Stand out from the crowd with The Exeter Award

Stand out from the crowd with The Exeter Award Current Exeter students Bianka Weber (BA History and Politics) and Sofia Marmorini (BA English and Drama) told us why completing the Exeter Award should be top of your New Year’s resolutions. Bianka  When I began the Exeter Award, I didn’t know much about it, and didn’t realise how much I could learn from the sessions provided by the Career Zone. However, as I attended session after session, I realised how beneficial they were. Not only did I improve my CV, build a great LinkedIn profile and learn how to write effective job applications, I also made new friends and met like-minded and inspiring people. Bianka Weber Not only did I improve my CV and learn how to write effective job applications, I also made new friends and met inspiring people. I learned how to network and negotiate with people and how to positively influence them. Completing the Exeter Award gave me great employability skills and when participating in interviews for summer internships, I was asked about the Award several times. Interviewers were always impressed by the fact that I took the time during my studies to take on extracurricular activities and develop the skills they required. Last year I was asked to become an Exeter Award Ambassador, and I took on this responsibility with great joy as I find happiness in encouraging students to do something profitable for their careers. I hope others will follow my example and gain as much from the Exeter Award as I have. Sofia  The Exeter Award, in an increasingly competitive field, is a certificate that can really help your job application set you apart from other candidates. Independently of what you study you can take courses to increase your employability. Because the classes don’t belong to a particular subject, you meet students that are proactive, have a will to learn, and improve in areas that aren’t exclusively linked their academic subject. It’s therefore a nice way to make friends that branch out of your usual routines. Sofia Marmorini Essentially, the Exeter Award pushes you to improve in the areas you decide to pursue, which is exactly what employers want to see you’re doing. I’m an international student and I study English and Drama, a subject that doesn’t really address job applications and CVs until the third year (as most subjects at the university do). Through Exeter Award classes, I was able to build a CV in a correct format that helped me apply for things such as summer jobs. The Award offers skill-sessions that are targeted at improving your performance outside of the strict academic sphere. However, the extra classes I took in Creative Writing to help my studies also contributed to my Exeter Award, so I benefited twice. Essentially, the Exeter Award pushes you to improve in the areas you decide to pursue, which is exactly what employers want to see you’re doing. For more information about the Exeter Award visit www.exeter.ac.uk/exeteraward or ask a question through My Career Zone.