National Careers Week 2016 2016 Digital Magazine | Page 18

5 OF THE BEST
NATIONAL CAREERS WEEK
ACTIVITIES
BY
TEN
WRIT ennett

B
Matt

So we’re sat here reminiscing National Careers Week 2015 and
all the great activities put on by various establishments across
the board and thinking what a great idea it would be to share
these for NCW newbies to help plan their own week in 2016.
We’ve found the following were amongst the most
popular activities utilised during a previous
National Careers Week.

Guest Speakers
Career Fairs

One of the more popular ideas
is orangising a Careers Fair for
students, inviting a wide
spectrum of local businesses
to talk to students about what
they may be looking for from
future candidates. This is great
because students can quickly
gauge what interests them and
can talk directly to employers
about their experiences in that
sector. A Career Fair is also
really beneficial for younger
students to visit so they can start
to develop ideas of what they
would like to do in the future.
A variation of this we’ve seen
in the past is a ‘Careers Speed
Networking’ event which
features a number of stations
with employers on, small groups
of students then get five minutes
on each station with the
opportunity to then speak to the
employers they liked the most at
the end of the session.

It’s always really inspiring for
students to hear from individuals
they can identify with. Last year
a whole host of schools invited
some great guests in to speak
to their students. Oaklands
College in Hertfordshire invited
QPR FC manager of the time
Chris Ramsey to talk to their
students whilst Ormiston
Shelfield Community Academy
invited former Arsenal FC
chairman David Dein to inspire
sports students about the
different roles in sport.
It is also really effective to invite
alumni that now have built a
successful career to share their
career journey. This is
beneficial as current students
can really identify with the
journey and it may inspire them
to do something similar. It also
helps set realistic expectations
on the process in making a
success of themselves –
nobody becomes an instant
success straight out of Sixth
Form.

Asking Students, What Is Your Dream Job?

Interview Sessions

Who remembers their very first
interview experience? I can,
I was absolutely petrified! By
hosting interview sessions with
students you will get them used
to the format and put them miles
ahead of future candidates.

Career Workshops

Whether it’s after hours or during
lunch times, National Careers
Week is an ideal time to hold
specialised careers workshops
to aid students in their career
goals. Useful sessions may
include; CV building, cover
letter writing, LinkedIn tips and
social media optimisation. Go
the extra mile by making these
workshops mandatory for all
students.

Get students thinking about their