Employability current students

UEL Students Volunteering Week

Monday 20^th February to Thursday 23^rd February 2012 - Find out more

Upcoming work opportunities in the Strategic Analysis Group at Dstl.

The campaigns will go live from Feb 13th and run until Feb 27th. We are looking for talented undergraduates with an interest in pursuing a career in research that has a genuine impact on government policy and practice. For more information they can visit th Dstl website or contact: Dr Andrew Gee

What next?

If you’ve just completed your degree or are starting to consider your future after university, it’s important that you start thinking about how you present the skills and knowledge you have gained during your study to future employers or other interested parties. It’s unlikely that many employers will want you to outline the differences between Marxist and Weberian approaches to social change! However, they will be very interested in the fact that you can research and evaluate complex information and then summarise it, either verbally or in written form. And, this is exactly what you have been doing for the past three years, researching, analyzing and presenting competing arguments through a range of media; individual and group presentations, essays, reports and research projects.

This is an example of a transferable skill that is extremely attractive to organisations who recruit graduates. Other valuable competencies and skills that you will have developed while at UEL might include;

Communication – either working on your own or collaboratively, you have been asked to demonstrate your verbal, written and IT skills by communicating ideas, views and evidence to a range of different audiences

Teamwork – an ability to work constructively with people from a range of backgrounds is highly prized by employers. You can demonstrate these skills - being an effective listener, evaluating other people’s views and working on different aspects of a research project - by pointing to the group work you have undertaken in various settings (lectures, seminars, fieldwork) at UEL.

In working as part of a team, you may also have shown leadership skills, being able to motivate and encourage others, setting targets and allocating roles so that everyone can contribute effectively to the overall project.

Commitment / initiative / adaptability – sometimes it’s not easy balancing the demands of work, family, friends and study. The fact that you were able to motivate yourself over three years, adapt to changing situations and use your initiative to complete individual assessments (even those you may have find quite dull!) is worth emphasising. It shows to employers that you can overcome challenges and balance competing demands, which are valuable skills in a busy work environment.

Studying sociology develops your understanding of how society is organised and how people make sense of the world. This type of knowledge can be useful in developing your inter-personal skills, that is, how you relate to and establish excellent working relations with others. It may also be important in improving your own self-awareness, which is an ability recognise your own strengths and skills (as well as weaknesses!) and to articulate them in a confident manner.

Studying sociology and innovation studies also requires excellent numeracy and IT skills. As well as using common ‘office’ software packages, you may also have had the chance to sharpen your IT skills on a range of specialist programmes. In these cases, you can demonstrate your ability to adapt to new technology and also evaluate it’s usefulness in a given situation.

More specialist skills that our graduates often develop through their studies are:

Studying the complexity of diverse social situations and exploring possible policy solutions
Using knowledge of social theory and innovation theories to make sense of processes of change in social organisations; including schools, shops, hospitals and offices. This process of change almost always involves ICT and technological innovation.
Developing understanding of a range of research methods, analysis and statistical techniques and when / where to apply them
Formulating opinions and arguments concerning important social issues including; the economy, work, gender, race, social inequalities, social norms, the social environment, organisations, religion, class, relationships and health.
Understanding the ethical implications of particular approaches or an application of technology, and how they may impact on different groups within society .

In writing your CV and applications, you need to consider both the skills developed on your course as well as through other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. These can be then be used to evidence your skills and personal attributes, identify any problem areas, improve your overall profile and target appropriate organisations / positions.

What do our graduates do?

Sociology and Innovation Studies graduates often pursue careers in the following areas;

Education Medical and health services

Market/social research Criminal justice

Social Care/Work Human resources

Charities/voluntary sector Marketing/advertising

Government/civil service Broadcast media

Youth services Retail sector

Consultancy Information Technology

See also; British Sociological Association website

www.britsoc.co.uk/WhatIsSociology/what+do+sociologists+do.htm

www.britsoc.co.uk/WhatIsSociology/opportunities+for+sociologists.htm

The UEL Employability Team

The UEL Employability Team offers a range of services and initiatives at Stratford and Docklands to help undergraduate and post graduate students develop the key employability skills that employers seek in today's competitive market. We work with employers across the sectors to offer programmes that are employer endorsed and student focused.

The team can offer you advice and information on the following; CV, writing applications, job searches, internships, volunteering.

Find advice on CVs, applications, interview techniques online through Prospects