The University of Kent Careers & Employability Service Careers with a Degree in English You can download a copy of this presentation at

What careers can you enter with a degree in English? Prospects Planner! prospects_planner_login.htm

Postgraduate Study 23% of English grads do PG study after graduation MA taught – 1 year Sept to June – lectures, June to Sept – dissertation. Research MA 1 to 2 years – often part-time PhD – 3 years. Must do an MA first. PGCE (teacher training) 1 year: about 6% of grads £9,000 bursary with 1 st, £4,000 with 2:1 See

Postgraduate study Not much funding available for MA. Fees are about £5,000. At Kent get £1,000 graduate school scholarship reduction No student loans available except for teacher training. Many students work for a year to fund it or do it part-time whilst working Consider vocational MA – journalism, publishing, business, HR etc. Normally apply middle of final year. No UCAS can apply to as many courses as you wish to – 3 or 4 is normal

Study Abroad Many postgraduate courses are now taught in English, especially in the Netherlands and Scandinavia No course fees in Sweden and about £1,000 in Germany and Denmark See

Get actively involved in university life … Graduate Application Form Questions Describe a challenging situation which required your persuasive skills and your ability to organise other people in order to reach a successful resolution. Describe how your personal planning and organisation resulted in a successful achievement of a personal or group task. Describe a situation where you had to work effectively as a member of a team. What were the team’s aims? How was the team selected? What was your role?

VACANCIES University of Kent Vacancy Database Work Experience and the vacancy database Other careers events on campus

Applications and Interviews English CV: must be targeted at the job! Media CV Covering Letters Practice Interviews: journalism, teaching, marketing, HR, postgrad study etc. Application, interview and selection centre videos Applications and interviews

Skills gained with an English Degree: sell these in your applications ability to write well in a variety of styles. to convey meaning precisely. to summarise, argue and debate. to plan, organise and meet tight deadlines. to research, select, analyse, organise and present information. to think clearly and logically and solve problems. To gather, assess, interpret and critically evaluate. EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNICATION! “Would you say their are any skill shortages in the UK for actuary's ie their enough out their, is their a shortfall of any kind of actuary?” In an from an HR manager to me!

Location of the Careers Service Open 9 to 5 Monday to Friday including vacations

Careers Employability Award on Moodle

Moodle Careers Employability Award 14 Quizzes: need 75% to pass but allowed unlimited attempts Complete 3 of the following seven assignments Employability skills quiz Employability skills quiz: drag & drop How to develop the skills employers want? Test your spelling and grammar! What makes you happy at work? How commercially aware are you? Special interests topic lesson Interview preparation Practice interview What are the most common interview questions? Aptitude tests and assessment centres CV quiz CVs and covering letters: drag & drop quiz Career planning drag and drop quiz Analyse your skills and learn how to make top quality applications Do you want to live to work or work to live? Researching careers Choosing a career Submit a CV Social media Action planning

Bruce Woodcock Deal with all English students An adviser is on duty for short (15 minute) consultations in the Careers and Employability Service any weekday morning or afternoon from 2 pm to 4 pm. You don't need an appointment to see the duty adviser at these times. Just ask at Careers Reception to see them. If you don’t know what you want to do, can book an interview with me at Careers reception (or ring )

Other Points Check you campus s regularly as I will send you s most Mondays! Apply early in your final year if you want a graduate training scheme with a “big” company, advertising, marketing, HR or primary teaching.

The University of Kent Careers & Employability Service Careers with a School of English Degree You can download a copy of this presentation at