Getting Career Ready with Ambition

On Thursday 7th December 2017, Ambition hosted an internal event for a group of year 12 students to discuss the different career paths that they can take and what to expect after college. 

The Capital Experience event was organised by Career Ready, a national charity linking employers with young people, preparing them for the world of work and what to expect after the end of their secondary education. 

Ambition and Career Ready have been in partnership for a number of years and as well as hosting regular career workshops, we offer numerous internships to students from the programme throughout the year.

Uni vs Work Experience?

Although the focus of this event was on networking and building a credible social media presence, we wanted to emphasise on the various different options that are available to students after college. For most of the Generation Z, university is no longer the only option for after tertiary education. 

The prospect of choosing a degree/ job that will set you up for the rest of your life is extremely daunting and places an immeasurable pressure on the students. It is only the lucky few that has a clear view of what they want to do and where they see themselves in the next 5 or 10 years.

The recruitment consultants that took part in the event were carefully selected and came from various backgrounds, as we wanted the students to get as many real-life examples and case studies as possible. 

The consultants that came from university backgrounds were able to give an insight into how this has helped them in their career and what they took away from the experience. 

Similarly, those who did not attend university and went straight into the workforce demonstrated how they were able to get to where they are today and how their work experience has benefited them. We wanted to demonstrate that although university is a great next step, it’s no longer the only option for students to consider.

Networking

During the afternoon, the students were able to network with eight of our specialist consultants. The session highlighted the importance of networking and social media presence, providing the opportunity to mingle and seek advice from our expert consultants. After all, who better to ask for advice about the next step in your career than a recruitment consultant!

The students were given a task to come up with their own elevator pitch to introduce themselves and then had the opportunity to practice this with our consultants. This was the perfect chance for our consultants to get to know the students and vice versa. We were able to hear more about each individual student’s goals and ambitions, from aspiring fashion designers to accountants, investment bankers and more.

Overall, the event was a great success. The students wasted no time in peppering our expert consultants with questions regarding their career journey and how they got to where they are today. The level of engagement and enthusiasm shown by the students were very impressive and it’s fantastic to know that these are our next group of leaders and influencers.

For more information about Career Ready visit: www.careerready.org.uk​