STEPS 2021 - Lancaster Alumni Magazine 2021

Keep in touch www.lancaster.ac.uk/alumni STEPS 2020 - 12 A FRIENDLY FACE AT ANY STAGE OF YOUR CAREER Let’s be honest, there are few people who don’t feel at least a small sense of trepidation when applying for roles. Fortunately, the Lancaster University Careers Service is here to provide you with expert help in your job search at any point in your career, free of charge and for as long as you need it. It means that, as alumni, even if you’re old enough (and then some) to remember when Alexandra Park was just a twinkle in the VC’s eye, you can still access many benefits that the Careers Service provides. Wherever you are in the world, the team offers a huge range of interactive, online career management and professional development resources. There’s an online Careers Portal so you can take charge of your own career development – perfect if you’re not living in Greenwich Mean Time. Build your CV using the online tool; take a career assessment, aptitude test or interview simulation; develop your presentation, teamwork or communication skills and search for a job. Or, if you’d prefer to talk to someone, you can book an appointment using TARGETconnect. At an appointment, an expert adviser can help you with your career challenges and choices, from your overall direction or even postgraduate study options, through to practical matters like support with an application form and personal statement. TAKING THE STRESSOUTOF JOB HUNTING Diane Richardson, Careers Information and Quality Manager, says: “We know that careers can be full of twists and turns. As our lives evolve and the labour market changes – at what seems to be an ever- increasing pace - we want to reassure alumni that our support doesn’t end a couple of years after graduation. “Because graduates come to us at all stages of their careers, and from all parts of the globe, we offer a wide range of services with something to suit everyone. Our message is that searching for a job or changing career might be a challenge, but it needn’t be nerve-wracking and you certainly don’t have to do it alone.” Hannah Jackson graduated with a BSc Hons Management and Organisational Behaviour in 2017 and has been supported by the careers service in her hunt for her dream role. She says: “I always think there’s no harm in getting feedback, support and advice – it’s your decision what you do ultimately. Educate yourself on your options, ask the careers service for help and have the confidence to follow your passions. Life’s too short to be doing things that you don’t enjoy!” YOUR INTERNATIONAL LITTLE BLACK BOOK Don’t forget, you’re already a member of a global community of more than 148,000 Lancaster University graduates. LinkedIn can be a great tool to connect with many of them. Search for potential contacts perhaps in a similar field or who work at a company you’re interested in and strike up a conversation! Join the Lancaster University LinkedIn alumni group to chat with fellow Lancaster graduates. 11 1 Searching for a job or changing careers might be a challenge but it needn’t be nerve-wracking and you certainly don’t have to do it alone. Diane Richardson Careers Information and Quality Manager CareersAdvice Forever FOUND YOURSELF ON THE JOBS MARKET OR LOOKING FOR A CAREER CHANGE? WHENEVER YOU GRADUATED, THE CAREERS SERVICE CAN HELP DISCOVER ALL THE WAYS THAT YOU CAN BENEFIT FROM THE CAREERS SERVICE AT LANCASTER.AC.UK/CAREERS/GRADUATES Review your CV Using the interactive, online review tool in the Careers Portal Attend an online event Join a workshop, webinar or careers fair Search for a new job From the range of vacancies listed in TARGETconnect Hone your technique Get prepped for interviews or assessment centres with the online simulators in the Careers Portal Book a one-to-one appointment With an advisor to discuss your careers options 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. FIVE WAYS THE CAREERS SERVICE CAN HELP YOU: “WHAT DOYOUWANT TOBE?” It’s a question asked of 14-year-olds on an almost daily basis. We’re expected to have a firm answer by 16 and be well on our way by 21. But really, the concept of a ‘job for life’ was already on its way out even before the pandemic came and thoroughly shook up the labour market. Some of us are searching for a new job having been affected by the painful swathes of redundancies since the pandemic took hold. Others have taken the lifestyle shift as an opportunity to retrain or enter a new field. Whatever the reason, more people of all ages and career stages have found themselves squeezing into some pre- lockdown workwear, ready for an interview.