EMLT Bulletin 16 (June) - EN

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JUNE, 2016

16

SE TH RV CE E C ICE AR S N UN M TR E O AS E E F I BR VE A O R NO RS RYK F IT (C Y, Z)

SERVICES OF THE CAREER CENTRE OF MASARYK UNIVERSITY, BRNO (CZ) In this April bulletin we are introducing the Career Centre of Masaryk University

in Brno, Czech Republic. The Career Centre (CC) is a counselling agency targeting both students and employers. The CC facilitates the transition between

school and work, provides individual counselling, organizes seminars, workshops and lectures aimed at those who seek help while embarking on a career.

In addition, the CC interfaces with the Information System of Masaryk University,

which makes all the administrative tasks easier. Using this platform even the alumni of the university can access the offers of the CC. The CC cooperates not only with Czech but also foreign universities.

The events organised by the CC deal with topics such as the basics of the

labour law, the technicalities of an employment contract, CV or cover letter. Those attending the seminars can also undergo special personality or problem-solving tests designed by professionals in a programme called the Assessment Centre.

Within the programme there are several stages. The first one is self-awareness, that is the knowledge and understanding of one’s own capabilities, strengths and weaknesses, values and preferences. This stage is a crucial prerequisite

to the identification of the domain that the students

would find fulfilling and enjoyable. Building on this stage the professional path can be outlined, followed by the labour market analysis in the domain the student is

interested in. This way the student gains a better insight into what

particular jobs entail and

what the odds of landing that job are.

Having gone through these stages one should set a specific goal as well as the steps that should be taken to achieve it, in other words the decision making and development plan. Last but not least the CC assists students in interpretation of ads, writing a CV and self-presentation. Furthermore, it is also possible to contact an employer so the centre actually connects companies with potential job-seekers.

The CC also arranges events where employers can get in touch with students on fairs or conferences, presents and recommends a given institution/company at the university and provides a preselection of candidates as well as job offers in the Information System of the university etc. Finally, the CC offers a wide range of marketing and recruitment services.

INTERVIEW We interviewed Ms. Pavla Horáková from the CC who gave us a few tips on how to succeed in the labour market.

— The CC offers various courses for students – individual counselling, seminars, workshops etc., which can help students overcome obstacles on the road to a successful career. Which courses are most popular? Why do you think it is so?

The course most popular with the students is “Identify your skills”, where students can find out what their strengths and weaknesses are. Students are also interested in the course “CV is dead: Make your profile on LinkedIn hot” lead by a famous headhunter Josef Kadlec.

— You also of-

fer assistance with

writing a CV – how to do

it well? What are the main

principles?

That is a broad topic one could talk about

for hours. There is no single format, howev-

er, there are a few rules you should go by: 1.

The CV should be tailor-made to a particular position.

2. Include only information relevant to that specific job.

3. Do not just list your previous positions, explain what the job

description was and what you were in charge of.

Work experience is the most important part of your CV, give not only the name of the company and number of years you worked there, but also the month you started and resigned.

It could be counter-productive to include failures, such as schools you dropped out of, or personal information, e.g. on your marital status or children.

Enhancing one’s CV with computer or language skills people do not actually

possess is common, but you should not claim that you’ve mastered Microsoft Excel if you are barely able to start it.

It goes without saying that your CV should be grammatically and formally OK. Use fonts and other graphic tools wisely, less is more.

— What should we know about cover letters?

Cover letter is not a transcript of a CV. Quite the contrary, it should complement it, highlight the added value of a CV and demonstrate the applicant´s motivation to get the job. Once again, make sure your letter is formally and grammatically fine.

First, you should introduce yourself, then lay out the arguments why you are an

eligible candidate. Many applicants forget to mention why the company is interesting for them.

— Do you also offer courses to students who want to work abroad or do you focus on the Czech labour market?

Primarily, we focus on the Czech market, however, we can advise on working abroad in individual consultations on request.

— What would you recommend to job-seekers? What steps should they take?

I believe starting job-hunting after graduation is rather late, students should start at least one year in advance.

Ideally, students should be considering their future career from the first semester, the sooner they gain work

experience,

the better.

Should they find out they don’t enjoy the work, they still have time to make a fresh start. A useful tool for planning one’s career is e.g. a career plan they can find on our web (http://www.kariera.muni.cz/).

Internship is recommended in the second or third year. Students gain experience and contacts which may help them land a job later on.

If you have already graduated clueless about your professional life, do not panic. First you need to figure out what you really want and then it’s time to contact

potential employers, preferably drawing on contacts gained during studies. If necessary, you can also look for a job through an agency.

— What courses do you offer as a preparation for an interview?

It doesn’t really make sense to prepare for interviews in general, you should have a

specific goal. If you want to impress an interviewer, you should know yourself, your

competences and goals. That is why we treat career planning as

a whole and offer courses such as “Discover your professional self”. Specifically job interviews are the subject of our CV Days and Interview Days and you can also prepare for an interview in individual guidance sessions.

— What advice would you give to job seek-

ers, how to make a good impression at a job interview?

That

is

a

very

general

question. The main thing

– be yourself. If you are faking something, the inter-

viewers will find out.

And if

not, it can

turn out even

worse – the posi-

tion will not suit you.

You should have relevant information about the company and position that you are applying for. You should know the company’s philosophy, and dress and behave accordingly. Furthermore, you should be able to demonstrate that you are the right person for the job. That is exactly what the employer is looking for.

Last but not least, you should come to the interview well rested, well and appropriately dressed not overdoing the perfume. You need self-confidence – both fear and arrogance are not desirable. You are there to chat about a job – do not forget it’s not only the interviewer who is making a decision. You are there making a decision whether you want the job.

— Is there any feedback from the graduates about how your course helped them when job-hunting?

We ask participants for feedback at the end of every course. Thanks to this feedback we can constantly upgrade and develop the courses. There are students who sign up for a number of courses, and later some of them send us thank-you letters or even come to say thank you in person. They appreciate that they learned how to think about their career. We also know about a few students whose CV we helped to improve and who landed jobs later on.

Special thanks goes to Mrs. Pavla Horáková from the Career Centre of Masaryk University Authors: Věra Janíková, Jan Budňák, Jana Kubrická, Jana Veličková, Ondřej Musil, Miroslav Janík Faculty of Education, Masaryk University Brno (Czech Republic) Photos: KC MU

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