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I haven't got a clue?
Have you wandered down the school or college corridor and seen posters
about Careers / Connexions Conventions?
Did you wander straight past and never give them a second thought?
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If the answer is 'YES' then hopefully this article should shed some light on
why someone takes the time to organise them!
OK…Give me the gist!
A Careers / Connexions Convention is a great way of looking at your career
options in 'real life'. Rather than all the research you might have done in
the library, reading books, checking out websites or using a computer programme,
you now get the chance to actually talk to people about your options.
You might have already spoken to your Careers / Connexions / Personal Adviser.
That's great, they should have given you some guidance on the careers ideas
that you have already thought about. The convention will let you talk to a range
of other people and these could include :-
- Local Training Providers - They will offer information about the
types of training schemes that are available in your area. If you want to
go into employment when you leave school, these are a great way of getting
good training at the same time. Check out the 'Earn while you Learn' article
for more information.
- Colleges - They will have information about the courses that they
offer. If you don't want to stay on at school but you do want to carry on
learning, you will be able to find out about different subjects available
to study, but also the different types of qualifications you can consider.
Check out the 'Qualified in Qualifications' article for more information.
- Universities - If Higher Education is for you, this is a great chance
to talk to local universities about their courses, student life and much more.
Check out the 'Moving on Up' article for more information.
- Self Employment Agencies - Do you fancy working for yourself? If
you do, you can talk to people who can give you advice and information on
how to go about it and what's involved. They may also be able to give you
information on any support that could be available to you.
- Employers - This is a great way of finding out about what local employers
are looking for, the vacancies they have, the training schemes they might
run and 'face-to-face' information about the type of work and what you need
to do! Check out the 'Mission Quite Possible' article and many other employment
articles on this site for more information.
- Voluntary Agencies - Do you need to find out what sought of voluntary
work there is available in your area? This could be great experience for CV's,
application forms, college course interviews etc. Check out the 'Something
for the weekend' article for more information.
- Support Agencies - Have you desperately avoided careers services
so far, but now feel like a bit of help? Do you have other issues that you
need some advice or information about?
Careers / Connexions Conventions may be slightly different across the country,
so find out what's happening in your local area.
Do I just turn up and wander round?
Sometimes you need to let the organisers know, but usually you can just turn
up. You can just wander round but it is better to have a plan. Many
Careers / Connexions Services will provide you with a booklet to help you. If
not, these are the things you need to plan before you go.
- Have a look at the programme. Are there people there that you want to talk
to? Note them down so that you don't forget any.
- Do you have specific questions that you want to ask those people? Write
them down, it might be busy or packed and you don't want to forget if you
get flustered.
- What information are you looking for? Do you need a certain prospectus or
contact details of any organisation? You know the score…..write it down!
This should make the convention really useful for you. If you find that the
information / organisations that you want aren't there, have a chat with someone
on the careers stand.
So, instead of floating along the corridor, in your own little bubble (as great
as that may be!!)……….keep your eyes open for information about
your careers convention and make it work well for you!
Further Information!
Please use the Career Services
section on this site to find your local Careers / Connexions Service, to find
further information on Careers / Connexions Conventions in your area!
Good Luck
Jennie Glitherow
At school or college? Look out for Jennie's future articles which we'll have
here for the first Monday of each month, and which we'll link to the best sites
we can find on the Web. Why not bookmark us now?
To get back to this page to use the links on it - enter http://www.careers-gateway.co.uk/mainpage.htm
and click on Magazine then Being Conventional!
