Career Skills Award - Activities
The Career Skills Awards equips you with the advantage you need to launch your career. Get involved with workshops, connect with employers, and gain experience. Complete activities and take home a Career Skills Award, a mark of your dedication and preparedness for the future.
What do I have to do? Simply complete one activity* from each of the three following categories and claim your Career Skills Award:
Employer Partnership Activities
Don't wait for graduation – kickstart your career today! Employer Partnership Activities connect you with industry leaders through workshops and company visits. Gain valuable insights into job opportunities, network with professionals, and hone essential skills like interview techniques and CV writing. These experiences smooth your transition into the workforce – all while giving you a head start on landing first job after college.
All available employer activities can be viewed and registered for on MyCareer, with new activities going live throughout the year. Events will depend on employer availability each year.
* To successfully complete this category, you'll need to participate in 3 different sessions.
Careers Skills Workshops
Our Career Skills Workshops provide you with hands-on experience and practical knowledge to thrive. Stay ahead of the curve by mastering the latest skills and strategies for professional success. Our workshops provide a platform for continuous learning and growth, ensuring you're prepared for the evolving job market.
Employer Partner Site Visit
An employer site visit is an activity in which you visit a workplace, learn about the company, meet employees and interns, ask questions, and observe work in progress. Employer site visits are designed to help you explore various careers and work environments and learn about different professions and industries.
Partner Presentations on Employment Opportunities
Start thinking about your future employment and make connections with employers by attending a Partner Presentation! These sessions feature employers highlighting job opportunities at their organisation, their recruitment process, and more.
Panel Events with Employer Partner Speakers
These events are designed to help you understand the career options available to you and help you make more informed career choices. The majority of our panellists are recent graduates or Trinity alumni who can give you an honest overview of what it is like to work within a specific industry. They will often talk you through a "day in the life" of someone who is currently doing their role and provide you with information they wish they had known when taking their first steps into their career.
Employer Partner Practice Interviews
Practice really does make perfect. You’ve filled out the application, created an impressive CV, and landed the job interview. Do you know what to do next? This is a unique opportunity for you to sit down with an employer for a practice interview and receive direct feedback.
Employer Partner CV Review Clinic
Get direct feedback from employers to transform your CV into a powerful career tool. Bring a copy of your CV to our workshop and receive personalised insights on how to maximize impact and showcase your talents. Learn to address common challenges, incorporate industry-specific language, and create a CV that leaves a lasting impression.
Beyond the Classroom Activities
This category is about levelling up your skills for the working world. We celebrate students who take initiative and go beyond the classroom. Anything that helps you hone your communication, problem-solving, and adaptability skills, but the list goes on! We also recognise the value of juggling responsibilities (like caring for others) or finding an activity that stretches your abilities. Just remember, activities need to be verifiable.
Participate in Mentoring
Would you like to find out more about careers that interest you? Participating in mentoring, whether as a mentor or mentee, is a rewarding experience that fosters growth and development. Through sharing knowledge, experiences, and perspectives, mentoring relationships create a powerful platform for learning, support, and lasting impact.
More information: Mentoring - Trinity Careers Service and S2S (Student 2 Student)
Complete a Mock Interview through Shortlist.me
Ace that interview and win the job! Shortlist.Me is on online platform that enables you to get hands-on practice with mock interviews tailored to your target role and experience level. It is a great way for you to prepare for that all-important interview.
LinkedIn Learning Course
LinkedIn Learning contains over 13,000 professional courses developed by industry experts, and you can access it for free through the University. Whether you're looking for extra practical skills to make you the top candidate for your next job, or worried about the transition from university to the workplace and how best to fit in - LinkedIn Learning has a course for you.
Disability Service Development & Engagement Drop-ins
Trinity disAbility Service's mission is to create an accessible, transformational, educational environment in an interdependent University community and provide a platform for innovation and inclusion. By engaging with the service, students access support and resources tailored to support their development.
Laidlaw Programme & Other Skills Development Programmes
Trinity provides and supports several programmes focused on skill development including the Laidlaw Programme and Student Learning Development. Through these programs, students develop the skills needed to become independent learners, the ability to face challenges and achieve their best during their time in college. Employers often look for candidates who can clearly demonstrate abilities and strengths.
Experiential Learning Activities
Make your mark beyond the lecture hall! This isn't just about ticking boxes; it's about shaping your future through hands-on experiences. Think volunteering, part-time jobs, or maybe even starting your own project. We're all for gaining experience – those crucial life lessons that help you into the future. Whether it's flexibility, creativity, teamwork, or even discovering hidden talents, we want to celebrate your personal growth journey.
*Activities in this category must reach a total of 20 hours.
Take Part in Trinity Clubs or Societies
Trinity has more than 120 societies, all of which are run by students for students. By actively participating in a club or society, you can explore your interests and strengths alongside your other responsibilities. This indicates that you know how to manage your time and use it productively. Not only is this a skill that’s highly sought after by most organisations, it’s also a great one to have in day-to-day life.
Participate in External Clubs, Societies or Organisations
Whether your club or society has 10 members or 100, you’re guaranteed to meet new people with similar interests, and to possibly work alongside them to achieve shared goals. This allows you to make new friends and expand your network for the future while helping you build communication and team working skills. These transferable skills are useful in any potential career and can help set you apart from the rest.
Part Time Employment
Employers love to see part-time jobs on graduate CVs and the skills you learn at a part-time job can kick-start your graduate career. While employers don’t expect graduates to have years of work experience and be experts in their fields, they do want students to have transferrable skills that are beneficial in the workplace.
Caring for Others
All kinds of families are accommodated and celebrated in Trinity, and Trinity is committed to non-discrimination on the basis of family or civil status. There are students who shoulder multiple roles of pursuing their educational aspirations amidst either caring for their children, elderly parents, or family members. We recognise and acknowledge the unique challenge this can present, and the broad range of transferrable skills you can develop and demonstrate through this contribution.
Volunteering or Outreach Activities
Get recognition for volunteering, and enrich your personal development with new experiences, knowledge, and employability skills. Employers are always looking for students who engage in their local community and can demonstrate skills such as initiative, teamwork, and communication skills.
Internships Which Are Not Part of the Curriculum
Extracurricular Internships are not a mandatory part of a degree but can provide you with additional practical experience and skills. One of the best ways of making yourself stand out to an employer is through a strong record in extracurricular activities. This is an invaluable tool for a soon-to-be graduate to show some of the primary skills employers are looking for; leadership, communication and teamwork, among many others.
Enterprise Activities
Trinity promotes a culture of entrepreneurship, and provides a lot of support to students with business start-up ideas through the Launchbox, Blackstone Launchpad and Innovation Academy programmes, as well as developing an Innovation and Enterprise Hub.