Transition to Tertiary Studies King’s College Tuesday 8 August 2017 Liz Medford and Jane Fletcher Careers and Employment
• Making subject choices • Course and degree planning • What’s it really like at Uni? • What I wish I’d known…. • Developing your career capital • Managing your future employability • Graduate success
Subject/degree choices • New or what you know? • Why? But I still can’t decide! • Have you done your research?
Course and degree planning • Look at each Uni and the courses • Work backwards • Undergrad and postgrad • Study what you enjoy = Academic success
Myths about choosing courses True or False? • My major will determine my career • I must decide on a major when I first enrol • Commerce/business and engineering courses are more employable and make higher salaries than arts courses • My major will limit my choices for postgraduate study • My academic grade is the most important criteria employers look for when hiring graduates
Postgraduate Study • Essential for high level analysis and research • Policy development and social science research • Market research and financial investment • Most scientific research positions
What’s it really like • Independent learning • Lectures • Tutorials/Labs • Assessment • Exams What’s ‘Mandatory’ Good work habits
Lectures – first year • Big lectures/basic grounding • Terminology for studying • Note-taking tips
Time Management Good work needs time for: • Preparation and Research • Assessment and improvements before submitting Writing a pile of lists and timetables is no good if you don't implement them.
Learning Advice
Peer support - mentoring Many Universities have the Peer Assisted Study Support (PASS)Programme or academic mentoring
Keep connected Source.ncsu.edu Phone home!
Who do you want to be known as? Before you arrive …. • Set up professional email and voicemail, think about social media activity • Read about the services and programmes available In First Year • Get to know tutors, lecturers, staff • Connect with Careers Service • Get involved!
•CVs •Interviews CareerHub Career - Graduate Jobs! Counselling Workshops Appointments & Seminars Website Online tools Extracurricular University Careers Service volunteer and leadership Graduate programmes Recruitment Events Labour Market Career Information Resources Mentoring and •Careers Expos networking •Employer Presentations •Graduate Destinations
What I wish I’d known • I didn’t know there were free services and how much help they could give me • I didn’t realise I should read and understand the course outlines and requirements • I realise now it’s fines to make mistakes and you certainly won’t know everything those first few weeks • I should have checked in about my career plans (or lack of) earlier ASK!
Developing Career Capital • Employability Skills • Confirming what employers are looking for in graduates • Preparing and getting involved
Future Of Work • Economic development under pressure, populations are aging and work environments affected by new technologies • Shifting focus from jobs to skills and capabilities • Millennial survey
Managing your future
What skills are employers looking for? What are the Top 10?
EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS & ATTRIBUTES: COMPARISON
Expected competency levels SKILLS & ATTRIBUTES MEAN Work ethic 8.6 Written communication skills 8.1 Problem solving 7.6 Team work 7.4 Analytical & critical thinking 7.2 Initiative & enterprise 7.2 Self-management 7.1 Interpersonal skills 7.0 Verbal communication 6.5 Energy & enthusiasm* - Table 3 Skills & attributes overall means for expected competency levels *Energy & enthusiasm were not broken into competencies
Employer satisfaction with Victoria Students/Graduates • 83% indicated that they are either satisfied or very satisfied with students’ and graduates’ Degree-related knowledge & skills • 80% with their verbal communication skills • 76% with level of energy and enthusiasm • 75% with written communication skills • 64% with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively intellectual integrity and understanding of ethics
Employers’ Comments Work ethic and resilience - we need people who can fail well, learn from the experience and develop a better outcome as a result. This requires working hard when there is no immediate gold star in sight and having the ability to leverage own weaknesses and take on board constructive criticism. A key thing we look for is part-time work experience and/or involvement/leadership in other areas. We want to know that the student has done something outside of purely completing their degree and understand how the work environment operates.
What do employers expect Source: Human Capital Institute Source: CBC Radio
E-Factor Tool – Awareness & Research 4000 students ranked skills, rated their employability and self assessed their behaviours.
Boosting the E-Factor SHOW Grow Know
Students reflecting on employability EMPLOYABILITY gain employment in their chosen field A set of… • SKILLS be successful in their …that enable an individual to… • COMPETENCIES chosen occupation • UNDERSTANDINGS benefit themselves, the • EXPERIENCES workforce, the ACHIEVEMENTS community, the economy… • PERSONAL (Yorke, 2006, 8) ATTRIBUTES
Managing your future Employability So much on offer at University – you have to take the initiative! Victoria Leadership Programmes (international and service based) Otago Volunteer Centre AUT Edge Award Canterbury Student Volunteer Army Study Abroad for a Trimester or year Clubs
Source: younggov.org Source: NZ Tourism guide Why is getting involved important? Source: informativepost.com
Managing your future Employability Work experience Internships Work Integrated learning Part-time work Volunteer work Summer research Scholarships
Why is experience important?
Graduate Success • What Can I do with my degree? http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/careers/documents/Graduate%20Destination%20Surrvey%202016%20_CRIN5913.pdf http://www.aut.ac.nz/being-a-student/student-surveys/aut-graduate-survey http://www.victoria.ac.nz/st_services/careers/resources/degree_options/graduate_destinations/index.aspx • Profiles– read CareerView and look on the University’s websites – each department will feature graduate stories
Victoria Graduate Destinations Survey 2015 - 2016 Graduate Starting Salaries: 1 st full-time job after graduation Bachelor & Honours $42,000 – $57,000 Master’s $50,000 - $80,000 PhD $60,000 - $100,000
Top tips for successful transition • TALK - about options for study & employment; hopes & visions; activities; skills you observe • DON’T PANIC – if majoring in a ‘non-vocational’ area or if the course of study changes/needs to change • PARTICIPATE – use all services, visit Careers, attend Career Expos and Employer Presentation events • GET INVOLVED - take advantage of wider university offerings: clubs, community work, volunteering on campus, student associations
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