Closing the SussexPlus Blog

We have decided to combine the two Careers and Employability Centre blogs so information about SussexPlus can now be found at C Views and this blog will no longer be updated. We have all the posts from here archived there so nothing will be lost.

We hope that you’ll enjoy reading about SussexPlus at its new blogging home; see you there.

Events for Finalists

Over the next few weeks we are running dozens of events for finalists and graduands. These include a CVs & Applications Briefing, a session on Local Job Hunting and one on Job Search for International Students. A full list can be found on our events listing.

These events will be really useful to add to your webfolio so do come along. Although they’re aimed at finalists, all students are welcome.

Employers’ Top Tip: Personal Statements

A good personal statement is really important to make you stand out from the crowd. Students that can provide evidence of their skills and experience and how they would contribute to a work place are much more likely to be considered.

This is exactly what SussexPlus aims to help YOU to do!

You can find the SussexPlus Webfolio Checklist in your SussexPlus account – just click on Create New > More > Form and select the SussexPlus checklist to check whether you’re on the right track…

Any questions, just email sussexplus@sussex.ac.uk or see www.sussex.ac.uk/sussexplus

Thanks for your Webfolio submissions!

Hope you’re having a great Summer Term so far!

It’s been great to see even more Webfolios coming in this term – they all look great! Remember - if you feel that you’re nearly there, but want an extra bit of help, don’t miss our last three drop-in sessions tomorrow from 11am-12pm, Wednesday 26th May 1-3pm or Tuesday 2nd June 11am-12pm.

If you can’t make any of these sessions, but would like to chat to a Careers Adviser about SussexPlus, book a one-to-one session by calling 01273 678429 from 10am.

Remember, you can also check out our help sheets covering Getting Started with SussexPlus, Technical Basics and How to claim your SussexPlus certificate.

More questions? Email the SussexPlus Team at sussexplus@sussex.ac.uk

Going to study or work abroad? Use SussexPlus to record and reflect on your experiences…

Hi!

I’m Jane Wilders, a Careers Adviser at the Careers and Employability Centre. You might have met me recently at the briefing session for second year students going abroad next year, where I introduced SussexPlus and spoke to you about how you can use the skills and experiences that you gain from your year abroad to shape your career path.

It’s easy to underestimate the value of your experiences during your year abroad, but remember: not only are you improving your language skills, you’re also developing a deep cultural awareness and understanding, as well as a wealth of other skills that will be valued by future employers such as decison making, problem solving, team work and resourcefulness.  

Using SussexPlus is a fantastic way to document your development of these skills and create a resource that you can use when applying for jobs in the future. For some ideas to help you get started, have a look the Personal Profile for Year Abroad Students which you can download here or access via the Year Abroad gateway inside the SussexPlus system. This will help you to identify the skills you will be developing during your year abroad and record examples of where you have developed these skills. You can then use these reflections when you start to build your webfolio.

Remember, for help getting started with SussexPlus, you can view our lastest handouts which can be downloaded directly from the blog.

If your want more help with this, or anything related to how you can improve your employability skills during your time abroad, contact me by commenting on the blog or e-mail me at jw258@sussex.ac.uk

For general SussexPlus enquiries, email sussexplus@sussex.ac.uk

New Webfolio Submission Deadline

We’ve had some fantastic student webfolios submitted so far, but we’ve been hearing from a lot of students who’d like just a bit more time to work on theirs – that’s why we’ve extended the webfolio submission deadline to:

Friday 21st May 2010

Remember, if you feel like you need a bit more help with your webfolio, we’re running weekly drop in sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Arts C169. Sign up at our Events Listing.

If you’ve got any questions about SussexPlus, visit our website or email the SussexPlus team on sussexplus@sussex.ac.uk

Steps to a Successful Webfolio: Identify & Evidence Your Skills

If you’re not sure whether your webfolio is ready to send to the Careers & Employability Centre, or you’ve sent it already and been asked to resubmit, follow our ‘Steps to a Successful Webfolio’ to help you produce a webfolio to be proud of and claim your SussexPlus certificate!

STEP 1 – IDENTIFY & RECORD EVIDENCE OF YOUR SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

In order to claim  your SussexPlus certificate, we’re asking you to identify and record evidence of the skills, knowledge & experience you have gathered during your time at the University of Sussex in three main areas:

• Academic Experience
• Work Experience
• Extra-Curricular Experience

So, what’s the best way to do this?  A great starting point for your Academic Experience is your subject’s Skillcloud. You can view your Skillcloud by logging into SussexDirect and selecting ‘Skillclouds’ from the drop-down menu on the ‘study’ tab. This will present you with a list of all the skills you should be developing during the course of your degree programme, where you have practised this skill and how to demonstrate this skill on a CV (or in a webfolio). You’ll also find a helpful list of key words you can use to describe this skill effectively.

This is a great way to use real-life examples from your degree programme as evidence of your skills, knowledge and experience.

In terms of your  work experience and extra-curricular activities, try making a list of everything you’ve done and thinking about which skills you developed along the way. If you’re involved in team sports for example, this is often a fantastic way of building teamworking and leadership skills. It also shows great self-motivation and dedication. All of these are skills that employers will value.

You can present your evidence in any way you like – create headings for each skill or for each activity you’ve undertaken. As long as your evidence is presented clearly and in suitable English, you can be as creative as you want to! An important point to remember is that you can create as many webfolios as you like, depending on what you want to use them for.

If you’re still feeling a bit stuck when it comes to identifying your skills, that’s what the Careers & Employability Centre is here for! Book an appointment to chat to one of our Careers Advisers by giving us a ring on 01273 678429 from 10am on the day you’d like to come in. Alternatively, you can email the SussexPlus team on sussexplus@sussex.ac.uk or come along to one of our drop-in sessions on campus during the Summer Term.