For a long time, students would visit a careers adviser to receive personalized assistance in navigating through the labor market. Now, the same and more resources are available on a website/online tool called Destinations, which will be launched this week. Career related guidance can now be accessed online, without having to leave the comfort of one’s couch.
After the International Student Barometer showed the students’ dissatisfaction with the career services provided by the university, the careers advice team was looking to create a platform where a lot of useful information could be contained.
Lots of information
Dorianne van Schaijk, the careers adviser of Erasmus University, predicts that probably due to 3-4 week waiting list, only a small amount of people actually meet with her. “It was a good opportunity to buy this program from University of Reading, because with increasing number of international students, we need to offer them more as a university”. Even though Destinations is initially from the UK, it contains a lot of general information about careers that can be used in any country.
Also fun
The online tool covers a lot of topics, starting from assessing your skills and getting on the right career path, to finding an internship. The fun part of this website is that there is a lot of supporting materials, like exercises, videos, and samples of CVs – all you have to do is log in with your ERNA student account on campus, or VPN connection at home.
Finding a career
Van Schaijk emphasizes that applying for jobs doesn’t start with finding vacancies, which 99% of the students probably do. “Do some self analysis first, then research your sector and the market, and only then fill out applications. The Destinations website helps guide you through all these steps, and besides having a lot of practical information, it teaches you how to cope with pre-interview stress or rejection”.
Even more resources
Even though students are encouraged to use Destinations, there are also plenty of other resources on the careers adviser’s website. You can find information about how to find a job in the Netherlands, including links to vacancy websites, information about work permits, how to use social media to find a job, and the role of networking. And of course, you can always make a personal appointment with van Schaijk through the same website. MD
