Early Futures

If you are in your first or second year of study, there are many opportunities available for you to develop your skills, secure work experience and get support with application processes. There's loads of information here, and elsewhere on our website, and the Careers Network team provides expert careers advice and guidance.

Personal Best is an exclusive development programme for º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ students.

Make sure to complete Ready Set º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, your essential induction programme into life at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ. The programme will provide you with information to help you settle in and get involved, and essential training to help you and others feel safe and included in the º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ community.

Actively engage in the Personal Best Lectures in the first year of your degree programme, which will require you to choose a skill and reflect on your development of this skill. These will be delivered as part of one of your core modules, so look out for these.

Work your way through Personal Best Badges and the associated activities designed to develop academic, personal and professional skills to prepare you for life at university and support your transition into the work environment. If you complete 4 or more badges before you graduate, and a final reflection, you will be awarded the Personal Best Award on your Degree Transcript when you graduate.

Elevate Your Prospects is our programme for students in their second year and will support you with navigating the placement and job search process, crafting CVs and cover letters, mastering interview skills and networking.

The Careers Network team work closely with academic schools to deliver workshops tailored to the needs of students in each school so please look out for these talks in your timetable.  

We have a wealth of resources available to you in the Career Success Toolkit in the Personal Best app, and a section dedicated to Early Futures – these resources work hand in hand with our Elevate Your Prospects sessions in your second year, but they can be accessed by all students anytime.

The Future Talent Programme for black and South Asian students is designed to supercharge students’ career prospects and confidence through access to meaningful work experience (Placements and Internships) and employers with a genuine interest in recruiting diverse talent into their workforce.

Activities include:

  • Alumni and Placement mentoring- to develop your skills, personal growth and help you to secure a placement or internship.
  • 1:1 Coaching and tailored Advice to boost your academic and professional development.
  • Exclusive employer challenges – to experience typical activities involved in certain roles / sectors (great practice for Mock Assessment Centres!).
  • Guest speakers of black and South Asian heritage – to connect with people in industries and access role models with shared lived experiences.
  • Dedicated talks with employers – to gain exposure and network with employers looking to recruit black and South Asian students.

Sign up to our future talent programmes (Black and Asian Talent).

It can be hard to know where to start looking for a job whilst juggling coursework deadlines and other commitments. At Careers Network we have information on a wide range of topics to help guide you through the process, and we suggest the following pages and information to get started:

  • Visit our Options with your degree page to find out more about what careers your course could lead to. You can find information such as key skills you have developed as a student, resources to research career areas and to help you look for placements and jobs.
  • Go to the Job profiles webpage on Prospects to research careers within a specific field, case studies and skills and further qualifications that may be needed for the role.
  • Book a Careers and Enterprise Advice appointment to map out your ideas and talk about your career. You do not have to know what you want to do to book an appointment.
  • Look on the LinkedIn Alumni tool to find out where our º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ alumni are working to inspire you on your career journey.

The Careers Network team is here to provide support and inspiration to help you, whatever your needs. For up-to-date details on how to get individual support, visit Book an appointment.

  • Careers Hubs: East (Stewart Mason 0.06) and West (West Park Teaching Hub 0.07): drop in with any careers related query, 11.00 -3.00 on weekdays during term time.
  • Careers and Enterprise Advice: 20-minute appointments to check CVs, covering letters, or application forms, prepare for interviews and assessment centres or to ask any careers related query. Available via MS Teams, telephone or in-person. Book online or via telephone 01509 222765.
  • Business and Enterprise Coaching: Email LEN@lboro.ac.uk to request an appointment or visit our Embrace Entrepreneurship web pages for more information.
  • Attend events e.g. our careers fairs and online employer events, to network and find out about their opportunities.
  • Visit our Get Placements, Internships and Graduate Roles  web pages signposting useful links and information, including our vacancy database Target Connect.
  • Future Talent Appointments: These are dedicated appointments for black and South Asian students who are members of the future talent programme. You can book these via Target Connect to talk about application processes, interview support and coaching and general wellbeing for referrals to other support services.

It is a good idea to start looking at options to secure work experience and developing your CV over the first two years of your time at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ. There are a range of options to consider including:

  • Internships - a shorter term role (usually between 1 month and 1 year) often within small to medium size organisations, working on a specific project or within a specific department/team.
  • At º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, take part in our Talent Match Early Futures internship scheme which are paid professional work opportunities with employers between February and March 2025.  Internships last 50 hours in length spread across 4-6 weeks so you can manage the work around other commitments. Roles go live in October. Please see the website for launch dates and further information.
  • Placements - All undergraduate degrees offer the option to take a placement year: professional-level work experience with one or more organisations, over 45 weeks, as part of the degree. Every year almost 2,000 º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ students do a placement, usually in their penultimate year of studies. Around 150 students a year go abroad for their placement.

Work shadowing - a short period of shadowing a professional(s) within a role and organisation of interest to you, to learn more about the role. Work shadowing is typically between 1 day and 2 weeks maximum in length as it is unpaid.

We have a range of support available to develop your skills and competence in applying for roles. You can get support from Careers Network from initial application right through to interview and accepting a job offer.

We encourage you to consider engaging in the activities and support below to maximise the effectiveness of your applications.

Attend a Mock Assessment Centre to learn about the process and 'have a go' in a safe and friendly environment.

Get involved in our annual hackathon on 2nd November 10-4pm.  In teams you’ll work together to research, problem solve and present a solution to a challenge provided on the day. This is a fast-paced and fun day which will help you develop your  teamworking, leadership and communication skills as well as your confidence presenting.

Join the Skills Up Programme to up-skill your entrepreneurial capabilities, whether you are interested in running your own business/side hustle or boosting your personal skillset.

One of the best ways to explore opportunities and develop your employability skills is to attend our careers fairs and events.

At careers fairs and employer events, you can meet employers, network and find out about work experience opportunities, internships and placements.  To find out more, visit our Attend Events web page or search and book events directly via Target Connect.

Here are some examples of events to look out for:

Prepare for the Fair

We run this event before every Careers Fair. If you missed it, you can access the recording on the Personal Best app.

Work Experience Q & A Session

Tuesday 29th October 6pm – 7pm