• British Council
  • The GREAT campaign logo - name in front of Union Jack flag

Study UK: Preparing for work

Boost your career with essential job search and employability skills with Study UK

33,947 enrolled on this course

Student sitting in a chair on his laptop smiling
  • Duration

    3 weeks
  • Weekly study

    4 hours
  • 100% online

    How it works
  • Digital upgrade

    Free

Navigate UK recruitment processes with ease and broaden your career prospects

Unlock your potential and kickstart a fulfilling career journey with this comprehensive course tailored for international students looking to join the UK job market.

Gain essential skills that not only make you job-ready but also prepare you to thrive in any professional environment.

Develop self-awareness and identify your key skills

The first part of this course taps into your sense of self to better understand your strengths and areas for growth. You’ll work through self-reflective exercises, such as skills audits and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis, to identify and develop the core competencies that make you stand out to potential employers.

By the end of this week, you’ll have a clear sense of your capabilities and how to leverage them effectively in your career path.

Build a strong personal brand and enhance your networking skills

Next, you’ll focus on building a professional identity that showcases your unique strengths and achievements.

You’ll be guided through creating an impactful LinkedIn profile, crafting memorable elevator pitches, and effectively using social media to expand your professional network.

By mastering these skills, you’ll be better positioned to make powerful first impressions and expand your career opportunities.

Finally, you’ll wrap up this course by gaining a clearer understanding of the recruitment process, from crafting eye-catching CVs to tailoring cover letters for particular positions to acing application forms.

What’s more, you’ll also explore techniques for navigating your way through applicant tracking systems and preparing for various assessments and interviews.

What topics will you cover?

  • Developing self-awareness and identifying own skills and strengths
  • Career values, motivators and career action planning
  • Employability support and job search planning
  • Building personal brand and networking
  • Recruitment process and CV writing

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Identify your strengths and use these to reflect on your career path
  • Demonstrate a range of professional skills that can help you succeed in any workplace
  • Develop an effective strategy to get the right job for you
  • Collaborate, network and communicate more proficiently with people from different cultural backgrounds and in different cultural contexts

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for current international students and recent graduates who aim to navigate and enter employment in the UK, their home country, or a third country.

It supports students in identifying their skills, communicating effectively with potential employers, and understanding workplace culture.

Who will you learn with?

Nicola  Davenport

Nicola is an Employability Adviser at Gradcore with over 20 years of experience supporting students and graduates to achieve their potential and find work they love.

Femi Bola

Femi Bola MBE is an Associate at Gradcore. She has over 20 years' experience working in career development and graduate employability, with a particular focus on tackling social inequality.

Rosie Kennedy

Rosie is the Head of International & Postgraduate Employability at Gradcore. She is passionate about enhancing the experience for international students in the UK.

Gin Bhandal

Gin is an Associate at Gradcore. He is a recruitment and career coaching specialist, having previously worked for one of the UK's biggest recruitment companies.

Who developed the course?

British Council

British Council

The British Council builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language.

We work on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2019-20 we connected with 80 million people directly and with 791 million people overall, including online and through our broadcasts and publications.

The GREAT campaign logo - name in front of Union Jack flag

GREAT Campaign

The GREAT campaign showcases all four corners of our nation to inspire the world and encourage people to visit, do business, invest and study in the UK.

What's included?

British Council are offering everyone who joins this course a free digital upgrade, so that you can experience the full benefits of studying online for free. This means that you get:

  • Unlimited access to this course
  • Includes any articles, videos, peer reviews and quizzes
  • A PDF Certificate of Achievement to prove your success when you’re eligible
  • Learning on FutureLearn

    Your learning, your rules

    • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
    • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
    • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

    Join a global classroom

    • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
    • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
    • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

    Map your progress

    • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
    • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
    • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

    Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

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