HISTORY GRADUATES AND CAREERS Jenny Keaveney Careers Advisory Service

What is the Careers Advisory Service? What can it do to help me? What are the career options for History graduates? The slides from this talk are at

What can I do with a History degree? What do you want to do? n Use your degree directly? n Work in business or finance? n Work in the public or voluntary sector? n Do something else?

Some well-known History graduates … not to mention Alan Bennett; Salman Rushdie; the director of the Howard League for Penal Reform; Michael Mansfield QC; the Bishop of London; Chris Martin; the Director-General of the CBI, the Chief Executive of Barclays Bank; an award-winning children’s writer; and the producer of Hotel Babylon

What use is a History degree in a career? “Historians are trained to gather information from different sources, appraise it critically, and integrate the results into a readable (and hopefully interesting!) report. These skills are valuable in many jobs. Much of the stock-in- trade of the historian is about how people behave, which is widely relevant. And history is an accessible subject, easily pursued as a hobby to avoid work dominating life!”

Employment sectors n Management & Administration n Finance & Business n Marketing, Sales & Advertising n Education n Arts, Culture, Media and Sport n Social and Welfare n Many others!

Some of the jobs obtained by 2007 History graduates from Kent University n Army Officer n Development Manager - charity n Insurance Administrator n Trainee Archivist n Online Marketing Assistant n Teaching Assistant n Museum Assistant n Library Assistant n Parliamentary Assistant to MP n Airline cabin crew

Postgraduate study taken by 2007 History graduates from Kent University n MA History n MA History of Design n MA International Relations n MA Medieval & Tudor Studies n MA Museum Studies n MA War Media & Modernity n MA War Studies n PGCE Secondary History

Using your degree directly n Archivist n Genealogist n Lecturer n Librarian n Museum Work n Publishing n Teacher n Travel/Tourism

Working in business or finance n Advertising n Accountancy n Banking n Human Resource Management n Law n Marketing n Property Management n Public Relations

Working in the public sector n Armed forces n Civil Service n Intelligence services n Local government n NHS management n Police n Social work

Something else? n Journalism? n Transport management? n Charities? n Teaching English as a foreign language? n Computing? n Guidance and counselling? n … and many more careers

Skills gained through studying History Analytical skills Clear & logical thinking Communication Critical evaluation Cultural awareness Gathering, assessing and interpreting information Language skills Literacy & Expression Organising Planning Problem solving Research Working to deadlines

Your degree, your skills and your career "I found my degree in History to be a superb launch- pad for a career in journalism. Analysing detailed material, learning how contextual information can impact understanding of facts, and appreciating how historical perspective can prove crucial in evaluating and explaining current affairs, meant that a history degree proved invaluable in helping me get my foot on the ladder of a media career."

Your degree, your skills and your career A huge part of the services we offer is to provide our clients with advice and guidance on how they can develop, improve and even save their business. We also work with a range of local government bodies and charities, where we provide input into how they should spend taxpayers' and donors' money. To provide this service well, we need to make sure that we are in full possession of all the facts through thorough research; we need to know the validity of the sources; we need to make sure that we view the information from all angles and that we give our conclusions and recommendations in a concise and rational way (Chartered Accountancy firm)

Your degree, your skills and your career My degree helped me build my analytical and research skills, which have both been vital for my work. Good written communication skills (from endless essay writing!) have really helped in my current work where I regularly brief Ministers on recent developments and need to build strong arguments for policy decisions. Fast Stream trainee, Foreign & Commonwealth Office

What might you do after your degree? Begin by thinking about yourself (your interests, preferences etc – what you want from your career and what you have to offer)  Then do some research into opportunities that will fit with your criteria. PROSPECTS PLANNER is a good starting point for this  Attend talks/workshops/presentations etc  Talk to a careers adviser, either for a quick-query or for a longer careers interview  Be aware of employers or postgraduate study options with early closing dates – especially teaching!

Some useful resources: on the Web n Kent Uni Careers Website: Includes: –What can I do with my History Degree? –I want to work in … (80+ careers, including the Heritage Sector) n Prospects website –Includes: –Options with a History degree –Occupational profiles for 600 career areas –Postgraduate Study information and database –

Other useful resources: the Careers Advisory Service n Where is the CAS? n What does it do? n How can it help me? n When can I use it?

What we offer … n careers guidance n job vacancy database n careers library n careers website – quick queries – careers interviews – computer-aided guidance

Careers Library n Helpdesk –help always available! n General information (e.g. help with applications & interviews) n Employer information n Occupational information n Postgraduate study information n DVDs, CDs, networked PCs, etc …..

And also: n Newspapers and magazines n AGCAS booklets and profiles n Talks & employer presentations n Alumni careers network n Personal development workbooks

Careers for History graduates Jenny Keaveney Careers Advisory Service