10 ways to kick-start your career during your time at Leeds
What can I do with my degree? It’s a question most students ask themselves, but one that rarely yields a clear answer. Often, it can make things even foggier and more uncertain — conditions that have become all-too-familiar during the pandemic.
Rather than getting hung up on this, it’s time to start asking a different kind of question: what can I do during my degree that will help me afterwards? What is on offer that can set me up for working life, whatever that may be?
Despite social distancing restrictions on and off campus, there are so many things you can do to boost your employability during university. We asked the team at the Careers Service for their top tips.
Take part in a Careers Fair
Careers Fairs are your best chance to connect with loads of organisations and employers offering hundreds of opportunities. As well as the general fair, we have sector-specific fairs for Law, STEM and Volunteering opportunities. The fairs are open to all disciplines so don’t rule out attending a sector-specific fair, as you might find an opportunity that suits you! All fairs in 2020 will take place virtually, with virtual drop-in rooms and 1-to-1 appointments with the employers of your choice. To get started, download the CareersFairPlus app and explore employer profiles.
Go to a skills event
The Careers Service organises a busy calendar of events including employer skills workshops, networking opportunities, expert Q&As, CV advice sessions, LinkedIn workshops and more. We have moved nearly all of these events to an online webinar format, so you can still safely join us! Sign up to receive alerts for your preferred events via MyCareer by editing your profile settings.
Find an internship or placement
A work placement is a fantastic way to build experience while at university. You can complete these as a formal part of your degree programme, both in the UK or overseas, or pursue an internship outside of your studies — these normally take place during the summer months, in-between terms or sometimes part-time during term. Sign up to the Leeds Internship Programme: a scheme of opportunities with a range of small and large organisations exclusive to Leeds students.
Give your time by volunteering
Our Volunteering team can connect you to amazing roles with charities and third sector organisations in Leeds, both on and off campus. They also run Students Into Schools: a programme that offers real teaching experience during university. Adapting to the pandemic, they are now advertising many virtual volunteering roles too. Visit their new homepage on MyCareer to explore.
Develop your business idea
Do you have entrepreneurial spirit? Want to work for yourself or launch a new product? The SPARK team, linked to the Leeds University Business School, can help. They offer advice on your plans, run competitions for the best business ideas and have access to pots of funding to support start-ups.
Find a mentor
Leeds maintains an impressive community of former students who are willing to give back to the university, and want to help you out! You can benefit from their expertise by joining one of our mentoring schemes. We will pair you with a mentor in your desired field who can offer advice and insight into the working world. Look out for in-faculty peer mentoring schemes, too!
Get a part-time job
As well as the obvious financial benefits, a part-time job can give you the edge in job applications after you graduate. Many roles are available through JobLink at LUU and the MyCareer Vacancies page.
Explore careers around the globe
There are loads of ways to engage with global opportunities — even in the current climate! We celebrate Global Careers Month in March, with hundreds of events take place including visiting talks by employers and alumni from around the world. Previously we have welcomed guests (both physically and virtually) from the United Nations, NATO, CitiBank China and ByteDance, the creators of TikTok. As many of this year’s events took place virtually, you can still catch-up the webinars online now. Leeds also subscribes to GoinGlobal, a sort of Tripadvisor for work around the globe, and Student Circus, who advertise vacancies in the UK carrying sponsorship for non-EEA students.
Take an online course
As a Leeds student, you get exclusive access to Linkedin Learning: a bank of over 5000 video courses on almost every topic under the sun (coding, music production, public speaking…the list goes on). Completed courses get added to your Linkedin profile when they’re completed — so any potential employers snooping your profile can see the extra skills you’ve gained. You can also view courses produced by the University on FutureLearn. Completing these sessions proves to an employer that you can independently learn, develop and adapt .
Visit drop-in or book a guidance appointment
You can get a virtual drop-in appointment or a full virtual guidance appointment via Microsoft Teams, so although the Careers Centre building is currently closed, our friendly team of advisers and consultants are available to help. If you’re not sure what help you need, drop-in is a good place to start.
We hope that things are a little clearer now. If not, one of our team is always happy to help. You can reach us via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, or ask a question via MyCareer . Ready to start you career journey? The first of the Virtual Careers Fairs is on 5th October from 11am — 5pm.
