Strengthening applicant engagement - Careers and Employability

Integrating new applicants into the wider university community is a key step in ensuring this cohort successfully transition and progress onto the next phase. Connecting communities of applicants with other parts of the university will strengthen the connection they have with the university. For busy recruitment and admissions teams it can also reduce the burden by supporting cross team collaboration and better resource pooling.

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Engagement with careers is a great starting point as so much mutual value in bringing recruitment staff together with careers and employability. For prospective students too, there is significant value as;

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Applicants who connect with careers and employment services prior to  commencement make more informed choices and have higher conversion as a result.

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Applicants who understand career pathways have a more positive student    experience and are more likely to be positive advocates for future students as the enquiry stage.

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As part of our commitment to maximise longer term value for all our partners institutions we actively look for opportunities to enable careers and employment services to engage with applicant communities. At the University of Staffordshire We recently supported the Careers and Employability team at Staffordshire host a series of ‘live chat’ events with communities of applicants and International offer holders via Staffs CampusConnect.

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The event  was supported by current students (ambassadors) and members of the careers team. Questions focused on graduate outcomes, interview technique, placement opportunities and part-time job options, as well as subject specific queries.

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Sample questions from students:

• When looking for a job, what 20% of crucial stuff should I focus on to maximize my opportunity?
• What are the career opportunities after completing my course? (i will be studying msc Accounting and Finance)
• What support do you provide after leaving uni in terms of connecting to the job market?
• Which is the best way to get a sponsored job for an international student ? Can you suggest any website or any method ?
• How does the university careers’s team assist in terms of searching for placement opportunities as well as jobs on graduation ?
• What are the career opportunities after completing my course ?
• Do Staffordshire University have campus placements for Aeronautical Graduates?
• Are there any part time job opportunities for international students , and how much can they earn from it per month to meet living expenses?