First Year at University | Second Year at University | University Final Year | Postgraduate Information | Combining Work and Study at University

Second Year at University

1. Broaden your work experience
Identify companies for your placement year and research vacation placements and mentoring schemes. You can do this by:

Visiting your careers service to look at the work experience/placement opportunities or looking at the GRB online vacancy database.
Picking up vacation and placement opportunities magazines from the careers service.
Contact local community and voluntary organisations to get yourself involved in a number of voluntary projects.
Go online to search webpages which include useful links to work experience, work placement and voluntary opportunities.
Attend any work experience fairs and work experience fairs, which take place on campus.

2. Develop your personal skills
Develop your key skills including:

teamworking
communication
time management
organisational

You will need to include evidence of all of these skills (and others) in your final year applications.

These skills can be developed by:

participating in clubs, societies or with the Students' Union, through work experience, part-time work and voluntary work.
participating in accreditation programmes such as InsightPlus.

Tip: Don't forget that participation in group work, seminars and tutorials will also help build on these skills.

3. Develop your IT skills
Continue to use your email account and the Internet and develop your skills in Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint and Web design.

4. Investigate the alternative options open to you after your course
These include the following:

postgraduate study
self-employment
taking a year out
working abroad

Identify possible industries and employers with opportunities in your chosen career. You can do this by:

Visiting the careers service and using the resources in the careers library.
Visiting our website to find out more about employers and vacancies.

Tip: Make sure you can meet their requirements and note their closing dates - some are at the start of your final year.

6. Understand yourself
Think about and write down your strengths and weaknesses. Think about the implications of your strengths for your career choice and work on your weaknesses.

7. Consider module choices for your final year
Consider how your final year modules may relate to your career interests. If in doubt, check with your personal tutor or seek advice from a careers adviser.

8. Work hard!
Try to obtain the best grades you can. Many employers require graduates to have obtained at least a 2:2 or a 2:1 degree.

9. Create/update your CV
Update your CV and include the skills and experience you are gaining.

10. Attend departmental careers service talks
These talks are given by careers advisers and are normally held in departments in the Spring and Summer terms. Please check with your department for details.

11. Look out for careers related events aimed at penultimate year undergraduates
These can be normally be found on the careers service website and/or on bulletin boards.

12. Visit the student and graduate fairs
Student and graduate fairs are held on campus in is a good opportunity to find out about possible careers and to network with employers.

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