3 Things you must know before heading off to University

With rising tuition prices topping £9,000 the burden resting on prospective university students means that many are opting to go straight into work or pursue other interests such as travelling before they take the plunge into a university degree. A university degree is becoming more and more crucial as employees look to find the sharpest tool in the tool box therefore the £9,000 spent on the process should be used wisely. 

Having now finished my four year degree in International Hospitality & Tourism Management and successfully landing a job for the future I can tell you what it is like and have come up with three things you should remember if you take the plunge to go to University.

University is about being professional – Your college days are behind you. Just because you have fewer lectures than your college years, doesn’t mean less work. With £9,000 resting on your success, the time for you to be professional is now. Liaising with lecturers, getting into the inner circle, attending networking events, is only going help you to become a more professional person.

Experience, Experience, Experience – I cannot stress this enough; University is no longer about being good at academia. Some employers are looking way beyond your degree and now at how much work you have done or achieved. Experience counts for a lot in business today, the more experience you can secure the better all round candidate you can become and make yourself more attractive to individuals. 

Networking – Again this is a must and some times under-utilised in University today. During the recession networking was a crucial part of graduate’s process to securing a job. No matter who you are, your interests and your ambitions someone in the world will be sharing that same passion, all you have to do is utilise these networks effectively. Outlined are some good examples of networking sites or events that you can join to make your networks bigger.

Finished university and planning on going into the world of work? I would like to hear from you. Leave a comment and I will respond to your message as soon as possible. 

Is your CV headed for the graveyard?

In light of new technologies and on-line recruitment sites, could your CV be becoming more and more obsolete? Social experts are predicting that whilst your CV is good explaining your credentials and relevant work experience, on-line tools which express your CV in so many more ways than just 2 sides of A4 ever did are becoming increasingly popular.

Whilst these new ways of expressing yourself are a new avenue for career building they should be treated with caution. With a rising older population resulting in less technical savvy individuals, some people still demand a written CV, but these new avenues outlined below allow you to stand out from the crowd.

Video CV’s – Graham Anthony’s Interactive CV landed him a high profile job at a leading PR agency. In his video he explained his CV in depth in rich detail. Converted it to a YouTube video and the viral marketing campaign began attracting 95,000 YouTube hits. It became a viral success and has been hinted as the   video that changed the original CV.

  

Infographical – Infographics has taken off in recent years, displaying information in a visual form allows the reader to gauge a lot more about who you are and makes you to stand out from the crowd.

Social Networking CV – With advancements in social networking, more and more employers are looking on Social Networking sites to find out who you say you really are.

Personal Website – Creating your own personal website has been relatively easy in recent years, with so many free web based and freeware available creating your unique domain and web page has been easy as a couple of clicks.

Whilst these avenues have been highlighted as beneficial to stand out from the crowd you should be careful. What you think is a good expression of yourself could be treated negatively by your future employer. In most cases a written A4 CV is sufficient enough to be included in your application. Likewise in many cases many high profile companies have written application forms offering little room innovation and expressionism.