Many students from the four faculties have taken advantage of the services offered by the Career Services department at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences this semester.
Demand for the Career Service’s programmes remains high and has been rising steadily since the Career Service was established in the summer term of 2015: around 120 students attended information sessions on topics such as ‘Job applications for the German labour market’ and ‘Strategic job search’. Another key focus is on counselling; between early April and late July 2016, staff members Christine Noelle and Imke Hans held over 200 one-to-one sessions with students at the university. One of the most common topics discussed during these sessions is application documents. International students, in particular, are accustomed to different application conventions in their home countries and therefore have a great need for advice. However, many German students also wish to improve their self-marketing skills in order to make a very good impression on their dream employer.
Other issues addressed in the counselling sessions go far beyond application documents: “Students in more interdisciplinary subjects, in particular, make use of our services to seek support with career guidance,” explains Imke Hans, who works as a Career Service officer for the Faculty of Society and Economics, “What am I actually good at? What do I enjoy doing? Where can and do I want to go with this? – These are just some of the questions we address in our career coaching sessions.”
As well as counselling sessions, information events and other services for students, the Career Service is also expanding its contacts with regional and national companies. “We’re always keen to form partnerships. One service we provide to companies free of charge is posting offers for work placements, entry-level roles or, for example, voluntary positions on our internal job board. This ensures they are exclusively accessible to our students,” explains Christine Noelle, who coordinates the Career Service’s activities.
Although student enquiries do drop off once the lecture-free period begins, the workload does not decrease: this is when the planning phase begins, and the new programme is drawn up. Of course, students can still make use of the Career Service’s services during the semester holidays.
