By Patricia Obawole
2nd year BU Student, LLB (Hons) Law
I have always known that I am a person who does love a bit of extra-curricular activities and I have always tried to take part in as much as I can. Unfortunately, this has been put on the back burner now that I am at uni, but I still do make time for some including, being members of societies (law society and debate society) etc. Likewise, I often visit my employability co-ordinator to see how I can improve my CV.
The funny thing is, it can be quite difficult to get across the skills you learn from these activities in your CV for instance, I have never been to an interview and they have asked me “so how many times have you been to see your employability co-ordinator regarding this CV?” it just doesn’t come up as they only see the end result of the CV and not the hard work that has gone into preparing it. So I thought there must be a way that I can get my potential employers to see how, through these activities I have developed my skills and learnt new ones? I know, at the interview I’ll twist their arm behind their back and tell them directly or how I gained all these various skills which are relevant to the business. Okay, that may not go down well, so instead I thought “I’ll complete the Bournemouth University Student Development Award” and I can truly say this has been the better choice.
So what it is about? The award is to show employers (and students) that all the little things that you have done in and around your degree and how you have learn these skills and that they are transferable into almost anything. It shows the little bit of volunteering you did that summer, or the part time job dog-walking that you had during your degree, or even just being a member of a society and how it has impacted your skills (hopefully for the better). It is basically a web page for you and others to see (a bit like Facebook but more professional like LinkedIn), this way, I simply have to direct the potential employers to my page.
This is great if you don’t have any space to spare on your CV but still have so much to tell. Mine is actually located on my CV and so the employers needs to simply click on the page.
Like I said, this is a fantastic opportunity and your employer gets to appreciate all the little things you have done and therefore, you do get the credit for your hard work.
Good luck
