Students get job-ready during lockdown
Students were able to take advantage of AUT’s Employability and Careers services during the lockdown to get career ready for future opportunities.
With just a two-day turn around, the Employability and Careers team, who were determined to continue to offer students access to their services, changed their mode of delivery and went online.
“When lockdown was imminent it became very clear we had to quickly find a way to continue to offer workshops and employer presentations to our students,” says AUT Employability Lab manager Serena Tiaiti.
In April, the team delivered 102 workshops along with 56 employer/leadership presentations. They were initially worried employers would not be interested in talking to students at this time, but were heartened to find that not only did they want to present, but they also were keen to maintain contact with the students.
Workshops included advice on CV and cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, online job search and networking. Presentations from employers included future opportunities, ways to job search and how to be resilient through such uncertain times.
The sessions were well attended, showing students had an appetite for connection and ideas.
“Many students took advantage of the lockdown to sharpen their employment tools to be ready for recruitment opportunities in the future,” says Serena.
Last month, the Employability and Careers team also released a new online platform My CareerLab located in Elabonline. It includes a Live Chat tool, CV and cover letter builder, career self-assessments and other new features. The Live Chat tool offers an online drop-in service run by the Employability Lab team to provide career support to students during working hours.