The Careers Development Service

Recently I have been applying for local jobs in Malta while on my Erasmus year abroad and only now have I come to realise how helpful and useful the Careers Development Service at the University of Leicester have been in helping me improve my interview skills, CV and covering letters.

In my two years of being a student at the University of Leicester I have used the Careers Development Service a number of times. My first visit was in relation to getting advice on how to perform well at an interview. They were extremely helpful in giving advice and I performed very well in my interview and got the job. Ever since then I have had the confidence of going to many interviews knowing that I can perform well and answer questions using the STARS technique. I then went back in my second year to ask advice about assessment centers and what to expect. Again they were more than helpful in putting my mind at ease and informed me that mock assessment centers are available if I needed any more help or practice. I have since been to an assessment center and felt confident in terms of what to expect. They have also been extremely helpful in terms of my studies when in second year I had to hand in a tailored copy of my CV and a covering letter for one of my assessments, which before handing in I took to the Careers Development Service to look over and give me feedback on. I received a really good grade for that particular assessment because of the help I received.

This has all got me thinking. Even if you are not applying for a job now I still think it is very important to use the Careers Development Service to help improve your employability skills. I recommend to all student at the University of Leicester to take your CV’s and past/future covering letters to get feedback and perhaps improve them. I also recommend taking part in the mock assessment centers or just asking advice about how to perform well in an interviews. They can even help you find opportunities to improve you employability if you think you lack experience, such as volunteer work. The service is free of change and you can come out of your university experience with not just a degree but with additional skills in employability!

If you would like to find out more about the Careers Development Service you can access their website here: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/careers-new

Or visit them at the Careers Development Office on the ground floor of the Percy Gee (Students’ Union) Building.