Chances are that one of the main reasons why you’re applying to university is to boost your employability, but the degree you earn at the end of your time here isn’t the only way you can make yourself a more attractive candidate to prospective employers!
Take the opportuinities
University is (usually) a once in a lifetime opportunity to develop a diverse and versatile skillset before even stepping foot into the professional world and engagement with the wider university experience can make your application to that dream graduate job or summer internship stand out… and if that wasn’t reason enough you can have a lot of fun at the same time!
College
I’m an engineering student and have made a concerted effort to put what limited free time I have into rounding myself out, employability speaking. I play college sports, got involved in two college outreach projects and am the assistant fundraising director for my college JCR. All this to say your college is a great place to start when you’re looking to boost employability, there are so many opportunities within college to work on those fundamental skills that all employers look for!
My advice is to get involved in as much as you can manage at the start of first year, things will naturally fall away as your time gets scarcer and scarcer towards exams and that leaves you with a few core clubs, groups or projects to potentially pursue leadership roles in.
Clubs & societies
Beyond my college community there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in more course-specific clubs and societies. Solar Car and Space Flight are popular with the engineering department, offering spaces to hone both technical and general skills in a setting which more closely resembles the workplace. And across the university subject-specific societies provide similar spaces to students of all departments!
Plus, Careers & Enterprise can offer you a myriad of resources throughout your time here. I’ve definitely kept them busy with one-on-one CV appointments and the employer talks and career fairs they organise are an incredibly useful tool to get a feel for an industry and practice some networking skills in an incredibly low risk environment.
Free on-line courses
But just because I’m a Durham University student doesn’t mean that’s the extent of my learning! I love an online course (especially one with a certificate) and with so many universities across the world offering free courses in specific skills which will hopefully help me stand out from the bunch as not only do they show a competency in the relevant area but also a willingness to learn and upskill.
While I’ve framed this like a tactical operation to improve my employability as a graduate in reality it was a very natural process that most students take part in: I came to uni and in order to make friends and pursue my interests (no matter how faint) I actively engaged with my college, the Student Union and the university’s services, along the way curating a skillset that should help me get my foot on the ladder.
Discover more
Take a look at our Careers Employability & Enterprise pages here
Create your own personalised prospectus here
Follow our students on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube
