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Provost's Perspective: careers support at UCL

1 May 2015

The rigours and breadth of a UCL education will doubtless stand you in good stead regardless of the professional path you choose to take.

Provost's Perspective: careers support at UCL However, it cannot be denied that the graduate job market is highly competitive: about 800,000 students graduate every year from universities in the UK alone, seeking challenging positions or further study opportunities.

There is good news here though for UCL students. Firstly, employers greatly value the calibre of UCL students; each year, more than 900 employers from a vast range of sectors attend events on campus, facilitated by UCL Careers. Secondly, UCL offers students a wide range of support to help them stand out from the crowd and to present themselves to best effect.

UCL Careers

UCL Careers provides a dedicated application checking service for CVs, cover letters, application forms and personal statements. During the first term of 2015 alone, the department checked more than 2,900 applications. UCL Careers staff also offer coaching, skills workshops, practice interviews and mock assessment centres to help do yourself justice in what can be daunting situations. Every academic department has an allocated careers consultant, who can give you advice about options relevant to your studies.

Of course, you might not yet know which avenue you want to pursue after graduation. A talk or short guidance session with a careers consultant can help focus the mind, and broaden your ideas. You also have our online careers library, Careers Tagged, at your disposal, which houses more than 10,000 careers resources.

In addition, there is no substitute for meeting employers or further study providers to help shape your thinking. Many employer events are held right here on UCL ground, as well as careers fairs and sector-themed weeks. With one-third of employers claiming to hire directly from internships and placements, gaining work experience during your time at UCL is invaluable. UCL JobOnline features 3,000 vacancies on average each week, all targeting UCL students.

Additional support and workshops are also available for international students, Master's students and researchers at UCL.

After graduation

Careers support at UCL

A career is an evolving trajectory, and UCL is here to support you as your skills, experience and ambitions develop.

After you graduate, coaching, workshops and support will be available to you through UCL Careers GradClub, while the shortlisting service UCL Talent Bank is designed to put UCL students, postgraduate researchers and graduates in touch with small to medium-sized organisations in a range of industries, and with UCL alumni.

You can continue to draw on inspiring networking events too: UCL Connect runs award-winning panel events, speed networking evenings and online resources available to students and alumni. Past speakers have included the best-selling author Ken Follett, entrepreneur Lily Jones (lilyvanilli) and designer Wayne Hemingway. Wherever you are, you'll be able to draw on free online careers mentoring, putting you in touch with more than 500 alumni mentors across the world.

Taking the first step

You can start to tackle what can be an intimidating prospect before the summer break by attending one of the following UCL Careers events:

  • Focus on Management Course: an opportunity to work on case studies in small teams, delivered by employers and led by UCL alumni and new managers.
  • UCL Jobs Market: the last fair of the year where students can meet up to 50 employers who have vacancies and internships to fill before the autumn.

UCL Careers is also open throughout the summer, when you might have more time to consider next steps.

We're proud of the fact that - despite the increasingly competitive environment - around 90% of UCL graduates enter work or further study within six months of graduating. I would urge you to make the most of the range of resources available to you to help you find your future.

Useful Links

Professor Michael Arthur

UCL President & Provost

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