English Subject Centre
Enhancing Careers Services Projects
Improving Applications through Employer Engagement - Learning to
Summarise Structure and Sell
Gill Harvey
Roehampton University
February 2009
Project Report
The English Subject Centre
Royal Holloway, University of London
Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX
Tel 01784 443221 Fax 01784 470684
Email [email protected]
www.english.heacademy.ac.uk
Preface
Enhancing Careers Services to English Students
It is a widespread view that English graduates are not good at ‘selling’ themselves to
employers. This is not to say that they lack the skills, attributes and enthusiasm that
employers seek: research conducted by the English Subject Centre shows that
English graduates are doing as well as, if not better than, most other graduates three
to four years after graduation.
Employers value the skills in critical thinking, communication and analysis that
English graduates usually possess, but our students tend to underestimate the
relevance of these skills to the workplace. (The ‘student profiles’ project undertaken
by the Subject Centre produced a template which helps students link the skills listed
in the English Benchmark Statement to those typically sought by employers.) English
students need assistance and encouragement in articulating, in a way that is
interesting and relevant to employers, the skills and attributes they have developed
whilst studying and engaging in extra-curricular activity.
For this reason, the English Subject Centre has sponsored small projects in Careers
Services which tailor materials or events specifically to the needs of English students.
Various projects were undertaken, covering such activities as interview technique
workshops, alumni presentations, web-based resources and careers open-days.
Details of all the projects can be found on our website at:
http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/projects/archive/careers/careers8.php .
This document is a report on one of these projects.
Jane Gawthrope
The English Subject Centre, June 2008
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Improving Applications through Employer Engagement
English Subject Centre 2009
2
Improving Applications through Employer Engagement- Learning to
Summarise Structure and Sell
Gill Harvey
Roehampton University, Student Employability & Careers Service
February 2009
Background
This year for the first time the Careers Service has made a strategic decision
to target careers education input and consultancy on a school- by- school
basis. Each academic school now has its own link careers adviser. New to the
School of Arts this year I have been trying to audit employability activity
across the school’s constituent subject areas. English sits alongside courses
in Creative Writing, Classical Civilisation and Cultural Studies where there has
been some excellent work taking place to increase the employability of
students and raise awareness of careers issues from an early stage in the
programme. English has been the poor relation in terms of employability
activity in comparison to these other areas. The chance to bid for an English
Subject Centre project grant has provided the opportunity to kick start
engagement with careers issues for staff and students through a profileraising event.
Proposal
My proposal was to devise an event, in conjunction with a member of the
senior lecturing staff from the subject area, which would:-
o
Help to address specific needs of English students in the
preparation of applications, as perceived by the Careers Service.
o
Enable students to engage with an employer’s perspective on their
degree.
o
Allow the academic voice to articulate the implicit and taught skills
inherent in Roehampton’s English degree.
o
Be motivational in intent and include alumni involvement.
The Event
o I invited employers from publishing, advertising and journalism.
Some had wider experience in the communications industries and
could share expertise in travel writing, speech writing and public
relations. Employers were chosen to reflect a wide range of
employing sectors, since we were mindful that although Roehampton
English Students go into a diversity of sectors there is some
commonality in career aspirations, namely being attracted to the
creative industries.
Improving Applications through Employer Engagement
English Subject Centre 2009
3
o
‘Summarise, Structure and Sell’ was deemed an unattractive title for
marketing and the event was relabelled ‘The Write Stuff’ and multimarketed in every way we could think of.
o
The representatives, one of whom was an alumnus who had
successfully used the Careers Service for career progression help,
made up a ‘Questiontime’ style panel, chaired by the Director of
Student Services.
o
The event was filmed and produced two hours of footage for which
we used student input on the microphone and in the editing process.
The DVD now runs to a more user friendly one hour and is in the
process of being streamed.
o
To accompany the event students were given reference information
and current vacancy information.
How we used the funds
o The grant paid for the design and printing of publicity materials and
some travel expenses and refreshments for speakers and students.
As I am a part time member of staff the funding also contributed to
additional staff costs to arrange and host the event. It also allowed
us to secure more internal teaching and learning funding to pay for
the balance.
Evaluation
o The event was a huge success with unprecedented numbers and a
handful of students who had not registered had to be turned away
due to lack of room capacity.
o
Student feedback included “I wasn’t expecting such a formal event,
but the formality made me feel as if our futures mattered to those
involved”. “Very well organised and structured”. Being invited to
ask questions was very useful and the academic summary at the
end was a very good idea”. “This was a great way to get the
information we need.”
o
I think the Academic School was amazed at the response from
students and it was an excellent profile raising vehicle for the
Service. We have had subsequent requests from Music and TESOL
so it has really kick started work in this Academic School.
o
It was difficult to keep speakers brief and to get them to focus
mainly on the written application when student questions were more
wide ranging and they were not recruitment experts themselves. We
kept the theme going through the title, the preface and the handouts
but would, if we ran it again, have to think of ways to make this
more explicit. However, lots of other great discussions
compensated for going a little off-piste.
Improving Applications through Employer Engagement
English Subject Centre 2009
4
o
I was a bit worried about timing but this did not seem to be an issue
as long as the school reinforced the marketing message. My
academic partner promoted the event in registers and through the
School Board meetings before and after Christmas.
Lessons for the future
o Always market in as many forms as possible and enlist the
academic voice.
o
Will have a better idea about costs and workload now I’ve run one
event.
o
Be prepared to learn new things – filming, streaming and VLEs
were all new to me so I feel like I’m developing some additional
knowledge.
o
Editing and getting a product worth streaming takes a lot of work.
Improving Applications through Employer Engagement
English Subject Centre 2009
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