Support in making career-related choices and developing relevant skills for Politics, International Studies & Philosophy Students
Top 5 most popular developmental activities for PISP Students
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1. One-to-one appointments and e-mailing an Adviser
Approximately 125 Politics, International Studies and Philosophy (PISP) students took up the offer of e-guidance or a meeting with a Careers Adviser last year.
Students can:
- Book a full, in depth, 45 minute appointment with the specialist Careers Adviser for your subject area (Claire Ussher)
- Drop in to resolve a quick query with whoever the Careers Adviser is on duty that day.
- Ask Claire Ussher a question via e-mail using the e-guidance system (you can expect a response within 5 working days)
Why do PISP students like meeting a Careers Adviser face to face?
- Meeting Claire, the specialist Careers Adviser for your discipline, can help you to more precisely identify the types of graduate job that may suit you.
- Making some initial broad decisions will help you to focus your choices. Claire will also be able to provide some direction regarding your next steps and what other opportunities and activities could help you to make further informed decisions and gain some additional useful experiences.
- You may already have decided to apply to a particular graduate job/placement and would like some guidance regarding how to approach the application/interview/selection procedure.
I am interested in meeting the Careers Adviser for PISP - What do I do next?
You book a one-to one appointment via Queen's Prospects Events, Fairs and Vacancies (if you have not used this before, please sign up first)
Read Claire Ussher's most recent e-bulletin to PISP students- click here.
- 2. Careers Fairs
Around 100 Politics, International Studies and Philosophy (PISP) students attended careers fairs during 2012-2013.
Fairs are an easy introduction to some of the larger graduate employers and those offering placement/internships opportunities. Students of any level and from any discipline are welcome at any of the fairs. You will be able to ask questions and talk to any of the
250 employers and exhibitors before applying to a job or considering a career development experience.
"The best groups were enthusiastic and well informed. There was a good variety of opportunities." Arts & Humanities student comment about fairs in 2012-2013.
Many employers also send graduates that they have recently recruited to the fairs so that you can talk to them directly about their experience of working in the organisation/company. You may be surprised by the range of graduate jobs and internships that are open to Politics and other PISP students.
"I never thought that a big engineering company like R**** ******* would have specialist, non-engineering departments within the company that would be interested in employing a student like me" Politics student 2012.
"I was interested in the information from Cancer Research and Health organisations" Politics student 2013
The fairs are also just a good way of doing some simple networking in an informal context. You don't have to be interested in applying to a particular job or employer in order to attend a fair. You are welcome to simply browse, ask a few questions, gather some information and move on if you prefer.
"I found it helpful" "All good, love the freebies" Arts & Humanities students 2013
Details of all the main fairs being organised this year are shown here.
- 3. Degree Plus
Approximately 25 Politics, International Studies & Philosophy students completed, banked or were working towards the Degree Plus Award during the last academic year.
Degree Plus is open to all full-time and part-time undergraduate, and postgraduate taught students, and you will receive the Award alongside your degree when you graduate. The Degree Plus Award is free, although some of the qualifying courses do charge their own small fee.
Find out more via the Degree Plus website. You may also email the Degree Plus Team at degreeplus@qub.ac.uk
Examples of some of the most popular Degree Plus programmes are:
- Queen's Employability & Skills Award (QESA)
- Insight into Management
- Career Mentoring (for Level 2s speed mentoring evening and at Level 3 the one-to-one mentoring with a member of Queen's Alumnus has proven popular)
- Brussels (Careers in Europe) Tour
- Language and Culture courses
- SU related Jobs including SU Council, Course Representative and Officer posts.
- Membership of a club or society
- 4. Erasmus
Approximately 20 PISP students will be taking up an Erasmus Study or Work Abroad opportunity in the current academic year
“I saw the bigger world; I learned that I could live away from home; I met lots of great people and had lots of different experiences; I see the potential of a possible career or further education in Europe, or beyond.” Level 2 Arts & Humanities student
The Erasmus Programme Director for Politics, International Studies and Philosophy is Cillian McBride.
- 5. Insight into Management
3 out of the 46 Queen's students who completed the Insight into Managment course last year were from Politics, International Studies and Philosophy (PISP). This programme is strongly recommended to PISP students by those who have attended previously. There will be up to 70 places available on the Programme during Easter 2014.
- What have PISP (and other Arts & Humanities students) said about the Insight into Management Programme in 2013?
“The team facilitators were fantastic. I’ve never had a workshop that was so comprehensively informative, enjoyable and really challenged me”
“I would recommend it to anyone, especially those unsure of interview techniques”
“Excellent Course. Love that it is so interactive but fun so you don’t feel under pressure. Facilitators were a great help too. Really well organised and every activity uses something different in you”
“Developed my team working skills and skills in managing a project as part of a team”
- Click here to find out more about Insight into Management
I would like...........
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...to gain work experience.
Most Politics, International Studies and Philosophy (PISP) students will already have some work experience through a part-time and/or summer job. This type of experience is always useful and of interest to a potential employer. However, some students are more savvy than others in upgrading their work experience by adding an additional dimension that gives them a higher level of experience and/or has specific links to their Degree. Examples include:- Taking up a opportunity with an organisation that is seeking volunteers to contribute to work on a project that interests you. Click into the Volunteer Now website and the European Commission's Youth in Action website to view the opportunities that are currently on offer for PISP and other students.
- Search the Careers vacancies for an internship/work placement opportunity with a graduate employer who is interested in PISP students, in particular, or students or any discipline.
- Consider applying to a post within Queen's via "On Campus Jobs"
- Be really adventurous and try to gain some overseas work experience through initiatives such as;
“I saw the bigger world; I learned that I could live away from home; I met lots of great people and had lots of different experiences; I see the potential of a possible career or further education in Europe, or beyond.” Level 2 Arts & Humanities student
- ...to try out a short course or event.
There are a variety of short (1 or 2 hour) interactive workshops and presentations that PISP students are encouraged to attend as a first step in starting to build on the qualities, skills and experiences that you already have. These "taster" events can allow you to gather useful information quickly and will start to provide you with some suggestions and ideas on what you might like to do next.
Examples of the popular short courses and events are:
Lunchtime workshops in the Student Guidance Centre (50 minutes only). Examples include
- How to get the most out of Careers Fairs
- Writing CVs and Applications
- Successful interviews
The Skills for Success workshops. Examples include:
- Internationalise your career
- Leadership skills
- How to perfect an interview
To book a place on any of the Lunchtime or Skills for Success workshops, go to www.qub.ac.uk/careers>EventsCalendar
- ...to start to learn how to speak to potential employers "in their language".
Part of the process of finding suitable work experience or a graduate job involves familiarising yourself with some of the language that sometimes goes along with job advertisements and applications. It may even be the case that there are certain "buzz words" that you come across in relation to the graduate job market and would like to disipher into more familiar contexts that you can relate to more easily.
There are many different support options for you to start to improve your "employment language skills" as part of a broader experience or knowlege/skill development workshop. Examples include:
- Kick Start Your Career - what are some good first steps?: This is part of the Lunchtime workshops in the Student Guidance Centre (50 minutes only): As well as the CV, Application and interview workshops, there are other short workshops in this series which are intended to help you grasp some of the key terminology while helping you to consider some other useful strategies and experiences.
- Psychometric tests -what are they?: Many employers use these as part of their selection/recruitment processes. Feedback from both employers and Careers Advisers indicates that, like many things in life, individuals who familiarise themselves with these and practice them in advance of a real test are more likely to be successful in this element of the selection process. During the workshops, the term "psychometric tests"will be explained and broken down into short workshops on verbal and numerical reasoning. You will have a chance to practice some questions and "unwrap" the terminology - putting it into terms that you can engage with and making you more confident of success when you come across these tests . There are Lunchtime Workshops as well as some of the Employer Workshops where a well known employer presents information and exercises to Queen's students. These provide those who attend with tips and information on how to approach psychometric tests and other graduate selection instruments.
- Alumni Career Mentoring Scheme: This is a great opportunity for able and ambitious students from Politics, International Studies and Philosophy to talk, one-to-one with a graduate who is experienced in a specific career area that you aspire to. Click here for further information and check out the webpage at www.qub.ac.uk/alumnicareermentoring
To book a place on a workshop related to the above activities (or search for any other workshop), please use the Careers Events, Vacancies and Fairs search and booking tool on the front pages of the Careers website.
- ...to undertake a substantial activity, such as an international experience.
Undertaking an work experience or Internationalising your Queen’s experience can be a great way of developing personal and employability skills, experiencing exciting new cultures, gaining a more global outlook and perspective, as well as – and definitely not to be forgotten – an opportunity to meet new friends and have fun.
International Experiences
Queen’s offers many opportunities to add value to your time here. Every year over 600 Queen’s students take the opportunity to go outside Northern Ireland to study or gain work-related experience – why not be one of them? Even if your degree doesn’t offer the opportunity to study or work abroad there are still loads of opportunities whatever your level and degree discipline. You can go abroad for the summer, for a semester or for a whole year – the choice is yours. To find out more about some of the opportunities on offer to you as a Queen's Politics, International Studies and Philosophy student, click on the link in the Careers website to Add an International Dimension to your Queen's Experience.
Queen's Employability and Skills Award (QESA)
The Queen’s Employability and Skills Award is an innovative programme which enables students to gain an accredited award which recognises skills developed through different types of casual work, short term placement, volunteering or involvement in clubs and societies. Significant numbers of students do not have formal work placement opportunity within their degree programme, however, may aquire a wide range of employability skills by engaging in other work related activities.
Degree Plus
Substantial activities of this kind are eligible for Degree Plus accreditation. A full list of other substantial "Route A" activities for Degree Plus activities can be accessed by clicking here.
Accredited "Route B" activities (the combined route) can be accessed by clicking here.
- ...to do something different.
You may be enjoying your studies in Politics, International Studies and Philosophy but plan to use your degree to help you gain a job in a broad "any discipline" area or even start your own business. This is an option which many students consider. Some will elect to complete a post-graduate course in a different discipline prior to considering the "any discipline" job option while others will choose to gather up relevant extracurricular experiences and start to apply in their final year of study. If you are considering any of these, you may find the following examples to be helpful:
- Careers Fairs,Skills for Success and Employer workshops/presentations and one-to-one guidance with your Careers Adviser (Claire Ussher)
- Postgraduate study at Queen's
- Enterprise SU activities
- Insight into Management (Easter break)
- Alumni Career Mentoring - talk one-to-one with a graduate who has been there and done it before you. For specific information for PISP student click here or contact alumnimentoring@qub.ac.uk.
- Frontrunner Leadership Programme (January) - enquiries to careers@qub.ac.uk
- Read a Case Study from a Politics Student who is pursuing a career in Law
