Ask LaunchPad: Recent Episodes
Matt Jones
In this episode, Matt catches up with author, careers consultant and founder of Vorai coaching, Crystal Debrah-Ekolie. Recorded virtually from Matt's home during the COVID-19 lockdown, Matt and Crystal discuss maintaining good mental health whilst staying at home, Crystal's journey from practicing law to realising her dream career, and our practical advice on how to navigate your graduate career during these unprecedented times.
In the first episode of 2020, Matt speaks with Sophie Philpott (Senior Careers Advisor at YSJU) and discuss how to get started with your search for graduate employment, the factors you might want to consider and how the LaunchPad team can help you get there!
"With effort and practice, anything can be achieved." (Arianna Botti, L'Oréal)
In this episode, Matt speaks with Arianna Botti, General Manager of L'Oréal UK and Ireland, about personal branding, why it's important and top tips on how you can develop your own brand.
In this episode, Lizzie (YSJ's Volunteering Co-ordinator) takes over the podcast to explore international volunteering with Lucy Plimmer from Challenges Abroad. They discuss Lucy’s own experiences of volunteering abroad, why you should consider volunteering overseas, and the support and funding available from York St John University to help you take on the challenges with confidence.
In this episode, Matt speaks to Specialist Equality Training Consultant and York St John Alum, Jake Furby. They discuss Jake's role within York LGBT Forum and within his own training business, the support available both inside and outside of the University, and the upcoming employability workshops to help members of the LGBTQ+ community to feel more confident and equipped for the workplace.
(For more information, visit https://yorklgbtforum.org.uk/)
In this episode, Matt is joined by Rev. Jane Speck, Chaplain at York St John University. In addition to discussing the role of faith in career decisions, they chat about the Vicar of Dibley, Jane's 'elastic' journey to her vocation and her own Jedi inspiration.
In Matt and Jess' final ever podcast together, they discuss the role of careers advisors within higher education, explore what makes them both 'non-traditional', and share the best advice they've ever been given.
(Matt and Jess created and launched the 'Ask LaunchPad' podcast in March 2019, recording the first ever episode together. This episode marks the end of a chapter, as Jess annouces her imminent departure from York St John University and discusses the exciting next steps of her career in London.)
This is a special one.
Since September 2015, our Senior Careers Advisor Jess has been hosting for a local charity called SASH (or Safe and Sound Homes, to give them their full and proper title!). You might have heard her mention it to be honest, because it's one of the things she is most proud of and therefore finds it somewhat difficult to shut up about it.
A couple of weeks ago, Jess sat down with Laura Smith from SASH, primarily to talk about how and why students can support charities in their local communities.
For more information about SASH, and how you can support them, please check out their website: https://www.sash-uk.org.uk/
For inspiration about where to volunteer or explore charity jobs, contact careers@yorksj.ac.uk
To see an article about Jess's work with SASH, see this link: https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/17766799.york-charity-sash-says-fond-farewell-volunteer-jess-popplewell/
Jess chats to Zack from our Student Recruitment team and Morgan, a current Student Ambassador, about being a Student Ambassador and how to write an amazing application!
In this episode, Matt is joined by Fran Pluta (Placements Advisor at YSJ) to discuss what a placement year is, what support is available and how it can benefit you and your career!
This week Jess talks to Alex Johnson from Gradintelligence, the tech company working with York St John to deliver HEARs to students. So what is the HEAR? Why does it matter? And how can students make the most of it during their time with us?
For a start, log in at this link: http://tinyurl.com/y5mvzb6s
And if you have any questions about how to access or use your HEAR you can contact HEAR@yorksj.ac.uk
Jess chats to Suzanne Dickinson, the Employer Engagement Partner for York St John University. Suzanne will be taking over the podcast every now and then to run interviews with local and national employers students might be interested to hear from.
This week Jess talks to Lindsey from the Research Office at York St John. Aside from getting a bit excited about pyramids, they talk about how to go about applying for postgraduate research opportunities as well as what to expect once accepted. Of course, there is also some talk about how Careers Advisors can help students to apply for PGR courses, as well as helping PGR students think about their future careers.
York St John University web pages about postgraduate research study can be found here: https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/the-path-to-postgraduate-study/
If you'd like to come along and talk to a potential supervisor, Jess or Lindsey then you can find out about the next postgraduate study evening here: https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/visit-us/
In a very special episode, Jess speaks to two of our current Careers Ambassadors, Katie and Hayley, who will be graduating later this year. They talk about what they've enjoyed about the role, and offer advice for any students who might be interested in applying.
Quick note about these roles: Jess has just advertised the FIRST ROUND of LaunchPad Ambassadors, and this closed with a good number of applications. The post will next be advertised in August/September, so don't worry that you've missed out! We have a bunch of exciting projects in the coming year, so there is plenty of opportunity for students to get involved! Any questions, as always, contact careers@yorksj.ac.uk.
This week, Jess talks to Dr Jonathan Vincent, founder and leader of PRO Autism.
If you'd like to find out more about PRO Autism and the work they're doing, you can find them at www.proautism.org.uk
Get in touch with the team here: hello@proautism.org.uk
And for Festival of Ideas tickets, see the event pages here: http://yorkfestivalofideas.com/2019/events/autism-and-employment/
And as always, if you'd like to contact Jess you can reach her at careers@yorksj.ac.uk
In this episode, recorded for #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, Matt is joined by Mental Health Advisor, Helen Crooke, and Counsellor, Sam Baker, to discuss why we don't talk about our mental health, the effect of social media on our wellbeing and some practical tips and advice on maintaining good mental health.
In this episode, Matt is joined by Business Consultant and Social Media Strategist, May King Tsang (@maykingtea), to answer the question, "Do I really need LinkedIn?", discuss the role of social media in business today and provide some top tips and advice on maximising your impact online!
For more information on FLOURISH and considering what drives you, this following resource can help: Psychology for Success: Alison Price and David Price, Icon Books, 2016.
In this episode, Matt (Careers Advisor at York St John) speaks with Eliza Hunton (Student Opportunities Co-ordinator) about graduate internships, applications tips and details of the upcoming YSJ Summer Careers Fair!
Link from podcast: https://yorksj.jobteaser.com/en/
In this episode, Jess talks to (York St John Alumna!) Carla from Gradcracker about job opportunities for students undertaking degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.
Jess talks to our Student Opportunities Coordinator Eliza about the YSJ summer internship opportunities available to our students.
Email internships@yorksj.ac.uk or visit www.yorksj.ac.uk/internships
Jess talks to Leona, a 3rd year student who will soon begin her teacher training journey. Leona was kind enough to come in today to talk about her experiences of taking the Professional Skills Tests, including some really useful tips for how to prepare.
More information about Professional Skills Tests can be found here: http://sta.education.gov.uk/
Jess invites Matt back to the sound booth to talk all things psychometric tests for recruitment - what are they? How to recruiters use them? Why do recruiters use them? How can students prepare for them?
It's a slightly longer episode than usual - who knew two Careers Advisors could chat for so long about something like psychometric testing?! (We did. We knew.)
Jess chats to Dr John Park, the brains behind York St John's Grad2Director and Grad2Freelancer programmes which are aimed at helping students and graduates start their own businesses.
We discuss a few useful resources in this one which Jess promised to share links to, so here they are! - Grad2Director & Grad2Freelancer (only for York St John students and graduates): https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/careers-placements--opportunities/2018-graduates/grad2director-and-grad2freelancer/
- Strategyzer e-books: https://www.strategyzer.com/books
Jess sits down with Shannon, Graduate Intern to the stars (well, to the Careers, Placements and Student Opportunities team, which is close enough)to chat about his experiences in the graduate labour market so far.
Jess talks to Lizzie, the Volunteering Coordinator at York St John University, about her experiences with volunteering and why both Jess and Lizzie think students should seriously consider getting into the volunteering habit.
Ask LaunchPad is a semi-regular podcast talking about some of the biggest career-related questions advisers at York St John University hear from students.