Alecia Cotterell: Student Education, Job Application Tips and Emerging Technology Shaping Higher Education

Season 1 - episodes produced by Bloomsbury Institute.

Alecia Cotterell: Student education, job application tips and emerging technology shaping higher education. 

Welcome to Take A Chance On You hosted by Alexandra Forsyth, cyber security expert, advisor, coach and public speaker. 

Today's topic and theme is 'Back to Basics, Creating Success in The Job Market'. 

Alecia is Head of Careers at Teesside University London, providing a unique offering to enhance graduate success - 20% of every module students undertake across all subject areas focus on employability skills. From day one students hit the ground running to develop the type of skills and experiences that employers in their industry are looking for.

Alecia is passionate about empowering students to find ways to stand out in the graduate market, particularly international students who make up a high proportion of the campus.Challenges discussed include the overuse of technology such as AI to enhance the application process, and ways to stand out in the initial application stages within an increasingly competitive job market.

Suggested strategies include students tailoring their responses to each individual job application, arguing it is better to apply for less roles, and provide quality answers to each recruiter / company.

Getting students to feel motivated, passionate and curious about prospective job roles is also crucial to Alecia’s mission, alongside identifying opportunities to develop experience and transferable skills.An example for a Computing student could be volunteering Data Science support for a local charity – the student analyses this data, searches for trends, makes predictions and helps the charity implement changes. 

The student in turn, builds on their strategic skills which is increasingly appealing for recruiters in the tech sector.

A common pain-point for a lot of students and graduates is the lack of feedback from companies post-application / interview. Alecia recommends emailing, or calling to speak with the hiring manager. In addition, students should make use of the resources in their reach – your university careers service, internship schemes, and networks can all be tapped into. 

Teesside University London offers funded internships, paying businesses on behalf of taking on students, providing salaries and opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the workplace. This is currently being offered to second year students, and they’ve gained a wide-range of industry-relevant experience and key connections with future employers.

When it comes to AI in the workplace, if more entry-level roles start disappearing on account of the part AI plays in automation, there may be higher expectations for candidates applying for these types of roles. Students and those early in their career can decide to be at the forefront of change, gaining an understanding now and the skills needed for progression.