Year 2

In your second year? Level 5 Employability Plans and activities Year 2 Semester 1: October - December

First few weeks ■ Remind yourself how the Careers and Opportunities Hub can support you ■ Update your profile on CareerConnect, and set your preferences to receive a daily alert of opportunities that interest you

Add to your skills and get involved

■ Use your second year to get involved with a range of things like volunteering, part-time work, or a placement module ■ Are there some additional skills you would like to develop? What are they and what opportunities will help you to gain those skills? ■ Many charities have a wide range of activities you can get involved with, even for only a few hours per week so why don’t you consider volunteering for a cause or a particular charity that you are passionate about ■ Earn some money whilst studying. Develop your understanding of the working world, add to your skills by doing a part-time job, working on campus, being a Student Ambassador, undertaking a placement or volunteering module ■ Explore the range of opportunities available to you through the Students’ Union, be it clubs, societies or as a STAR representative of your course ■ Review your skills by accessing the information and advice through this guide. Complete some online questionnaires to see how you are progressing

Explore opportunities

Making applications

■ Research some career ideas and consider which one’s appeal to you. Gain a better understanding of your career options and explore our wide range of resources available on CareerConnect, including downloadable guides and videos ■ Use CareerConnect to book onto our events and workshops to support your research ■ There are many websites, full of job search and application advice, plus insights into jobs and occupational areas, key trends in the local, national and global jobs markets.

In addition to CareerConnect look at Prospects: www.prospects.ac.uk, Target Jobs: targetjobs.co.uk and Bright Network: www.brightnetwork.co.uk ■ Update your CV to include your degree and additional skills obtained, demonstrate your experience so far and attend our sessions to help you do this ■ Use this to approach organisations for part-time or volunteering roles ■ Review and update your LinkedIn profile. Increase your contacts

Year 2 Semester 2 onwards: January - June Think ahead and make the most of your summer

■ There is still time to apply for a sandwich year /work-based placement so ensure you are registered to the best sites like www.inspiringinterns.com, www.ratemyplacement.co.uk, www.gradcracker.com, and www.targetjobs.co.uk ■ Update your preferences on CareerConnect to receive alerts of placements and graduate roles so you can begin to explore the graduate job market ■ Even without a placement module, it is vital to continue to build on your range of experience ■ Consider making a speculative application to an employer to gain work experience using our information and advice on CareerConnect