Case studies: Careers consultant: Amanda

Keep your options open, Amanda advises, as careers work is open to graduates from a wide range of backgrounds...

Upon graduating with a BA (Hons) Journalism and Spanish I had a summer job lined up, teaching English at a language school in Devon for six weeks. I had no idea what I wanted to do next, so applied for many jobs across different sectors.

After a brief stint at a luxury tour operator, I found a job with an educational charity. My role was to support students in finding and securing industry placements, whilst also working closely with employers.

I decided to move to London, where I began working for a market intelligence organisation, advising and providing support to clients all over the world. I was looking for an opportunity to transfer back into an education setting, and a year later I applied for my current position as a careers consultant.

My degree was not directly relevant to my current role. However, both elements of my course (journalism and languages) involved assimilating skills, such as communication, building relationships and problem-solving, that I think have been of great value to my current work. Also, internships such as working for a local paper and studying abroad in Spain and Cuba (both undertaken due to my degree) have helped me gain a breadth of experience which has been hugely beneficial to my current role.

I don't have a typical day and that's one of the things I enjoy. One day I might have a two-hour block of 15-minute individual guidance sessions, followed by an internships workshop for a specific department, then I might check an employer's presentation for a skills session we're running the next day. When I’m at my desk, I'll reply to emails from students and academic staff and employers, or write an article for my careers blog. The next day, I might have a meeting with academic staff to plan a series of events for their department, or during the quieter summer months I might visit employers to keep my labour market information up to date. It's important to be aware of recent developments in the marketplace so I regularly read the news and careers/jobs sites.

I'm responsible for the work the careers service does with specific departments, so I'm given the freedom to devise my own programme of events and careers and employability provision. If something's not working, or if students aren't engaging, I can take the initiative to try something new and experiment. I have central duties and am on the rota for 1:1s and workshops, but otherwise I am very much in control of my workload.

I also work half a day at a neighbouring institution as the only member of their careers service, so I have had the opportunity to develop a new careers programme in conjunction with the alumni office and Students' Union. I also participate in a diverse range of projects such as devising a new marketing campaign for the service. Therefore my role is constantly developing and evolving.

The best part of my job has to be interacting with such a wide range of people. Whether students, employers, academics, alumni or other careers professionals, the job is about building relationships and I really enjoy that constant communication with others. Plus there's a real sense of satisfaction when someone responds positively to the advice, guidance or information you've given them, and actively uses it to move forward. I also love the variety - the careers landscape keeps changing and there's always more to learn, so there's not much chance to get bored. It is busy and there's always more you can do, which motivates me to keep striving for the best results.

What can be challenging, particularly when finding your feet in the job, is that there isn't a right or wrong way of doing things. I've certainly picked up elements of best practice from my colleagues, but still there will always be an element of trial and error, which is essential in keeping things evolving. While the job is pretty fast-paced, things can move slowly in HE institutions. For example, encouraging an under-engaged department to take real notice of employability and integrate it into their activities won't happen overnight. So you need patience and diplomacy, when it can be frustrating.

My advice to others would be not to narrow down your options too much - my organisation takes on new employees from a huge range of backgrounds and experiences and it's this diversity that makes it work so well. Opportunities where you're working with a diverse client group, and anything that involves giving information, advice and/or guidance are helpful. Also, don't worry if you don't necessarily know about lots of different careers. I found this very daunting at first, but there's no way anyone could know enough about every career option, and part of the whole guidance process is helping clients to figure it out for themselves. 

AGCAS

Sourced by AGCAS editors

Date: 

March 2013

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