Ozzy David-Uwangue (Equity Champion) is a Year 2 Occupational Therapy student and has worked with undergraduate and postgraduate students, counselling them on how to make informed career choices.
Decoding Employability:
Unravelling the secrets
Transitioning from study to employment might feel overwhelming; but here I hope to share some ideas that may help you unravel the secrets behind successful transition into employment.
Defining employability
Firstly, how can we decode employability? Employability does not just simply consist of technical skills and qualifications, but also personal qualities and characteristics valued by employers.
Employability refers to the skills, knowledge, qualifications, and personal attributes an individual possesses, which increases their ability to be employed and progress in their career (Hillage & Pollard, 1998). It can also be described as the way that an individual is able to “obtain and maintain high-quality employment, leading to the eradication of the social reproduction of inequality” (Wilton, 2011).
Some examples of Employability skills are adaptability, communication and interpersonal skills, decision making, IT proficiency, organisational skills, problem solving, and teamwork. These skills form the foundation of your career building blocks.
Defining skills
A skill can be defined as “aptitude,” “competence,” “talent” or “learned ability” (Green, 2011), to carry out an activity efficiently, and is developed with consistent practice. Skills are useful throughout life and can be transferred from one area to another. For example, in badminton, an essential skill to succeed as a team member is communication. To foster good teamwork, all team members are expected to communicate effectively, respect each other, be accountable and resolve conflict. Communication can be translated from sports to work.
It is no longer news that employers are looking for well-rounded candidates, not just those with an excellent degree (Sarkar et al. 2020). Job markets are becoming even more competitive because there are less jobs available, so skills development is especially important for anyone who wants to gain and retain a good job.
You may ask, 'how do I gain these skills without work experience?'. Look no further. The answer is in the activities you participate in daily and your interaction with people. However, it is good to search for work experience opportunities because it gives you leverage over those who have never been employed.
The next thing to bear in mind is that you need to evidence your skills in your CV, cover letter, personal statements and at interviews. You will also evidence your skills when networking with professionals by talking about what you have done or are doing.
By way of summary, here are my four key tips:
1. Reflect on your transferable skills
Employability skills can be acquired through studying and completing academic tasks with your peers, work shadowing, volunteering or during non-curricular activities such as taking up positions of responsibility in student societies. Additionally, team sports provide an opportunity to gain skills such as leadership, teamwork, communication, and conflict resolution because it can affect the team's overall performance at a game.
2. Match your skills to job adverts
Articulating skills can be difficult but I advise students to write down the things they know how to do well on one page and note a list of skills and match their abilities to those skills. An example of time management at an interview can be saying how you are always on time to lectures and submitting your assignments ahead of time to make room for your other curricular and non-curricular activity. To demonstrate that you are organised, think about your ability to plan, and effectively manage your workload and other interests.
3. Harness the power of your extra-curricular activities
There are various ways of developing employability skills. You can join student societies on campus and take up a position of responsibility, become a student ambassador and apply for internships or work experience.
4. Get support from the Careers Service
The university’s Careers Advisers can help you with articulating and evidencing your skills.
For more information, advice and guidance with your career exploration, planning, developing your employability, and support with CVs, applications and interviews please book an appointment with the careers team or email the team on: careers@sgul.ac.uk
You don’t need to do it alone and with the right help, you can let your employability shine through.
Resources for disabled students:
St George’s library have a wealth of resources aimed at helping you have a robust academic experience, as you progress into your career.
Please visit the links below for more information
1. https://www.sgul.ac.uk/about/our-professional-services/information-services/library/accessibility
2. https://www.sgul.ac.uk/about/our-professional-services/information-services/library/accessibility/useful-links
You can speak to a librarian at the library reception to discuss your study needs or contact them for assistance at library@sgul.ac.uk
References:
Forrier, A., Verbruggen, M. and De Cuyper, N. (2015) ‘Integrating different notions of employability in a dynamic chain: The relationship between job transitions, movement capital and perceived employability’, Journal of vocational behavior, 89, pp. 56–64. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879115000421?via%3Dihub.
Green, F., 2011. ‘What is skill?: An inter-disciplinary synthesis.’ London: Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies. Available at: http://llakes.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Green-What-is-Skill-reduced.pdf
Hillage, J. and Pollard, E. (1998) Employability: Developing a Framework for Policy Analysis. Department for Education and Employment, London. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225083565_Employability_Developing_a_framework_for_policy_analysis
Office for National Statistics, ONS (2024). ‘Employment and employee types: Labour market overview, UK.’ Available at:https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes
Sarkar, M., Overton, T., Thompson, C. D., Rayner, G. (2020) ‘Academics' perspectives of the teaching and development of generic employability skills in science curricula’, Higher education research and development, 39(2), pp. 346–361. Available at:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360.2019.1664998.
Wilton, N. (2011). Do employability skills really matter in the UK graduate labour market? The case of business and management graduates. Work, Employment and Society, 25(1), 85-100. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017010389244