DSU has launched a new Student Skills Passport to help students identify the key skills they have gained in their time at university.
De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU) has launched a new Student Skills Passport to help students identify the key skills they have gained in their time at De Montfort University (DMU).
The pocket-sized document focuses on the skills that students will have picked up through their experience as Course Reps, SRCs, sports club or society committee members, or through other roles and responsibilities.
The project is the work of Mollie Footitt, DP Education at DSU, and Mike Mayes, VP Media and Communications at DSU, who both felt that students could afford to boast more about the vital skills they have gained through engaging with the students’ union.
Mollie said: “This is something we have created to help everyone identify the skills they have gained through being involved with the students’ union, and how to translate that experience into CV-friendly language or at an interview.
“Quite often you’ll be asked for examples of a certain skill, and your Student Skills Passport will help you reflect on what you already have and where you can develop further.”
Mollie was on hand to show students the pocket-sized document at our Steer Your Career Conference earlier this week.
Key skills that graduate employers will look for – such a leadership and time management – as well as more focused expertise – like financial responsibility and dedication – are all covered in the Student Skills Passport, with hints and tips for turning existing experience into language suitable for a job application.
“Through chatting with the university’s employability team, it was clear a lot of students water down the experience they have,” Mollie continued.
“That’s why we decided it was time to create something like this to show people they should be shouting about the great work that they are already doing with DSU.”
The Student Skills Passport was launched to students at our Steer Your Career Conference earlier this week, where experts from the private sector, ‘third’ sector, and in-house experts at DMU delivered sessions on topics as diverse as mindfulness, psychometric testing, and planning for life after university.
Rosie Webbon is in the final year of her Fashion Buying with Marketing course at DMU.
“With me being in my final year of uni, employability is pretty much my main concern,” she said.
“It’s quite an intimidating thought leaving uni and having to go into the world of work, but the main point I took from the day was that there is experience in everything.
“Many aspects of my life have given me varied experiences which can be transferred [into] work skills.”
You can find out more about our first Steer Your Career conference, and how students helped shaped their future careers, here.
The Student Skills Passport is the work of both Mollie Footitt, DP Education at DSU, and Mike Mayes, VP Media and Communications at DSU.
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