November 2-5pm Eliot
Great Hall.
Chance to meet
employers and hear
about opportunities
Vacancy Database
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All vacancies sent to the Careers and Employability
Service by employers, whether for graduate jobs,
sandwich placements or vacation
work/internships are entered on this database
which offers:
Email alerts of new vacancies which may interest
you
Employers notifying vacancies are often
specifically targeting Kent graduates, so
competition for jobs is lower than on other
vacancy sites
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/jobs/index.htm
Kent Grads
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KentGrads - database of companies in Kent
who employ graduates, and who may, from
time to time, have vacancies. It is not a list of
current vacancies, but a resource to help you
find possible employers.
The site can list all the companies in the
database grouped in one of a number of ways:
by location in Kent , by the criteria you
specify or by keywords. For example: if you
can remember the surname of a particular
contact at a company, but are unsure of the
company name.
Careers Network
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Helps current students gain an
insight into careers through
contact with alumni.
Information and advice by
letter/phone/email, workshadowing.
Visit the Careers Centre and
ask to use the Careers Network.
Speak to an adviser:
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Quick query, drop in and
speak to an adviser
10.30am -12.30pm and
2.00pm-4pm Monday to
Friday.
E mail @careerhelp and an
adviser will respond to your
query.
You can also book a longer
career guidance
appointment over the phone
or pop in.
Stay up-to-date with what is happening
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www.kent.ac.uk/ces
www.kent.ac.uk/employability
Employability Newsletter
Follow us on Facebook at University
of Kent Student Employability
www.facebook.com/UKCES
Follow us on Twitter at
@unikentemploy
Employability Points
Over 200 rewards in 2011-2012 scheme from 86
sponsor companies
Internships, work experience, training
experiences, project placements, vouchers
Get involved – Get rewarded!
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Kent Union supports graduate employability in
a number of ways Offering Volunteering Opportunities
Kent Student Certificate in Volunteering
Stand Out training
Employability and Volunteering Toolkit
www.kentunion.co.uk/eandv
Choosing a Career (Prospects planner)
Action Points
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Research the type of opportunities that are
available.
Produce a high quality CV and covering letter
If you are using LinkedIn don’t leave your
profile half finished
Do make sure applications are of a high
quality
If you are unsure of your future plans
consider doing ‘Prospects Planner’.
Make use of the Careers and Employability
Service
Questions
The University of Kent
Careers and Employability Service
You can download a copy of this presentation
at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm