Careers Centre ANNABELLE CROSS Senior Careers Consultant University of Leeds Employability: Making the Psychology Graduate a Strong Competitor in the Job Market

Careers Centre How the Careers Centre at the University of Leeds works  Advice, guidance & information  Faculty and departmental activity to enhance student employability  A Learning & Teaching Department  Support Work Placements across the University  Work closely with local, national and international employers who target the University of Leeds and facilitate departmental links  Support students and graduates who wish to start their own business

Careers Centre Few questions for you………. Psychology is the most popular degree subject with nearly 9,000 students graduating from first degrees in Third In 2007, how many students were studying Psychology? Over 40,000 According to the BPS, how many established career paths are there? Can you name them? 8 – Clinical; Counselling; Educational; Forensic; Health; Occupational; Sport & Exercise; Teaching & Research. How many Psychology graduates will go on to become Chartered Psychologists? Approximately ten to fifteen percent of graduates will eventually become a chartered psychologist

Careers Centre What were the Psychology graduates from 2007 doing in early 2008? (Source: HESA DLHE 2006/07) Who responded?  Men 1545  Women 7385  Total in survey 8935 (Total number graduating 11390)

Careers Centre What did they do?  In UK employment 58.3%  In overseas employment 1.4%  Working and studying 10.7%  Studying in the UK for a higher degree 7.6%  Studying in the UK for a teaching qualification 4.4%  Undertaking other further study or training in the UK 3.2%  Undertaking further study or training overseas 0.1%  Believed to be unemployed 5.6%  Not available for employment, study or training 4.8%  Other 3.9%

Careers Centre What type of Work did they go into?  Arts, design, culture, media and sports 1.4%  Business and financial 8.1%  Commercial, industrial and public sector Managers 7.6%  Education 4.9%  Engineering 0.2%  Health 2.3%  Information technology 0.8%  Legal 0.4%  Marketing, sales and advertising 4.2%  Scientific research, analysis and Development 0.3%  Social and welfare 13.5%  Other professional and technical jobs 4.0%  Numerical clerks and cashiers 2.5%  Other clerical and secretarial jobs 15.4%  Retail catering, waiting and bar staff 11.6%  Other jobs 22.7%  Unknown jobs 0.1%

Careers Centre Detailed breakdown for Social and Welfare  Counsellors 0.7%  Education/learning support worker 1.8%  Housing and welfare officers 2.5%  Other jobs in social and welfare 0.5%  Psychologists 3.4%  Social workers 1.8%  Youth and community workers 2.9%

Careers Centre The ‘Psychology Degree’ and Graduates (1)  Psychology degrees develop many of the transferable skills which all graduate employers require, for example: communication; numeracy; information technology; independent learning; and the ability to work in teams.  Psychology courses accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) contain substantial teaching on statistics and research methodology, as well as scientific methods.British Psychological Society (BPS)

Careers Centre The ‘Psychology Degree’ and Graduates (2)  Psychology students are therefore able to understand and manipulate both quantitative and qualitative data, use computers and problem solve effectively.  Consequently, psychology graduates are well placed to move into research or numeracy-based careers such as market research, academia and accounting.  Psychology students also develop many of the skills of humanities graduates, such as critical thinking and essay/report writing.

Careers Centre The ‘Psychology Degree’ and Graduates (3)  Only a small proportion of psychology undergraduates progress to be chartered psychologists (10-15%).  If they want to move into this area of work, it is vital they undertake as much work experience as possible whilst on their undergraduate degree.  Placements in clinical psychology can be notoriously difficult to access but any relevant paid or voluntary work can be beneficial, e.g. working with children or adults with learning difficulties; mentoring; befriending; working in care homes or with those who are mentally distressed.

Careers Centre EMPLOYERS’ RATING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF SKILLS & QUALITIES IN GRADUATES by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D. and Katharine Hansen  Interpersonal Abilities  Communication Skills (listening, verbal, written)  Teamwork  Leadership/Management Skills  Problem-Solving/ Reasoning/Creativity  Flexibility/Adaptability/ Managing Multiple Priorities  Planning/Organising  Multicultural Sensitivity/Awareness.  Analytical/Research Skills  Computer/Technical Literacy

Careers Centre Commercial Awareness  The most difficult skills for recruiters to find  The skill that students feel they can’t offer employers  Generally, employers have narrow definition of Commercial Awareness that relates to how their business operates and how graduates can add value to their core activities  Students interpret the term more broadly to include generic and transferable skills.  Employers felt that HE had a role to play developing this skill particularly by enabling students to gain an understanding of the ‘real business world’ as part of their course or work experience. Students also felt that supported work experience would help them develop this skill (Source: CA Report; Wilkinson D. & Aspinall, S. 2006)

Careers Centre Quote from British Telecom: “It would be helpful for Universities to help students think more broadly about the term ‘customer’. It need not necessarily be seen in a strictly ‘business’ sense. For example, if a student attempts to understand what a lecturer is looking for in a First Class paper (and they deliver this), they are being commercially aware”

Careers Centre Challenges for students in the graduate recruitment process (1)  Managing their time to be able to compete for opportunities alongside final year study ( and part-time work, holiday work, having a social life etc)  Decoding Business–Speak  Analysing the culture to assess whether it’s right for them  Recognising their skills and the way in which they developed them so that they can articulate and evidence these skills and qualities

Careers Centre Challenges for students in the graduate recruitment process (2)  Recognising how they can apply and demonstrate their academic skills in other contexts  Demonstrating appropriate behaviours and a level of social confidence during selection procedures  Performing well at interview with an understanding and delivery/evidence of competencies required by employers

Careers Centre Responding to the Challenge (1):  Make links between topics and the social world:  Social psychology and communication  Attitudes  Visual perception and language  Work psychology  Occupational psychology  Developmental psychology and individual differences  ‘Academic and career development for psychologists’

Careers Centre Responding to the Challenge (2):  Look at Students Skills & Attributes in terms of reflection and ‘translation’  Facilitate employer input into the curriculum and ‘Personal Development Process’  Connect into institution-wide employability priorities and initiatives  Encourage students to make the most of all aspects of their university experience from day one  Work closely with your Career Services

Careers Centre Students and Graduates should be encouraged to:  Consider the skills developed on their course as well as through other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc.  Encouraged to think about how these experiences can be used as evidence of their skills and personal attributes, and articulate this effectively ….Only then, can they start to market and sell who they really are, identify what they may be lacking and consider how to improve their profile as a highly skilled and employable Psychology Graduate.