Both Winter and Spring Break are good opportunities to check in with yourself and your employability development. These breaks can be used to put into practice some of your exploration and reflection you have done so far.

During these breaks you should be focusing on ‘Develop’ – this includes feeling confident on your employability basics such as CVs, Cover Letters, Application processes, understanding your skills, and identifying the value of your degree.

Use the checklists, questions, and activities to help you develop your employability.  

Checklist:

• Use Career Connect to explore events, resources, and vacancies

• Complete the mySkills questionnaire

• Familiarise yourself with the Sheffield Graduate Attributes

• Explore the support that is on offer to you at the university

• Ask questions that you need answers to

• Understand your options for the future and deadlines you might need to consider

Activities and Guides:

The Activities and Guides page offers you information, activities, and prompts to help your thinking throughout your employability journey. Use these activities and guides in whichever way suits you best.

DEVELOP: 

Feeling confident in your employability basics can help you understand how you can communicate the value of your masters in future applications. You can use the information and links below to understand what each employability basics is, and where you can explore these further. You can still use the Jessop West Employability and Placement Hub and the Careers and Employability Service to answer any questions you have.

• What is a CV, Cover Letter, Application, or Interview?

  • CVs: 

    • Different types of CVs: academic, non-academic, part-time jobs etc.

    • Each type will have slight differences, and it is important to adapt your CV to each role you are applying for. 

    • ATS - Application Tracking Systems: This is software that companies might use to look for keywords and phrases that match the job advert - this is why it is so important to tailor your CV to each job application 

    • There are lots of examples of CVs on the Careers and Employability Website.

  • Cover Letters:

    • Purpose - Your CV is a brief summary of your skills and experience, and your Cover Letter is a chance for you to explain why you would be a good fit for the role. This is a chance for you to show you have done your research on the company, the role, and explain why you want the role.

    • Format - This is a letter, so address it to the organisation or the recruiting manager (this might be included in the job application) - it is important to tailor this letter and make it as specific as possible- you want this to be clearly written for this role, this organisation, and by you. 

    • STAR approach (Situation, Task, Action, Result): This technique gives you an opportunity to effectively explain how you have used your skills. It will also be good practice for future job interviews, where you can find examples of how you have used specific skills. Use this STAR Guide to help. 

    • You can also add in here any difficult situations you have faced (this might explain any gaps in your CV due to your health or disability). You could also disclose your disability here - although this is not a legal requirement and you do not have to do this, it could also let the recruiting manager know that you might need accommodations during your interview, etc. 

    • There are lots of examples of covering letters on the Careers and Employability Website.

  • Applications: 

    • Different applications will have different processes. Here are some examples of stages of applications:

      • Some applications require you to submit some basic information (this might include qualifications, personal details, and your work experience)

      • You may also be required to then add a personal statement - this will include why you want to work for the organisation and why they should choose you for the role. You can also include anything important that you might not have had the chance to add anywhere else in the application (for example, volunteering, any setbacks and positively explain what you have learnt from these)

      • There may also be a section about Equal Opportunities - this might include asking you questions about your ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability etc. This section functions as a way for employers to measure if they are attracting a variety of people to apply for this role. This section is usually optional and you do not have to disclose anything you don't want to. 

      • You may be asked about your motivations and skills-based questions - this could include ‘Why are you applying for this job?’ or ‘Why do you want to work for this organisation?’ or ‘Give an example of when you have worked in a team or dealt with a difficult situation’ - You can use the STAR technique again here to effectively explain how your skills and experiences make you the best candidate for this role. Make sure you use relevant examples and pick different ones for each question. Including enough detail is important so that the recruiting manager is able to understand the context of the examples. 

      • You may also be asked to complete some tests as part of the application process - these could be skills tests, personality tests, or situational judgement tests. These can help employers evaluate whether your personality will match the organisation and role. These can feel a bit complicated as you can start to second guess your answers, and if your answer is what the employer wants - answering these questions honestly will be the best way to measure your suitability for the role (this can benefit you too as you wouldn't want to have to behave or act inauthentically whilst at work so it might reveal that the employer is not suitable for you either) 

    • There are lots of examples of Application Questions and Personal Statements on the Careers and Employability Website.

  • Interviews:

    • Prepping for an interview is really important. Doing your research on both the organisation and reflecting on yourself will help you feel more confident explaining exactly why you are the best candidate for the role. 

    • You can explore the organisation’s website, social media, the job specification, and your application - you can also make sure you have clear examples of how you meet the criteria of the role - these can come in handy during the interview if you need to provide examples of skills or experiences

    • In your interview, whether online or in person, you will most likely be asked questions about both yourself and your experiences. These questions might include:

      • Opening Questions - these questions might cover talking about yourself

      • Motivation and skills questions - these questions cover your motivations for applying and the skills you have that make you good for this role. They might also be covering your knowledge of the organisation and the role 

      • Competency-based questions - these are looking for evidence for the relevant skills - using the STAR technique here can be helpful to make sure you are effectively communicating your competencies

      • Strength-based questions - these are assessing your attributes, what you are good at and how you communicate this

      • Hypothetical questions - these will typically present you with a problem to solve

      • Useful link: https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/careers/apply/interviews/questions-types 

    • Interview Formats: 

      • Different types of interviews:

        • Group interviews 

        • Multiple station interviews 

        • Portfolio interviews 

        • Academic interviews 

        • Technical interviews 

        • In-person interviews

        • Online interviews 

        • Telephone interviews 

    • Accommodations—If you have a disability or are neurodivergent, then asking for some accommodations can help you be on an even playing field with other candidates and give you the chance to show your best self during an interview/application process. You could always ask for the questions before the interview, ask for them to be printed out, or ask for them to be asked in their simplest form/broken down.  

      • Useful link: https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/careers/rights  

• Where to explore your future options:

  • Studying a PhD:

    • Here are some useful links to explore what your PhD journey will include, what you can expect, and what you need to do next:

      • https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd  - This hub is a one-stop shop for your PhD information - this covers finding a PhD, finding a supervisor, How to Apply, fees, funding, scholarships, and support for your future careers.

      • https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/arts-humanities/graduate-school/phd-journey  - This site covers what the three years (if a full-time student) would cover. This can help you visualise what your experience might be and what the expectations are of a PhD student. 

      • https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/arts-humanities/graduate-school/research-proposal  - This site offers guidance on your research proposal. This covers advice such us doing your research on the supervisor you want to connect with before writing your proposal.

      • https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/arts-humanities/graduate-school/supervisor  - This site covers the expectations of you and your supervisor.

      • https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply —This site covers your application journey and the steps you need to take to complete it.

      • https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/careers/researchers—This is the Careers and Employability Service Hub for university researchers. It is a really great resource for imagining what you will be thinking about if you do a PhD and what your employability might look like. It has a specific section for international students that covers working in the UK and contacts for your visas. 

      • There are lots of different ways to do a PhD, and the way you choose to do it might be dependent on funding, other commitments, and your aspirations for after you have finished:

        • https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply/routes - This site breaks down the 3 ways you can do a PhD - researching your own idea, applying to work with a supervisor on their research, or applying to a research centre. You can follow the links on this page to find a project or a supervisor and filter by School. This might be a good start in thinking about what your research could be and if it would fit in with the research already going on in the Faculty or School.

      • You don’t have to apply for a PhD at this university - each institution will have similar pages with information about supervisor, projects, fees etc. So if you are wanting to explore a PhD as an option, then doing some research on which institution will suit you and your research best is important. 

      •  If you are considering your option for a PhD, it can help to know what kind of career support you will have access to as a researcher. You can explore the resources available at the university here: https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/careers/researchers 

    •  Finding a job:

      • There are lots of different websites you can explore to find job vacancies - if you are unsure about what roles you might want to find, you can use these resources to help you figure out which jobs might suit you best:

        • Explore this university page 'Use your subject'

        • Use Prospects to explore job profiles to work out what careers are out there for you 

        • The Arts and Humanities Careers Hub also has a page dedicated to 'Where to find graduate jobs as an A&H Student'

        • You can also explore job sites to see what jobs are out there:

          • Career Connect 

          • Targetjobs

          • GoinGlobal 

          • Jobs listed for the Sheffield area 

          • Yorkshire Graduates

          • Organisation's websites also might advertise job roles 

          • LinkedIn 

          • Job Websites such as Indeed, Reed etc. 

        • It is also important to stay safe while you job hunt and apply for roles; the university has a useful page dedicated to giving you guidance on how to 'Stay safe when job seeking'