// Archives

Identifying your strengths in preparation for your job search

By Hayley Williams, Students’ Union Employability Development Manager All of us have strengths and weaknesses, it’s what makes us unique and individual. When undertaking your job search it’s helpful to understand a bit more about your strengths to make sure you’re applying for roles that will suit you and encourage you to perform well. By …

Exploring career options – time to think creatively?

By Jo Workman, Employability Education Projects Officer Knowing where to start when thinking about your future career can be tricky, and there are a number of models used by careers advisers to help you approach this. A widely used model is known as ‘DOTS’ which covers thinking about what opportunities are out there, developing your …

How to prepare for virtual assessment centres

By Christian Jameson-Warren, Employability Education Projects Officer As part of their response to the COVID-19 situation, many graduate employers have moved their recruitment activities more online, including assessment centres. Online (otherwise known as ‘virtual’) assessment centres involve completing a series of activities virtually where the employer will assess your performance against their criteria. These activities …

Publishing in Practice: Selecting an Agent

By Annie Brown, MA Creative Writing student blogger So, you’ve written a piece of work you’re interested in getting published. You may require a literary agent as very few large publishers contact authors directly. Choosing an agent to represent you and your work can be confusing and it is important to choose the right one. …

Publishing in Practice: Writing a Pitch

By Annie Brown, MA Creative Writing student blogger So, you’ve written a piece of work you want to show to the world. You’re interested in beginning the process of getting literary agents and publishers involved, but you need to write a pitch. This essential part of the publishing process can be tricky. You need to …

How to kick-start a writing career during quarantine

By Annie Brown, MA Creative Writing student blogger The best thing we can do right now is isolate. But it doesn’t mean this time should be wasted. If you’re interested in a career in writing, or have maybe always been interested in the craft, now is the perfect opportunity to get creative and practice. Here …

Building careers while staying indoors

By Katy Skillen, MNutr Nutrition and Dietetics student blogger It is safe to say that in recent weeks, everything has changed. This is a time of great uncertainty regarding so many aspects of our lives, and one of those is our careers. For me, my part-time job working in a bar has been suspended and …

Keep your career planning moving forward

By Debra Henson, Senior Careers Advisor Everything is on hold, but it will eventually pass. If you are fit and well and socially distancing, there are things you can do that will not only keep you occupied, but could keep your career planning ticking over and your CV moving forward, even when everything else is …

Why law firm websites are a useful research tool

By Craig Sharpe (Darlingtons law firm), Shribavani Shrikaran (chemistry student), Marissa Oluwadare (law student), and Sophie Barber (law student) As potential lawyers, it’s important for law students to have a firm grasp of the differences between law firms and the current state of the legal market.  You need to thoroughly research the firms you want …

Responding to that dreaded question…

By Katy Skillen, MNutr Nutrition and Dietetics student blogger We all have experienced this, talking to friends, family or even strangers about university and being faced with one of the most stressful questions. “So, what about after graduation?” This question always freaks me out. I’m in my second year of a four-year course and have …