DCU Careers Services

Career Discovery Programme

Calling All First Year Students

Starting Monday 20th February, 5pm - 6pm, Room QG22

Position yourself for success

What’s in it for You
Specifically for first year students, these sessions will:

- Introduce you to career development
- Understand your strengths, interests and passions
- Identify the type of skills and attributes employers look for
- Work experience: what it is; why it matters; and how to get it
- Nail your CV for summer job hunting
- Networking: how to do it and debunking the myths
- Tips on getting ahead

Some students prefer to go to events with their class mates. So come along with your friends to the Career Discovery Programme!

Certificate of Attendance
There is a total of 5 sessions (see below). Students who attend 4 of the 5 sessions will receive a certificate of attendance – something else you can add to your CV!

Presentations and activities will be posted on Moodle after each session.

Book Your Place
Book your place here. Each session takes place in Room QG22, Business School.

Testimonials from previous participants

"I found the Career Discovery Programme a very beneficial programme, with very useful experiences. Through the programme, we students found out about essential information like CV writing, how to hunt for jobs, how to approach professional employers, how to organize our study in ways to go with our careers, and much more. And much of such information was unknown to us until then. In addition, the programme gave us confidence in how to approach the outside world of business, and a sense of autonomy and responsibility as to what we have in our hands and how to use it. The experience was nothing but very useful." Michelle de Mattos França, Psychology Year 2 (participated in 2011)

"Now that I'm in final year I'm really glad that I attended the Career Discovery programme in first year. It gave me a big advantage when it came to applying for INTRA jobs last year and also now that I'm applying for graduate jobs, as I already had the knowledge of what makes a good CV, what skills and attributes I needed to develop and highlight to appeal to employers and how to go about looking for vacancies. This put me one step ahead when others were only beginning to consider their career development. I'd definitely recommend the sessions to any first year student." Jenny Quigley, Finanical & Actuarial Maths, Year 4 (participated in 2009)

"Having participated in the Career Discovery Programme in my first year I think that it is a great resource for students who are still contemplating what they want to do after university. The programme gave us an insight in to how to choose what career we want and it also offered us practical advice on how to go about getting the career we want. It was also a good way to meet other people with the same kind of mindset. I strongly recommend the programme for anybody who is still unsure what they want to do after college and also for anyone who knows what they want but are unsure of how to go about it." Rónán Ó Dálaigh, Gnó & Gaeilge Year 2. Participated in 2011. Ronan is co-chair DCU Raising And Giving society; Ordinary Member An Cumann Gaelach; Representative Student Alumni Initiative

Programme Overview

Date	Session	Content
Mon 20th Feb 5pm – 6pm Room QG22	What’s Your Passion & Purpose	What’s your Passion and Purpose??? Take some time to really think about your interests, strengths and what’s important to you. Having this insight and awareness is key when choosing jobs that suit your personality.
Mon 27th Feb 5pm – 6pm Room QG22	What Employers Want	From an employer’s perspective, everything you do during the next three to four years count. Employers expect students to not only have a strong academic background but also a range of a range of employability skills and attributes. This session focuses on what employers want and how you can develop your skills and attributes now.
Mon 5th March 5pm – 6pm Room QG22	Work Experience: What it is, How to get it, Why do it	Work experience has loads of benefits. It helps you decide the type of job you would like; you might come across a job you hadn’t even considered; or the type of organisation you would like to work for. This session focuses on the types and benefits of work experience, web resources and tips on seeking work experience.
Mon 26th March 5pm – 6pm Room QG22	Nail Your CV For Summer Job Hunting	This session will focus on CV format, main sections of a CV, use of language and some tips to make your CV stand out from the crowd. CV’s are useful to help gain summer work. It can also be used as a basis to add other work experiences, interests, achievements, extra curricular activities as you progress throughout DCU.
4th April 5pm – 6pm Room QG22	Learn to Network	The word ‘networking’ can sometimes confuse or scare students. This session focuses on what networking is, how to do it and debunking some common myths around it. It will also focus on using online networking sites like LinkedIn and give you information on how you can get mentored by a graduate of DCU.