Graduate Success Guide - Class of 2018 by University of Cumbria

CLASS OF 2018 GRADUATE SUCCESS GUIDE This resource is designed to help you navigate the transition from university to life as a graduate.

cumbria.ac.uk/careers

CONGRATULATIONS YOU’VE GRADUATED!

MESSAGES FROM YOUR CAREERS TEAM THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX If you are not making any progress, re-think your approach. Are there alternative jobs or a different career path that could be worth pursuing as well? You could consider self-employment, UoC’s Enterprise team offers support for 3 years after you graduate.

DID YOU KNOW THAT OVER 80% OF EMPLOYERS DON’T HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR THE DEGREE SUBJECT STUDIED? Although some graduate jobs require a particular subject, many jobs are open to graduates from any subject.

DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF WITH OTHER PEOPLE. Social media creates an illusion that everyone is happy and successful, but it’s not always true.

CHECK OUT OUR JOB SHOP, BUILD YOUR EXPERIENCE

This is an exciting new chapter in your life. Whether you’ve got it all planned out or not, you’re about to experience some big changes. The GSG is here to help.

Welcome to your Graduate Success Guide: Your Career Money Advice Wellbeing Dealing with Change Your Rights at Work

Graduate Job Market Postgraduate Study Housing International Graduates Travel

Many employers offer paid internships. These can be a great way to gain experience, develop skills and learn about a particular sector.

DON’T LISTEN TO THE DOOM-MONGERS! Graduate opportunities do exist!

GRADUATE SUCCESS GUIDE

KEEP CALM AND MAKE A PLAN If your head is spinning, contact careers@cumbria.ac.uk we can help you for up to 3 years after you graduate.

NETWORK Join the UoC Alumni Association and LinkedIn, and develop your network of contacts. Visit our Alumni pages for more information.

which advertises graduate schemes, jobs and internships. Find out more at cumbria.ac.uk/careers .

BE KIND TO YOURSELF A career takes time to develop, and all experience has value. Focus on your strengths and what you can offer an employer rather than what you lack or cannot do.

LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF – YOUR WELLBEING

POSTGRADUATE STUDY Do you need further qualifications to get into the career you want? Are you passionate about a particular field and want to explore this further as a postgraduate? Whether you want to undertake a PGCE or you prefer to study a Masters degree in a subject you love, here are some useful links to get you thinking about where to study, what you need to know about different courses and how you can fund these as a Postgrad:

WORKING ABROAD If you’re interested in travel and gaining new experiences, working abroad might the route for you. There are lots of volunteering opportunities, paid jobs and internships you can pursue in many different countries, here are some useful links to get you started: • • • •

Target Jobs – working abroad Prospects – work experience abroad Volunteer and intern abroad Volunteering, interning and gap years – responsible travel

Moving on from university life can be quite daunting for some graduates. Having to leave behind friends, moving on from the structure and focus of your studies and becoming a professional can be challenging and may even cause anxiety or depression.

• If you go onto further study, most universities also have a student counselling service, usually based in student services. Whatever you do once you graduate, if you feel low or anxious for a sustained period of time, contact your GP who can refer you on to relevant services. www.mind.org.uk has a wide range of information that can help. Mental Health and Wellbeing Manager, Dave Wilson advises… “As a preventative measure, make sure you try and get a good work/life balance. Remember to try and maintain a good amount of quality sleep, do some exercise (even small amounts help), and find time to enjoy life.”

• Prospects – postgraduate study • Masters advice • Funding for postgrad study

Useful links: • Preparing for change • Life after university • Mental health helplines

UoC also offers a range of PG courses, and remember you can get an Alumni discount of 20% off PG taught courses and 10% off research degrees! Click here to find out more about postgrad study with us. There are also PGCE scholarships available to help fund teacher training.

There is help available to you: • Many employers offer support for new employees, such as mentoring and coaching schemes. Even in small organisations there will be informal peer support through your colleagues, or line manager.

GRADUATE SUCCESS GUIDE

DISABILITY AND LEARNING DIFFICULTIES

INTERNATIONAL GRADUATES

Getting support at work

If you’re an international student, you will need to check your visa if you wish to stay on in the UK beyond your last study date.

Get help at work if you have a disability, to find out more about Access to Work click here. Disability Confident Employer scheme Employers who sign up for this scheme recognise the value that disabled people bring to their role and ensure they have open and fair recruitment policies. Find out more here. Further study If you had Disabled Students Allowance as an undergraduate, then this will continue for most types of postgraduate study. You will need to complete a new application form with your funding body, but you generally do not need to supply new evidence or have a new assessment of needs. Please check with the providers of your previous assessment of need as to whether your assessment needs updating.

MONEY ADVICE

If you plan to return to your home country, check out the UKCISA advice on preparing to go home. Alternatively, if you plan to continue study in the UK, see UKCISA advice on applying for a Tier 4 visa from within the UK. For further support and advice for working in the UK post-graduation visit Gov.uk to find out more about settling in the UK.

Bank Accounts Whilst some student bank accounts will transfer into graduate accounts automatically, some don’t and this could leave you with some hefty charges. Contact your bank to check what will happen. Find more information here. Student Housing and Utilities Before moving out of your student house, make sure everything is clean and all appliances work, so you can be sure your landlord will pay your deposit back. Tell utility providers you are moving out and when, so you avoid any unnecessary payments.

Debt If you are worried about debt repayments (excluding student loan repayments) you can seek free advice here: www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk Benefits If you do not have a job lined up for when you graduate, you could be entitled to claim benefits while you look for one. Check here to find out if you are entitled: www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk If you wish to claim Universal Credit then you can start the claim online here: www.gov.uk/universal-credit

Student Loan Repayments You do not need to repay your student loan until you’re earning over £25,000. The repayments will be taken directly from your earnings. You can find more information here: www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk

Useful links: • Dyspraxia in the workplace • Getting a graduate job if you have dyslexia • Should you tell your boss if you have ADHD?

CARE LEAVERS The National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) offers advice for Care Leavers wanting to build successful careers: www.nnecel.org www.learningandwork.org.uk Student Success Advisor Mel Bakey says… “Remember what you have achieved already, and be proud.” Don’t forget to access support from initiatives such as the Learning and Work Institute.”

GRADUATE SUCCESS GUIDE

HOUSING AFTER UNIVERSITY

NAVIGATING THE GRADUATE RECRUITMENT MARKET

KNOW YOUR EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

If you’re looking for a new place to rent, it’s worthwhile knowing where to look for properties, what you need to know as a tenant, such as paying council tax, and what your expectations of this process should be. Here are some handy places to start….

When you graduate it’s easy to think you only have a couple of options. In reality, there are so many careers your degree can lead to.

There are lots of rights you have as an employee that your employer must uphold, such as the minimum wage, working hours and your health at work.

Every year What Do Graduates Do? gives you a clear picture of the range of careers recent graduates from your course have gone into in the last year.

Make sure you know what these are ahead of time. Here are some handy breakdowns of all your employment rights:

www.citizensadvice.org.uk • Finding a place to live • Housing and renting a home • Tenancy agreements

Know Your Market!

www.gov.uk • Owning and renting a property • How to rent: the checklist • Private renting

Useful links to get you started… • High Fliers Research—The Graduate Market in 2018 • The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers • Small Business—Graduate Recruitment Trends 2018

GRADUATE SUCCESS GUIDE

• Gov.uk- Employment Status and Rights • My World of Work - Your Rights in Work • Citizen’s Advice - Rights at Work • Careers and work for disabled people – Disability Rights UK

GRADUATE SUCCESS GUIDE

USEFUL RESOURCES AND CONTACTS CAREERS ADVICE AND RESOURCES:

GRADUATE INTERNSHIPS:

Career planning matching yourself to the job

Graduate Talent Pool

What can I do with my degree?

Prospects

CVs and covering letters

Employment 4 Students

Target Jobs

Interview Tips Networking Using LinkedIn to network

GRADUATE SUCCESS GUIDE

JARGON BUSTER Annual Leave

This refers to the amount of paid holiday days you can take from work in a given year.

Annual Review

Sometimes called an appraisal or a PPDR (Personal and Professional Development Review). This is the process whereby a manager evaluates and provides feedback on an employee’s job performance against set targets.

Commission

This stands for Full Time Equivalent and refers to the hours worked by an employee on a full-time basis. 1.0fte. refers to working full-time, and variations of this such 0.6fte and 0.8fte detail part-time working hours.

Gross Pay

This is your total amount of pay before any deductions are made.

Induction

This is training provided to a new employee to prepare them for the role and enable them to adjust and become familiar with the new work environment.

Job Sector

The economy is divided into different sectors of activity, such as Education and Health etc. The public sector refers to government owned organisations or services. Companies owned by individuals are part of the private sector.

JSA

This refers to Jobseeker’s Allowance, a government benefit you can receive whilst looking for work. This is, however, changing to Universal Credit.

Maternity and Paternity

Maternity and paternity pay and leave refers to your employment rights when you take time off to have a baby.

Minimum Wage

The government has set a minimum hourly rate of pay that all employees and workers over 16 years of age should receive.

This is an employment contract that is set in advance and lasts for a specified length of time.

Mission Statement

Many organisations have a written mission statement that describes their goals and philosophies.

This means the employee chooses when to start and end work within agreed limits. The employee usually has to work core hours e.g. 10am - 4pm every day.

National Insurance (NI)

NI is a tax that helps build up your entitlement to state benefits such as the State Pension. To work in the UK you need a NI number. If you haven’t already received one from the government, apply for one via www.gov.uk

Some employers (usually related to Sales) pay their employees commission on top of their hourly rate of pay. The amount is set in advance and is based on the employee exceeding a sales target.

CPD

This stands for Continuing Professional Development and describes additional training or learning activities that employees undertake to enhance their skills and knowledge beyond any initial training.

DBS Check

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), helps employers prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups such as children. A DBS check of police records is undertaken for everyone working with vulnerable groups and children.

Equal Opportunities

The term equal opportunities upholds the idea that all workers, regardless of their age, sex, race disability, sexual orientation, culture must be treated equally and fairly.

Fixed Term Contract

Flexi Time

FTE

GRADUATE SUCCESS GUIDE

National Living Wage

This is the minimum pay per hour most workers aged over 25 and over are entitled to by law. As of April 2018, it is £7.83 per hour for those aged 25 and over.

Pro Rata

Pro rata means in proportion. This is often a term you will find next to a salary in a job that is part-time. This is to highlight that this salary will be reduced in proportion to the hours you will actually work.

Net Pay

This is the amount of pay you receive after tax and other deductions have been taken from your Gross Pay.

Probation

You may be required to complete probationary period when your start a job. If you are ‘on probation’ though, you still have statutory employment rights.

OTE

‘On-track’ or ‘On target’ earnings is a term often seen in job advertisements for sales jobs. It means that the pay structure is composed of a basic salary with an additional amount of commission.

SSP

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is an allowance you can get from your employer if you are too ill to work. You need to qualify for SSP and you will only get paid for up to 28 weeks.

When you leave a job you will receive a P45. This has all the information about your salary and tax you’ve paid whilst in this job and features a section you need to give to your new employer.

Tax Code

Your tax code will be sent to you by HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC). It tells the employer how much tax you should pay. Your tax code should appear on your payslip, so check that it is the correct one, or you could end up paying too much or too little tax.

Unions

A trade union is an organisation with members who join together to maintain and improve their conditions of employment. If there is a trade union at work, you can ask the union rep about joining.

Zero Hours Contract

Zero-hour or causal contracts don’t specify the number of hours an employee will be required to work. Zero hour workers are entitled to statutory annual leave and the National Minimum Wage is the same way as regular workers.

P45

P60

Pension Scheme

PPE

You will receive a P60 at the end of every tax year. This details all the tax you have paid in a given year and is one way to prove you have paid tax correctly. This is a scheme you pay money into every month whilst in employment, with the intention of building a sum of money to be distributed back to you during your retirement. Your employer will typically also pay a percentage into this fund. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is clothing and equipment used to ensure personal safety in the workplace.

GRADUATE SUCCESS GUIDE

GRADUATE SUPPORT

A FINAL NOTE…

Careers and Employability:

Enterprise:

• • •

•

A new national student survey will be launching soon, which will gather information on what all UK graduates are doing 15 months after graduation.

We can help you with all aspects of your career planning including finding opportunities, completing applications, preparing for interviews and applying for postgraduate study. Find out more about what is available or book a phone, Skype or face-to-face appointment at www.cumbria.ac.uk/careers Access this support for up to 3 years after you graduate.

If you are interested in setting up your own business you can access support from our Enterprise Team for up to 3 years after you graduate. Head to www.cumbria.ac.uk/enterprise for more information.

Is there anything else you would like to see in the Graduate Success Guide? We would really value any feedback or suggestions! Please send any comments to: careers@cumbria.ac.uk

You will be one of the first people to complete the Graduate Outcomes Survey which will ask about your career, work, self-employment and further study. Look out for an email – it won’t come from the University of Cumbria but from the company running the survey.

Alumni: • Join our graduate community. As soon as you graduate you become a member of the Alumni Association. • Alumni receive exclusive benefits and services, including the latest news, event invites and opportunities to stay connected. • www.cumbria.ac.uk/alumni

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GRADUATE SUCCESS GUIDE