Your Careers, Employability & Enterprise Team are continuing to support your career development, job hunting and enterprise activities by providing a range of services remotely. Below are a selection of some of the questions the team are being asked by students:

I know that it may be challenging to find a graduate job over the next few months – what should I be doing?
The current situation is challenging for job seekers – but there are some things you can do to improve your chances of success.  First, use this time to effectively market yourself online: create a strong LinkedIn profile (read our blog piece here) , connect with people from organisations you would like to work for (particularly those involved with recruitment) and use Twitter to join in with topical conversations related to your career interests.  Remember: you are responsible for your online brand, so ensure that what can be found about you online is positive and ‘sells’ you.  Secondly, seek to expand your network.  Find out who your friends, family, academics and Advisers know who might help you to explore your career ideas.  You may be surprised to find out whom your immediate contacts are connected with – it could be that your uncle’s neighbour works for an organisation you would love to be employed by!

Finally, seek to develop your resilience and positivity, to cope with this challenging time to be job seeking.  Be realistic in your expectations: recruitment processes have been significantly disrupted, so every stage is likely to take longer.  Persevere with your job searching: sign up with recruitment companies, keep looking on the websites of organisations you would like to work for and do keep applying for opportunities.  Consider how you can stay mentally strong: who could you surround yourself with to encourage you in this, even if this is just virtually?  Could you set up a support group with your friends?  Remember you book an appointment with a Careers Adviser or Employability Adviser to obtain encouragement and advice with your job-seeking strategy.

 I need to get some work experience to add to my CV, but this is difficult to obtain just now – what can I do?
There are many opportunities to volunteer during the current situation – for example helping to coordinate a collection for a local food bank for those in need, or providing assistance to a charity by helping with their social media.  For more information on seeking voluntary opportunities, please see LJMU Careers, Employability and Enterprise’s page on finding volunteering opportunities here.

You could also look for temporary work opportunities, for example in food production or food retail sector.  Further information on seeking work during this current time can be found in LJMU Careers, Employability and Enterprise’s blog, here.

Please note that any face-to-face voluntary or work experience is likely to increase your chances of exposure to the coronavirus and it is important to first consider if this will put anyone close to you at greater risk (e.g. elderly relatives).  If this is the case for you, focus on seeking online opportunities.

Some people are saying it is not worth applying for any opportunities during the current situation – is this true?
Although the current uncertainty is likely to make searching for internships, placements and graduate positions challenging, it is important to remember that some sectors will be affected less than others, and that researching industries and employers of interest to you will give you a more nuanced picture of what’s going on. For example, logistics and transport, social work, and healthcare will be less affected than the obvious sectors like retail and hospitality, event management and education.  It is also worth considering what will look better on your CV: some temporary entry-level employment or a gap in employment.  From a future employer’s point of view, there is nothing wrong with taking a job as a shelf stacker or strawberry picker in the absence of graduate-level jobs in your industry, alongside making speculative applications and doing some online courses to be in a state of readiness when the job market picks up again for your sector.  Remember that Careers, Employability and Enterprise can help you with identifying opportunities and planning a job-searching strategy.

I was offered a graduate job before the beginning of this current situation, but have not been given a start date yet – what should I do?
First, contact the organisation and ask for these details.  Due to the move to home working and uncertainty about how long the current situation will last, everything in the recruitment and hiring process has slowed down, so it could just be that you will have to wait a while for them to provide you with specific dates.  Do not start worrying about the prospect of the organisation reneging on its offer of a graduate job until this becomes a reality, as this will not do you any good.  If the organisation does inform you that your future job is uncertain, or they do confirm that they can no longer offer you this role, then unfortunately it is advisable for you to start looking for other opportunities.  Seek to stay mentally strong, persevere and seek support; remember that a Careers Adviser or Employability Adviser can offer support.

The start date for my graduate job has been out back to January 2021, what should I do?
If this has happened to you, then this is a positive: your employer is keen to take you on, but is unable to do so until next year, due to the current situation.  It is advisable to check that this is confirmed start date (and if possible, to get this in writing).  In the meantime, it is important to carry out activities which will enhance your CV, so that you do not have an employment gap, if this is possible.  You may need to look for employment and you could also include voluntary work or online course.  Again, contact Careers, Employability and Entrepreneurship to obtain advice and information to assist you with considering your options.

What do I do if my university placement is cut short, delayed or cancelled?
If you are currently on a placement (either year-long or shorter), the University advice has stated: ‘The university will not disadvantage you if your placement is cut short by COVID-19. Please contact your faculty placement team to let them know, and submit your placement portfolio as normal’.  Further guidance from the University can be found here. Please note that whilst the academic requirements may have been met, your employer may have expectations and you may have contractual obligations, so do ask your employer (for example, enquire if they wish you to work remotely until the end of your contract).

If you have arranged a year-long placement for next academic year, do contact your employer to find out about current situation is regarding your placement.  If your placement is delayed for a few months, it could still be that you will meet the University’s minimum number of hours requirement (1,190 over the year).  Again, it is important that you let your faculty placement team and relevant academic contacts know about your situation.  If you need to cover an earning gap that you had not anticipated, please see the advice given above about seeking paid work and also contact Unitemps at LJMU.

If the placement you had arranged has been cancelled, remember that LJMU’s Careers, Employability and Enterprise team can help.  Our Employer Engagement team are compiling details of employers who are still recruiting and our Careers Advisers and Employability Advisers can provide support with job applications and preparing for recruitment processes which may be new to you (such as telephone or video interviewing).  In addition, a range of tools to assist with your job searching and opportunity-hunting can be found on our website: www.ljmu.ac.uk/careers

My summer internship has been cancelled – what should I do?
First, ask the employer if there are any opportunities to work remotely, as this may be possible.  Even research-based organisations could require an intern to complete a literature review, or remote data entry.  Secondly, do not let your disappointment prevent you from seeking other opportunities to obtain work experience.  Although this is a challenging time, there are both voluntary and paid work opportunities out there – see the question above for more tips on this.

Finally, consider starting your own project.  Think about what matters to you – this could be climate change, raising money to fight cancer, starting a blog for lonely young people or your passion for promoting Zumba in your local community.  Think of ways to raise awareness or raise money, perhaps through creating a website or writing blogs.  Not only could this be of real benefit to you, but you could make a difference to others too.

I applied for a job weeks ago, but have not heard back yet – what should I do?
It is a good idea to follow up an application with a polite email or telephone call, to ask when you are likely to hear about the outcome of your application.  However, do be patient; as most HR departments and recruitment teams will be working from home, there could be a delay in the time taken to respond and in the recruitment process in general.  In the meantime, do not just rely on this application: keep looking and applying for other opportunities.

 My interview has been changed to a video/phone interview – where can I get help with preparing for this?
The Careers, Employability and Enterprise team here at LJMU have created resources with lots of advice and tips for success when participating in a virtual interview – this can be found here.  An important element for any type of interview is practice beforehand and you can book an appointment with an Adviser to discuss your preparation or to have a mock virtual interview (via telephone, Skype, Zoom or Microsoft Teams) by emailing careers@ljmu.ac.uk

Since I have a virtual interview, and will not be visiting the organisation’s premises, how can I get a sense of the company culture and people?
Without physically going to the organisation’s buildings and meeting employees, this is a real challenge – but some research can give you insights in to the culture.  In addition to thoroughly exploring the organisation’s website, use social media (particularly LinkedIn and Twitter) to research the organisation and key individuals.  If possible, get in touch with individual and ask if it is possible to have a telephone conversation.  In addition, use sites such as glassdoor.co.uk and thestudentroom.co.uk to explore the experiences of other applicants (please note, however, that anyone can add their opinion to these sites – so look for trends in opinions rather than just taking one individual’s word for it.

---

Further advice and information

The Careers, Employability and Enterprise Team is available to help from 9am-4.00pm, Monday to Friday.

The Careers Team is offering remote appointments by telephone, video or email; these are particularly useful when you are exploring your options or starting your own business.  Call 0151 231 8740, email careers@ljmu.ac.uk or visit the Careers Team website.  Also, check out our programme of webinars (online classes) which can help you navigate the current graduate recruitment landscape.

For advice on starting your own business or freelancing, contact LJMU’s Centre for Entrepreneurship at: startup@ljmu.ac.uk.