As last night’s left over kebab meat and the hangover from Hell kick in, and the realisation dawns that not only do you have a mere 25p to your name to last six months but your dissertation is also due in two days, it can be easy to rue the day you decided to skip off and become a student. Right now, your priorities lie somewhere between plotting military style booby traps to ensure nobody uses your milk, and making sure you win that competition with your flatmate in which the first to stick ten bread sticks up their nose wins. Believe it or not, these things will lose some of their importance once you head out into the world, and there will even be times when you wish you had access to the wealth of facilities available in that imposing building you’ve seen but not entered, which others claim to be the library. Whilst it’s the last thing you’ll want to do while you’re actually there, once you’ve left university or college, you’ll realise how little you took advantage of the items available to you, and appreciate how a few minor adjustments to your routine could have stood you in better stead for building your portfolio and CV, the only elements which distinguish you from the millions of other freshly churned out graduates stumbling around in the daylight looking for work. So turn off that mid-morning chat show, and implement one of my top five tips for improving your future employability whilst you’re still training.
1. Use the facilities: From computer rooms to media suites, your campus will have equipment on a scale you’ll never have access to again. Take a morning every couple of months to find your way around a programme that you don’t have installed at home, or take advantage of any additional IT courses available.
2. Devise your own projects: If you’re planning a career in a creative field, it is especially important to leave your course with a brimming portfolio, and this should include self directed projects outside of the curriculum. If you’re at a design or performance orientated school, book a slot in the photographic or recording studios, and create your own shoots and material. Even if you only do this once a year, you’ll have three projects more to show prospective employers than the rest of your class, and you’ll have a chance to diversify outside of imposed instructions and see what styles you want to pursue later on.
3. Make the most of the staff: No doubt you’ll hate them while you’re there, but staff and guest lecturers, and even admin staff such as those in the finance office, can be useful when it comes to researching a way into your chosen profession and future lifestyle. Tutorials are easy to skip but informative to attend, so make sure you put on your alarm and drag yourself to that early morning session of having someone slag off your work, it’ll really prepare you for doing it for a living.
4. Make contacts: Don’t forget that your fellow students are the industry practitioners of tomorrow, and there’s no reason why you can’t suss out the talent from other departments and years too. Go to castings any third years are holding, and help out with end of year shows or events, as well as recruiting people to help on your own work. Everyone will be willing to extend their portfolio within a creative environment, so advertise on notice boards for any team roles you’re looking to fill.
5. Research: If there’s an area you know you want to get into, prepare yourself as fully as you can before you leave. A couple of hours spent photocopying careers advice books in the library will provide you with material you can use for years, as will booking a session with a lecturer to recommend which path you take. Use your student discount and access to dedicated literature now to invest in books which will continue to be of use after you graduate, such as CV building or interview techniques. You could also pick these up quite easily second hand if you make sure the advice is relevant to today’s employment market.
This has, of course, been a general overview of the basics of improving your worth while studying; if you’d like to read detailed information and advice on how to make the most of your course and campus, Sarah-Jane will shortly be releasing a set of immensely helpful business E Books, covering this, and many other topics of interest to young creatives, in depth. To receive news of when these guides become available, please send your details to sarahjane@sarahjaneadams.com, or join her on Facebook.
Library image by roncaglia on Flickr
