Today’s piece features some nice words about us from Samer Hammoud, who’s studying a BSC Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry. He wrote a piece on the NMS blog last month detailing how using the services provided by Careers & Employability, completing the King’s Leadership and Professional Skills Award (KLPSA) and discussions with lecturers and fellow students all helped him gain greater career confidence, and we thought it was well worth sharing….
King’s has always been lauded for its unmatched employability rate, where it is amongst the best in the country at guiding students onto a long-term career, further study and research. And this is for good reason, beyond the figures and statistics, the students past and present will tell you how they have found support in one form or another.
The unsung heroes who work tirelessly are none other than King’s Careers & Employability, who are available for help and support in many forms. This ranges from a discussion on discovering your career path, help and advice for CVs and even practice interviews. In addition to this, they also have many internship and placement opportunities available to apply for, for all disciplines. They also provide development courses, such as the King’s Leadership and Professional Skills Award (KLPSA), which aids in your professional development. I took part in this course and feel more confident in my professional skills and abilities, as it has left me far better off in terms of my personal development.
I have utilised these opportunities, mainly to discuss career paths, as I have always been quite indecisive about where my future career lies.
The idea of the service is to gain advice and support; however, it is down to you to decide where you see yourself in the near and the distant future. I came to the conclusion that further study was the path for me, at least for the foreseeable future and possibly research in my field later down the line.
As well as the support gained from the careers service, a lot of your decision making about your intended future also comes from your course, including your lecturers and fellow students. More often than not, the degree you undertake will propel you into a career where you can apply the skills and knowledge gained from it. King’s boasts a range of leading academics in their respective fields, who reflect their own interests in their field onto their students.
The combination of support from the careers service, and guidance and knowledge from the course and lecturers will leave you in a better place after finishing your degree than when you started way back when, more so if you are someone like me who didn’t have everything planned out from start to finish. It’s ok to not know exactly where your future lies, as you can find comfort in knowing that I, a seasoned third year, still don’t entirely know what profession I will end up in. But King’s is the best place for you to discover your options, a stepping stone before your next chapter.