A Graduate Winter Bootcamp at the University of Ulster to boost graduates’ employment prospects has proved so popular that organisers are planning more for the future.
The recent two-day forum attracted more participants than expected and those who were unable to secure a place will be enrolled in the next session.
The bootcamp was organised to give graduates an opportunity to discuss the barriers they are facing while searching for employment.
Areas such as self-awareness, networking, developing an online presence, maintaining confidence, career branding and job opportunities were explored, in a drive to boost employability skills and increase prospects of securing work.
Recruitment specialists from Google Ireland and Citi delivered presentations and held open discussions on subjects including compiling the best possible CV and how to impress at interviews.
The event was organised by the University of Ulster’s Career Development Centre, and career development consultant Brian Byres gave several talks on a number of issues relating to ways of proactively securing graduate level employment.
“Once graduation comes and goes the reality of trying to enter a competitive graduate labour market can be both challenging and daunting,” he explained.
“Delivering this programme, in partnership with high profile graduate recruiters, gave our participants valuable insider tips on CV building, interview techniques andpersonal branding.
Kevin McCoppin from Glengormley, who recently graduated from Ulster with a Masters in International Business, attended the two-day event at the Belfast campus.
He said: “This is an invaluable resource for new graduates entering a very tough job market. It has given me a lot to think about in terms of how I’m going to go about my job search and advertise myself to prospective employers.”