Vicky B.
About me
| Vicky B. | |
| Social Policy and Social Work | |
| Social Policy | |
| Undergraduate | |
| 2006 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Careers Adviser | |
| University of York | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Education | |
| 2007 |
Like this profile?
Add this profile to your favourites so you can return to it later from your account.
A day in the life of a Careers Adviser in the United Kingdom
My career history
Previous to working in HE, I worked in Adult Careers Guidance. I was a Learning and Work Adviser for a not-for-profit organisation offering support, training and advice to ex-offenders, vulnerable people who had their benefits withdrawn, and people made redundant. This work was very different from my current role with Careers at the university, often requiring delivering ongoing coaching support to clients over a prolonged period of time.
Courses taken since graduation
Post graduate Diploma in Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance in HE
Where I hope to be in 5 years
While there is a possible progression route to move into management, this would take me away from working directly with clients/students, so it isn't something I plan to do.
I plan on developing my skills and expertise so that I keep up-to-date with changes in the labour market and ways to best support clients.
My advice to students considering work
Don't live in a bubble, take the opportunity to get involved in university life and the local community early on via clubs, societies, volunteering, part-time jobs etc. These experiences help you figure out what you enjoy doing and what you are good at. That gives you a great starting point when it comes time to think about what you want to do after university and start planning getting some work experience relevant to your career interests. All that experience you have built up over your time studying at York will give you experience to reflect upon in your CV, application forms and interviews.
My advice about working in my industry
The most common route into careers advice is to complete the Qualification in Careers Guidance (QCG) although there are other routes. It is important to be able to demonstrate the skills and qualities needed in careers advice so think about relevant volunteer work. While at university I volunteered with the Citizens Advice Bureau and volunteered to assist in community training courses covering all sorts of topics including IT,cooking and job searching, alongside having part-time jobs with a customer service focus. After graduation, I worked for the Education Access Team at the Council while volunteering for the organisation I later got a professional paid role with and who funded me to start my training in Careers Advice. I don't think I would have got my foot in the door and my job as a Learning and Work Adviser if I hadn't been willing to volunteer to get the experience first.
What I do
I provide information, advice and guidance to help university students and graduates to make choices about their education, training and work. The role of a HE Careers Adviser is very broad and varied. I do all the things most people would expect such as one-to-one appointments, reviewing CVs and applications, practice interviews, workshops and training sessions. I have case-load of academic departments which I work closely with, in addition to generalist careers work within the careers service. My job also involves involves a lot of liaison with employers, academic departments and support services. I design and deliver short courses. I design and write online resources,and must market the activities I run to students and relevant staff. Events and project management skills are used daily - I coordinate the university's alumni mentoring scheme, facilitate student work-related projects, and organise and manage career events. It is also important to research and keep up to date with changes and developments in the labour market.
Skills I use and how I developed them
Extracurricular skills:
Careers Advisers need to compassionate, ethical, non-judgmental and able to build a rapport with people. Communication, listening, networking, research, writing, organisational and time-management skills are essential
What I like most
I love the work I do directly with students via events, appointments and workshops. The best bit about my job is feeling like I have made a difference and helped someone. Something as simple as receiving a thank you e-mail from someone I have been supporting to tell me they got the job they wanted is wonderful.
What I like least
Unfortunately I need to do a lot of administrative work which can often take up at lot of the working day and means I need to work hard to keep face-to-face work with students as the top priority.
Next steps...
If you like the look of Vicky’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send Vicky a message to find out more about their career journey.