Start of second year

Well, 2^nd Year has definitely started with a bang. Complete contrast from first year where you’re kind of eased into the workload, 2^nd year is the complete contrast because you pretty much have no option but to hit the ground running! However, what I can reflect on is the fact that since I paid a reasonable amount of attention in my first year, nothing this year is really taking me by surprise that much. It’s obviously a lot more work crammed into a short amount of time but this is the vital time to gain those ‘time management’ skills we've been drilled into familiarising ourselves with since the age of fourteen. My advice to those entering the 2^nd year of study is to draft up a coursework planner, this way when you have a constant reminder of when your deadlines are, you’ll be more inclined to actually get started.

As employability is also becoming a major issue, I’d also advice students to consider a placement year as I believe that apart from your degree, this is the next best thing to have on your CV. Placement years give students that work experience that all employers seem to be constantly after and if you can provide evidence of experience, this will make your application more lucrative. On a professional point of view, others take University as a chance to get a degree, I take it as a chance to build up my CV, there are so many things that you can get involved with between the first and the third year to have a ‘banging’ CV.  One of the biggest drawbacks to graduates is lack of knowledge in general, so give our Guidance Employability Team or our Business Employability Team a visit and they’ll be able to help you with anything from Cover Letters, to CV’S to advice in the top graduate employers.

But on a whole I look forward to the challenges this year will bring, after all, no place worth going has an easy pathway right?