Brain Food for Careers Services by Gradconsult

At Gradconsult, we love contributing to the conversation about the employability agenda and to share insights from our work with university careers services and employers.

We have featured on a number of platforms such as Wonkhe, HEPI and The Guardian, we also regularly post articles here on LinkedIn, but thought it would be helpful to collate a number of our most popular articles about the careers landscape in one place.

We hope you find it to be a useful resource, please feel free to share with colleagues and stakeholders.

Articles and resources by Gradconsult:

How to cope with the complexity of careers service leadership (Wonkhe) Leading a careers service at UK universities has become increasingly challenging in recent years. In this article Mike explores the current context and how the brilliant leaders in the space can be better supported.

How can we help academics engage with the employability agenda? (Wonkhe) As targets are set on employability and graduate outcomes, Mike Grey asks how academics can be supported to engage in the agenda.

Careers services can't be defined by a single metric | LinkedIn Mike explores how the success of a careers service is influenced by a tangled web of external and internal factors beyond their control, it can't defined by any single metric. Not ever, but particularly not now.

Challenging assumptions in careers service delivery | LinkedIn In careers services, certain initiatives and practice can become entrenched over time without undergoing critical scrutiny. Mike Grey argues that by questioning the continued relevance of such initiatives, you can redirect resources to initiatives that better address the current demands of the job market and needs of students.

Careers services role in delivering impactful experiential learning | LinkedIn If we are going to move beyond placements and internships and shift focus to delivering new types of experiential learning and service-learning as genuine alternatives, we must ensure students understand and can articulate the benefit of these experiences from an employability and career development perspective.

What is next for careers services? | LinkedIn This article outlines 7 key themes that we have seen emerging through our extensive work with careers services and through many detailed discussions with careers leaders across the UK.

We need to talk about placements... | LinkedIn Placements and internships are a crucial part of the employability agenda, but it is vital to recognise their limitations. This article explores the challenges we are seeing in the market and some of the alternative models that are emerging!

Could this be why students fall down in graduate recruitment processes? | LinkedIn Students are brimming with skills, ideas and potential. So why is this not always fully reflected in graduate recruitment processes? This article explores how a well-known cognitive bias could impact students' performance and what they can do to improve their success rates.

Peers in Careers: The changing faces in student employability In this article Emma explores some of the drivers and benefits of peer to peer careers provision.

Employability Lab 2023 All the videos, slides and related resources from the fantastic Employability Lab featuring talks on wellbeing, graduate transitions, the psychology of work, inclusive curriculum, student engagement, unleashing creativity from a stellar cast of speakers.

Where do graduates belong in a hybrid world? | Luminate (prospects.ac.uk) There has been a general shift towards hybrid working but little guidance on what this means for graduates and how employers and universities can support them, Annie Gainsborough explores the challenges and opportunities.

The strategic case for employers engaging with students through the curriculum (ISE Blog) Providing opportunities in the curriculum for students to develop skills and gain real-world experience can be a win-win for both employers and universities.

The Employability Lab 22 A playlist of recordings of the fantastic sessions from our inaugural Employability Lab Conference exploring innovations in the sector hosted in partnership with Handshake attended by delegates from over 80 universities. Featuring incredible keynotes from Dr Naeema Pasha and Dr Mark Peace.

Graduate Outcomes and the future world of work | Luminate (prospects.ac.uk) Gabi Binnie explores how the snapshot of the past provided by Graduate Outcomes data can inform the support required by the students and graduates of the future.

The transition from education into employment Rebecca Fielding explores the challenges of navigating the rough seas of moving out of education and into the professional world.

Let’s stop pretending passion is a prerequisite of embarking on a successful career We believe that ‘passion’ is potentially the most overused word in careers and recruitment. This article explores how this could alienate many students and potentially limit career exploration.

The tyranny of Graduate Outcomes | LinkedIn Careers services have a pivotal role but there is not always causation between careers service provision and Graduate Outcomes; in this article I explore some of the other factors that influence performance and ask if there is ever a good Graduate Outcomes result for a careers service?

The rapid evolution of employer engagement | LinkedIn Employer engagement is at a crossroads. At this stage, and given the tumultuous times that we are experiencing, it would be a fool’s errand to confidently predict exactly how things will develop but here is an overview of some of the key trends that we have started to see emerging.

The shame, guilt and disappointment of graduate job hunting | LinkedIn Rebecca reflecting on recent Student Minds research and the importance of having an honest dialogue about the realities of the graduate recruitment.

Employer engagement in the curriculum is crucial to delivering social mobility Widening participation students disproportionally self-select out of traditional career development activities, this article explores how more equitable career development can be delivered through engaging employers through the curriculum.

The placement panacea Exploring the growth of sandwich degrees, the challenges of successfully delivering these schemes at scale and the importance of considering alternative models which can deliver similar impact. (HEPI)

Seeking simple solutions to complex problems: The careers conundrum The employability agenda can appear simple until you fully consider the complex challenges across the market, there are no silver bullet solutions. (HEPI)

Course does not (usually) equal career - let's celebrate Instead of trying to deny the fact that course doesn't usually lead to career, we should be celebrating it. The UK graduate market is uniquely non-linear, this creates challenges for universities but supports student choice. (Wonkhe) Shortlisted for Wonkhe Awards 2019

Generation P for Perfection Research suggests there is a significant rise in the number of student age people in the UK with perfectionist traits, this could have profound implications for careers provision and graduate recruitment. (Wonkhe) *Winner of Outstanding Policy Analysis - Wonkhe Awards 2018

Growth Mindset Webinar (Prospects Future You Series) Gradconsult founder, Rebecca Fielding, explains all things growth mindset.

Students are not ‘lacking resilience’ – they need more support Gabi Binnie argues that resilience has become an overused and misused word and that can have serious implications for universities and students (The Guardian)

Has employability become a toxic brand? Employability is an often misunderstood and derided term, but it should be central to a universities mission. It is everyone’s responsibility, but the careers service are the institutional experts that are best placed to drive the agenda. (Wonkhe) *Shortlisted for Outstanding HE Commentary – Wonkhe Awards 2018

‘Students as partners in careers delivery’ conference This is the resources portal with all presentations, resources and recordings of this fantastic conference delivered in partnership with Handshake focussing on peer to peer initiatives in careers services and beyond. Featuring Christine Cruzvergara, Charlie Ball, Stephen Isherwood plus many careers service leaders, awesome students and employers such as PWC, FDM and Enterprise.

Re-imagining campus engagement Rebecca explores some of the challenges and opportunities arising from a shift to digital delivery and the impact of campus engagement for employers.

Virtual recruitment: opportunities and challenges Insight paper from virtual discussion hosted with Handshake and professionals across the sector.

Developing skills and experience in a time of reduced demand Insight paper from virtual discussion hosted with Handshake and professionals across the sector.

Has the time come for peer to peer career development? A DfE report on career planning highlighted how influential the academic voice is to students career development but what attracted less attention, and is perhaps more interesting to consider, is how peer influence can be better harnessed.

Mental Health and Graduate Employment Insight paper from our community of practice event hosted with Student Minds.

Connecting students and employers in a virtual world This is an insight paper that we developed in partnership with Handshake UK reviewing an online discussion we hosted with 150 professionals from across the sector.

Cracking SME culture, one innovation at a time Nottingham Trent University’s ground breaking ‘Innovation Community Lab’, a jewel in the university’s suite of services and events created to meet the needs of their local SME community.

How can universities improve their graduate outcomes and employers double their applicant pool? Despite the urbanisation of graduate jobs, one key barrier exists for many students that is not currently being addressed by either universities or employers.

What a comedown - SU Officers in the departure lounge This article explores the unique challenges faced by SU Officers transitioning into the graduate labour market and how they could potentially be better supported. (Wonkhe)

Should careers services do less? The importance of careers services ensuring they are targeting their resources where they can have most impact.

Don’t make your careers services the dream crushers! The UK graduate labour market is predominantly non-linear, and most employers are degree agnostic, is this a message understood by policy makers, academic staff and ultimately students?

Graduate Outcomes: Necessity is the mother of invention The new Graduate Outcomes presents new challenges and new opportunities. (Wonkhe)

This rise of the employer engagement professional Just like careers advice; proactive, agile and well-resourced employer engagement provision is critical to achieving positive outcomes for students.

The true value of placement and careers staff Careers and placement staff are often considered to be an expensive cost to a university, this article argues they have the potential to positively impact a wide range of institutional metrics.

The big careers service revenue generation debate As universities seek to move beyond transactional relationships and develop more deep partnerships with employers, is the traditional revenue generation model under threat?

Bonus podcasts and TED Talk:

Great University and Employer Partnerships - Mike and Rebecca on the Early Careers Podcast

Championing the Underrepresented | Early Careers Podcast with Mike Grey

The work ready graduate conundrum – Mike’s TEDx Talk

As always we would be interested in your thoughts and comments.

Feel free to get in touch to find out more about our work at [email protected] and 07402 029932.