job SOURCING

Thought I would refresh my memory on job sourcing this summer, whether exclusively for the holidays, a sandwich job, or your first step on the career ladder (ie. you're doing a Criminology degree and decide to do admin for the Police Department).

As far as I know both Child and Adolescent Studies, and Criminology have lectures/seminars themed around job hunting, interview skills etc, in their 2nd year. An assignment where your CV, cover letter, Personal Development Plan (look below at my sample of a PDP) and job research is graded. I'm not rubbish at CVs, but it was a good way to know I was on the right track, giving me confidence in my interview skills, and analysis of a job is something I'd never done professionally before.

The UoB has a great page for CV and cover letter writing (click right here) but not only that they offer a free drop in session at Career Services on the ground floor of I block. I found this terrifically useful in the assignment, with proof reading my CV and PDP, and one of the advisors even gave me a good hour and a half for some career guidance. They also do a similar certification called the EDGE. 

Having said all that, I'd like to put it out there that the formal "job hut" and CV saturation of your entire town/city, isn't always going to be YOUR route to the job you're after - in fact we may often find ourselves somewhere better than our dream job. For example, when I first signed up to university and was looking for work, I signed up as a Nursery Nurse with a local recruitment agency, staffing nurseries and creches when needed. This led to me staffing schools when Teaching Assistants were absent, which then ended up with my being employed in one (I went through the external interview process but from knowing the school I was much more confident). Now I am seeking what avenues I can pursue to benefit my experience and career, whether it's after-school-clubs, interventions, parent workshops - might end up doing a PGCE yet.

I will be honest and say I don't know where I'm headed, but if you keep asking questions, keep throwing yourself out there, you are bound to end up somewhere very interesting and possibly the best thing that could happen to you. Now to keep my eyes peeled and myself at the ready this summer holidays ….

2015 here we come!

In thinking over the last academic year, I find my mind going WWW (what went well) and EBI (even better if). Looking at the opportunities I've had and the ones that I've missed and would like to utilise in this new year. I'm also looking over my contacts built and who I may want to stay in contact with or need to "impress" in my last year before graduation.

Right from the beginning of my degree my lecturer's poignant words rang in my ear "Your career starts from today". And you've probably noticed the urgency in all my blog posts. :) Life is so short and we only get one chance to experience it to the full.

Particularly in our CAS Conference Day a couple of weeks ago (see previous article) , I've noted the opportunities relevent to Health and Social Science students. The Access Partnership Associates, the Children's Centre Volunteer Programme and now it's sister Family Engagement Officer Volunteers. We have the Blog Internships. The Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) teams!

It's PAL that I am particularly interested in being a part of this year. It looks like a great way to develop skills in working with individuals and small groups, and give confidence in related work. I'll try to keep you posted on what happens there!

CAS Conference 2014

This week saw the First Ever Child and Adolescent Studies Degree Conference - and I had the pleasure if being a part of it this last Wednesday.

Over two months in the making, and with the wonderful StEPs team joining us late last month to help make it a reality, we invited students and organisation representatives to talk about the power of volunteering, and how to apply what we have learned on our degree to our work field.

From crèche nannying to College lecturers, the university's Children Centre partnership with the local council, to The National Citizenship Service - I was amazed to see how diverse the experience and opportunities are to those coming from our degree. Students volunteered to speak for fifteen minutes about their experiences, hold poster presentations on their roles, and host promotional tables for the charities they were involved in. By the end of the day I was truly proud not just to be a part it, but to be a park of a community of professional learners to whom the sky is the limit.

Well done CAS students 2014, 2015 and 2016! X

Term 2 Portfolio Executive Meeting/Student Representative

This week is my second Portfolio Executive Commttee (PEC) where I get to play my part as Student Representative and bring up issues in the course, or conversely, positives that students want more of (i.e. effective teaching styles, support they have received, etc.).

To be honest we usually bring up negatives, but as a mentor of mine used to say: if a place is clean nobody notices, but if it's dirty you'll hear of it! So as Student Reps we usually take the opportunity to mention changes we would like to see, further clarification, issues among students, anything really that has impacted the positive experience of students that they have spoken to myself or other representatives about. Last PEC it was student behaviour, how some students had impacted negatively on others by consistently talking in lectures and we wanted to work unitedly to discourage this kind of behaviour. This PEC one of my current issues is a need our dyslexic student have with getting coloured handouts, handouts are not policy but for those who need extra help or cannot read clearly the information on presentation slides, this was a recognised need. One lecturer is very up to date on policies for the disabled or students with special educational needs backed up my point and we are now addressing it for our students.

I was terrified when I first was nominated for this role, public speaking it not my forte and I hated the idea of having to speak for a whole class. But I was flattered that I'd been nominated, and figured you can only try and learn from the experience. I'm really glad I have now, as it has boosted my confidence levels amazingly, on a personal level but also in my relationship with my lecturers, naturally we don't always see eye-to-eye, but I've come to respect them as individuals each with a professional history, with great ethics and wanting the best us and our dreams. I feel my levels of diplomacy and tact have developed also, and I've learnt to present my own ideas, refer to others and to come up with some solutions! Which is the whole point of a PEC meeting, not just to criticise but to find solutions and keep improving on what we have.

I would definitely recommend give Student Rep a shot, or utilising the one on your course for support.

Student Savers!

Yes - I will assume I know what you're thinking - that even with work and student finance helping (for those if us who are so lucky), there's always that period when you're just flat broke! So here are ten premptive tips to helping you squeeze that money just a little bit further (and if you're eco conscious like me add some brownie points to your conscience too).

1) Cook! The more you cook the better you will become - admittedly you will probably go through a long burnt, sad process before you get to that moment when you can just pick a few things out of your cupboard, go to the shop for a top up, and ta da! And when you do you'll produce something fabulous, edible and a whole lot cheaper than if you ate out or got a takeaway, and will prob end up saving a few pounds on your waist too while we're at it.

2) Shop around. Luton has a lot of Poundlands, 99p stores and just damn cheaper venues for your shopping needs. We've charity shops for the vintage lovers, and even your high street stores seem to always have a sales section. Admittedly I may spend twice as long shopping as the next person, but I know I have twice the money left in my pocket because of it.

3) Use your student card! You'll be surprised how many places don't advertise but have up to 20% off for lovely students like ourselves. Cinema tickets, lunches, high street stores, all add up in keeping you out of the red, and some places (yes, I will mention McDonald's choice of the 99p menu free) won't give you a discount but give you an extra freebie to make it worth the spend.

4) Turn it off. If you're bill aren't all inclusive of utilities, then make sure you're playing your part to turn off lights and heating when not using a room, or set the thermostat on a timer and a little lower and wear some snuggly socks instead. Don't overcharge your phone or electronics as it will cost you not just in bills but can damage battery life span also.

5) Car pool. If you commute to university then take advantage of Green Hub's own car pool connector online, take turns and save fuel, air pollution, and maybe even make a new friend.

6) Lotalty cards. Okay, maybe you shouldn't be as sad as me and have a whole wallet just for loyalty cards, but you'll be surprised how soon points add up. Pennies make pounds to spend in tesco's, subway give you points and additionally free cookies for your birthday, and Matalan gives you exclusive offers with their shop card. The university's own coffee bar on the mezzanine has a loyalty card giving you a free hot drink on your 8th purchase.

7) Save! Okay maybe a little ironic if you trying to keep yourself from the food bank. But putting £20 a month away, or even saving your bronzes or £2 coins. It's a little way to trick yourself into living carefully and then having some money when you really, really need it.

8) Sell and buy online. Amazon and eBay aren't the only places, there are local Facebook groups where you can sell your clothes, gadgets and what not, picking up a few bargains for yourself. Buying second hand doesn't mean wearing old, smelly clothes that are balling, most of the time it's clothes that have been worn one or twice if at all. Some even have the tags still on. And just because it's not edge of fashion doesn't mean you won't get some heads turned for your awesome fashion sense being liberated.

9) Don't be afraid of cheaper brands. Sometimes there really is no difference in the jumper from Primark or Next. Or the pasta from M&S or the Asda brand. But there is often a massive difference in price. Aldi is great for getting the same quality goods but in a less familiar packaging, check it out.

10) Give. All kinds of giving, money, time. Give to charity or a friend in need. You'll see there's always someone who needs something just that little bit more than you do. Give away your old clothes to a charity shop, your pennies to a busker, make a pledge once a month to a cause you believe in. Give one of your 11p noodle packets to the Food Bank trolley on your way out. Help out at a charity shop once a week. University isn't a pause on life, it's you becoming who you want to be. And I'm a genuine believer in karma and what you give away coming back to you.

Go Professional!

This week the university also held our 'Go Professional Event' - an opportunity to gain some knowledge and make some connections for your career future.

I'm unsure how this played out across other degrees, but for yours' truly we were honoured with a question panel on the morning of the 5th February. We had guests from the probational service, women's aid, and a few other human services, all sitting there for an hour just to answer any questions that we could think of to send some light on their jobs and how they got into them.

During our workshops there were speakers on some of the Postgraduate Degrees available in the university. I attended the Social Worker MSc and found her to be a fabulous speaker, not just letting us know that the course had to offer, but on some of the routes and specialities of social work. Very valuable information if you're like me and beginning to think about what you want to do rather than just a vague title.

Sadly I was too busy to take photos that day, but the main floor was packed with charities and organisations ready to talk to about their work and ways that you could get involved and gain some experience volunteering. Some of which were:

• Keyring
• Humanitas Charity
• Tokko
• Families United Network
• Access2books
• Luton Culture
• Khayaal Theatre Company
• Stagenhoe – Sue Ryder
• Bedfordshire FA
• Noah Enterprise
• SOS Bus
• Voluntary Works
• Alive N Kicking
• Save the children
• Enactus Bedfordshire
• Carers in Bedfordshire
• MS Society
• Community Resettlement Project (CRSP)
• HealthWatch Luton
• FOBE - Friends of Bright Eyes
• GreenHouse Mentoring
• Volunteer general stall
• Girl Guiding Luton
• Changing Lives
• Guide Dogs for the Blind
• Cancer Research UK
• UpRising
• Luton Borough Council
• Leonard Cheshire Disability
• Keech Hospice Care

So you can see how diverse the opportunities were! And all localised branches which makes it very convenient for students. If you're someone like me that feels they already have their plate full, then consider the summer when there are no lectures or workshops; I know that will give me two extra days a week for over 6 weeks when I won't be working, definitely an opportunity not to be missed. Or maybe that's the time you can use to look for an foundational job within the organisation you are dreaming about working for. Who knows what that time can offer you.