Coronavirus – frequently asked careers questions
The careers team within Student Opportunity are open to support you during the Coronavirus outbreak, in line with government guidelines we are doing this remotely. This is a challenging time for students, graduates and our staff so we wanted to try and answer some frequently asked questions. We will be updating this page regularly whilst the service is operating remotely, so do keep checking back for any updates. If you wish to be notified by email when new content is added, click the 'Notify' link in the top right of the page.
If your question isn’t listed below please e-mail careers at warwick dot ac dot uk and we will do our best to help you.
Opportunities are available and becoming available as the situation progresses and temporary jobs are created in response to need. Before applying and starting any work experience, we would urge you first and foremost to think about you and your family's safety, and ensure you comply with any rules and restrictions relating to travel and work as defined by your local country/authority.
Where it is safe and possible for you to do work experience, you may find opportunities differ to what you had in mind. These may be remote working projects, volunteering or casual work but do remember that work experience of any kind can help develop your employability skills. Demonstrating that you are adaptable in uncertain times provides evidence of your abilities. You can draw on this experience for future applications and discussion with employers.
It would be difficult for us to list all the opportunities available in all countries but as a start, you might like to look at these websites for opportunities and advice. myAdvantage also lists current vacancies.
Please note these websites are provided for guidance only and feature external opportunities. We would advise you to check the opportunity is genuine, familiarise yourself with all the details when selecting opportunities and ensure you are complying with restrictions in your local country before applying.
Warwick Volunteers has compiled a list of volunteering opportunities that you can do from the comfort of your own home. Some of these options are based in the UK whilst others can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Opportunities include research and translation support to online volunteering through the United Nations.
You may also be able to find and source employment opportunities that are home based, as more organisations are moving to offer remote or virtual internships or work experience.
Yes – staff are still working hard to support both students and graduates. Although we are not able to meet with you in person the team are still able to support you remotely using technology.
We have put together a series of webinars to virtually support you during this time. These online based workshops will be delivered at various times of the day and will in most cases, some of the information will be recorded for you to access at a later date if you are unable to attend. This series of workshops is a collaboration between the Careers team (Senior Careers Consultants and Careers Project Officers), other teams within Student Opportunity, Alumni and recruiters.
You can find full details of these webinars and details for booking on our News page.
Our team can support you to enable you to become more confident and effective in searching for opportunities. You are able to book a MS Teams: Applications Feedback and Opportunity Advice appointment via myAdvantage. these appointments can support you with the following:
- CVs
- Covering letters
- Applications
- Personal Statements
- Getting started with job searching
- Preparation for interviews
- Preparation for assessment centres
- Advice on psychometric testing
Please book these on myAdvantage.
We are still offering the same services which we have done previously, albeit now delivered remotely.
Depending on your needs, please see the the further questions relating to your enquiry for how to access support.
Our committed team of Senior Careers Consultants and Careers Project Officers are able to meet with you via Microsoft Teams remotely and can have an in depth discussion to help with your career planning and career choices. They will listen to you and help you move forward with your ideas and develop your confidence.
To search for appointments and to book please visit myAdvantage.
Whilst the current situation is evolving we will keep updating this question with resources and advice that we are aware of.
Several employers have let us know that they are running events and insights remotely at this time. Where we know about these and the employer is happy for us to promote them we will upload details to myAdvantage.
You can find out about these by using myAdvantage and searching for vacancies under the vacancy type ‘Competitions/Open Days’.
The following resources provide a useful overview of some developments in the sector:
- How is Coronavirus affecting internships, placements and insights? - Rate My Placement blog post
Our team can provide you with feedback on your CV, covering letters, job applications and personal statements. We offer two types of appointment for you to receive feedback:
E-mail: Applications Feedback and Opportunity Advice
- You do not 'attend' this appointment, it simply reserves time in an adviser’s calendar to provide you with feedback which will be done via consultation notes on myAdvantage.
- At the allotted time an adviser will review your documents and will respond via myAdvantage using the My Consultation Notes facility (You can access your consultation notes via myAdvantage). Please note this may be uploaded anytime up to 1 working day past the end time of your appointment.
MS Teams: Applications Feedback and Opportunity Advice
- At the allotted time of your appointment please sign into Microsoft Teams and the adviser will contact you, this will either be done through a meeting invite or a video call directly to you.
To help you get the most from this appointment you should visit our help and support pages so that you can maximise the expertise of our team of advisers:
- Review our Application support pages
- Watch our video How to Write CVs and Applications (26 minutes) [Hyperlink ‘How to Write CVs and Applications:
- If you have previously received feedback from the team please review this feedback and ensure you are applying the same principles to new applications which you are making
Once you are ready you can book via myAdvantage.
If you are a University of Warwick student, accessing you appointment via Microsoft Teams is the way we would recommend. This is because all of the careers team have access to MS Teams at home. You can access MS Teams in three ways:
- Via the Office 365 Portal
- By Downloading the desktop app 'Microsoft Teams'
- By downloading the mobile app from your app store
You will need to log in using your university credentials. The adviser conducting your appointment will then contact you via Microsoft Teams at the allotted time for your appointment.
As a WBS student, we recommend that you contact your departmental careers team – WBS CareersPlus – in the first instance. They offer support via email, phone and Skype and run online workshops. To request help please e-mail:
- Undergraduate Students: wbs.ug.careers@warwick.ac.uk
- Postgraduate students: masterscareers@wbs.ac.uk
The WBS CareersPlus team post regular updates and advice for students via the My WBS Careers pages.
Undergraduate students can also check the WBS UG Careers LinkedIn group.
Similar to Warwick many organisations will be contingency planning and working through the situation as more information comes to light. Initial feedback is telling us that employers are considering a variety of different options and don’t know if they will need to withdraw offers, delay start dates or deliver virtual programmes. Staff within the careers team are working with the University’ employer engagement professionals to understand more about the impact current restrictions are having on selection and recruitment. We will share this with you once we have it. You can stay up to date thought newsletters from the University and also on our Careers Blog.
You can of course contact the employer if you are worried, but you should be aware that they may still be working through their contingency plans so may not be able to get back to you immediately.
As a Warwick Student you can paractise ahead of your interview using Shortlist Me. This platform allows you to try answering questions and self evaluate your performance based around guidelines set out by both Warwick staff and a range of recruiters. No one will see your videos so it's the perfect place to practise. You might also want to watch our video on Cracking Video Interviews.
If after completing Shortlist Me you would like feedback on your attempt please book a ‘Careers Guidance’ appointment. To search for appointments and to book please visit myAdvantage.
If you are based in the UK, the government has offered to pay up to 80% of wages for those who have lost their job. Speak to your employer to check if you can claim.
Temporary jobs are becoming available as some sectors expand in response to need. You could search for jobs in food delivery and production, agriculture and laboratories as these areas are likely to need support. There may also be work that you can do remotely; check online job boards for vacancies. When searching for external vacancies, make sure the vacancy is genuine and do your research before applying so you can make an informed decision and feel comfortable with the work that is expected.
First and foremost, we would urge you to think about you and your family's safety, and ensure you comply with any rules and restrictions relating to travel and work as defined by your local country/authority before applying to or starting any temporary work.
There may be opportunities elsewhere that could take the place of your planned work experience. In response to Covid 19, different sectors are in need of support including healthcare, retail and agriculture. You may find both volunteering and paid opportunities in these fields. Search for opportunities on social media and LinkedIn to see how you can get involved.
You could also look for a virtual internship. The University runs TeaMWork virtual international projects: three weeks unpaid project work collaborating with students from around the world. Applications close at 12pm on 1 May
Whilst work experience options may be different to your original preference, you can still develop skills that will be useful for future employment, including organisation, communication and flexibility.
Why not think creatively about the options open to you? Do you have any skills and hobbies you could put to good use during this time? Can you speak another language or teach? Are there ways you could do this online to help others? Or could you set up a group to help those in your local community? Have a look online for inspiration (see innovative ideas from around the world in response to Covid-19) and our volunteering from home pages for ideas.
Before applying and starting any work experience, we would urge you first and foremost to think about you and your family's safety, and ensure you comply with any rules and restrictions relating to travel and work as defined by your local country/authority.
As this is a rapidly evolving situation it’s hard to say for certain the impact this will have in both the medium and long term. The careers team are Warwick is staffed by a professional team that regularly researches the labour market and adapts this into our practice. You can keep up to date by regularly checking the Careers Blog.
The following information might be useful:
- How to boost your employbaility whilst self-isolating - Rate My Placement
You might be aware that there are lots of online resources and tools available to you which can support with your career journey, be it support with psychometric testing, choosing your career or video interviews. You might not know that the Student Opportunity team here at Warwick has access to several tools that can help you. Highlighted below are some of the packages which you can access as a Warwick Student free of charge:
Video Interviews:
A recent Institute for Student Employers survey (2019) found that 47% of top recruiters in the UK now use video interviews during their recruitment process. Video interviews, for employers can save costs and allow them to tailor their recruitment process early on, but for candidates this can be an experience which feels slightly different to a face to face meeting. To support students who have video interviews we have access to Shortlist.Me a video interview platform which gives you the chance to practise using real video interview software. After each question you will have the opportunity to review your response and use a self-assessment tool to rate your performance. If you then want to try again you can simply re-record your response.
Psychometric Tests:
You will often encounter psychometric tests early on in the application stages (although don’t be surprised if employers retest you at later stages in the recruitment process). The type of tests will vary and depend on the role and the company. What can be daunting is for example if you are currently studying a numerate subject, you might feel confident with some of the more maths based problems but apprehensive about the more text based or verbal reasoning test. The key with psychometric tests and ensuring you put yourself in the best position possible is to practise, practise and more practise. The good news is that we have access to Profiling for Success where you can practise several different tests including:
· Numerical Reasoning – These are used to assess your numerical skills and how you analyse and interpret numerical data to reach conclusions. This might be using calculations such as averages, percentages, ratios and comparisons.
· Verbal Reasoning – These tests are used to assess your ability to understand, analyse and interpret written information. They will present you with some text and ask you to draw conclusions from the information which is presented.
· Abstract Logical Reasoning – These tests will look at how good you are at spotting patterns or special clues and then using the knowledge of this solve a problem. You may be given a series of shapes or designs and asked to predict what would be the next in the sequence or what was missing.
· Situational Judgement – These tests will consider how you approach situations and the actions which you would commonly take. You will often be given a scenario, which could be closely related to the role to which you applied to, and asked what response you would take.
All of the above tests are available to practise through Profiling for Success
Career Planning:
Thinking about your career and what options might be suitable for you is a complex process and one which takes time. You might have some experience or there might be particular areas of your course that you particularly enjoy. Taking some time to consider what careers might be suitable for you and also understanding your values and what’s important to you will help when you to know where to focus your career planning and allow you to write more authentic applications for employers.
You can access the Values-based Indicator of Motivation (to identify those things that matter to you most) and the Career interest Inventory (to understand more about your interests and the kinds of work that might be suitable for you).
If you are wondering about taking part in a remote working internship, this website can support you in considering this way of working, how you can make the most of your own resources, the internship itself, and working with your manager and team from a distance.
Working remotely will mean adapting to a new routine, which may take some time to adjust to at first. You should still receive an induction virtually from the organisation to help you get started and do use this time to ask any questions you have.
There is help available on the University pages including how to set up a work environment at home, and advice for healthy working. We also have Moodle courses specifically designed to help you with Getting Started with Work Experience and Learning and Development during your work experience.
You may also find this infographic helpful.
There are a range of other resources too:
- Mindtools.com has a comprehensive guide on their site called ‘Working in a virtual Team- using technology to communicate and collaborate’. This 11-minute read gets you quickly up to speed with the challenges of being part of a remote team and is a great place to start your learning.
- Mindtools.com has an insightful page on ‘Staying focused when you are working from home’. It is a quick 13 minute read and will give you all the basics to get you started.
- CIPD has 10 Top Tips for working remotely