By Alisha Batkin (Second year BA Hons Law with Criminology)
When I first came to university, I was continually told about the importance of filling up my CV with as many extra-curricular activities as possible during my 3 years here rather than just working toward a degree. I never truly understood the importance of this until I started to explore all the opportunities that I got given. As many of you will know (and probably only skim read), we get e-mailed with so many different opportunities by university staff, but I recently realised that I shouldn’t be ignoring these e-mails because they could give me experience, perspective and skills to boast about on your CV!
My Personal Experience:
As a second-year student, I currently volunteer for a charity called Sova. This gives me a true representation of my criminology studies, including the skills needed to work in offender management and interactions with staff which allows me to pick up on the terminology and lingo used in the real-world practice of what I’m learning about. These experiences are so important!! The benefits I get out of volunteering are skills that I could never get out of a lecture or tutorial, and so having the mixture of education and experience means I am more employable, and this means that you could be too.
Websites:
When looking for work experience/volunteering/other CV-worthy activities, the website ‘doit.org’ allows you to search for roles near you, in the subject area that you choose. Another good website is for internships on ‘Driven’ through our careers and employability page. If you register and attach your CV, they’ll either e-mail you allowing you access to the opportunities or give you advice/comments on how to improve your CV so that you can have a better chance of being successful in your applications. The important thing to remember is that the area you choose doesn’t necessarily have to be specific to your degree because it could be something that will give you transferable skills that will benefit you in the career you choose, which most roles/activities will!
Time Management:
If you’re worried about time management, like I was at first because taking on the responsibilities of a degree and volunteering/internships/work experience/other activities such as attending talks while trying to balance your personal life can be difficult. However, if I can do it then so can you! It is possible to add to your CV as long as you designate time to all of your tasks throughout the week and stick to it, which sounds impossible but once you have a routine, it is so much easier to stick to. When you graduate, I can guarantee you that you’ll be glad that you spent that extra time focusing on your future! The benefits of experience in any shape or form are endless, and this is why you should look into your future TODAY!