There are many ways in which you can add value to your CV while at Exeter
Careers and your future
Broaden your horizons
As well as careers advice and training, meeting potential employers and improving your personal skills, there are also many other ways in which you can add value to your CV while at Exeter.
Study abroad
A period of study abroad as part of your degree is an ideal way to improve your CV, develop skills sought by employers, make new friends and travel. Exeter has over 180 partner universities worldwide offering study abroad opportunities. Or how about completing a work placement in Europe? Students have worked in the media, tourism, charity and legal sectors. For further information see our Study abroad page.
Student activities and volunteering
You can gain excellent transferable skills and personal development opportunities by taking part in student activities run by the Students’ Guild in Exeter and FXU in Cornwall and by volunteering. These activities can make your time at Exeter the experience of a lifetime.
Exeter students have been involved in voluntary work for 40 years and currently devote volunteering hours to the value of £141,400 per year to activities that directly benefit the local community.
We have the highest proportion of student volunteers of any UK university and we are proud of our wide range of volunteering activities. For many careers, volunteering or extra curricular activities are a prerequisite. Experience in areas such as journalism, peer management, childcare, teaching and event management can easily be obtained through student activities. Volunteering gives students an alternative learning experience based on challenging beliefs, developing skills and reflecting and learning from experiences.
Community Action – Offers opportunities to volunteer in the local community or through student-led projects at the University.
RAG – Offers a different kind of volunteering opportunity, based around raising as much money as possible for local and national charities.
X-media – On the Streatham Campus, award-winning X-Media opens the door to students who wish to volunteer their time working on the student newspaper, TV, radio or website. At the Cornwall Campus, the student newspaper and radio station offer opportunities for students to develop their media skills.
Societies – Students who volunteer with societies take their commitment one step further and volunteer their time to develop and run over 150 societies on behalf of others. The Guild Societies in Exeter and FXU in Cornwall support these volunteers with training in running events, managing their budgets and risk assessments.
Sports Volunteering Scheme – This offers students the chance to coach school children in Exeter in primary and secondary schools. You can work towards gaining an award depending on the number of hours given to the scheme.
As a volunteer you’re usually setting up your own projects,
fundraising, recruiting, budgeting, organising logistics and managing
people. You get given such an amazing amount of responsibility, which
is incredibly empowering. Exeter’s amazing students donate thousands of
hours each year through one of the largest and most successful Student
Volunteering groups anywhere in the country. You can be proud of the
work you do which makes a huge impact on the City and the region.
Graham Allcott, Director of Student Volunteering England
Many people believe that universities are just a place to acquire knowledge about their chosen degree; I did. At the University of Exeter you learn more than just a subject. I’ve had the chance to pursue so many possibilities since I started my programme.
In my second year I won a scholarship to take part in the Catalyst Course, a residential course where we learned about leadership skills and sustainability. I was also selected to take part in the Career Mentor Scheme where I was paired with a perfect candidate to guide me in my career choices.
I also won the Floella Benjamin Career Development Award, to expand the community based organisation I funded in Kenya. This charity is aimed at helping vulnerable children in a rural school by providing them with one hot meal a day and taking care of their most basic needs.
This year, I am setting up a Leadership Society at the University and completing the Exeter Leaders Award – as well as graduating from a great university. The help and support I have received during my journey here has been invaluable.
Lucia Beltrame, BA Management with Leadership, 3rd year
