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Lifelong Learning Centre

Careers Guide for Mature Undergraduates

2018

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Introduction Who is a ‘mature student’? Universities say it’s anyone who starts their first degree at the age of 21 or over. The Student Loans Company, however, reckon that you need to be 25 before you can be considered mature enough to be independent from your parents, so it’s clearly a somewhat fluid concept! At the Lifelong Learning Centre we think people should be free to self-define whether they identify themselves as a mature student; a person who’s had a break after leaving school before coming to university may feel ‘mature’ at 20, a person who’s aged 45 may prefer to see themselves as just a standard undergraduate rather than identify as ‘mature’. It’s up to you, but if you’ve opened this guide, you probably regard yourself as a ‘mature undergraduate’ so hopefully you will find some useful information here.

Frequently asked questions Do employers prefer younger graduates? Will they even consider an application if they work out from my educational background or career history that (for example) I’m over 45? It’s illegal to discriminate on the grounds of age. Employers should not ask your age and you should not put it on your CV. However, graduate employers almost inevitably imagine graduates being young and use ‘youthful’ images in their publicity material, just because the majority of graduates are young (have a look around and you’ll see that this is true of most material relating to university students). Don’t let this put you off; focus on what you’ve got to offer and not on your age. Maturity can often work in your favour: You will probably have more paid work experience than younger

graduates (but remember to convert this experience to transferable skills; more about this later).

You will probably be much more career-ready, having experienced

the workplace (even if it was a while back) and understood how it operates e.g. the importance of being punctual; the necessity of sometimes doing humdrum tasks; the need to support colleagues; the importance of having a proactive, can-do attitude; knowledge of the world outside the school/university bubble. Employers like this.

In choosing to go to university later in life (rather than just as an

automatic step on from A levels and/or because your friends are doing it) you are demonstrating a number of attributes which employers value: a high level of self-motivation; adaptability and flexibility; determination and persistence; a willingness to change and be challenged; a thirst to learn new things and be proactive in self-development.

Information on

age discrimination

legislation and its

implications for

graduate

jobseekers:

http://goo.gl/BF3u9u

http://goo.gl/x7qufL

(ACAS guide to age

discrimination;

includes link to

booklet : Age and the

Workplace)

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Some graduate jobs specify that applicants must have 300 UCAS points (or similar) to be considered. What happens if I haven’t got any UCAS points because I came to university through a non-traditional route such an Access course/CACHE qualification/alternative entry? Some graduate employers specify that applicants must have minimum qualifications at Level 3 e.g. particular ‘A’ level grades or number of UCAS points, which would appear to rule out some mature students who don’t have Level 3 qualifications and/or the right UCAS points. It seems that this is used as a sifting-out device by employers faced with a large number of applications, rather than being based on any evidence that graduates with high Level 3 scores make better employees. Indeed, several of the big graduate recruiters have recently dropped this practice, as it tends to lead to a less diverse workforce. Others may follow. In the meantime, if you see a Level 3 requirement being specified then contact the employer directly before applying to discuss this; most are amenable to considering mature applicants without the required Level 3 qualifications but you need to alert them about your application before it is processed, otherwise you may end up being automatically sifted-out without the application being read.

How will employers view a disability (especially if it relates to mental ill-health)? It’s illegal to discriminate on the grounds of disability and you are not obliged to disclose disabilities at the time of application (although you might be invited to do so as part of equal opportunities monitoring; if you do this, this information should be returned separately to the HR department, not enclosed with your application). If you get invited for interview, you may need to disclose at that stage because you may need to tell the company in advance of the interview if you have special access needs, or require alternative formats for selection activity materials etc. If you are going to compete equally in the selection process, it is best to disclose at this point. You may also wish to use the interview to discuss your particular needs (when you are invited to ask questions). However, you are not obliged to do so. ‘Unseen’ disabilities (such as mental health issues) are a more difficult call because you will probably be able to undertake selection activities without a need to disclose but you may feel more comfortable being upfront about this if you have been shortlisted. Alternatively you can wait until you have been offered the role before disclosing; it is a personal decision for you.

Sources of careers information and advice for students with a disability: The law: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1859 EmployAbility: https://www.employ-ability.org.uk/ Evenbreak: http://www.evenbreak.co.uk/ Disability Rights UK: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/careers-and-work-disabled-people Change100: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/support-and-information/life-and-work-skills/employment-programmes/change100/students MyPlus: https://myplusstudentsclub.com/

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I haven’t worked since having a family; what can I put down for ‘experience’?

Having a family is work; you do not have to apologise for this! However, you do need to think creatively about the experience of being a carer and what transferable skills this has given you. For example: time management/multi-tasking/juggling multiple priorities and deadlines; communication and diplomacy; adaptability and flexibility; budgeting; project management.

Think also about what you have done outside the home. Have you perhaps been involved with a local parent & toddler group or activities at your children’s school? Have you taken the opportunity to earn some money through selling products at home to friends? Have you been involved in any projects in your local community? Taken an evening class? Learned a new language? If so, try to think about the skills, knowledge and aptitudes you have derived from these activities and work them into your application/CV.

Think about university; what experiences have you had here that have developed your skills? Maybe you’ve been a course rep, a Student Host or a Learning Champion? If so, revisit the job descriptions for the roles and identify the key skills conferred. If you’ve been involved in one of the LUU societies or any other extracurricular opportunities, consider what skills you have utilised which you could use in a job. Have you taken up a volunteering opportunity? If so, again reflect on the skills you have acquired through this (visit the University’s Volunteering Hub website to get ideas about the skills which different voluntary roles develop). Finally, there’s your university course – hopefully you’ve derived key skills from that! You certainly will have been required to demonstrate the ability to analyse information critically, high level communication skills (written and oral), time management skills and teamworking skills. Remember: experience does not have to be paid for you to have gained transferable skills from it.

I need to stay in the region for family reasons – how will this affect my chances of getting a graduate job? There are graduate opportunities in the region; it is a myth that all the jobs are in London. Visit the ‘Local Zone’ at the University Careers Fair to meet regional employers and: Check out the links on

the Careers Centre ‘Staying in Leeds’ web page.

Sign up with Yorkshire Graduates.

If you see an opportunity with a national employer which indicates that geographical mobility is required, contact them to discuss flexibility on this requirement. Some employers may consider that having a family and a home in Yorkshire means that you can be excepted from the need to be mobile and they may give you priority to be placed in the region.

I’ve got a long employment history; how do I reduce this and/or make it relevant without leaving gaps in the chronology? Where the employment was a long time ago and in similar roles/sectors, it is acceptable to shorten your CV by merging these into one entry. See the CV section below for more about this.

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Top tips: General careers advice

You do not necessarily have to look for a brand new job with your degree; you could look at applying for promotion with your current employer or moving to a new organisation in the same sector which offers graduate roles.

If you are looking to change your career, it is important to get relevant and recent experience of

your intended sector or role and not rely on your previous experiences. Get to know your ‘new’ career as well as possible; try work shadowing, insight days, paid internships or volunteering. Attend workshops and employer presentations in the Careers Centre. Visit Careers Fairs and engage with relevant companies. Get to know your preferred roles and/or sectors well; employers prize ‘commercial awareness’. Try to start doing this as early as you can; don’t leave it until your final year!

Networking is vital. It’s just a fancy word for meeting people, either in person or virtually, but it is really important. How can you network? Without leaving your desk, you can ‘meet’ people virtually via LinkedIn, which is the international networking site for professionals. Link to someone in a sector, follow a company, get tips about career trajectories, join an interest group. For more information about social media and careers see the University Careers Centre website. In the real world, explore insight days, internships and other work experience opportunities via the Careers Centre. These will provide ideal networking opportunities. Alternatively, volunteer in a role or organisation relevant to your career aspirations; check the Volunteering Hub at the University or, for opportunities further afield, search the national Do-It volunteering database. Use the Leeds Network to find out about Leeds alumni in the sector/role and make contact with them if you can (many invite current students to email them for advice). Again, start this as early as possible.

Information about using your degree to go for promotion in a current role or sector: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-get-promoted-at-work-2061687

https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/blog/5-habits-get-promoted-now/ https://www.learndirect.co.uk/improve-your-job-prospects/promotion/ http://www.quintcareers.com/getting_promoted_strategies.html

General advice about changing careers: https://jobs.theguardian.com/article/how-to-approach-a-career-change-and-secure-your-next-job/ https://www.cv-library.co.uk/career-advice/development/scared-changing-careers-heres-need/ https://www.jobsite.co.uk/worklife/career-change-50-24168/ https://www.careerconsultants.co.uk/change-of-career/

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Be realistic about what will work for you. If financial security is

vital for your family, look at a career that may pay less but offers a regular guaranteed income.

A degree alone is no longer enough to secure a job in the competitive graduate labour market. Your application needs to be enhanced with recent extracurricular experience and demonstrable transferable skills. Consider doing a skills audit to identify your key skills ; there is a useful template on the Careers Centre website.

Employers assume a good level of IT skills in graduates. You cannot duck this issue! If you haven’t upskilled, do so as soon as possible. As a minimum you should be able to use all basic Microsoft packages (Word, Outlook, Excel, Access, PowerPoint) and be conversant with the role of social media in the world of work (LinkedIn and Twitter particularly). Web authoring skills are also useful. The Lifelong Learning Centre provides optional IT workshops each year; contact us for details of our current programme. You could also look at taking a basic skills course such as the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) or ITQ (which includes CLAiT) which are available locally at adult education centres such as Leeds City College and Swarthmore. Search for courses from all providers at Floodlight.

Make sure you have the required GCSEs or equivalents for your chosen career. Having a degree does not override the need to meet any minimum criteria which employers or professional bodies may specify (e.g. for teaching). You should check this out at an early stage and make plans to take any GCSEs you need. If you do not already have Maths and English GCSE at grade C you will probably be able to study them at no charge at your local Further Education College e.g. Leeds City College, Wakefield College, Bradford College.

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Top tips: Job hunting

Think outside the standard ‘graduate trainee schemes’ with ‘big name’ ‘top’ employers. They tend to attract attention in the graduate job market but despite their high profile they are definitely not the only game in town, particularly in the region. Take a good look at SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) for opportunities. The big names have a higher profile because they tend to take more graduates all at once, whereas an SME may only take one or two.

Thinking about alternatives to the ‘big names’: https://bit.ly/2Je96b8 https://bit.ly/2LIQBtZ and https://bit.ly/2IXCaA5.

SMEs in Yorkshire and Humber provide 1.1m jobs (56% of total private sector employment) and 52% of private sector turnover (over £1bn).

Information about Internships and graduate opportunities with SMEs: http://www.step.org.uk/about-us/ .

Remember your graduate status; you can

and should apply for any job where you meet all the essential criteria in the person specification. Don’t read the salary and/or the grade and think ‘that’s punching above my weight’/’I can’t apply for that’. Read the person specification – do you meet it? If so, apply.

Be focused in your job search – don’t take a scattergun approach. Identify the roles which interest you for which you have the necessary attributes, skills and knowledge and target them.

Don’t be put off if a UCAS tariff or A level grades are specified; see above.

Be realistic about the geographical feasibility; if a long commute doesn’t fit with your caring responsibilities, restrict your job search appropriately.

Look out for these logos which indicate employers are ‘diversity friendly’:

Researching roles and sectors:

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/

https://targetjobs.co.uk/

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/

Kudos AD (formerly Adult Directions): https://www.cascaid.co.uk/login/ (contact the LLC for log-in details)

http://www.totalprofessions.com/home

Finding vacancies: http://www.llc.leeds.ac.uk/

about/alumni

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Don’t just have a list of previous jobs and lengthy details of all the duties you did; focus on the key transferable skills you can offer to a new employers that are relevant to the role for which you are applying.

Do not leave any gaps in your timeline, even if you have had time out for caring responsibilities, ill-health or unemployment. Employers will be suspicious that you are trying to hide something. You need to write them in, for example:

April 1985 - January 1996: Time out of paid work for caring responsibilities December 1999 - October 2001: Time out of paid work due to ill-health July 2003 - November 2003: Job-seeking

However, you should think carefully about what you did during this period which could be added to this to give it a ‘positive spin’. It doesn’t have to be paid work. If you look back, you will have been doing something that could be conveyed to reflect positively on you. To re-work the above examples:

April 1985 - January 1996: Time out of paid work for caring responsibilities. During this time I volunteered as a literacy helper at my local primary school and joined its parent-teacher association where I was responsible for planning fund-raising activities including the annual summer fete. I also passed my driving test in this period and qualified as a paediatric first-aider with the Red Cross.

December 1999 - October 2001: Time out of paid work due to ill-health. During this time I volunteered on the national charity helpline supporting others in similar situations and took the lead in establishing a local branch of the charity. I also learned conversational Spanish through CDs borrowed from the local library.

July 2003 - November 2003: Job-seeking. During this time I brought my IT skills up-to-date by studying for the ECDL at evening classes. I also volunteered with three different projects supporting children and young people at my local community centre.

Top tips: CVs

Leave out your date of birth and any references to your age. Give equivalents of any ‘non-standard’ qualifications you have

and relate them specifically to qualifications that employers will recognise such as GCSEs and ‘A’ levels (don’t make the employer try to work this out). There’s a useful qualifications comparison chart on the Lifepilot website: http://bit.ly/1e7ZM5x If you have overseas qualifications, check your NARIC assessment to see how they map on to UK qualifications. If you don’t have a NARIC assessment, you may find it useful to get one: https://www.naric.org.uk/naric/.

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If you have a section about your voluntary activities, remember that volunteering doesn’t have to be done via an ‘official’ scheme; if you’ve been involved in your local community informally, this is still volunteering and can be added to your CV as evidence of transferable skills such as communication, team-working and leadership.

To save space, condense multiple, lower level jobs in

similar roles/sectors a long time ago into one entry. For example:

January 1990 – November 2003: Various customer service roles in the retail sector September 2007 – May 2008: Series of temporary office administration jobs

Spelling, punctuation and grammar must be perfect (you

are a graduate!). Have a ‘master’ CV which contains full details of all your

education, training and employment (it could be quite long). Keep this as it is permanently and cut and paste selectively from it into applications. You can also edit this master copy down to two pages for use when applying for specific jobs (save as a new document each time).

Get help with your CV; a fresh pair of eyes can work

wonders! The Careers Centre offers bookable appointments via MyCareer and a drop-in service (1-4pm each weekday during term-time), or you can book an appointment with the careers adviser at the Lifelong Learning Centre.

Read the guides to writing CVs on the University Careers

Centre website .

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Top tips: Job applications

Do not use a one-size-fits-all approach; each application should be tailored to the specific role for which you are applying. Target your applications.

Keep the information in an application relevant to the role for which you are applying. You may need to ‘downgrade’ or completely ‘let go’ of chunks of your work experience if you cannot make it relate to the person specification you are required to meet, particularly if you are changing careers. This can be hard, especially if something took up a large part of your life, or it was a project of which you are especially proud, but if it’s not directly relevant, or you cannot ‘spin’ the skills you used or developed to apply to the new role, you are wasting valuable space on your application and the employer’s time in reading about it.

Address the person specification in detail, in the order it which it is given in the job particulars, giving key examples (from university, work or voluntary experience) of how you can demonstrate you meet each and every essential requirement of the specification.

Avoid cheesy generalisations such as ‘I consider myself to be an excellent team player’. Give evidence of your attributes, skills and knowledge.

‘Sell’ being a mature student as evidence of a range of transferable skills: self-motivation; willingness to change and learn; capacity for rising to a challenge; adaptability and flexibility; resilience; ability to multi-task and prioritise (especially if you have other responsibilities). Reflect on your time at university; how have you developed and what have you learned?

Don’t undervalue yourself; sell all your good points, including your life experiences.

Being an older jobseeker: The good news: https://ind.pn/2kuk6Dr Tips on applying for jobs as an older graduate: https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/equality-and-diversity/320133-age-diversity-matters Careers advice and information about diversity-friendly employers: http://www.diversitygroup.co.uk/advice-support/age/ The Age Employment Network (TAEN): https://www.shaw-trust.org.uk/Services/Fifty-Plus Includes link to booklet A Guide for Older Jobseekers Combining caring and careers/returning to work: http://www.beyondtheschoolrun.com/ http://2to3days.com/ Job agency involving employers who promote diversity in recruit-ment: http://www.diversityjobs.co.uk/

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Careers prospects for mature graduates

Here’s the good news:

Graduates usually earn more than non-graduates : £21,176 was the average starting salary for 2016 graduates in full-time employment in the UK [source: HECSU What Do Graduates Do? 2017-2018].

In 2017 the average working age graduate earned £10K more per year than the average non-graduate [source: DfE Graduate Labour Market Statistics April 2018].

Mature graduates earn, on average, over £4,000 a year more than those graduating aged under 25. Older graduates typically start work earning c£24,000 [source: Pearson College research report 2016].

87.3% of 2016 working age graduates in England were in employment (compared with 70.4% of non-graduates), with only 5.3% unemployed [source: HESA Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education 2015-2016].

Full-time employed, working age graduates are more likely to work in ‘high skill’ jobs: 71.4% of employed 2016 graduates were in professional-level positions [source: HECSU Graduate Market Trends Autumn 2017].

77% of mature 2016 graduates were in highly skilled employment or further study compared with 73% of young graduates [source: HEFCE Differences in student outcomes 2018].

79.8% of 2016 University of Leeds graduates were in professional, graduate-level employment [source: HESA Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education 2015-2016].

In 2016 440,000 new professional-level jobs were added in the UK [source: Office of National Statistics Annual Population Survey].

Of 2016 graduates, 3,445 started their careers in Leeds [source: HECSU Graduate Market Trends Autumn 2017].

However: There are still unfilled graduate vacancies, as employers find that

graduates lack the skills they are looking for. Employers will not take the risk of just employing any graduate to fill a position if they don’t meet their requirements.

A quarter of jobs at the ‘top’ graduate recruiters are filled by those who have already worked for the company (e.g. through an internship, Year in Industry etc).

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Regional graduates

Many mature graduates are ‘loyals’ - they study and work in the same region in which they grew up. Of 2016 graduates in Yorkshire & the Humber, 45.9% were ‘loyals’, so not all graduates ’go to London’ to work after their degree! ‘Loyals’ are most likely to be professionals employed in health, education, legal, social or welfare roles. [source: Graduate Market Trends Autumn 2017].

A final word… It is inevitable that to a greater or lesser extent, we compare ourselves with others, it is human nature. The danger is that as mature students we, (I was one) limit the comparison with our fellow students to that which has been common over the last few years i.e. degree subject performance. This, coupled with the fact that mature students can view things from a position of ’imagine what I could have done with this knowledge if I were 20 something, 5, 10, 15, 20 years younger…’ means that you are on the back foot before you even start looking for a job. The truth is you bring far more to the table that might not immediately feel relevant but is of value to any employer. These attributes might not be exclusive to mature students but they are certainly significant. Think of the resilience you have developed as you have matured, the people skills you have gained, how your leadership skills have been honed through leading others in many different situations, not to mention the robustness of your sense of humour, developed, tried and tested as a result of your employment history, (or indeed parenthood!). The list of attributes is as long as a mature student’s experience is wide. Good employers are on the look-out for good staff; don’t be afraid to highlight your skills set, carefully link what you have with what they need and they will be interested. Local graduate employer

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The employer perspective

The UK graduate pool is pretty large, so some reflection on what skills/knowledge/

behaviours you can bring to a role based on previous life experiences is an important step

towards standing out from the crowd. ‘Digital natives’ may know all the latest technologies

and buzz words, but face to face communication skills, workplace experience and basic

professionalism are at a premium these days. To use a football analogy: the other players

may be quicker to the ball, so you need to use your experience of the game to position

yourself in the most effective way.

Manager, FDM Group

As a major employer of graduates, career changers, and experienced professionals,

we welcome individuals from all backgrounds. We value the difference experiences

each person can bring to our organisation and into their work at PwC.

Hollie Crompton

North Student Recruitment Manager

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Over one-third of Teach First’s 2018 cohort are Career Changers and this is growing year-on-year. We believe that the wider life experience and time in other sectors of these participants is crucial to fulfilling Teach First’s vision of ending educational inequality. The support on our programme is expertly tailored to those from a more mature background, meaning you too can make a difference to each child and each future.

Graduate Recruitment Officer Teach First

In all honesty, there’s nothing set in stone as to what an Enterprise graduate

should or shouldn’t look like. However, there are several key traits we look for in all

our management trainees. To join our graduate programme, you’ll have to be

comfortable balancing business-minded entrepreneurialism with the empathy and

care needed to understand and meet each and every customer’s requirements.

Because if you are motivated by identifying and engaging with customers’ needs

and can deliver new and creative approaches to attracting business, then you

could be a roaring success here.

Emma Grant

Talent Acquisition Manager—Yorkshire, the North East and Cumbria

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

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Whilst the University endeavours to ensure that the information contained in this

guide is accurate at the date of publication, it does not accept liability for any

inaccuracies. Where matters arise outside of the reasonable control of the

University it reserves the right to change or cancel its courses or services at any

time without liability even after students have registered at the University. The

University's contract with its students does not confer third party benefits for the

purposes of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

Copyright © The University of Leeds 2018. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden

without the permission of the publishers.

Lifelong Learning Centre

Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building

University of Leeds

Leeds, LS2 9JT

T: 0113 343 3212

E: lifelonglearning@leeds.ac.uk

Acknowledgments

With grateful thanks to:

Mature students at the University of Leeds who read and commented critically on early drafts of this guide:

Ged Crefin, Margaret Hawkins, Emma Herbert-Davies, Nicky Knightley, Adam Metcalf, Chris Pritchard, Gareth Sewell, Alison Webster-Rudge, Nicole Wong.

Colleagues at the University of Leeds Careers Centre for their help with information sources and proof-reading: Steve Carter, Janet Hindle.

The graduate employers who kindly agreed to be quoted in the guide.

If you are reading a paper version of this guide and would like an electronic version, please

email a request to lifelonglearning@leeds.ac.uk