digital literacy: the ucl careers perspective
TRANSCRIPT
UCL CAREERS
DIGITAL LITERACY: THE UCL
CAREERS PERSPECTIVE
SOPHIA DONALDSON
LAURA FIRMIN
UCL CAREERS
UCL CAREERS
What is Employability?
Gain initial employment
Maintain employment
Make successful careers decisions, now and in the
future
A set of achievements – skills, understandings and
personal attributes that help you:
UCL CAREERS
How can the university help students?
Inside the curriculum
Alongside the curriculum / co-curricular
Outside the curriculum
UCL CAREERS
How can the university help students?
Outside the curriculum
UCL CAREERS
Know what's
out there
UCL CAREERS
Jobmatching sites, information sources
• https://www.plotr.co.uk/car
eers/industries/
• www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-
and-work-experience/job-
sectors
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UCL CAREERS
London Biology grads, now in researcher roles
From
‘What do
London
Graduates
do?’ 2016
UCL CAREERS
Social media and jobhunting/recruiting
Jobvite
Recruiter
Nation
Survey 2015
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Jobvite UK
Social
Recruitment
Survey 2015
UCL CAREERS
UCL CAREERS
LinkedIn is a goldmine of information!
UCL CAREERS
UCL CAREERS
Navigating the
employment
process –
networking and
selling skills
UCL CAREERS
Digital recruitment skills
Practice psychometric tests
In-tray exercises
Video interviews
UCL CAREERS
Jobvite found 61% of UK recruiters would be
more, or much more likely, to reconsider a
hiring decision based on the positive content
on a candidate’s social media profile.
UCL CAREERS
Linkedin Case study
Dan Frith
UCL Economics alumnus interested in risk work within financial services
months went by applying for jobs without success
had used Linkedin purely for advertised job roles
Careers 1 to 1 coaching: New strategy
improved profile, starting researching and then connecting with staff within insurance companies involved in risk
took conversations off-line – information interviewing:
met for coffee
asked lots of questions to become more informed about role/sector
found out about insurance roles more interesting and aligned to skillset
now on radar of a number of organisations
kept in contact, appeared on news feeds
latterly 2 organisations contacted him about opportunities not publically advertised
researched, company, sector and interviewers on LinkedIn
Offered position at Reon as Reinsurance strategist
UCL CAREERS
But it’s not all good news….
UCL CAREERS
Jobvite UK Social recruitment survey 2015
UCL CAREERS
Developing the
skills you’ll use
in a job.
UCL CAREERS
‘Outside of
curriculum’ but not
just a jobs board…
Exclusively for UCL students,
recent graduates and
researchers (students and staff)
e.g. UCL Institute of Education -
Digital Content Assistant
Summer Internship
www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/talentbank
UCL CAREERS
Soft skills still trump the tech!
We are looking for a diligent and highly organised
intern, who will have a sharp eye for detail and a
methodical, systematic approach to working. The
ideal candidate will be comfortable working in small a
team, will listen carefully to instructions, and will
possess excellent time management skills.
Technical Skills Required:
• Experience working with a CMS system and
uploading content (desirable)
• Silva CMS experience desirable, but not essential
• Experience working with Excel spreadsheets
UCL CAREERS
How can the university help students?
Inside the curriculum
Alongside the curriculum / co-curricular
UCL CAREERS
‘ If you write well but can’t edit an audio file
or make short video (or work out how to)
then this internship is probably not for you’
(Nelson et al, 2016)
UCL CAREERS
How do employers target potential recruits?
“Whilst I studied a humanities subject, economics and data handling modules were an integral part of my degree.”
“Geographers do not just study about climate change and environmental sustainability. My geographical training has equipped me with an array of skills, from research and database management to programming in Python. I am adept in creating structures to streamline processes and facilitate data analysis, both numerical and qualitative.”
Both submitted Feb 2016
UCL CAREERS
How are UCL Faculties helping their
students develop digital skills geared
towards employability?
UCL CAREERS
Inside the curriculum
Assessed and/or embedded activity such as a placement which is credit bearing or a whole programme such as Integrated Engineering Programme
Programmes teaching fundamental technical knowledge in tandem with interdisciplinary, research-based projects and professional skills.
UCL CAREERS
Alongside the curriculum / co-curricular
Activities provided by faculties and departments but not assessed or embedded such as internships, scenario weeks and events.
Arts & Sciences BASc - Compulsory Assessed 5 minute Vlog (10%)
Management Science Scenerio Weeks: Developing the research / analytical skills required to use various methods and/or programmes for finding the information and analysing it.
UCL Careers’ role: Supporting students in sourcing and applying, employer research, engagement and brokering, promotion of suitable opportunities.
UCL CAREERS
Whose job is it anyway?
Academic tutors can build desired skills and real world experiences
into the curriculum (e.g. BASc Vlog)
Employers engaged with degree courses more invested in student
learning outcomes
UCL Careers helps students navigate employment landscape and
market themselves, and works directly with employers
UCL CAREERS
Whose job is it anyway?
Apart from mandatory programmes, it’s currently the students’
responsibility to access our services
Tutor engagement boosts student engagement
UCL CAREERS
Thank you
Any questions?