Careers with a Degree from SSPSSR: Opportunities and Essential Skills

1. What can I do with a degree from SSPSSR? Careers and Employability Service Nicola Urquhart Careers Adviser www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

2. What we will cover The graduate labour market What do employers want? What skills do SSPSSR graduates have? What do SSPSSR graduates do: the jobs they get their typical employers the further courses they study www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

3. The graduate labour market in 2013 • Approximately 30% - 40% of vacancies are open to graduates with a degree from any discipline • Employers increasingly focusing on professional attributes in addition to transferable skills • Relevant work experience increasingly important • Need for students to think earlier about their employability • Employers are expecting to increase their graduate recruitment by 2.7% in 2013

4. What do employers want? Commercial Awareness Degree awarded at 2.1 or above Work Experience Extra-Curricular Activities Professional attributes Employability skills

5. What skills do SSPSSR students have? • Able to appreciate the diversity and complexity of social situations • Sensitivity to the values and interests of others • Researching, judging and evaluating complex information • Making reasoned arguments orally (in tutorials and presentations) and in written work • Able to develop opinions and new ideas on societal issues • Able to organise work and meet deadlines

6. Skills and attributes that graduate recruiters are looking for? Leadership Communication Adaptability Energy Contextual/cultural awareness Self awareness Report writing Adaptability Problem Solving Numeracy Positive attitude Reflection Confidence Integrity Team working Capacity to develop Reliability Drive and resilience Project management Enthusiasm/passion IT skills Business and customer awareness Planning and organisation Enterprise Maturity

7. What are the options? • Employment with training • Employment with study • Further academic study • Structured time out

8. Jobs directly related to subject

9. Jobs Directly related to your degree Sociology • Social Researcher • Community Development Worker • Lecturer/Teacher Criminology • Police Officer • Probation Officer • Social Worker

10. Jobs Directly related to your degree Social Policy • Government Researcher • International Aid /Development worker Cultural studies • Communications Officer • Media Planner Health and Social Care • Health promotion specialist • Child Protection Officer

11. Researching Careers www.prospects.ac.uk • Overview of the sector • Job descriptions • Salary and conditions • Entry requirements • Training • Career development • Employers and vacancy sources • Related jobs

12. Jobs where an SSPSSR degree usefulwww.prospects.ac.uk • Adult Guidance Worker • Arts Administrator • Community Development Worker • Further Education Lecturer • Housing Adviser/Manager • HR Manager • Police Officer • Prison Officer • Probation Officer • Public Sector Administrator • School Teacher • Social Researcher • Social Worker • Solicitor • University Lecturer/Researcher • Youth Worker

13. Jobs that are not directly related to your subject Many employers value the skills you have gained more than the subject • Communication • Teamwork • IT • Research • Analysis • Ability to work under pressure

14. Graduate Schemes www.kent.ac.uk/careers/graddirectories.htm • www.prospects.ac.uk • www.get.hobsons.co.uk • www.targetjobs.co.uk • www guardianuk300.com • www.top100graduateemployers.com • www.kent.ac.uk/ces/vacancies.html

15. Graduate Schemes still open • Accenture • Aldi • Arcadia • BAE Systems • BBC • Bloomberg • British Sugar • Cancer Research UK • Deliotte • DIFD • Diageo • Ernest & Young • EU Careers • IBM • L’Oreal • Mars • McDonalds • MI5 • National Grid • Penguin • TeachFirst • BBC

16. Example Graduate scheme (Bloomberg ) • Finance • IT • Media • Sales

17. Example graduate scheme: DFID • Engineering • Finance • General Management • IT • Purchasing • Research and Development

18. Postgraduate Study • Approx. 20% of SSPSSR grads do PG study after graduation • MA taught – 1 year Sept to June – lectures, June to Sept – dissertation. • Research MA 1 to 2 years – often part-time • PhD – 3 years. Nearly always a MA first. • PGCE (teacher training) 1 year: • See www.kent.ac.uk/careers/postgradmenu.htm

19. Postgraduate study • Not much funding available for MA. Fees are about £5,000. At Kent get £1,000 graduate school scholarship reduction • Many students work for a year to fund it or do it part-time whilst working • Consider vocational MA – journalism, publishing, business, HR etc. • Normally apply middle of final year. No UCAS can apply to as many course as you wish to – 3 or 4 is normal

20. Study Abroad • Many postgraduate courses are now taught in English, especially in the Netherlands and Scandinavia • No course fees in Sweden and about £1,000 in Germany and Denmark • See www.kent.ac.uk/careers/postgradmenu.htm#PGAbroad

21. What do SSPSSR graduates do?

22. In broad terms (recent destinations)www.kent.ac.uk/careers/fdrbases/destinations.htm • Employment 68.7% • Further Study 18.9% • Not available 6.5% • Seeking employment 5.9%

23. SSPSSR Employers • Criminal Justice system • Education • Finance • Health & Social Work • Other community, social & personal services • Property, business & research activities • Government, Public Administration & Policy • Retail • Charities and NGOs • Others …..

24. Jobs - Criminology Health & Welfare Ealing Hospital NHS Trust-Clinical Audit Assistant Kent Social Services-Personal Support Worker The Leap-Community Worker National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy-Residential Support Worker NHS Princess of Wales Hospital-Admin Assistant NHS Professionals-NHS Admin Temp Surrey Council-Employment Support Officer Sutton Ramp Events Ltd-Admin & Volunteer Co-ordinator Youth Services/East London University-Youth Worker/MA Criminal Justice Related Centre for Social Justice-Intern/Researcher Her Majesty's Court Service-Court Clerk Kent Police-Crime Reduction Clerk Kent Police-Police Officer Kent Police – Communication Officer Kent Police-Police Officer Metropolitan Police-Police Officer Ministry of Justice-Admin. Officer Northern Trust-Fraud Investigator Northumbria Police-Administrator Pitman Solicitors-Receptionist Surrey Police-Crime Management Unit Officer Youth Justice Board-Strategy Support Officer

25. Jobs - Social Policy Human Resources Equal Opportunities Officer - Benefits Agency HR Administrator - Ealing Housing Association HR Assistant - NHS Recruitment Executive – Capita, JP Gray Libraries/Education Archive Assistant - Birmingham City Library Development Officer - University of Greenwich Library Assistant - Kingston University NVQ Learning Support Tutor - Mid-Kent College Research Assistant - University of Kent Administrative Administrator - Civil Service Administrative Assistant - Pensions Mgt Inst Caseworker - House of Commons Housing Customer Services - Swale Housing Assoc Housing Adviser – Dover District Council Housing Officer - English Churches Homeless Officer - Swale Council Rural Housing Enabler - Sussex Rural CC Media Exhibitions Organiser - PR Company Information Officer - Age Concern Marketing Assistant - BBC PR & Marketing Officer - Rolex

26. Jobs - Social Policy Social/Welfare Care Management Asst - Surrey CC Care Manager - Cambridge Soc Services Community Care Worker - All Seasons Co-ordinator - Cool Catz Parents Group Crime Management Unit Officer - Surrey Police Intern/Researcher - Centre for Social Justice Police Officer (x2) - Kent Police, Met Police Prison Officer - HM Prison Service (x2) Revenue & Benefits - Thanet District Council Social Work Assistant - Kent C.C. Social Work Trainee - Suffolk County Council Strategy Support Officer - Youth Justice Board Support Assistant - St. Martin's Hospital Victim Liaison Officer - West Kent Mediation Youth Worker - KCC Management Chalet Manager – Ski World Committee Services Mgr - Milton Keynes Council Management trainee - Stagecoach plc Manageress - Espresso Deli Café Bar Manager - Six Continents Hotels Managing Director - Enchanted Sun Ltd Project Mgt trainee - Swan Housing Assoc Restaurant Manager - Dominoes Pizza Trainee Manager - Enterprise Rent A Car

27. Jobs - Sociology Education/Health/Social/Welfare Admissions Assistant - Kingston University Caseworker - Kent Police Clinical Auditor - Addenbrooks Hospital Employment Support Officer - Surrey Council English Teacher – Japan Language Assistant - British Council Learning Support Assistant (x2) - The PACE Centre, Parkside Primary School Paralegal - Jameson & Hill Personal Adviser (Trainee) - Connexions Police Officer (x3) - Kent Police, Metropolitan Police, Thames Valley Police Prison Officer - HM Prison Service Project Worker - Stonham Housing Association Residential Support Worker - National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy Social Worker - East Sussex Social Services Student Activities Assistant - Canterbury College Support Worker - Caretech

28. Courses - Criminology BSc Mental Health - Canterbury Christ Church University Counselling Certificate - South Downs College Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) - BPP Law School Graduate Diploma in Law - College of Law Graduate Diploma in Law - College of Law MA Criminology - Kings College London MA Criminology - University of Kent MSc Psychology - University of Hertfordshire PGCE - Canterbury Christ Church University PGCE Primary - UWIC Cardiff PGCE Primary - Roehampton University Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology - East London University

29. Courses - Social Policy Certificate in Counselling - South Kent College Dip/MA Careers Guidance - Reading Graduate Diploma in Law - College of Law, London Legal Secretaries Course - COMSEC LLM Criminal Justice - Kent (x2) MA Criminology – Kent, Nottingham MA Development Studies - Sorbonne, Paris MA Gender Studies - Leeds MA Health Studies - Kent (x7) MA Personnel & Development - Westminster MA Politics - UEA MA Social Policy - UEA MA Social Research Methods - Kent MA in Social Work - Warwick MA Training & HR - Warwick MBA (x2) - Kent, University of Wales (Cardiff)

30. Courses - Sociology Graduate Diploma in Law - College of Law (x3) MA Criminology - Middlesex University MA Criminology - University of Kent MA Development Studies - Sorbonne, Paris MA European CLS - University of Kent MA Gender Studies - University of Leeds MA International Conflict Analysis - University of Kent MA International Relations (BS) - University of Kent MA Propaganda Persuasion & History - University of Kent MA Social Work - Canterbury Christ Church University (x3) MA Sociology - University of Kent (x7), Egyptian University, University of Brighton, University of Reading MSc Development Studies - SOAS MSc Media & Communication - Goldsmith's College MSc Medical Sociology - Royal Holloway (x2) MSc Social Research - University of Kent MBA (x2) - Swansea Institute, University of Kent PGCE Citizenship - Newman College, Canterbury Christ Church University

31. How the Careers and Employability Service can help you.

32. What we do Careers Talks and Workshops Careers Library: Employer Directories, Occupational Profiles, Books etc Comprehensive Web Pages Careers Employability Award (CEM) on Moodle Vacancy Database Alumni Careers Network Annual Careers and Recruitment Fair Drop In - Quick Query Careers Guidance Interviews

33. Careers and Employability Service Web Site: www.kent.ac.uk/ces

34. Careers and Employability Service Web Pages • I want to work in …. http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/siteach.htm • What can I do with my degree in … http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Sociology.htm • Choosing a Career http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Choosing/ChoosingCareer.htm • Interviews (includes assessment centres and psychometric tests etc.) www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm • Example CVs & Covering Letterswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htm • Employability Skills http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/skillsmenu.htm

35. Careers Employability Award www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm • The module takes about 12 hours to complete • But this can be done at your own pace You do this by completing: • 9 quizzes • 3 short assignments • 1 feedback form

36. Comments from students who have completed the award. • “I liked the fact that the assignments relate to how you would fill in answers on a graduate job application step by step and provides examples of how to fill it in.” • “I really enjoyed the quizzes. They effectively highlighted the gaps in my knowledge, as many of the answers surprised me. I also found the module on creating my own CV very useful, these skills will be invaluable for tailoring my CV to particular jobs.” • “There is a wealth of information about everything; I especially liked the individual information about specific job types and the advice given about interview skills.”

37. Attend Careers Talks and Workshops. • Choosing a Career • Using Social Media in your Job Hunt • Environmental Careers • Forensic Science Careers • A Career in Sales • http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/casevents.htm

38. Vacancy Database • All vacancies sent to the Careers and Employability Service by employers, whether for graduate jobs, sandwich placements or vacation work/internships are entered on this database which offers: • Email alerts of new vacancies which may interest you • Employers notifying vacancies are often specifically targeting Kent graduates, so competition for jobs is lower than on other vacancy sites www.kent.ac.uk/careers/jobs/index.htm

39. Speak to an adviser: • Quick query, drop in and speak to an adviser 10.30am -12.30pm and 2.00pm-4pm Monday to Friday. • E mail careerhelp@kent.ac.uk and an adviser will respond to your query. • You can also book a longer career guidance appointment over the phone or pop in.

40. Action points • Use www.prospects.ac.uk, including Prospects Planner, to research options available • Use www.kent.ac.uk/ces • Get relevant work experience • Think beyond the stereotypes of organisations e.g. NHS, Asda • Find out how the sectors you are interested in recruits • Have a back-up plan • Make use of the Careers and Employability Service

41. Careers and Employability Service You can download a copy of this presentation at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm