Careers blog: Make the most of WBS careers services

26 September 2018

The WBS careers service, provided by the WBS CareersPlus team and Corporate Relations team, is recognised as a valuable and helpful resource for students looking for employment.

Careers services start as soon as you receive an offer from WBS, last throughout your time at the University and are available throughout your future career. The services include 1-to-1 careers coaching, careers related workshops, events, and online resources.

1-to-1 careers coaching appointments

WBS CareersPlus provides 1-to-1 coaching on the following segments:

  • Identifying your careers goal

Having trouble identifying your careers goal is such a common issue. Careers coaches can use the professional instruments and coaching skills to assist you to clarify this issue, but remember it’s to ‘assist’ you, not ‘tell’ you. No one can tell you except yourself.

Identifying careers goals can be a long-term practice. It’s very rare to see someone figure out the answer through one coaching session. To answer the question requires a deep understanding of yourself and the job market. Both parts take time, especially the self-knowledge.

  • CV and application check

Use V Mock before your appointment. V Mock is a platform that uses algorithms to analyse your CV and provide you with an overall score as well as detailed feedback on areas for improvement.

WBS has obtained the right to use V Mock for all WBS students. Thanks to the V Mock software, the basic improvement can be done after V Mock’s feedback, and our careers coaches can then focus on the tailoring of your CV.

Remember to bring the job description (JD) of your target job when you ask for a CV check. A good CV is a CV that is tailored against the specific job. We can’t tailor the suit without knowing the body. If you would like a tailored CV, don’t forget the job description.

If you‘re not sure about the target job, maybe it’s time to put away your CV for a moment and talk about your careers goals.

  • Mock interviews

1-to-1 mock interviews have been highly recommended by previous students. The best learning is through practice and our coaches can provide immediate feedback.  A mock interview stimulates a real job interview; you answer questions like an interviewee, and the coach provides feedback based on your performance. It’s an effective way to build up your knowledge and confidence in interview preparation.

Here are 3 tips to make the most of your coaching appointment:

  • Think about the goal before the appointment
  • Take notes during the appointment
  • Take action after the appointment

Workshops

WBS CareersPlus also provides a series of workshops to help students enhance their employability. CV workshops and mock assessment centre workshops are usually very popular, and students have the opportunity to practice for simulated group discussion, which can be hard to practice by themselves. We also have 4 step workshops to help students identify their career goals and practice their skills for all job hunting procedures. These 4 step workshops cover:

  • Step 1: Deciding what you want to do
  • Step 2: Networking & researching
  • Step 3: Applications and testing
  • Step 4: Interviews

Careers events

Networking is crucial for job hunting and 70% of jobs are on the hidden job market. Networking really helps to identify that 70% and WBS has an excellent Corporate Relations team who help organise recruiter and alumni events including careers fairs, recruiter presentations, and industry expert talks for students to network and gain knowledge in the real industry. Students can book all of the services through our online jobs and events portal.

Online resources

The WBS Careers Team also provides online resources to our students for external support. This includes online databases to learn industry and company information (including ‘Vault’ and ‘MarketLine’) and salary reports and interview reviews like ‘Glassdoor’. You can also use the resources for career self-assessment to explore your talents, skills, potential and style. Students can find all the access to careers online resources on our school intranet.