Have you taken your (Career) Pulse yet?

Psychology with Criminology student Lucie has been using Career Pulse, an online tool available tor students at ARU, to develop her employability skills. Here, she gives us an insight into Career Pulse and its main benefits.

When I initially started at university, I had zero confidence in terms of what I wanted to do in the future, and how I was going to do it. University was a brand-new beginning, and I was enthusiastic about finding new career options. However, the more I looked at new careers, the more I panicked about the skills I lacked. I then heard about Career Pulse…

What is Career Pulse?

The Career Centre is ARU’s main online careers and employability site for students, it’s full of brilliant resources, tips, and interactive programmes to help with your career development, but Career Pulse was the top activity for me!

Career Pulse is a two-minute interactive assessment about your employability skills. It’s confidence based and for your own personal use, so there are no right or wrong answers. The questions it asked gave me the chance to evaluate and think about the skills I already had, and ones I hadn’t yet developed – it also covers areas such as interviews and offers, preparing for work and career possibilities.

I received a personalised report which highlighted where I scored lower and identified areas I needed to develop, providing me with an incentive to focus and build on specific skills. The focus of Career Pulse is to help students explore areas of work which are important to be successful, highlighting their strengths and areas for improvement.

What are the benefits to you?

The report also guided me to find the right resources on the Career Centre to help. I was then able to apply these to my career research and work on the transferable skills employers are looking for.

I cannot recommend the Career Pulse tool enough to first year students – and to all students throughout their studies. It is a brilliant tool to help understand yourself and your employability as well as improving confidence and self-awareness. It helped me consider what steps I need to take to get ready for my future career.

Another huge benefit is that the Career Pulse can be taken whenever and how many times you like, creating an effective way for you to track your progress and work on your employability skills and confidence throughout your own personal student journey. Take it regularly during your studies – undergraduate or postgraduate – and see your skills improve!

If you would like support with looking at how the programme can help you get work (or further study) ready, contact [email protected] or visit the Employability Service Drop-In.

By Lucie Williams, BSc Psychology with Criminology and Student Employability Activator

Our Employability Service works with students throughout their time at ARU and after they graduate. The Service offers careers advice, online resources, and help with job searches, applications and interview preparation. Our Employability & Careers Advisers may mention some of these resources and services in their blogs, to give you an idea of the careers support that's on offer at ARU. Some of these resources sit behind a log in and can only be accessed by current students.