Case studies : Careers consultant: Anna

Anna completed BA Applied Communication at Newcastle University in 2006 and then at Manchester Metropolitan University undertook a PGDip in Careers Guidance, graduating in 2009.

After obtaining the PGDip in Careers Guidance I went on to gain NVQ Level 4 in Advice and Guidance whilst working. I now work as a careers consultant at the University of Salford.

I knew before I started the PGDip that I wanted to work in higher education (HE) but was told that it is really difficult to break into. I knew I’d need some work experience so I worked at the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver organising their careers fair during my undergraduate studies and volunteered at ChildLine during my postgraduate studies to help and improve my counselling skills.

I applied for a non-related careers job at the University of Salford and got an interview but was not successful. Fortunately, the interviewer asked if I would like to work in the careers department on a casual contract to gain some experience and exposure to HE, which was a very lucky break for me. Six months later a trainee careers consultant post was advertised, I applied and was successful.

My first degree wasn’t directly relevant but the experience I gained from work placements at that time enabled me to secure the job in Vancouver. The PGDip was directly relevant and was an essential criterion when applying for the trainee careers consultant post.

The best thing about my day is that they are very rarely the same, especially when the students are back. The average day includes one-to-one sessions with students, workshop preparation or delivery, and email correspondence, such as answering career-related enquiries and e-guidance. I also research new learning technologies and attend some meetings on new projects that the careers and employability department is working on. We do a lot of cross-team working so our roles are not always set in stone and you might be helping to run an event one day or delivering careers advice to prospective students.

My role is constantly developing and I deliver an increasing number of career-related sessions in different schools throughout the university and try to build up links. Also, I am getting more involved with other projects that careers and employability are running, which is a great way of learning new topics and gaining more skills.

My favourite aspects of the job are the students and their stories, the team I work in, the variety of settings and the autonomy I have in developing and researching new ideas.

Learning to say no is a challenging part of the job. Sometimes there is so much to do and so many students needing appointments that there are just not enough hours in the day to get everything done, being able to prioritise my workload is definitely something I am still learning to manage. Braving big groups of students is also a hurdle I am still trying to jump, it is very hard to give a lecture-style presentation to big groups of students when you are used to running interactive sessions for smaller groups. Sometimes there is a sea of blank faces, which can be very off-putting.

The variety of the job and the students, combined with the knowledge you gain about different industries, make this sector really interesting to work in.

I would recommend building a portfolio of experience and skills relevant for HE. Sending speculative CVs to heads of careers may also work well. Ultimately, being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference.