Committee Membership & Employability

1. Committee Membership &Employability Jess Henderson Careers Consultant

2. Employers

3. Why? • Develop and demonstrate generic and specific skills and abilities e.g. leadership, teamwork, communication, interpersonal, marketing, events, organisation, initiative, commercial awareness • Suggests things about you – attributes etc. e.g. motivated, committed, enthusiastic, pro-active etc.

4. But…………. “Many CVs are still very generic e.g. ‘I have strong communication skills’ but without detailed examples to back this up. I’m always looking for people who have the right competencies. I can’t judge this unless they give me specific examples” (Unilever) "Too often I see graduates with excellent skills and experiences on paper, but who are unable to effectively communicate their abilities, even after probing questions in interviews.” Employer quoted in Graduate Success Project Report http://www.agcas.org.uk/assets/1519-Graduate-Success-Project-downloads

6. Parkinson Building, University of Leeds by ‘Jungpionier http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leeds_University.jpg

7. Communications Officer (Charity) A dynamic global charity is seeking a communications officer with first-rate written and verbal skills to join its small, dedicated campaigns team. • Composing powerful press releases • Liaising with media and engaging them with our cause • Liaising with volunteers who have been affected by road crashes to involve them in our campaigns • Communicating with our supporters and developing support for our campaigns using multiple channels and platforms Commercial Analyst (Football club) Candidate should be at home conducting in-depth desk and internet research and producing research reports, especially company and industry profiles. The candidate should be able to work in a logical and tenacious manner sourcing difficult to find information. The main area of responsibility will be around supporting business development through research and proposal development. The key outputs of the role will be research reports, datasets, prospect lists and contact details for potential sponsors. 

8. How we support you • Central Careers Event programme – careers fairs, employer presentations and skills sessions across campus • Individual advice and guidance: drop-in both at the Careers Centre & in Faculty • Support with career choice, applications, mock interviews, assessment centres etc. • Business start-up support • Vacancies – http://stars.leeds.ac.uk • Careers modules • School and career-specific careers information http://careerweb.leeds.ac.uk/info/18/where_might_your_degree_lead

9. Hosting employer/ employability events • To increase the employability skills of your members • To engage with/ meet employers • Find out about opportunities • To gain new skills in event management

10. Purpose Date Time Venue Location Who will organise it Review & feedback What do you have to consider when organising an event Target Audience Logistics Marketing Stakeholders Budget Health & Safety

11. How to host an employability event - the easy way! • Careers Centre – c200 events in semester 1 • Engage with the Employer Team • Network with Employers • Marketing • On the day logistics • Thank you • Analyse • Semester 2’s programme

12. Summary Fantastic that you’re involved, but…. • Reflect on the skills which you’re developing • How these might help with career ideas • Use available support to ‘translate’ for employers • Take advantage of the opportunities to meet employers on campus