Skills Academy workshop slides on Employability for Mature Students delivered on 4 June, 2013

2. Employability for Mature
Students
Career Development Centre
Stephen Cole

3. Objectives for this workshop:
You will:
•Recognise your strengths as a mature applicant
•Target organisations / employers realistically
•Learn how to demonstrate strengths & motivation in
your CV & in on-line applications
•Identify strategies to address employers objections

4. Challenge:
• Summarise in two minutes the key points in your
life that have led you to being enrolled at the
University of Westminster today
• Discuss with a partner your key concerns as a
mature student

5. The Employment Equality (Age)
Regulations 2006
– It is unlawful for an organisation / firm to discriminate
against any candidate on the basis of their age
– Some organisations are specifically targeting /
encouraging older students
– Some organisations are under pressure to publish
diversity statistics on their websites
– Never been a better time for it to work in your favour

6. Employers may still……
• Stereotype the older graduate
• Make assumptions
• Overlook the “added value”
• Use age as a pre-selection tool
• Produce literature & forms which are less than
encouraging to older applicants
• Be inflexible about entry points

7. The question is therefore not
whether an organisation would
recruit you at your age (be that
young or old) but …..
Does your previous experience
make you a strong candidate for
that organisation?

8. – What skills, qualities &
achievements are employers
seeking in applicants?

9. Employers Wish List
Oral and Written Communication
Teamwork
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Initiative
Leadership
Commitment
Interpersonal skills
(from analysis of 10,000 graduate job vacancies)

10. – What can mature candidates
contribute to the business world?

11. Positive Qualities of
Mature Students
• stability and flexibility; work experience
• common sense; communication skills
• ‘people’ skills; ambition; persistence
• ability to juggle several projects at once
(combining study and family life); emotional
intelligence
• ability to concentrate in a difficult environment;
loyalty

12. Quotes …..
“We welcome …..graduates who have had experience in other areas and may be coming to law slightly
late, with high professional standards and a commercial approach. ” (Bircham Dyson Bell)
“We are looking for trainees who are personable, self-confident and able to inspire confidence in clients”
(Stanley Tee now Tee Lorimers)
“It’s not easy choosing the right career path after university. You only get a true feel for an industry or
company once you’ve experienced it first-hand. So it’s no wonder people have second thoughts about
their first choice. If that applies to you, and you’re thinking about changing careers, perhaps we can help”
(Mark & Spencer)
“Mature applicants have life experience – communicate it effectively. We are also looking for confidence
and that others have confidence in you and it’s a people business – so empathy needed” (Chambers)

13. Employers’ objections to mature candidates?
– S/he can’t offer a long professional career
– S/he would find it difficult to fit in to a younger
team
– S/he would be unable to take instructions from a
younger boss
– S/he intimidates me with his/her knowledge and
achievements
– Explore strategies to address each objection in
groups

14. Where is maturity a distinct
advantage & why?
Where?
•Organisations with clients from your “Sector”
•Small and Medium businesses
•Where clients have to deal with personal or
traumatic problems

15. –Where is maturity a distinct
advantage & why? Any ideas?

16. Targeting strategies for mature candidates
– Networking
Where to network?
– Direct contact
– By phone
– At industry events – Which ones?
– After presentations, etc

17. The Iceberg Principle

18. Creative approaches
– Actively seek out and create job opportunities
– Do your homework
– Make speculative approaches
– Build a network of contacts
– Think laterally

19. Sources of vacancy
information
• CDC Publications / Web www.wmin.ac.uk/careers
• Local/ National / Specialist Press
• Internet
• Recruitment Agencies
• Graduate Fairs
• Employer Directories
• Academic Staff
• Family and friends
• Creative Job hunting!

20. Informational
interviewing
• Identify companies and people in your chosen field
• Arrange an informal interview
• Find out more about the work, the company, their
career paths
• Ask about work shadowing or work experience
• Try not to leave without another contact
• DO NOT ASK FOR A JOB!
• Remember to write and thank them

21. KEY FACTS?
– Age itself is not a barrier to securing a graduate
job
– Applicants must meet other criteria e.g. 2:1
degree, relevant experience, key skills & abilities
– Employers don’t want you to be different they want
the same – but with added bonuses!*
– Public sector employers, by virtue of their source
of funding, are usually more welcoming to
applications from a broad spectrum of society

22. The mature student’s CV (1)
• Clear presentation
• Still approximately 2 sides of A4*
• Look at your CV through the eyes of the
recruiter
• Use your experience to provide evidence of
skills and knowledge

23. The mature student’s CV (2)
• Personal details at the beginning and
referees at the end but the order of the
middle sections is up to you!
• Employment section before the
Education section?
• Key points near the top?
• Appendix for research publications?

24. Common CV concerns
….
• How do I explain change of career direction
• Where do I put professional and vocational
qualifications
• How do I explain time out?
• What should I put under interests/activities?
• Any other queries?

25. Do you have any concerns about
application forms specific to
mature students?

26. Why review experience?
– Careful analysis and review of your past and
present experience can help in:
– -Your career choice and personal development
– -Making you a ‘strong’ candidate in job application
– -Matching your skills/ abilities to employer’s criteria
– -Interview technique

27. Why review experience?
(cont)
• Make the links with your past experience: show
employers these experiences translate into the
very skills they are currently looking for
• Practice articulating your strengths and positive
aspects of your life – Practice in groups

28. What can you do to
increase your
confidence????…

29. I can increase my confidence by…
– Valuing my skills
– Being aware of achievements
– Being assertive
– Liking and accepting myself
– Feeling right about my appearance
– Seeking out support

30. Exploring your career
options
Working through your career choice involves:
•Assessing yourself and your experience*
•Exploring your options
•Making contacts, gaining experience and
researching employers

31. Summary
• Try to emphasise your good points while making
light of any limitations
• This process applies to all students but mature
students need to be especially positive.
• Some prejudices are unstated therefore your
manner could be crucial to dispelling uncertainties.

32. 10 Top Tips ….
• Draw up a plan and, if necessary, re-evaluate
• Be realistic when targeting employers
• Identify the employer’s objections to you
• Be creative with your application strategy
• Make yourself known to recruiters
• If in doubt about any aspect of the recruitment process, ask for clarification
• Participate in any extra curricular activities on offer
• Think about how to explain the career change / your experiences
• Network
• Lawcareers.net – Features – “Track Changes: How Two Career Changers
Leapt to Law.”

33. Objectives for this
workshop
You will:
•Recognise your strengths as a mature applicant
•Target organisations and roles realistically
•Learn how to demonstrate strengths & motivation in
your CV & in on-line applications
•Identify strategies to address employers objections

34. Thank You
Stephen Cole
Careers Consultant