Carlisle Careers Fair

The Career Ahead- Carlisle Careers Fair took place at the Fusehill Street campus on the 30th January, 2013.

On the day prior to the event the careers staff delivered workshops on creating successful CV's and networking, there was also the opportunity to attend a presentation on setting up as a sole trader. Students registered for these workshops online and attended various sessions throughout the day. Examples of student comments about the workshops are below:

"I feel more confident and more prepared for tomorrow and future networking"

"The CV exercise encouraged us to get thinking of ways to promote ourselves"

"Brought points to my attention that I've missed on my own CV"

"Concise, factual, engaging"

"Clear, concise information. Everything I wanted to know to start me off with CV writing"


The aim of the workshops was to prepare students for the Careers Fair the next day, enabling students to use their networking skills and market themselves more effectively to employers. A mix of 27 employers, agencies, professional bodies and advice and information services attended the event over 2 floors of the Learning Gateway.

As well as providing information and advice for students the representatives welcomed the opportunity to build relationships with the University of Cumbria including the Careers team, Unite with Business, the Student Enterprise Coordinator and many more, developing a greater awareness of university provision.

Students were encouraged to investigate and register for volunteering opportunities in a range of career sectors. Also many employers provided details of part-time vacancies as well as advice on their organisation and future recruitment. Many employers also committed to support Career Ahead - University of Cumbria's Employability Award, by offering opportunities for volunteer placements, mentoring schemes and mock interviews.

Overall, Carlisle Careers Fair was a success, with many representatives commenting on how well organised the event was and that they would be willing to attend similar events in the future.

Special thanks to Joanne Watson (Senior Adviser - Careers and Employability) for all her hard work in organising this event.