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Creating Career Confidence
Unsure about your next steps after university?
For many students navigating studies and university life can be daunting and overwhelming let alone having the time and energy to consider the future! If you’re neurodivergent, have a mental health or longer-term health condition, a physical disability or specific learning difficulties eg. dyslexia, dyspraxia, this can be magnified even more. The Career Zone is here to help. 'Creating Career Confidence' will give enhanced support to help you make the most of your time as a student and plan for your future after university.
The four online workshops will run each term (via Teams) so you can access at a time to suit you throughout the year. Each session will be recorded and supported by a reflective workbook, with Career Zone staff available to help and guide you as needed.
The workshops have been developed to help you:
- Gain more confidence and increase resilience in approaching career decisions (including disclosing a disability).
- Discover your strengths, skills and values to support your career decision making.
- Identify how to approach effectively researching career areas and options, including postgraduate study and employment.
- Explore how to find supportive employers and opportunities.
- Gain an insight into recruitment processes and support available through reasonable adjustments.
- Make a smooth transition into life after University with the support you need in the workplace.
The workshops are recognised by the Exeter Award and attending all 4 of them will count towards over a third of the Exeter Award. Open to all students!
Autumn workshop dates (online via Zoom):
- Workshop 1 - Building confidence in your career decisions: Tuesday 11 November 11:00-12:30pm
- Workshop 2 - Get started with thinking about your career: Tuesday 18 November 11:00-12:30pm
- Workshop 3 - Exploring your options after university: Thursday 27 November 11:00-12:30pm
- Workshop 4 - Increasing your confidence in applying and securing a job: Thursday 4 December 11:00-12:30pm
For more details, please read the FAQ's below. Register your interest and receive further details.
FAQs
The course is aimed at students who have a disability (including being neurodivergent, experience mental health, have longer-term health conditions, a physical disability or specific learning difficulties eg. dyslexia, dyspraxia), which they have either disclosed, self-diagnosed or are awaiting diagnosis.
The workshops are aimed at students that are unsure what to do after their degree, however the topics explored are likely to benefit many students, even if you have some ideas or a clear career in mind. The online course is open to both Streatham and Penryn students.
Workshop 1: Building confidence in your career decisions.
In this session you will have the opportunity to explore how to increase your confidence and resilience in approaching career decisions with a focus on identifying strengths and decision making. We’ll also introduce and discuss the topic of disclosing a disability including signposting to further support and information.
Workshop 2: Get started with thinking about your career.
In this session, you will reflect on what truly matters to you in terms of your future work. This self-reflection and focus on Skills and Values to support your career decision making will lay a solid foundation for exploring career options and will also help guide you when you apply for jobs and other opportunities.
Workshop 3: Exploring your options after university.
In this session you will learn how to research your career options (including post graduate study) and gain insight into the jobs and sectors that align with what you are looking for from a job or career. There will be a particular focus on identifying supportive employers and environments to support your disability. You will be introduced to various websites and tools which will help you with this process.
Workshop 4: Increasing your confidence in applying and securing a job.
In this session you will have the opportunity to gain an insight into recruitment processes from application stage onwards, and the support available through reasonable adjustments . You will also learn how employers recruit and discover valuable tips to make your applications stand out. There will be the opportunity to identify the key actions that will help you successfully transition from student to graduate.
No – we would like the support to be as flexible as possible so you can choose the workshops that are most beneficial to you depending on where you are with your career decisions and most timely. The workshops will be recorded and also repeated live each term and in early September.
Each online workshop is 90 minutes and will be supported by the opportunity to complete a reflective workbook which will include activities to consolidate your learning. A 1 hour online support session will also be arranged after each workshop to answer any questions or queries. In addition the Career Zone offers students one-to-one support through individual appointments as needed.
To register your interest and receive further information please complete this short form: Creating Career Confidence - register your interest
Completing Create Your Future counts towards the Exeter Award. You will need to complete both the workshop and the workbook for it to be counted towards the Exeter Award. Your Exeter Award progress will be updated at the end of course in December. You can sign up for the Exeter Award and check your progress on Handshake.
- Completing Workshop 1 and Workbook 1 counts as a Personal Development activity.
- Completing Workshop 2 and Workbook 2 counts as a Personal Development activity.
- Completing Workshop 3 and Workbook 3 count as an Other Activity.
- Completing Workshop 4 and Workbook 4 count as an Other Activity.
If you have any questions about the Exeter Award, please email exeteraward@exeter.ac.uk
If you have further questions, please email Kate Foster (Careers Consultant) – k.l.foster@exeter.ac.uk