Developing your employability: Learning from LEC grads

In 2012-13, researchers from LEC worked with 23 undergraduates who were in their final year of study. Although a few years old, the points raised are still valid for today’s students. You can download the guide produced here. Each student was tracked over the first six months after they graduated to get some insights into their experiences of looking for employment and developing graduate-level careers. Our goals were to investigate how students understood and approached their own employability, to help them identify their skills and to prepare for employment after university, and to identify general lessons and pieces of advice that other students would find helpful.

Among many things, the guide discusses:

• The value of the Careers Service, even if you don’t know what you want to do
• The importance of presenting and collecting evidence of your skills for applications and assessment centres
• The value of social networks (not just online ones)
• Thinking long term, and not necessarily only accepting your “ideal” job
• Starting early!