Preparing to graduate in difficult times – 5 myths busted

"The very fact that you’ve faced and overcome the challenges of having to study online, and adapted to a complete change in society is no mean feat. Employers will recognise that fact." These are tough times for students and those who are about to graduate (as well as those who graduated in 2020) and, understandably, …

Gain Work Experience through Virtual Community Projects

Charlotte Wainwright, Operations Manager for Volunteering  Though we know work experience might seem hard to come by at the moment, you can still develop your skills and enhance your CV through our recently launched Community Projects. These team based projects are currently running virtually, and are a fantastic way to build on your strengths and …

5 Reasons to volunteer this term

By Charlotte Wainwright, Operations Manager: Volunteering When you get to University , it can be easy to become bogged down in your studies. Yet university is a great time to meet new people, discover more about the city you’re living in and gain exciting and unique experiences that can help shape your life and career. …

What to expect at Careers and Placements this term

On campus We are open on campus from 10:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday. The Enquiry Desk will be staffed and Careers drop-in will be available for quick queries with an Information Officer, between the drop-in hours of 11:00 to 13:00. Watch our video on Facebook or Instagram to see the safety measures we have …

“Tell me about yourself” Cracking the interview

Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com There’s some great help and advice on our website to help you with preparing for, and attending, job interviews. It includes thinking about how you’ll answer interview questions using the CAR or STAR technique. Use whichever you find easier to remember, to help structure your reply. Answering the question CAR …

A guide to graduate job hunting

Now graduation is over you may have turned your attention to the little matter of job hunting. Here are some handy tips on getting started.

Our New Careers Portal

You may have seen some emails from Careers and Placements, inviting you to get started with Handshake. Handshake is our new portal and for those that remember Careers Gateway, this is it's replacement. york.joinhandshake.co.uk What can you do in Handshake? Many of the functions you used in Careers Gateway are also available in Handshake. You …

Tips on Getting Into the Media Industry – and Getting On Once You’re In!

By Julian Dismore, Direct Productions Julian filming in Krakatoa for Channel 4 Students hoping to get a job in the media industry – and runners, researchers and edit assistants just starting out - must feel like a fly caught in a spider’s web at the moment... stuck with a very uncertain future. But there are …

Careers in Arts & Heritage

Three York History of Art graduates joined us by video call during the lockdown to tell us what they do and how they got there, and give some advice and top tips for current students pursuing careers in arts and heritage. Here’s what we learned. You can watch the full video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3CICiPU9Xo Networking works …

Job hunting in tough times

By Irena Zientek, Operations Manager: Information and Engagement (Careers and Placements) Job hunting can be difficult at the best of times - it takes time, effort and (sometimes) trial and error. In the current situation it’s become even more difficult, with some employers suspending recruitment, reducing their vacancies or withdrawing job offers. It’s not just …

Getting Linked’In

By Luke Proctor, Senior Recruiter @ Gear4music, York With over 3 billion of us jostling for position in the passively competitive world of social media, for graduates and aspiring professionals, standing out (without filming yourself eating a ghost pepper or encouraging your Nan to ‘spit some bars’) can be daunting work. Fortunately, getting recognised for …

Celebrating Volunteers’ Week and our incredible student volunteers

By Sophie Almack, Volunteering and Enterprise Communications Officer Every year, we take the opportunity to thank our incredible student volunteers at our Student Volunteering Awards ceremony. Though we’re sad to say we couldn’t host our awards in person this year, we wanted to make sure we took time to recognise all of the amazing work …

5 Ways to Careers Wellbeing

It’s very common for the transition out of University to have its challenges - how big or difficult these are will be different to each of us. But we all know what it’s like to feel drained and overwhelmed and these are common feelings final year students report to us when they are thinking about …

Keeping motivated

Studying at home and learning online is our new normal for the time being but without our normal routines, places to be and people to see, we can get stuck in a spiral of procrastination and the accompanying guilt, when we convince ourselves that everyone else is getting on, doing more and even learning a …

Virtual Volunteering

Written by Kate Morris, Careers Consultant As a careers consultant at the University of York, I am speaking to a lot of students very worried about missing out on internships and work experience opportunities. I’ve read a few reports recently that a number of big graduate employers are offering online activities which is great, but …

A Trip to Media City Salford

Following on from Stefan's account of his trip to Media City , here Nurain shares the highlights of her visit too On 11th March 2020, the Careers and Placement team organised a trip to BBC, Media City for 21 students. The one-day trip consisted of a tour of the BBC studios and a panel discussion …

A Trip to Media City Salford

Back in early March, the Careers and Placements team arranged a student visit to Media City, Salford. The purpose of the visit was to find out more about the broadcaster's work and career opportunities. First year BSc Film and TV student, Stefan Darling and First-year BA Historical Archaeology student, Ariane Da Silva Palmas joined us …

Looking after yourself and others this term – a note from our Volunteering Team

By Sophie Almack, Volunteering and Enterprise Communications Officer Hello!  All of us here in Careers and Placements want to wish you a very warm welcome to the Summer Term. We hope you’ve had a restful vacation and are keeping safe and well.  We’re currently living through some unique times and the most important thing is …

Well what do I do now?!

Careers blog by Tricia Raxworthy, Information and Engagement Officer in Careers and Placements In our last blog, placement year student Sophie shared some of her top tips for working from home and looking after yourself. This week we’re still thinking about things to help you get through the current situation. It’s easy to feel as …

How to Set Yourself Apart When Applying for Accounting Jobs

Guest blog by Tom Bilby, The Accountancy Partnership Is the mere thought of job hunting after university sending you into a spin? It can be hard to get a foot in the door at first, especially with an influx of competition from other candidates who have all graduated at the same time. That’s why it’s …

Life as a Fast Streamer

By Lisa Rumbold, Civil Service Fast Stream Generalist and York graduate. Lisa, a second-year Generalist Fast Streamer, talks to us about her experience so far. Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself. A: I’m Lisa, a second-year Generalist Fast Streamer. I did the Summer Diversity Internship Programme (SDIP) in my second year of university. …

Meet our panellists – Lakechia Jeanne, Founder of Girls in Science

The fourth panellist we're featuring for Careers In... is Lakechia Jeanne. Lakechia is a Biomedical Scientist and founder of Girls in Science . She'll be on our panel for careers in Social Mission tonight! My career journey at this point in time is a little short. I graduated from York just over a year ago, …

Knowledge Transfer Partnership – Fast-track your career!

Blog by Emma Urjasova, Knowledge Transfer Administrative Assistant, University of York What is a KTP?  The innovative and contemporary Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Programme is a prestigious innovation scheme that brings together an expert academic team, a dynamic company and a graduate or postgraduate, known as a KTP Associate. Working collaboratively, this partnership delivers an …

Meet Our Panellists – Karen Munro, Principal Medical Writer

The fourth panellist we're featuring for Careers In... is Karen Munro. Karen is Principal Medical Writer at PRA Health Sciences and she'll be on our panel for careers in journalism, publishing and writing Medical writing has proven to be a great career choice for me. I have been a medical writer in both the medical …

Meet Our Panellists – Meg Roberts, Creative Director, Schwa Consulting

The third panellist we're featuring for our Careers In... event is Meg Roberts. Meg is a Creative Director at communication consultancy, Schwa and she'll be on our panel for careers in journalism, publishing and writing. Read on to find out how Meg developed her love for language into a career Working with words I used …

Meet our Panellists – Nigel Poulton, Chief Executive Officer of The Island

The second panellist we're featuring for our Careers In... event is Nigel Poulton. Nigel is the Chief Executive Officer of the charity, The Island, in York and he'll be on our panel for careers in Social Mission. If you missed our last post, Careers In... is an an event we're running which focuses on three …

Volunteering – why me?

by Tricia Raxworthy, Information and Engagement Officer Every year thousands of York students get involved in volunteering – but why do they do it, and could it be for you? Why volunteer? There are lots of different reasons for volunteering. Volunteering means you can: give something back, show your commitment by supporting a cause you …

Meet our Panellists – Helen Barton, Commissioning Editor

If you want to find out about a career from the people actually working in the industry, come to our event on 19th February. We've put together an event focused on three different industries where you get to ask the questions. This time, we'll be exploring careers in... Social MissionProfessional Business ServicesJournalism, Publishing & Writing …

My experience of a York Strengths development day

Hear from Rosie Evans, Langwith College Tutor, about her experience of taking part in a York Strengths development day When I first came to university, I had my heart set on being a translator. I loved languages, and therefore translation seemed the most obvious route. However, York Strengths helped me to see that this was …

Using your History of Art degree: working in an auction house

Have you thought about a career in an auction house? History of Art lecturer Nicola Sinclair recently caught up with York grad Savannah Holmes to find out about her job at Christie’s auction house. Savannah works in the Estates, Appraisals and Evaluations department, getting to interact directly with all kinds of art. Here’s what we …

Assessment Centres – what they are and how to prepare

By Zoë MittonZoë is the Regional University Partnerships Manager for FDM, she and her team work with around 33 universities in the North of the UK finding talented, tech-curious students.  Over 1,000 students and recent graduates are recruited onto the FDM Graduate Programme each year into multiple streams including: robotics; development; test; and cyber security.  …

Spring Term Highlights

We're back this term with another busy programme of talks and workshops, volunteering opportunities, appointments and the first York Strengths days for first years plus much more. Come and see what's on offer and how we can help. We're open 10:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday or visit our website at york.ac.uk/careersBelow are some of …

My Placement Year

Guest blog by Emily Johnsen, former placement year student in Careers and Placements Emily in the Careers and Placements building So you’ve been mulling on the idea of a placement year, but aren’t sure if you’re ready to enter the “real world” just quite yet? Or you’ve secured a placement but are now in a …

Not just for finalists – how to make the most of Careers and Placements

Events, events events We run a programme of events each term. We talk about them a lot but that’s because we have some great guest speakers and some really useful insights that we want you to make the most of. Autumn term sees our three big recruitment fairs which we have divided into sectors - Law, …

First years to final years – time to look back

Careers blog by Tricia Raxworthy, Information and Engagement Officer As you approach the end of term, and for some the end of your time as a University of York student, we hope you’re looking forward to the summer vacation and your plans for what you’ll be doing next.  But before you head to the beach, …

How to find a Career outside of your field of Study

Guest blog by York graduate, Dan Weston, Senior Consultant at TRM Recruitment Are you coming towards the end of your time at the University of York? Have you got that sinking feeling that you have enjoyed your course, but you just don’t know what to do next? That was me back in 2014, exactly like …

Strengths – what are they and why do they matter?

At the moment, we're busily preparing for York Strengths development days. This is a programme you're invited to take part in during your first year to help you discover what your personal strengths are. We talk a lot about strengths, but below Lauren Salter, a Graduate and Early Talent Manager from Reed, explains why understanding …

Working in the cultural sector in Yorkshire

By Stephen Furlong, Information Officer There’s never been a better time to be looking for a job or work experience in the creative sector in Yorkshire. Traditionally, graduates wanting to work in creative industries like film and TV, communications, arts and culture, and software and game design, have looked to London to find work. But …

What do you actually do?! Episode 10: Oscar Bentley, Sustainability Programme Internship

Today’s episode of What Do You Actually Do!? will be focusing on doing an internship with the Student Internship Bureau. We’re talking to Oscar Bentley, who did an internship with the Department of Estates and Campus Services at the University. https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Nu1Rm9oi5s1eXTueCGM3R Subscribe on your favourite platform now. Transcript Hello and welcome to this episode of …

Get ready to grab an internship!

Do you: want to use your summer vacation to get some top-notch work experience? fancy making a difference to an organisation you work for?want to experience working in a particular sector or role? need something tangible for your CV?want to stay in the York area over summer? If it’s ‘yes’ to any or all of …

Putting off thinking about your future? How not to procrastinate

Procrastination. Even seasoned professionals aren’t immune to it. I say this with certainty, as I’ve just spent the last five minutes trying to repair a cafetière in the staff kitchen, putting off returning to my desk to write this blog. Whether it’s in a work or study situation, most people will procrastinate – it’s a …

Considering a Company’s Values

It’s One Planet Week and there have been lots of events running this week on maintaining a more sustainable lifestyle. This got us thinking about what research you can do to find out how important ethical and sustainable practices are to companies you might be considering working for.  How important is it to you that …

What to expect at an Assessment Centre

If you’re going to apply for a graduate scheme, you’re likely to encounter an assessment centre at some point along the way. The very idea of an assessment centre can be hugely intimidating and scary but by understanding what you can expect and why they’re used, it can help to remove some of the fear …

5 ways we can support you this term

Here are 5 ways you can use Careers and Placements this term to support you whether you're not sure where to start, you want to find out more or you're in the midst of applications. Use our events to explore options and do some researchOur careers events are designed to give you an insight into …

What do you actually do?! Podcast Launch

Every week we'll be releasing a new episode with guests from a variety of jobs and sectors to help give you an insight into, well, what they actually do for a career. 

Have yourself a merry little interview

Brand Ambassador Lindsay shares her Christmas wish list for upcoming interviews.

Time to take stock

You may remember, we spent the first half of term encouraging you to get involved with all sorts of activities from work experience to volunteering, student societies to attending careers fairs. Hopefully, you did do one or two things - but there’s no point in just doing! We suggested trying things out so you could …

5 actions to refine your business idea

Creating business ideas is exciting. Narrowing your ideas into one cohesive busines plan is a challenge. Co-founder of LovetheSales.com, Stuart Mclure, gives you 5 techniques to help you to refine your business idea.

Autumn fairs – your views

Over 2,000 students visited our fairs in weeks 2 and 4 this term – and we asked them what they thought.

Why Volunteer?

By Florence Orchard: Politics second year student at the University of York Volunteering at university is a great way to develop your skills, make new friends and support the community here at York. Here are my top reasons to volunteer at university. Doing good An obvious reason for volunteering is to put some good into …

What do you actually do? Episode 43: Alex Stewart-Moreno, Trainee Solicitor at Norton Rose Fulbright

Subscribe on your favourite platform now. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7AQ87OyyW2EOZkJcaImTdZ Alex graduated from York a couple of years ago. He studied Law and is now a trainee at Norton Rose Fulbright. He tells us about the reality of being a trainee, the best and worse bits, and what it’s like doing your training from home during a pandemic. …

My placement year during a pandemic

By Taylor Atkinson, Employer Engagement Development Officer Hi, I’m Taylor and this year I have undertaken a placement at Careers and Placements, as part of my English Language and Linguistics degree. It’s safe to say that my placement year has looked very different to what I thought it was going to be when I applied …

What do you actually do? Episode 42: Dan Rutstein, making a portfolio career work

Subscribe on your favourite platform now. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xIe9MlICI9bibsQO7MiDA Our guest today is Dan Rutstein, whose career history is proof that you definitely don’t have to pick one job and stick to it. Dan graduated from York and his career (so far) has included journalism, diplomacy, consultancy and podcasting. Kate and Dan talk about taking opportunities, transferable …

My placement year during a pandemic

By Govind Panesar, York Strengths and York Award Assistant Expectations vs. reality I am a placement year student working in the Careers and Placements department, where I assist in helping to support and promote student development programmes such as the York Award, York Strengths and York Leaders. I got offered this placement at the end …

What do you actually do? Episode 41: Alice Yevko, Trainee Chartered Accountant

Subscribe on your favourite platform now. https://open.spotify.com/episode/40ZFLgZ2ZI29aYmGm9rV7F When you’re looking for your first job after graduation it can sometimes feel like you’re picking a career for life, but that’s far from true. In this episode we chat to York grad Alice who started working in the heritage sector before switching to accounting.Alice is a year …

What do you actually do? Episode 40: Paul Backhouse, Head of the Historic England Archive

Subscribe on your favourite platform now. We’re back for a new season! In this episode Kate talks to Paul Backhouse, Head of the Historic England Archive. They cover tech skills in museums, imposter syndrome, the pandemic and a lot more. Paul is an archaeologist at heart, whose accidental career has spanned roles in graphics, publications, …

Top Tips for completing your York Award application

By Govind Panesar, York Strengths and York Award Assistant The new York Award is here! For those that don’t know, this is a formal award of the University that demonstrates to employers that you have taken a proactive approach to life during your time of study. The award aims to recognise personal and professional development within …

What do you actually do!? Episode 39: Alison Critchley, Technology Delivery Manager, Co-op

Subscribe on your favourite platform now. https://open.spotify.com/episode/06oh76IT84eadmfBOdAL6V After graduating from York in 2011, Alison started her working life in account management before taking a short career break to figure out what she actually wanted to do. She now works for the Co-op's start up Health business in Manchester as a Technology Delivery Manager but has …

What do you actually do!? Episode 38: Ian Henderson, Academic Clinical Fellow, NHS

Subscribe on your favourite platform now. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6lHpwWigLPTizKvWqvNSUp Ian is an Academic Clinical Fellow and junior doctor in Obstetrics & Gynaecology. After graduating in English during the 2008 credit crunch, he pursued Graduate Entry Medicine and an MSc in Global Health Science. He divides his time between clinical work and research into complications of pregnancy. Useful …