For today’s post, Subira Ismail, the UBU Community & Welfare Sabbatical Officer tells us about the ‘Be More Than Your Degree’ initiative, and how you can get involved to improve your employability and get more out of your student experience…
That anticipation to finish your last essay or exam and for the stress of sleepless nights to be over, drifts from anticipation to excitement as your name is called out and you nervously walk up the stairs to see your families beaming face and accept your degree. However, this excitement is short lived, if like many graduates you didn’t think about securing a graduate job or a masters, the worry and fear takes over. Realising that now you are a full-fledged adult and the comfort of student finance is no longer just around the corner. You now have to take the dreaded step to look for a job and with a record number of students graduating with upper second class, so how do you stand out?
This was the question I asked myself; “how do I, a Bradford graduate with an upper second class stand out, seeing as many other students’ degrees would like a lot like mine?”. I was lucky enough to get a sabbatical position straight after my degree which gave me the ability to get involved in many different areas; from volunteering, public speaking and networking additionally having the ability to tell the difference between the soup and dessert spoon. With these array of opportunities, I realised that I was slowly becoming more than my degree and I wanted to provide similar opportunities to Bradford students through pushing the concept ‘Be More Than Your Degree’. An initiative for both students and the range of services we have at the University to adhere to. For services and students to work cohesively throughout their time at University to ensure that when a student finishes they are an all-rounded individual and their degree is just a part of what makes them so great and the perfect candidate for any role.
This idea of ‘Be More Than Your Degree’ is formed through connecting the careers and volunteering services to create a comprehensive service for students so that when they leave Bradford they are truly more than their degree, because at Bradford every student is an individual and our degrees and transcripts need to reflect that.
And with our forthcoming series of event you can get involved and see how you can improve your employability skills, at the Be More Than Your Degree Careers Week. Here is the line up of events:
MONDAY 29th FEBRUARY
#AskCareers LIVE WEBCHAT 2-3pm on our facebook page.
TUESDAY 1st MARCH
CV clinic 10am – 12pm, Student Central
Mock Interviews 1-3pm Student Central
WEDNESDAY 2nd MARCH
The Spring Careers Fair 10.30am – 3.30pm, Student Central
THURSDAY 3rd MARCH
Develop Your Skills 11am – 2pm, Student Central
A mini fair featuring a range of information on opportunities including volunteering, summer internships, sports and societies, part-time jobs and more…
Plus we will have videos, a giant CV sandwich board and more going on throughout the week.
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