I’m Hollie, a master's student in Cybercrime Investigation, who has regularly used the Careers Service and support available at UCLan to secure both placements and a job for when I finish university.
The Careers Team were very supportive and gave me advice about how I could make my CV stand out.
Careers fairs
Throughout the year, there are a several careers fairs: some general and some subject specific. These are really good to participate in as there are multiple companies that attend and you can speak to them regarding what jobs they have to offer based on your course. I know this helped me as I spoke to BAE regarding jobs I could apply for and found out that they run graduate internships. I also spoke to a lady from Merseyside Police who gave me some tips for my interview with them which I was due to attend the following week.
Placements
I first used the careers service back in my second year during my undergraduate studies in Forensic Science. I applied for two placements with the Lancashire Forensic Academy and booked an appointment with the careers team who supported me with a mock interview. This was the first formal interview I had attended so they practiced mock questions of what I could be asked and provided me with feedback on my answers. The key point I took away from it was to answer in the STAR format.
A lot of students look to undertake a sandwich (placement) year between their second and third years. The careers team help you to look for suitable placements and help you to apply and prepare for interviews. A useful place to look for placements or jobs is Handshake. This is what our careers teams use and as a student you can build a profile and reach out to employers and employers reach out to you inviting you to sessions for jobs they are running.
CV and applications
The careers team are very supportive when it comes to looking through your CV and jobs applications. Recently I booked several appointments to look through my CV and application for various jobs. The careers team were very supportive and gave me advice about how I could make my CV stand out and make it easier to read. I was also given advice about how to really sell myself in the job application answers. I applied for various jobs with my CV and applications and received quite a few interview and assessment centre opportunities.
Job interviews
The careers team also run mock interviews for students who have a job interview. I found this really useful, as they showed me a website called Prospects, which gave me an idea of what jobs look for and they might ask me about in interviews. I was also provided with feedback on mock interview questions to help me improve my answers and really sell myself in an interview. I really benefitted from this as I felt more confident going for my interviews. With this help I have managed to secure a job within the Police as a Digital Forensic Technician for when I finish my Master's studies in August.
This careers support is available to all of our UCLan students including alumni students, once they have graduated they will receive lifelong access to our careers service.
