1. How to find the right job for you
Bruce Woodcock
University of Kent
Careers and Employability Service
You can download a copy of this presentation at

2. Destinations of some Kent Humanities graduates
Phase 8 `` Public Relations Intern
Anise Catering Events Manager
Macmillan Science & Education Manuscript Assistant
Eve White Editorial Assistant
VCG Kestrel Proofreader
Lloyds Bank Graduate banking scheme
Chaucer Insurance Insurance graduate trainee
Williams & Griffins HR Assistant
The greater Cambridge LEP Marketing & Events Assistant
Elevating Success Marketing & Social Media Intern
FTD Digital SEO manager
Extra Digital Digital Marketing Executive
DigitalBeans Digital Content & Outreach Executive
Stratos Web Marketing Junior Copy Writer & Content Creator
Steel London Copywriter
John Lewis Partnership Retail Manager
Reed Exhibitions Sales Executive
Bauer Media Freelance Journalist
Highbury University National Council for the Training of Journalism (NCTJ)
University of Law Graduate Diploma in Law
Canterbury Christ Church University PGCE Teacher Training
West Hertfordshire Schools Partnership Schools Direct Secondary English
Forest School Teaching Assistant
University of Kent MA Dickens & Victorian Culture
Plus shop assistants, waitresses and bar workers!
See for full details

4. Skills gained on a Humanities Degree
ability to write well in a variety of styles.
to convey meaning precisely.
to summarise, argue and debate.
to plan, organise and meet tight deadlines.
to research, select, analyse, organise and present information.
to think clearly and logically and solve problems.
To gather, assess, interpret and critically evaluate.
EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNICATION! “Would you say their are any skill shortages in the UK for actuary's ie their enough out their, is their a shortfall of any kind of actuary?” In an from an HR manager to me!

5. Get actively involved in university life …
Graduate Application Form Questions
Describe a challenging situation which required your persuasive skills and your ability to organise other people in order to reach a successful resolution.
Describe how your personal planning and organisation resulted in a successful achievement of a personal or group task.
Describe a situation where you had to work effectively as a member of a team. What were the team’s aims? How was the team selected? What was your role?

6. Build your CV
The more you enjoy university life, the more you’ll get out of it.
Employers like you to have what they call “customer-facing experience”. You’ll get loads of that if you take a part-time job or work as a student volunteer.
It’s a terrific help if you can understand how businesses work, show you can get things done and apply simple common sense. It was my work experience that gave me all these things, not my academic course.
Kate, marketing officer with a PR agency
Join three university societies and become actively involved in at least one.
Alan Richardson, Graduate Recruitment, Royal Bank of Scotland Group

8. One third of graduate jobs accept any degree subject.
BECAUSE:
Learn new skills quickly
Analyse & solve problems
Communicate well
Open to new ideas, adaptable and flexible
“Managers of change”
Marketing and Sales
Retailing
Social Work
Personnel
Civil Service
Accountancy
Banking
Computing

10. Media Jobs
Get relevant experience and practical skills - Inquire, campus TV, UoK Drama etc.
Talk to or workshadow journalists and other media professionals.
Develop a portfolio
Need NCTJ Diploma for most journalism jobs
Be pushy, patient and persistent!
See

11. Teaching
1 year postgraduate course (PGCE) or Schools Direct
Many students go to Christ Church
£9,000 bursary with 1st or 2:1
Need at least 2 weeks experience in a state school – get this in June

12. Digital Marketing
Rapidly growing: using , websites, social media and texts to promote products, services and events to a targeted audience.
Social media marketing: building up an online presence by attracting internet followers.
Search engine optimisation: increasing the number of visitors to a website.
Online copywriting: blogs, Facebook, Twitter, web pages
Need an interest in and aptitude for computing
Digital Career Finder Quiz: tells you which role would suit you

13. Accountancy
Take any degree subject provided you have done careful research
Need good A Level grades: about BBB minimum
Need good maths – about GCSE grade A minimum
Lots of jobs: PWC alone take 1,000 graduates a year
3 years demanding study for professional exams: 12 hours per week in evenings and at weekends BUT paid £25,000 salary whilst doing this
On qualification £40,

15. CHOOSING A CAREER
CHOOSING A CAREER and booklet available from Careers Service.
Prospects Planner - powerful career choice program.
Target Jobs Career Planner 
I Want to work in …..

16. Apply early
“Students in their first or second year at university need to ask themselves what job they want to do.
It’s important that they do not wait until their final year to think about finding a job, especially in the current market”.
Sarah Shillingford, Graduate Recruitment Partner, Deloitte

17. Applications and Interviews
Humanities CV: must be targeted at the job!
Media CV
Covering Letters
Practice Interviews: journalism, teaching, marketing, HR, postgrad study etc.
Application, interview and selection centre videos
Applications and interviews

18. Application Process
The smaller company process is much simpler and you can apply much later (often after final exams) but salaries are usually lower and they offer less training and less chance to specialise.

19. VACANCIES
University of Kent Vacancy Database Work Experience and the vacancy database Placements Other careers events on campus

20. Postgraduate Study
Over 20% of Humanities grads do PG study after graduation
MA taught: 1 year Sept to June – lectures, June to Sept – dissertation.
PhD – 3 years. Must do an MA first.
PGCE (teacher training) 1 year: about 6% of grads £9,000 bursary with 1st, £4,000 with 2:1
See

21. Postgraduate study
Fees are about £5,000. At Kent get £1,000 graduate school scholarship reduction
New postgraduate loan scheme for up to £10,000
Many students work for a year to fund it or do it part-time whilst working
Consider vocational MA – journalism, publishing, business, HR etc.
Normally apply middle of final year. No UCAS can apply to as many courses as you wish to – 3 or 4 is normal

22. New Postgraduate Loans
New postgraduate loan scheme for English -domiciled students and EU students studying in English institutions from 2016.
Offers students up to £10,000 to help with costs of a masters degree.
Students are eligible for the loans if under the age of 30 and studying for a full-time masters, or part-time at 50% intensity or above. There are no subject restrictions.
Like undergraduate loans, graduates will only pay them back if they earn over a certain amount - probably the same as undergraduate loans (£21,000), and repay at a rate of 9% of income above this sum.

23. Study Abroad
Many postgraduate courses are now taught in English, especially in the Netherlands and Scandinavia
No course fees in Sweden and about £1,000 in Germany and Denmark
See

24. Telephone: Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9 to 5 including vacations Drop-in times (no appointment needed: 15 minutes): to and 2 to 4 pm Help given for up to 3 years after graduation Weekly careers s every Monday afternoon

25. Careers Award on Moodle
Half the unemployment rate for students completing the award
DP2650
if you have problems enrolling

26. Careers Award Content
12 Quizzes: need 75% to pass: allowed unlimited attempts
Complete 3 of the following 7 short, easy assignments
Employability skills quiz
How to develop the skills employers want?
Test your spelling and grammar!
What makes you happy at work?
How commercially aware are you?
Interview preparation
Practice interview
What are the most common interview questions?
Aptitude tests and assessment centres
CV quiz
CVs and covering letters: drag & drop quiz
Career planning drag and drop quiz
Analyse your skills and learn how to make top quality applications
Do you want to live to work or work to live?
Choosing a career: find out what your ideal career is!
Researching a career 
Submit your CV for professional review
Social media in job hunting
Action planning
I completed the award in my first year and got a placement with a top company due to the skills I gained on the award.
The amount of time put into this is astounding! I spoke to friends from other universities who said they wished they had something like this.
It would be mad to apply for a job or attend an interview without doing it! 
It has made me feel a lot more confident when it comes to applications and interviews in the future and has also made me think about skills I have that I didn't think I had before.
It was so easy, quick and I learned a lot. Without realising, you have finished the course and have already put together a very good CV and covering letter. 
It covered every aspect, such as how to apply for a job, how to write a good cv and cover letter, analysing your skills and showcasing them as well as making you think about the reason why we work. I was impressed with the amount of detailed information, links and quizzes which all proved extremely helpful and I learnt a lot that I didn't know before, making me feel better prepared for the future.

27. Bruce Woodcock
An adviser is on duty for 15 minute consultations in the Careers Service any weekday morning or afternoon from 2 pm to 4 pm. You don't need an appointment - just ask at Careers Reception to see them.
Check you campus s regularly as I send you s most Mondays. These can also be found at
Apply early in your final year if you want a graduate training scheme with a “big” company, advertising, marketing, HR or primary teaching.
If you don’t know what you want to do, can book an interview with me at Careers reception (Keynes Driveway), by ringing or via

28. www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm Bruce Woodcock University of Kent
Careers and Employability Service
You can download a copy of this presentation at