Careers blog written by Jo Gee, York Award Officer, Careers

Applications for the York Award for first years are now open.

Up until this year only final year students have been able to apply for the York Award.  Now things have changed and we are launching a three stage York Award programme which will offer students in all years the chance to take part and gain official recognition for everything they are doing whilst at University.

So many of us don’t keep track of our achievements and forget what we have done when it comes to applying for jobs.  The York Award will help you record your achievements and see just how far you have come during your time at York.

The application form for first years is a Google form and can be found as a link on the York Award web pages, along with information about application support sessions (follow the route for new starters):

www.york.ac.uk/careers/yorkaward

Why apply for the York Award?

It’s a great opportunity to pull together all you have done to show you’ve developed as a student and future employee.  It’s also extremely useful practise for job applications and interviews because the York Award application uses the C-A-R technique for answering questions, that’s Context / Action / Result.  It will help structure your answers and ensure you are giving clear examples.

What questions does the form ask?

It’s very simple.  You are asked to tell us in brief about how you have used eight different skills during your time as a student so far.  These are the sorts of skills employers value, so having the chance to think about key skills will stand you in good stead for the future.

The final question then asks you to tell us about your plans for next year – what skills will you focus on developing and how?

So that’s it, an application form designed to support you in reflecting on what you have done, which is exactly what employers will be looking for.  If you’re in first year you have nothing to lose – put in an application, be proud of yourself!