Our values
The University of Exeter’s Strategy 2030 states that we will ‘use the power of our education and research to create a sustainable, healthy and socially just future’.
The university is committed to preparing our students to become active global citizens making a positive impact on the world. In the Career Zone, we actively support the university’s ambition to help our students, as future employees, seek ways of working and being that are ‘Greener, Fairer and Healthier’.
We encourage our students to reflect on their own values and to thoroughly research the employers they are considering applying to for jobs, ensuring that the employer’s values align with their own, whilst also developing their commercial awareness.
Greener - Sustainability
In 2024, the University of Exeter, The Students’ Guild, and Falmouth & Exeter Students' Union (Penryn) were jointly awarded Responsible Futures accreditation. This accreditation reflects the institution’s, and students’ unions, shared commitment to embedding holistic sustainability across the formal and informal curriculum. Exeter is the only Russell Group University to currently have full accreditation. The Career Zone is fully engaged in the process of gaining Responsible Futures accreditation from highlighting which Sustainable Development Goals our curriculum relates to, embedding the understanding of values at several points in the informal curriculum, delivering our award winning ‘Green Consultants’ programme and helping students to understand the sustainability aspects of employers they are considering applying to for graduate level jobs.
Fairer - Social Justice
The university’s Success for All strategy aims to widen participation, close gaps in student outcomes and develop a diverse and inclusive learning environment. In the Career Zone, we offer additional support for our Widening Participation students (for example, care leavers, mature students, students with disabilities including those who are neurodiverse, refugees and asylum seekers, and students from Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boater communities). We have a Careers Consultant dedicated to supporting these groups of students via 1-1 confidential careers guidance appointments and our new ‘Creating Career Confidence’ package for disabled students.
We encourage students to check job adverts to see whether the role they are interested in is with an equal opportunities employer. We make it clear on Handshake which employers are ‘Disability Confident Employers’ and we run regular sessions supporting students in disclosing disabilities to employers.
We support students to research whether an employer is inclusive and has for example, support groups for employees with their characteristics, for example, do you have an LGBTQ+ employee group, or a group for Black employees.
We are fully committed to supporting students from diverse backgrounds to achieve their ambitions and potential, and to close the Graduate Outcomes gaps for students from lower socio-economic groups and students with disabilities.
Healthier
As every employer knows, having a positive workplace culture not only improves organisational reputation, but enhances the attraction and retention of good candidates. Where an employer has a clear focus on wellbeing, employees tend to have reduced stress, anxiety and burnout, and are more motivated and committed to their roles. We encourage students to seek employers who have adopted the Mindful Employers Charter.
Students with mental health difficulties commonly face challenges around anxiety, low self-esteem, communication and managing highly stressful and competitive environments. Students who are neurodiverse may struggle in assessment centre environments and we support students to ask about reasonable adjustments so that they are not disenfranchised in the recruitment process and can add value to your organisation.
How you can help
There are many ways you can help our students in their career decision making, here are a few examples;
- Offer internships to our Widening Participation students, particularly to those groups of students who traditionally struggle to find work.
- Talk to students at Careers Fairs and be clear about what your organisations EDI and sustainability policies are, and how these work in practice.
- Come and join us for a Career Zone Podcast episode where we can explore how you support new graduates, from for example, the perspective of being an inclusive employer.
- Join an Employer Panel and talk about how your organisation supports neurodiverse employees.
