Everlasting Employability

Seeking a Graduate job? Searching for a job for life? Are you employable? Job hunting in the 21st century is one of the biggest challenges we face. And as there’s no such thing nowadays as a graduate job or a job for life, the most important change is to change our thinking. Everlasting Employability will help you discover your employability factor by being your go-to site for essential employability resources. We’ve carefully curated a job directory with careers services, included an employability news section and highlight the best employability websites around. Your mission (if you wish to accept it) is to start your Everlasting Employability journey today. Change the way you think. Harness the opportunities around you. And become employable forever.

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Employability in Schools and Colleges

In our latest employabiliy blogpost ARGUO Education take a look at the current state-of-play with employability in schools and colleges.

In recent years reports issued by business leaders through organisations such as the CBI, Institute of Directors and British Chamber of Commerce have highlighted the fact that students leaving school and higher education are not equipped with the skills to make them ‘work ready’.

When we talk about employability we mean the possession of skills, knowledge, behaviour and an understanding of the commercial sector that will allow school leavers or graduates to make a positive contribution to their organisations soon after starting work.

Over time the role of developing employability skills in young people has increasingly fallen on the education sector. Students from primary school to the most exalted of our higher education institutions are offered a wide range of initiatives, activities, training and mentoring to create and enhance their generic skills.

In a series of reports, Geoff Mason and his colleagues at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research found that students employment prospects benefited more from attending well structured work experience programmes than any training delivered in the classroom.  

Research commissioned by the House of Commons, Business, Innovation and Skills and Education Committees published in November 2015 highlighted the fact that the expectation that young people will develop their employability skills whilst in full time education. This has resulted in employers in many cases, reducing the opportunities they offer for work based learning to potential recruits.

The development of the Apprenticeship offer and increasing support to students taking vocational qualifications means there is substantial support being offered by employers to support young people entering the work place via this route. The introduction of 16 – 19 Study programmes in 2013 highlighted the need for all students in this cohort, including A Level students, to undertake;

‘Meaningful work experience (related to the vocational area) and/or other non-qualification activity to develop students’ personal skills and/or prepare them for employment, training or higher/further education’.

Some areas of study and training such as Tech Level Qualifications and Traineeships include a substantial work experience element. However at ARGUO Education we are aware that many students studying academic subjects at A Level do not receive the structured work placements and support that their contemporaries taking vocational courses enjoy.

For this reason we are working in partnership with a number of employers, schools and colleges to devise and deliver bespoke programmes which will allow all students in the 16 – 19 cohort to develop and enhance their skills to support their entry into further education and training or employment.

The main elements of these programmes may be found in the majority of initiatives currently being delivered, but by working with schools we are able to identify the students who will benefit most from this support and tailor the delivery of the programme to their needs.

This also means supporting the employers who offer work placements to create meaningful opportunities and elements of support. This can have beneficial results for the companies working with local schools by raising their profile in the community and potentially identifying future employees.

ARGUO Education has set itself the objective to support the education sector in delivering meaningful and practical employability education for students. We work with schools and colleges to develop resource effective programmes that add value to students and prospective employers.

If you would like to discuss any employability issues please feel free to get in touch.

Email:  [email protected]

           [email protected]

Web:    www.arguoeducation.com

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Introducing ARGUO Education

ARGUO Education is a consultancy specialising in the educational sector providing support and services in order to help organisations and their students attain their full potential.  ARGUO Education has a wealth of knowledge and specialist expertise in Employability, Enterprise, Training and Career development in the public, private and not for profit sectors.

Areas ARGUOEd cover

E-learning

Utilising computer-based learning programmes focused on employability, developed by Marshall E-learning and 10Eighty has the potential to be customised for specific organisational or participant needs. 

Mentors

Support the development of a sustainable mentoring network and provide advice and support in development of employability knowledge for mentors.

Traineeships and Apprenticeships

Support in:

identifying career goals

getting participants prepared

linking to traineeships and apprenticeships

improving participant skills and knowledge

networking 

building sustainable relationships with local authorities, referral agencies.

Work Experience

Support in:

Identifying career goals

Getting participants prepared

Linking to traineeships and apprenticeships

Improving participant skills and knowledge

Networking 

Building sustainable relationships

Long-term career paths and options

Supporting the development of a spectrum of programmes for awareness and experience in potential career areas such as STEMM.

Workshops

Provide workshops on employability aimed at a variety of audiences:

specialists

management

potential employees

consultancy.

ARGUOEd focus on clients’ requirements with an emphasis on customisation in line with their organisational aims, and can provide a wide range of solutions in relation to development of educational, employability and social responsibility projects.

They can also provide an analysis of current and future objectives through review and evaluation of where you are and where you want to be by taking the time to understand your needs

This process will aid the identification of improvements that can be made to provide resource and organisational efficacy.

Link/Network Facilitation

Support to identify and build sustainable networks coupled with opening up links with appropriate partners.

Get in touch

[email protected]

[email protected]

Web: www.arguoeducation.com 

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Unconscious Bias training course for students

Marshall E-learning, the Equality and Diversity specialist e-learning consultancy, launched a new Unconscious Bias training course for students which is available now to universities across the UK.

Developed with University of St Andrews, the course helps students and staff understand their unconscious biases by asking tough questions about individual self-awareness of bias, the power of prejudice, and what everyone can do to commit to equality, diversity and inclusion.

David Marshall, Managing Director at Marshall E-Learning, said:

“This shows an appetite in UK higher education for going beyond general diversity training and learning how to implement diversity training in practical situations, an appetite from people who've completed different diversity training to understand how bias might affect them in meetings, talking to students, dealing with associations.”

Marshall E-Learning has seen a strong upward trend in Unconscious Bias training commissioned by universities and colleges across the UK, that consider bias amongst both students and staff.

Sukhi Bains, Head of Equality and Diversity in HR at the University of St Andrews, was one of the first to commission comprehensive Unconscious Bias training for students, recruitment staff and admissions teams.

“The rise of interest in Unconscious Bias training is down to a fresh approach to tackling inequalities on campus. For example, we’ve seen that Unconscious Bias programmes are moving on from the traditional parts of equality discrimination to really look at the psyche of the person who is making the decisions or contributing towards to decision making. In higher education that can often mean people working with students or even students themselves, needing to be bias-mindful when making impacting decisions.”

After 18 months of running in-person training sessions and the completion of an Unconscious Bias e-learning course, Sukhi is expecting an increased understanding of bias throughout the University’s structures.

This approach is echoed by the Student’s Union at the University of East Anglia, where the staff - all recent graduates from the university - are taking an Unconscious Bias training course.

The Students’ Union’s Chief Executive, Jim Dickinson, explained why they commissioned an Unconscious Bias course that looked at diversity from the student perspective.

“Our research into the diversity of that team revealed some worrying gaps and trends, so we’ve commissioned an e-learning course to make sure all of our recruiting managers are aware of their prejudices and have strategies in place to overcome their unconscious biases.

“Within the Students’ Union we take Equality and Diversity really seriously, and given we employ over 400 students a year it’s crucial that they reflect the makeup of our student body.”

Marshall E-Learning’s Unconscious Bias course explains how we can overcome our unconscious bias to improve decision making and professional relationships, and to create more open, inclusive and effective organisations. Using examples and interactive exercises the course takes a straightforward look at one of the most important current issues in diversity management.

Full details of the Unconscious Bias course can be found on the Marshall E-Learning website at http://marshallelearning.com/e-learning-courses/unconscious-bias/

Learn more

If you would like to find out more about Unconscious Bias e-learning, please contact David Marshall on 0845 123 3909 or click here.

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Make a good attitude at work your New Year’s resolution

It’s the end of another year and whilst thoughts turn to 2016, it is also a good time to reflect on the past year and how you can do even better in the new year says Jo Rowbotham of EmptyLemon job board.

One of the top things that employers look for in their staff is a good attitude to work; it is just as important as qualifications and experience. A good attitude can boost morale, inspire your colleagues and get you noticed for a promotion. 

Some examples of how you can foster a good attitude in the workplace include:

Being respectful of others

Being respectful involves how you behave towards others. Speak and communicate with others in the way you would like to be spoken to. Listen to your colleagues, they may have a different opinion to you on how to do things. Take time to listen to your colleagues’ ideas, even if they are the opposite of your ideas. You may find that a fresh perspective from a colleague changes things for the better.

Having a positive attitude

How you speak and think about your workplace and colleagues can make a huge difference; if you think of the positives and talk of work and teammates in a positive way, the chances are that your working day will be much more pleasant.

Acknowledging others

When you have worked together on a task and receive praise, be sure to acknowledge the help you have got from your teammates. Remember to say thank you to people who have helped you. These two simple actions will make them far more likely to want to help you in future.

Getting involved

If you have finished your work or are ‘quiet’, and a colleague is struggling with their workload or have a big deadline to meet, offer to help. You will gain respect as a team player who is prepared to pitch in and go the extra mile.

Looking for the good points

Gossiping about others and blaming others when things don’t go to plan is easy and causes problems with morale. Looking for the good points in your colleagues will help you to identify their strengths; play to those strengths in future group tasks and you will not only get the job done, you will gain ‘buy in’ and improve your working relationships.

The New Year is a great opportunity to consider how you can modify your attitude for the better in the workplace. It will certainly make 2016 more positive and happy for you.

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University of Kent Employability services

The University of Kent Employability and Skills section includes:

Path to employment - what you can get involved in whilst still studying

Boost your CV - self-explanatory

Work while studying - paid employment, placements, work experience and volunteering

Get rewarded - how to earn recognition and awards that you can showcase to graduate employers

Careers Employability Service

You can also click through to a regularly updated employability blog which encompasses a wide range of topics including this light-hearted look at an internship at the DWP “Trading my time for the pay I get, living on the money I ain’t made yet. 

Definitely worth a look.

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How to survive the pre-Christmas job hunt

The weeks before Christmas are potentially a difficult time to source work, with employers delaying new vacancies and start dates until January. 

Guest blogger Jo Rowbotham of EmptyLemon disagrees that it is hard to find a job in December, and believes this festive month can be a great time to find a new job.

Whilst is may seem that recruitment is slowing down for the festive period; job posting software provider Broadbean reported an industry wide fall in new job postings in December 2014 compared to previous months; there are still plenty of vacancies still being advertised, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors. Some even offer a December start date.

Couple this with the findings in the same report by Broadbean, which shows that there was a 6.6% fall in applications for each vacancy in December, which could mean that you face less competition for the job you are applying for. With jobs still being advertised and less competition, December could be a fantastic time to find a job after all.

Have your CV ready to go

The first step to landing a job this month is to have your CV ready to apply for jobs. Ensure that it is in popular editing format such as Word, which can be read by job boards’ applicant systems. Avoid any fancy formatting such as images or unusual fonts. It would be a great shame if your December job hunting was in vain because the job boards’ systems cannot read your CV.

Be prepared for short notice interviews

December has three working weeks, so if you are looking to start work in this month you will probably be asked to attend an interview within just a few days. Know your CV and competencies inside out and prepare for each interview by learning about the company you are going to interview with. A great place to start is on the company’s ‘about us’ page on its website, or its social media channels.

Have your documentation ready to go

Employers will need to see your proof of right to work in the UK, such as your passport, as well as proof of address, driving licence and your qualifications.  Some may even need one or more passport photos of you. To ensure that your December start date is not delayed, gather these important documents together in a pack ready for your new employer.

Expect the unexpected

Some sectors experience high demand over the holiday period and you may find your half hour interview escalates into a half day assessment or even training before you are put on the job a few days later.

December can be a search for work and with a little preparation and flexibility, you could land a job before the Christmas break. Good luck!

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Manchester University top 25 in 2015 Global University Employability League

Manchester University joins four other UK educational institutions in the top 25 of The Times Higher Education‘s 2015 Global Employability University Rankings, released this week.

It joins Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and Edinburgh streets ahead of London heavyweights UCL and KCL, confirming the global desirability of Manchester graduates.

The TES rankings have been released this week as University of Manchester continues to climb up the international employability leader-board.

Manchester Uni has maintained an impressive position in the annual Global Employability University Ranking which rates how universities perform on graduate employability. The table puts Manchester in 24th place, a steady improvement on its 2013 and 2014 positions, in spots 26 and 25 respectively.

US establishments dominate the list with 39 from the top 150, while 12 UK universities make it on to the list, which is good showing.

Listen to a podcast about the Global Employability University League

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What’s your body language saying at interview?

A recent post from Warwick University’s CareerBlog explores the subtle subject of body language.

They kick off by suggesting you watch a TEDTalk on this subject “Your body body language shapes who you are” and recommend four key behaviours you should be mindful of whilst being interviewed:

Smile

Keep your hands under control (!)

Good posture makes you look confident

Keep up the eye contact

Click here to read the article in full 

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Several good reasons to do a post-grad degree

Last week, The Guardian’s Employability section considered the benefits of completing a post-grad qualification.

You may want to explore your passion even more deeply, or a Masters could boost your career or enable you to take a different career pathway.

The article says that your degree subject doesn’t have to be one that’s career-focused as, for example, humanities subjects may require a high level of 

communication skills

organisational skills

self-management skills 

And this skillset could be valuable in a range of careers.

Three people who opted for a Masters were interviewed for “Passion or profession” - read the article in full here.

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Create a strong personal brand to help land your dream job

Personal branding is more than just making a great first impression at interview, it’s how you make your potential employer feel about you and extends to your values, behaviours and even your social media profiles. It can make you stand out from all the other candidates applying for the job and could go a long way towards helping you land your dream job, says Jo Rowbotham of EmptyLemon.

All job applicants can benefit from having a personal brand, not just creative and marketing types. With the current candidate-led market where there are more jobs than candidates, you are able to pick and choose which company best meets your values, giving you a much more enjoyable experience at work.

Personal branding is what makes you unique, so when creating your personal brand, there are no right or wrong answers in what your personal brand should be. Here are some tips to help you create your personal brand:

Your values and behaviours

Firstly, think about some words to describe yourself, your values, beliefs and best traits. Ask friends or colleagues to contribute, as you may be totally unaware of your best points. Your brand must reflect you; if you create a brand to please the employer, it will become apparent to the person interviewing you that you are not being true to yourself.

Your target personal brand

Then think about how you want your potential employer to see you, this could be well respected by colleagues and customers, or an authority on your topic. Think about the good and less desirable behaviours that a person with your target personal brand have and compare them to you at present.

Get your personal brand name right

Your personal brand name is important too, we are not suggesting that you adopt a stage name, but if you are known to colleagues and in the industry as Jon or Jenny, ensure your personal brand includes this name rather than your given name of Jonathan or Jennifer.

Live and breathe your personal brand

Once you are happy with your personal brand, you will need to release it into the big wide world of work. Your non verbal communication can give a lot away about your personal brand. It is estimated that up to 80% of communication is non verbal and at a job interview, this could encompass your clothes, your posture and body language, your hairstyle and even whether or not you cover up your tattoos or remove your piercings. Some employers actively encourage individuality whereas others are less tolerant. It is always worth checking the employer brand before attending a job interview.

Harness the power of social media

Don’t forget your social media profiles also say a lot about your personal brand, for LinkedIn, ensure your image is suitable for the workplace; selfies, party pics, photos with your pets, or worse, no photo at all are not suitable for LinkedIn. Many employers also check Facebook and Twitter, so ensure your profiles portray you in a good light, or consider locking down the privacy settings on your personal profile and setting up a professional profile for potential employers to look at.

Once you have created your personal brand, keep working at it as you progress through your career. A strong personal brand can help you not only progress up the career ladder and earn more money; it can also help you achieve a happier working life through cultural fit of your personal brand and the company brand.

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University of Edinburgh Career Services

The University of Edinburgh Career Services website is split into 4 main sections:

Using the careers service - practical advice, talks & events and developing business awareness 

Explore your options - ideas about what to do next, such as career advice, voluntary work, starting up a business etc

Looking for work - including MyCareerHub which helps Edinburgh students find work, part-time and holiday work

Latest news which includes event such as the forthcoming Enterprise Week which takes place 16-20 November.

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How a temporary job can help your future career

Whether you are currently not working, a student looking for term time or holiday work, or fancy trying a new career path, a temporary job can help your future career in more ways than simply earning some money. It will also help your career long term, says Jo Rowbotham of EmptyLemon job board.

Temporary workers are found in a number of settings across all skillsets and industry sectors, either to cover busy periods, deliver a project or to cover sickness, maternity or paternity leave. Placements can vary from a few hours to months and can be fitted in around other commitments such as education or dependents; there are plenty of reasons to love temporary work including these:

Work experience

If you have little or no relevant work experience, be it you have recently left education, are returning to the workplace, or are changing careers, a temporary job can be a starting point in your chosen career. Whilst working in your temporary job, you will get the opportunity to learn all about how the job and industry works, as well as gain some experience for your CV for future employers.

Making contacts in the industry

A temporary job could put you in contact with your next employer. Through the power of networking, your colleagues might know another employer looking for an employee with your skills and attributes when your temporary contract comes to an end. As many as 70% of vacancies are never advertised because they are filled through recommendations and word of mouth, this is known as the hidden job market.

Developing transferable interpersonal skills

Working in a temporary job will not only equip you with knowledge, it will help you to hone important interpersonal skills such as customer service, time management, teamwork, prioritising, and using your initiative. Whether you choose to continue in the same field of work, or move on to another career path, these are all invaluable skills to any employer.

Trying out a new career

Fancy a change of career but not sure if you want to take the plunge with a permanent role? Temporary work could be the solution. It offers the opportunity for you to trial whether or not the career change you have chosen lives up to your expectations, whether or not you like the work and to identify what you need to do to progress further.

Permanent employment

It is not unusual for a temporary job to turn into a permanent job; an employer could see a temporary contract as an extended trial, the role could be temporary to prove a permanent appointment is needed, or simply the person you are covering for is not returning to the role.

Temporary work be a fantastic addition to your CV, when writing your CV, don’t just put that you worked in your temporary job between certain dates. Use a skills based CV to highlight and give examples of the skills you have picked up or improved whilst working in the role. By including the skills and experience you have picked up in your temporary job on your CV, it goes a long way towards your future employer inviting you in for a job interview.

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Newcastle University Careers Service

Newcastle Uni Careers Service aspirational tagline is “Looking for a way into your dream job?” The site itself breaks down into five main sections

Exploring options - for careers or studies

Developing skills - about work experience, volunteering and other opportunities that could help you stand out.

Jobs and applications - help with finding vacancies, finding the right employer and applying for a job, 

Further study - about continuing your education 

Self-employment - signposting for budding entrepreneurs, which is backed up by Rise Up tailored support and advice for students who are thinking about setting up their own business.   

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Bristol University Careers Services

The Bristol University Careers Services website has four main sections

Be inspired - to assist students with ideas for jobs relating to their studies

Become more employable (a section & sentiment we obviously endorse!) which contains loads of ideas for boosting employability

Find and apply - where you can apply for jobs, and also includes plenty of tools and guidance for job seekers, including writing CVs and application forms.

Events - judging by the listing on their website there’s plenty of opportunities to attend local events to support students seeking their first job.

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8 blogs by entrepeneurs worth checking out

Here’s a post bringing together 8 blogposts written by some well known start up founders from the UCL Careers website including marketing guru Seth Godin. 

It always interesting and potentially inspiring to read about the experience of others who’ve been through the trials and tribulations of setting up a business.

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How to get the most out of a job board in your job search

A good place to start your job search is on a job board. Job boards operate by a simple principle they advertise jobs which you can apply for.

Job boards have become one of the most common ways to find a job; there are generalist job boards covering all sectors for jobs nationwide and niche job boards, covering a particular sector, town or city. EmptyLemon, who we featured on Everlasting Employability recently focuses on jobs direct with the employers; we have lots of jobs up for grabs across all sectors.

Since the early days of job boards in the 1990s, most job boards have added extra functionality to help employers find candidates like you, including CV searches or candidate matching. 

Here are four simple things you can do on a job board to enhance your chances of finding a job.

1. Sign up for an account

Job boards offer additional candidate services to help you find your next career step; all you need to do is sign up for an account. Typical candidate services include:

Save jobs you have applied for.

Save searches so you can go back to them another time to see new jobs which match your search.

Sign up for e-mail alerts of jobs as they are posted

Show a list of jobs which you might like, based on what you have previously applied for.

To get the most out of these additional services, you will need to ensure that your profile shows the town or city you wish to work, your latest job title; or if you don’t have one, ‘seeking career in (job title)’, as employers often skim over applications to see the most relevant candidates nearest to them.

In addition, check your phone number is up to date and that your e-mail address is correct and if your email address is ‘[email protected]’ or similar it’s time to set up a professional email which includes your name and surname.

2. Upload your CV

Once you have signed up for an account with the job board, the next most effective thing you can do to help find a job is to upload your CV to the job board. 

Imagine you are the employer; you need to fill the job quickly, so you don’t have the time to wait for applicants to apply. Job boards offer employers a ready made pool of uploaded CVs for the employer to access, shortlist and contact candidates for an interview.

You will need to ensure that your CV can be read by the job board CV search or candidate matching software which the employers use to seek out candidates. This means no images, tables, graphics or fancy fonts, and save it in a popular editing format such as Microsoft Word.

3. Apply for jobs regularly

Most job boards weight the relevance of a candidate to the employer based on their activity on the job board. If you apply for jobs on a daily basis, even if you are being selective, your activity will be logged and relevant and recent. This means that your CV will be listed as more active to employers who are using CV search or candidate matching to source candidates.

4. Follow the job boards’s social media accounts

Job boards often post news of mass recruitment drives or unique roles on their Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages, so it is a good idea to follow job boards on social media in order to keep up to date with the latest job opportunities as they are added.

Employers are increasingly checking candidates’ social media profiles, including Facebook, so review your profile content carefully. At the very least, change your cover image and/or profile picture if it shows you with a drink in your hand, in a beach shot, or on a big night out. Alternatively, create a ‘professional’ Facebook page which is your profile for job seeking, and lock down the privacy settings on your personal page.

These are just four things you can do on a job board, which take a small amount of time out of your jobseeking schedule, to boost your chances of landing your next job role. Of course, there are other ways of finding a job, such as in the local newspaper or on social media, but job boards for now remain one of the biggest sources of jobs.

Thanks to Jo Rowbotham of EmptyLemon, a direct employer job board, who wrote this blogpost for Everlasting Employability.

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Top 10 universities for getting a job

Another article from the Daily Telegraph published earlier in the year looking at the Top 10 universities with the highest proportion of 2013/14 graduates entering employment and/or further study within six months. 

The common thread is that the universities with a strong specialism and/or industry connections came out top, so places such as Oxford and Cambridge do not feature.

You may choose a university for other reasons, and obviously what you get out of your studies will depend upon what you put in, but these universities could give your employability a big boost!

The universities have been ranked using new data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency. All institutions with fewer than 500 respondents have been excluded.