London School of Economics and Political Science Career changing: Designing and facilitating a course for experienced students Lizzie Darlington Careers Consultant

Overview LSE Student population/rationale... How does this fit with your students? Course content Learning outcomes I thought a quick run through of our leaning towards PG taught students, the need to address that many have reaonable professional experience and their needs are different plus they may feel a lack of affinity with other students on their course. This brings them together and allows them to capitalise on each other and their own experience and offers recognition that they may feel standard careers service provision doesn’t (whether that’s right or wrong) blah blah blah. Suggest that it could also be a good format for research students. GROUP DISCUSSION – perhaps get them to introduce themselves and why they chose to attend – does this chime with their students, how would they like to use the workshop and what groups do they want to work with? Quick whip through course content and what we hoped they would achieve (awareness of aims if not already clear, how to best market their experience if moving in a different direction and effective job search and leveraging contacts and alumni blah blah). Also the hope that they would use each other.

Career Changers – Short Course Introduction and analysis of past experience Presenting yourself to employers Networking Experienced hire networking event

Student feedback Positive: Learning to present skills to an employer Exercises allowing student to reflect on past decisions Building a network of career changers Negative: Working within their constraints Conducting career research Present skills - included LSE career changer, the hidden market, expectation setting, selling your skills Reflection - Mapping you career exercise Network – this was each other plus the career changer examples used Constraints – did not like accepting that it took small steps to achieve career change Career research – students did not want to have to spend time researching and did not appreciate the example of how to do this. Teaching a grandmother to suck eggs. We will make them do case studies next time.

Managing expectations No one solution or answer Managing peer feedback Expectations regarding alumni contacts Quite specific questions – i.e. moving from 10 years of contracts management for recruitment agency to consultancy etc – how should your CV look. So addressing there isn’t one way to do it and no quick fox solutions, much of it is about creative presentation and confidence. The pthers in the group help to offer a new/different perspective too BUT – discussion around managing peer feedback – peer feedback and network is a major tick but what about group members offering advice that isn’t quite correct, assuming knowledge based on quite distant experiences etc. Maybe ask the group how they’ve managed such students previously or ask them to chat and offer one suggestion each on confronting well meaning but incorrect advice? Especially in the face of confident, experienced students. Alumni – useful but suggest choosing carefully – maybe selecting people who’ve had to work hard to switch rather than those whose path has been relatively straightforward.

Pitch Builder Devise a 2 minute pitch on why you want to introduce a career changer course at your university and what it would involve. Get them to do a pitch? As example of type of exercise used. Maybe: Put together a 2 min pitch for the course they’re thinking of doing Discuss how they have built on their previous job in their current position Pitch the 3 key transferable skills their current role has equipped them with Pitch why hiring someone who has changed career can be a positive thing Mate – don’t know how you want to work this but let me know if you need links/anything for the slide

Summary Flexibility Further exercises to review Questions Approach dependant on the participants Further exercises to review Questions Discuss that we reviewed this and collected feedback but that ultimately the success of the course will depend on flexibility as every group of participants will be different.