Advice for staff supporting taught students
Summary of our offer to UG and PGT students; key messages, advice and resources to help you support them at key transition points during their programme.
We offer CEIAG (Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance) to all undergraduates and postgraduates, providing high quality careers and employability provision at key transition points and throughout the student lifecycle.
You are a key influencer in helping students engage with careers and employability and getting the message across early is vital. Partnership working is the bedrock of good student support and all Schools have a link Careers Consultant. If you are new in post, you can find out who your School Careers Consultant is.
Careers Service website – information for all students. Includes dedicated pages for Masters and PGR students.
MyCareerHub – access to appointments, webinars, events, jobs & internships. Find out more:
Employer insights, fairs and events – opportunities to meet employers, on campus and virtually, centrally and within Schools. Find out more:
Career Essentials – a rich programme of live webinars, top tips, talks and resources for UG, PGT and PGR students. Facilitated by Careers Service Staff, Employers and Alumni. Find out more:
Careers Service Plus – premium content, accessible to all Edinburgh students. Includes interview & CV software, a CV library, aptitude tests, career assessments and information about jobs & sectors. Find out more:
Inform.ed - the Careers Service blog for insights from students, employers, alumni and staff.
The Careers Service has developed a series of session plans, draft slides & self-led resources to aid Cohort Leads and Student Advisers to support students at key transition points to engage in thinking about their academic, personal, and professional development in order to maximise the impact of the student experience on their career and employability.
More details here (secured) (University staff login required)
The Careers Compass is the model we use that underpins all our work with students but its principles also apply beyond career planning to the wider student experience and key transitions throughout their degree. It is also a valuable tool for students and for support staff who work with students.
The Careers Compass provides a dual purpose: to help students plan and reflect. We know that career planning can seem quite daunting but the framework makes the process more manageable with clear action points and ‘quick wins’ that give students a sense of agency and ownership.
UG Early years
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Foundational preparation now (understanding self; values; skills) is a good investment and will simplify the process of career planning in later years.
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Encourage your students to be curious and try things out – this will help build confidence and resilience.
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Promote active involvement in student life and highlight the benefits of extra curricular activity and part time work.
UG Penultimate year
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Prompt your students to find relevant work experience or internships.
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Remind them to make use of us – they should be starting to formulate plans and getting help and support to move forward.
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Stress the value of making informed decisions – if they haven’t attended any careers events, alumni panels or fairs now is the time to start.
UG Final year
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Check how their plans are developing. Remind them that closing dates for graduate schemes and postgraduate study can be very early in Semester 1.
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Reassure them we can offer continued support beyond graduation.
PGT timeline and issues
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The Masters year is far more intensive and demanding with little time for extracurricular activity and much less considered and intentional career thinking & planning. Where students are studying part-time while working to enable career change or progression, the time pressures can be even greater.
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If the student is considering graduate employment – or competitive PGR programmes/studentships – they may encounter early deadlines in Semester 1.
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Encourage them to find some time early in their studies to engage in the necessary research and reflection to move their thinking on throughout their programme.
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More advice on our dedicated pages for PGT students
We encourage students to be proactive and resourceful, taking full advantage of the development opportunities on offer, both within Schools and across the wider university. Getting involved in wider student life and developing a broad range of employability skills will provide a more enriching university experience and enable students to make successful transitions post-graduation.
If you would like to offer work experience opportunities and recruit students, you can find out how here:
MyDevelopmentHub
MyDevelopmentHub is an online portal for students to find activities, events and resources to support their personal and professional development. It can also help students build and enhance their skills and reflect on the learning and benefits.
MyCareerHub
MyCareerHub is the Careers Service platform for students to access part-time work, internships and graduate vacancies. It is also an employer database and events platform where students can book onto all the workshops and events we offer. All events are linked to the Careers Compass.
Edinburgh Award
The Edinburgh Award is a programme that students can undertake alongside a particular activity. The Award aims to recognise student involvement, promoting active reflection and helping them develop a compelling narrative. There are a number of versions related to different activities.
The Edinburgh Award (Work Experience) is a primarily self-led Learn course created by Careers Service professionals and administered by the Careers Service.
Making Transitions Personal is a framework to help staff support student transitions. The MTP survey prompts students to consider their motivations, aspirations, and expectations, and suggests appropriate actions. These can be reviewed each year to help support the student’s development and transition throughout University and make their University experience more positive, personal and productive.
It complements other transitions resources such as the Careers Compass - developed by the Careers Service to help staff in supporting students at key transition points.
For more information visit our MTP page.
Find out about our commitment to supporting equality, diversity and inclusion.
Our Insights Programme helps Widening Participation students develop the confidence, skills and connections to consider a range of careers through introductions to Edinburgh alumni working in an exciting range of sectors and environments.
Students can access 1:1 help and advice from the Careers Service in a number of ways, and we encourage them to make good use of the resources and information available before booking an appointment with a Careers Consultant.
Quick links is a good place to start.
You may feel your student needs more individualised support if they:
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Feel confused and overwhelmed and are starting to feel anxious
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Need help to identify career options and want to explore different pathways
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Are unsure what they have to offer and may want to enhance or develop new skills
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Want to bounce around career ideas and suggestions, including further study
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Need specific advice about training and entry routes for their chosen career
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Are having doubts about their degree (or career path) and need to talk it through
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Have decided to leave their course, or the university
References
There is a new process for supplying references in relation to the new Student Support Model. This relates to providing references for jobs, voluntary work and academic references for further study.
Reference Requests Guidance (Sharepoint)
The legal context
· You do not need the student’s consent to provide a reference. The legal basis is “performance of a contract”. It’s the same for giving references for students making an application for further study. That is also “steps taken towards a contract” so the legal basis is the same .
· As references involve the sharing, handling and disclosure of personal data, they are subject to data protection legislation
· You must not provide confidential references, only a reference you would be prepared to share with the student
· Please be aware that under data protection legislation, students are entitled to see any reference written about them
· There is a legal obligation to use due care when compiling a reference in order to ensure its accuracy
This information above was provided in July 2022 by Dr Rena Gertz and Rally Vasileva, Data Protection Office, University of Edinburgh, who confirmed it will be provided to students too