Collecting and using case studies
within careers work
Graduate Labour Market Task Group
Published June 2013
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Collecting and using student case studies within careers work
Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Finding case studies/profiles online ......................................................................................................... 3
Create your own Institution’s case studies ............................................................................................. 4
Hints and tips for using DLHE to create graduate profiles: .......................................................... 4
Declaration/Consent Statement........................................................................................................ 4
Using case studies within your careers practice .................................................................................... 5
Individual work: ................................................................................................................................... 5
Group Work ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Academics and Management ........................................................................................................... 6
Appendix 1 – Example of profile collection form .................................................................................... 7
Appendix 2 – Example Case Based Workshop ..................................................................................... 9
Example Lesson Plan ........................................................................................................................ 9
Example Slides ................................................................................................................................. 12
Example bad CV ............................................................................................................................... 15
Example better CV............................................................................................................................ 16
Written by Nerys Roberts, Graduate Destinations Officer, Aberystwyth University Careers Service and
Katie Dallison, Careers Consultant, The Careers Group, University of London on behalf of the AGCAS
Graduate Labour Market Task Group (GLAM)
The authors would like to thank all that contributed to this publication by providing web links to current
profiles. A big thank you also to Dr Janette Myers, Senior Lecturer in Student Learning and Support St
George’s, University of London and Laura MacKenzie, Head of Kings Careers Service whose work on
case based learning is inspirational.
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Introduction
Case studies sometimes referred to as graduate profiles, can be an invaluable tool for use in
careers guidance. They can give students an idea of the breadth of things graduates of their
subject go on to do and help to bring to life career stories.
One issue we have in careers guidance is breadth of knowledge about careers – e.g. often the
misconception is that if you do an English degree you can be a Teacher or a Writer - yes you
CAN, but you can also be a host of other things. Case studies/profiles are an excellent way of
starting from the known (i.e. studying English) to reach out into the unknown: jobs, career paths,
employers, organisations that the student might never have heard of and be outside their range
of experiences to date.
There are many careers websites nowadays that have case studies/profiles at their very core
because there is a whole movement in careers about using stories/narratives both to teach and
to explore careers and possibilities.
Finding case studies/profiles online
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Individual Careers Service websites
Many careers services collect and use case studies/profiles of their own graduates and
these can be accessed online on individual institutional web pages. Even though these
often contain information that is institution specific, they will also include general
information that might help a range of students.
Examples of careers services who currently host such profiles include:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/undergrad/careers/employability/
http://www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/students/options/graduateprofiles/
http://www.york.ac.uk/services/careers/app/profiles/
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/careers/resources/graduate-profiles/index.html
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/gradclub/yourstories/jobhuntingcasestudies
Employer websites
Many employers have both written and video footage of student profiles on their
websites.
www.prospects.ac.uk
Prospects job profiles usually have attached case studies.
www.icould.com
icould has loads of video career profiles for a huge range of jobs which can be searched
either by subject or job type.
http://targetjobs.co.uk/
The TARGETjobs site has an A-Z of careers with over 300 job descriptions in the careers
advice section. They also have case studies (graduate views) under each of the industry
sectors.
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobfamily/Pages/defau
lt.aspx.
The National Careers Service site includes job profiles. This includes both graduate and
non-graduate jobs.
http://www.sscalliance.org/SectorSkillsCouncils/DirectoryofSSCs/DirectorySSCs.a
spx
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Most of the skills sector council websites have profiles and case studies on their
respective websites. Particularly good ones are the creative skills sector council and the
financial skills sector council (on their directions website).
www.vitae.ac.uk
Vitae have a host of case studies focusing on postgraduate and research students.
www.beyondthephd.co.uk
Mostly video case studies of PhD graduates from arts and humanities subjects.
Create your own Institution’s case studies
If no case studies are currently collected within your Higher Education Institution, why not use
DLHE as a starting point to collect this information.
Hints and tips for using DLHE to create graduate profiles:
 Near the end of the DLHE collection, get all DLHE returns into an Excel spread-sheet (if
possible download contact details with the DLHE details) or similar and sort by
department and publication outcome (you could filter so that you only see those in fulltime work and/or full-time study etc if these were one’s you wanted to focus on). Add a
new column to the spread-sheet with a heading similar to ‘suitable candidate for
profiling’.
 Go through the list and identify 5-10 per department who are in what sounds like an
interesting job or gone on to a suitable course of further study and add a ‘yes’ into the
new ‘suitable candidate for profiling column’. At the end you will be able to filter on this
column and therefore only have the details for the graduates you wish to profile.
 Devise a profile questionnaire, example of one used elsewhere given as Appendix 1, and
overprint with potential profile details.
 Keep DLHE telemarketers on for an extra week or two to conduct over the phone
interviews utilising the profile questionnaires devised. If you have email contact details for
the graduates, you could collect the profiles electronically as well or instead of the
telemarketing approach.
 You could also consider using technology such as SKYPE (www.skype.com) or Ovia
(http://oviahr.com/) to record online interviews. There are four clips on YouTube
(http://www.youtube.com/user/OVIAme) giving more information about the Ovia system.
 If telephone or email profiles collected, you will need to edit the profiles to ensure you
have the best sounding profile possible. You could keep a Telemarketer or two on or
utilise a combination of Careers staff to take responsibility for writing up and making the
profiles sound positive and interesting.
 Once satisfied that you have a good profile, email the profile to the graduate asking them
to approve the profile and add some text to the email to cover yourself for data protection
purposes ie:
Declaration/Consent Statement
“By replying to this email, I am confirming my willingness to allow the University of ***, to
make use of the information and picture contained within my ‘graduate profile’ (as
attached) for marketing purposes (e.g. within the prospectus, department literature, main
and departmental websites etc). I understand that the information may be displayed as a
whole ‘profile’, or that quotations/snippets of the information may be extracted for use
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within other publications in conjunction with the University’s marketing and/or
publications aimed at current students. I can also confirm that where employer names
have been included, I have received authorisation from these organisations to use the
business name within my profile, and in turn for the University’s marketing purposes.”

Once you have approval, you can use the profiles in any way that you have specified in
your declaration statement. Profile booklets to hand out at Open Days are a great
marketing tool for the University, and by adding them to your University web site, you’re
helping current students access information that might help them in their future career
choice.
Using case studies within your careers practice
Case studies can be used in a variety of careers work, from bringing to life statistics during
group sessions to helping students explore options in individual work. Below are a few
examples, some you probably already use and others you may wish to try.
Individual work:
 Using case studies to myth bust or open students up to a wider range of possibilities.
These are most powerful when they are from your own institution as the student will
generally feel more connected to the story. Can be used on many levels to introduce
new job titles, explore ways of finding that work, reality check that roles/industries are for
them or given as self-directed learning to read after the session.
 Case studies can be used to bring another person into the room which may help students
see issues from a different angle. For example, introducing the background of a
particular profile that may have similar issues, and then asking the student to become the
adviser and explain what they would advise in this case. This method puts the student in
a position of power and can build confidence. Creating some distance from the students
own problem can also open up a new line of thought for both them and you.
 Case studies can provide some interesting scenario questions for use during practice
interviews. Using a case also has the added advantage of you being able to tell your
interviewee what did go on to happen in real life.
Group Work
 Case studies and profiles are often used within presentations to highlight statistics.
Sharing examples of what students have gone on to do and how they accomplished this
helps other students to form pathways to achieving their own goals.
 Case based learning (CBL) which is linked to problem based learning (PBL), is a
common teaching tool in subjects such as medicine or engineering. Students work in
small groups to solve problems, or discuss issues. Case studies can provide a good
starting point to construct a session like this with a careers focus. Take the background
information presented in your profile and create a student who is part way through their
career planning journey (for example, a second year student who may have some work
experience but possibly didn’t enjoy that) ending at a stage where a decision needs to be
made (such as <name> is very confused so seeks out the advice of his/her peers). Add
some key questions for discussion such as
o What would you suggest <name> does next?
o What other information does <name> need to know?
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o Where might he/she find this?
o Could there be more than one right answer for <name>.
Split your audience into groups (5-7 works members per team is ideal but it can work
with whatever number you have), hand the case out and let them discuss. Depending on
time you may like to introduce extra steps in the case. For example, fast forwarding a
year when your student has done something (such as a work experience, meeting
someone inspirational or found a job they want to apply for), then again, give the groups
further key questions, such as
o What advice would you give <name> to help them test this their idea?
o How might <name> learn more about this job?
o What the concerns you might raise about making decisions from meeting one
person and how could you solve these?
Case based learning allows us to introduce careers theory (such as planned
happenstance and DOTS) along side practical methods to help students who may not
necessarily be thinking about their careers yet. It allows them to discuss someone else’s
career while still empowering them with the research and implementation skills that they
can use when they are ready. For groups such as first or second year students who
could be early on in their own careers process it helps them understand what is to come
and what they may begin to do now. By using real case studies from your own
institution, you can end the session by giving the group what really happened which
helps them understand there is no one right way often to plan a career.
If you have a larger audience, the basis of case based learning can still be used. For
example, following through a careers model using a case, again making the student the
adviser but instead of physically splitting them into small groups, ask them to discuss
with the people sitting next to them. This works in a large lecture theatre format. Your
presentation can then follow the student through not just their decision making process
but some of the implementation like writing the CV, job hunting and interview skills. See
appendix 2 for an example lesson plan and slides.
Academics and Management
 By raising awareness that you have these case studies within facilities and departments
that you work with you can instantly raise your profile. Generally academics do enjoy
knowing what happens to their students and if you can give them a nice story, often they
can include it in their teaching or mention it to other students. This works particularly well
with personal tutors.
 Case studies can be a powerful tool if negotiating for extra access to students, more
funding or proving the careers services value, especially if the cases mention their use of
the careers service.
 Depending on the web set up, case studies can provide another area where departments
will be happy to link through to the careers website.
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Appendix 1 – Example of profile collection form
The data in grey below would be taken (via mailmerge) from the spread-sheet which you might
have used as suggested earlier to help select potential profiles.
DLHE Profile 2010/11
Student Ref:
«Student_Reference_Number»
«Method_survey_returned»
Method of response to initial survey:
Name: «Surname», «Forenames»
«Mode_of_Study» «Level_of_Study»
«Study_Scheme_Name»
Department studied at AU:
Other info:
«Department» «Percentage_course_was_split_between_depa»
Contact Number: «Telephone» / «Mobile»
Job Title: «Jobtitle_q6» / «Company_q4»
Further Study: «Name_of_course_q20» / «INSTPROV_DATA_q22»
Yes □ No □
Are you willing to be a case study for your department?
Personal Information (this will help if you want your students to be able to search profiles by a certain
type)
Ethnicity:
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White–British
White-English
White-Irish
White-Scottish
White-Welsh
White-Other
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Mixed-White and Black Caribbean
Mixed-White and Black African
Mixed-White and Asian
Mixed-other
 Black or Black British-African
 Black or Black British-Caribbean
 Black or Black British-other
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Asian or Asian British-Indian
Asian or Asian British-Pakistani
Asian or Asian British-Bangladeshi
Asian or Asian British-other
 Chinese
 Other
 Prefer not to say
Do you have a disability?
Yes  No  Prefer not to say 
If YES, please indicate:  Visually Impaired  Hearing Impaired  Dyslexic  Medical
 Mobility
 Other:- details:
Do you speak Welsh?
 First Language  Second Language  Learner  No
Did you study any of your modules through the medium of Welsh? Yes  No 
Are you the first in your family to attend HE?
Yes 
No 
Did you attend Summer University or Expanding Horizons?
Yes 
No 
Did you enter University as a mature student?
Yes 
No 
Why did you choose ****** as your place of study and in particular your course?
Confirm details collected from Destinations Survey:
(please confirm details overprinted above or record if data not already collected
Ie
Job title/company
Course studying/place of study
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Where are you now? Could you please give a brief bit of background to how you got to where
you are now and description of your job/course:
Cover the following:
brief history on what you’ve done since graduating, how you got here?
daily duties/areas of responsibilities in current job/or course content if studying
how did you hear about the job or course/what made you stand out of the crowd
highlights from your career to date
future plans/aspirations for career
Box can be as big as you like
Hints and Tips for current students?
Could you please try and cover the following areas:
Any positive experiences from your academic studies that you would recommend?
 Your involvement in social life/clubs/societies that you think benefited you in terms of your career
(ie gained transferrable skills such as team work/communication/confidence)
 Any study techniques that you’d suggest?
 Would you recommend work experience?
 Any other advice – hints/tips for preparing students for their careers?
Box can be as big as you like
Thank you for taking the time to complete our profile questionnaire. ***(name)******, ***(job title)*****,
would like to contact you in the near future via email with a proof of your profile for approval, therefore,
could you please provide an up to date email address for our files.
Current email address:
Would you be willing to supply a picture (preferably of you doing your job)? Y / N
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Appendix 2 – Example Case Based Workshop
Example Lesson Plan
Session title
International
Case Study based lesson plan
Participants
Flexible
Timing
One and a half to two hours
Format
Interactive seminar
Session aim
To help International students get an overview of the careers process, from job
exploration to applying.
(overall point of the
session)
Session objectives
Use a structured approach to career planning
(by the end of the
session, students will
be able to…)
Identify key tasks linked to job hunting
Understand the major elements of a UK CV
Know how the careers service can provide further support
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Blue text & bullet point = key messages
Time
Activity
Resources
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Introduction
 Structured process for dealing careers planning
 Explain it’s an interactive session and there is no ‘one’ way of choosing a
career – you get out of the session what you put in
 Get a feel for who is in the room and what stage might be at in their career
planning
Slide 2 — Aims of
today
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Basic Careers Theory
Slide 3 — Basic
Careers Theory
(mins)
Frame basic matching theories for the group. Explain that this is very
basic and generally choosing careers isn’t as straight forward as this,
however this does provide a good starting point and we’ll into more
details as we go through the session.
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Bring it round to an employers point of view where applicants need to
answer ‘why do you want this job’ – this framework can help figure that out.
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Meet Sarah and you be the careers adviser
Slide 4: Introduce Sarah
Slide 5: Get the students to work in pairs and thinking about the framework of
‘Know what’s out there’ put themselves in the mindset of a careers adviser
(or her parents) and come up with some questions.
 Questions to help discussion could be: Who might Sarah talk to? What sort
of research could she do? What have you done to explore your options for
the future and how could this apply to Sarah?.
 The idea here is just to get the students talking and engaged.
Get feedback from students, building on there examples where possible
Slide 4 — Meet
Sarah
Slide 5 — You be
the careers
adviser
3
Know what’s out there
Resources slide so talk through any ideas that the discussion above didn’t bring
out.
Slide 6 — Know
what’s out there
5
Know yourself
Slide 7 — Know
yourself
(15min
s if you
have a
longer
session
)
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Difficult questions to ask so again, talk through anything that didn’t come
out in above session.
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Explain about breaking down experiences and not just lumping the bad/good
experiences together – be reflective.
If you have time, get the students to tell each other about something they
have done that they are proud of and ask them to talk about why they
enjoyed it, what gave them satisfaction, and what they didn’t enjoy.
Helping Sarah think about herself
Resources slide – talk through pluses and minus of each tool stressing
these are starting points only.
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Test it out
Ask them for ideas first then discuss. May need to explain what an NGO
is.
5-10
Job hunting
Use this slide to explain the UK job market. Direct group to resources
within the careers service for job hunting options.
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5
Introduce the idea of UK recruitment process and the need to match what
the employer asks for.
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Slide 8 - 10 —
Test it out?
Slide 11 — Job
hunting?
If you have an engaged group, ask them what they understand of what a
internship is? Graduate level job? Where else could Sarah look for jobs?
Requirements

Slide 8 — Helping
Sarah think about
herself
Slide 12 —
Requirements
How does this sit with the idea of a ‘general CV’? What do you think an
employer will think of this?
Link back to the process of understanding what is out there, and
understanding yourself – how can knowing this information help you actually
apply for a job?
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10
Sarah’s CV
Hand out CV (one between two if you have a large group) and get
students to think like an employer from the NGO Sarah is applying for.
Slide 13— So lets
look at Sarah’s CV

Everyone looks at CV’s in different ways – where does your eye first
fall? What can you make out quickly?.
Get them to feedback on what they thought was good/bad. Work with
the students comments to think about what makes a good CV.
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Sarah’s CV take 2
Repeat above, comments and feedback
Sarah Hu bad CV
Slide 14 — How
about this 2nd CV
Sarah Hu good
CV
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Cover letter/Application form Questions
Explain the concept of a cover letter/personal statement using Sarah as an
example. Link back to basic careers theory again.
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Summary
Highlight future support options from careers service.
Slide 15 – Cover
letter/Application
form questions
Slide 16 – How to
find us
Extra tips for running this seminar:
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If you had a longer session, you could include interview preparation in this session as well.
To shorten this session you could remove one of the CV examples.
Dependant on group size and your location, you could take the session outside and run it without the
slides using the handouts alone to encourage more relaxed interaction al fresco.
Lesson Plan copyright to The Careers Group, University of London
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Example Slides
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Slides copyright to The Careers Group, University of London
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Example bad CV
CV copyright to The Careers Group, University of London
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Example better CV
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CV copyright to The Careers Group, University of London
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