Careers advice

Contact the Careers Centre whilst you're away

If you need careers advice during your time abroad contact us through CareersConnect.  This online platform is available to any matriculated students no matter where in the world they are. Through CareerConnect you can submit enquiries to the Careers Service and you can book appointments with a Careers or CV Adviser. It is your choice if these appointments are in-person or digital so they are still available if you are not in St Andrews.  The Careers Centre have a blog post outlining how to use CareersConnect.

Use the Careers Centre website 

You can still access all the information on the Careers Centre website whilst you're away. Here you'll find information about CVs and covering letters, interviews, psychometric tests and work experience as well as advice on lots of different employability and careers related topics. 

Make the most of every opportunity

How do you stand out from all the other applicants? Why should an employer pick you when all the other candidates have similar good degrees? Your experiences and Soft Skills are what make you the best candidate for the role. 

Soft Skills, sometimes called Employability or Transferable Skills are those skills you learn and develop throughout your life. There isn’t a test or a qualification for them but they are invaluable to an employer. Soft Skills includes things like, Communication, Confidence, Team Work, Problem Solving, Resilience, Creativity and so many more. 

These skills can be built and demonstrated through your work experience, including internships, placements and part-time jobs. But you can also build and demonstrate these skills through extra-curricular activities, academic work, travel, volunteering and every other aspect of your life. 

You can find out more about Soft Skills, including how to build them and how to showcase them, through the Careers Centre and CEED while you are a matriculated student. 

The University of St Andrews Graduate Attributes is a good way to track your Soft Skills so that you can showcase them to their best advantage when you are applying for opportunities. The Saints Skills Awards and the Internship Experience Certificate are also good ways to quantify your skills and experiences. 

While you are on Placement take some time to self-reflect and record the skills you are gaining. 

Be aware of early deadlines

When you return for your final year, if you want to apply for teacher training, law, accountancy, marketing or advertising be aware there are some early application deadlines. For example, some advertising agencies actually closed their applications in October last year so final year students coming back to university at the end of September had little time to plan their futures. Our advice is therefore to start doing it before you go by talking things over with a careers adviser. Whilst you're away, remember to read the Careers Centre newsletter which is emailed to all students in their penultimate year. This will help you keep you up-to-date.

Useful links and blog posts