Getting career-ready: my experience with the Career and Employability Services
Bradford Life Blog
Entering into your chosen career after university can be daunting. Maleehah shares some tips and advice for getting yourself career-ready by utilising the Career and Employability Services.
Hi, I’m Maleehah and I'm a third-year student studying LLB (Hons) Law. I'm currently on placement at the Government Legal Department and I'd like to share my advice and tips for active career-planning utilising the Careers and Employability Services at Bradford.
Why did I choose to use the Career and Employability Services?
Growing up, I did not receive any career support in basic things like writing a CV or a cover letter, and my school never taught me how to draft either of them. Because of this, I decided to use Bradford's Career and Employability Services to give me significant help in my applications. I was looking for advice on how to build my volunteering experience, how to get a part-time job and improve my general employability portfolio.
Before I began studying at Bradford, I attended an Experience Day where I met a Student Ambassador. She emphasised making use of the Career and Employability Services - especially for application and interview advice.
How did they help me?
In my first year, the Career and Employability Services helped me to format and clean up my CV to bring it up to a professional standard. They helped me build a foundation and structure my CV so I could add my education, volunteering and extracurricular activities. In addition to this, I received constructive feedback from a colleague and they told me to show off my transferrable skills in my applications.
From this advice, I managed to secure a role as a Student Ambassador, win two elections in the Students' Union and get a part-time job on campus for a year. I also secured a summer internship with a law firm in private practice.
I took the opportunities available to me and booked several sessions with Alex, a Careers Consultant, who supported me in interview practice. We discussed interview-style questions and answers, and he gave me some tips on ways to tackle difficult questions. This was a great help for my litigation role interview at the Government Legal Department where I'm currently doing my placement. I appreciate Alex's support in helping me ace my placement interview - I really can’t thank the Career and Employability Services enough!
An easy-to-use service
If you're dedicated to securing a graduate role, a part-time job, or a placement, I would recommend that new students utilise the services that Bradford's Careers and Employability Services offer. It is best to be active in your career planning from the moment you step on campus. Your soft skills, volunteering experience and placement experience will help you stand out from the crowd. If you're nervous about your skills, Career Consultants are good at giving support in applications and interviews.
Other services/tools
The Career and Employability Services can give you the tools you need to launch a successful career but you need to put these skills into practice. Outside of the service, I have made good connections with my solicitor mentors and my previous work boss, Dan, from the Students' Union.
My colleagues on my placement have been instrumental in my professional development and I will be forever grateful for the support and encouragement they have given me. These people have been pivotal in my legal career.
Zainab, a Solicitor, whom I met on LinkedIn and had online calls with, has helped me with my applications for the past two and a half years. Zainab inspires me with her story of her legal career and being from a South Asian background. I can resonate with her in so many areas of life.
Recently, I was paired up with Hajra as a Mentee through the Association of Muslim Lawyers. She has helped me in navigating law firm research and finding the right firms which has been useful in my job search.
Networking
Not to sound egotistic but my biggest appraisal has to be to myself for being proactive on LinkedIn and messaging professionals for career advice and support. Many people on LinkedIn have offered to be mentors and even offered experience at their firms. If I had not created a LinkedIn profile, I would not have secured the positions I have taken up in the past few years.
Building a professional profile in the public domain has helped me gain opportunities in career planning. I thank myself for being brave, willing to learn and for sharing my career insights. I think it's easy to forget when we get into the midst of our careers but we need to give credit to ourselves for being proactive in career-planning.
Do you want to begin discussing your future career prospects? Discover the wide range of resources, appointments and events the Career and Employability Services has to offer.