09486 Preparing for Success Beyond Your Apprenticeship

Guide to

Preparing for Career Success Beyond Your Apprenticeship University of Winchester 2026

Contents Introduction

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How do we support you now and in the future?

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Take charge of your future career: your step by step checklist

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Navigating AI in careers

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Careers advice for life

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Introduction

(01962) 827310. This gives you additional flexibility around your work and learning commitments and ensures you get the help you want when you need it.

Building confidence in your ability to navigate your career path and achieve your career goals in an important part

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The University of Winchester

of your experience as an apprentice learning with the University of Winchester. Whether you plan to use your

Access to CareerConnect, the careers platform of

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CareerConnect can be accessed 24/7 and is packed

new qualification to progress within your existing career,

full of advice videos and resources on everything

explore self-employment or move into a completely

from interview preparation to CVs and covering

new career, you can build confidence by intentionally

letters. Graduate and part-time jobs (including

preparing for your future career whilst you learn. This

campus employment opportunities) are advertised

guide, produced by the Careers and Opportunities Team

on the platform. This is also where learners can

at the University of Winchester will help you better

book careers guidance appointments with a Careers

understand the careers support available to you – both

Consultant and find out about all the careers events

whilst you learn with us, and after you graduate. It will

across the year.

also give you some practical steps to follow to equip yourself for your future.

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Careers Fairs, Workshops and Employer Events.

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The Careers and Opportunities Team run a series of careers events for learners including careers fairs

How do we support you now and in the future?

The Careers and Opportunities Team support apprenticeship learners in a range of ways: F

with local and national employers, recruitment days with employers and workshops and talks on specific subjects. Recent topics have included Disability and Employability and AI in the Recruitment Process.

Spaces on these events can be booked through the CareerConnect platform.

40-minute pre-bookable 1-to-1 Careers Guidance Appointments

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Our qualified Careers Consultants can help you explore your career options and make informed decisions. Their approach is non-directive, which means you won’t be told what to do, but provided with support that encourages reflective thinking and informed decision making. These appointments can be in person or online to fit around your learning and work schedules.

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15-minute drop-in slots with an Employability Advisor

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An Employability Advisor is available for dropin appointments from 10am to 3pm, Monday to Friday. These appointments are perfect for quick CV reviews, part-time job searching or help with booking a careers guidance appointment with a Careers Consultant. Alternatively, you can e-mail careers@winchester.ac.uk. or contact us by phone,

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formulate your career goals with the support of a Careers Consultant.

2. Understand your unique offering to potential employers.

Spending time to really understand your strengths and skills will pay dividends in the long run.

Strengths are activities or ways of thinking that you find motivating, enjoyable, and effortless. They are things you do well without much conscious effort and that leave you feeling energised. Employers want to know your strengths; they see these as indicators of your future potential. Skills are learned and measurable abilities, you have been acquiring them throughout your life, through your studies, hobbies, volunteering and your current or previous jobs. You need to be able to articulate and evidence your skills in your CV or in an application form.

Some of the most sought-after skills by employers are:

Take charge of your future career: your step-by-step checklist

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Communication Being able to share information, emotions and ideas clearly and effectively, in writing and verbally.

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Analytical thinking

We’ve put together the following checklist to help build

Breaking down complex problems into smaller

your career confidence and ensure you are ready to

manageable parts to find logical solutions,

take full advantage of your career options at the end of

enabling informed decision making and effective

your qualification.

problem solving.

Whether you tackle them independently or with

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Individuals working together, recognising

the support of a Careers Consultant, you’re not just

strengths and contributing to a positive work

preparing for the end of your apprenticeship, you’re

environment.

building the confidence, clarity, and professional habits that will carry you into the next stage of your career.

Teamwork

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Self-motivation Being able to work towards and achieve goals

1. Reflect on your reasons for embarking on

without needing prompting from others or rewards.

an apprenticeship.

Self-understanding is the first stage of career planning. Set aside time during your learning to reflect on your original motivations for undertaking a degree apprenticeship. Where did you want this qualification to take you? Has this goal changed?

Use this time to deepen your self-awareness and

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Leadership When you motivate, organise or support a group of people to reach a goal. Now is the perfect time to think about what skills you can demonstrate to an employer and how you would evidence them.

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3. Create an up-to-date CV

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Work experience that tells a story

Your CV is your first chance to make a positive

Focus on what you did and what you achieved,

impression to employers and secure a job interview.

not just what the job was.

These are some of the fundamentals that ensure a strong CV: •

Education and training Include your apprenticeship details, certificates, and any additional training.

Clear structure A clean layout with clear headings (Profile, Skills,

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•

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Keywords from the job description

Experience, Education) helps employers

Many employers use automated screening, so

scan quickly.

matching their language boosts your chances.

Tailored content

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Professional presentation

Match your CV to the role by highlighting the

Consistent fonts, spacing, and bullet points

skills and experience that matter most for

make you look organised and detail focused.

that job.

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Strong personal profile A short, punchy intro that sums up who you are, what you offer, and what you’re aiming for.

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To help you create the perfect CV, you can access a series of advice videos and a CV guide (which includes a range of common CV templates) on the Career Connect Platform.

Evidence of impact Use achievements, not just duties. Numbers

By crafting a solid CV before your apprenticeship

help: ‘Improved efficiency by 20%’ lands better

ends, you’ll be ready to hit the ground running.

than ‘Responsible for admin tasks.’

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Relevant skills Include both technical skills (tools, systems, qualifications) and soft skills (communication, teamwork, problem-solving etc)

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4. Review and optimise your job searching techniques

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Whether the job you aspire to next is within your

within your organisation. This could be a great

current organisation, a different employer within

way to try a new role on a temporary basis.

your current sector or you are branching out into a completely new career direction, you should be

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behalf of employers to find suitable candidates

to ensure they are up to date. Here are some

and act as the link between jobseekers and

approaches to consider: •

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Use specific recruitment agencies for the industries that interest you. Agencies work on

constantly reviewing your job searching strategies

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Keep an eye out for secondment opportunities

employers. Many employers use them and

Make sure you know what jobs boards are

signing up will sometimes give you access to

relevant to the jobs/sector you are targeting.

jobs that aren’t advertised elsewhere. Search on

The Career Connect platform hosts a list of

Find Recruitment Agencies at Agency Central to

up-to-date job boards across all sectors and you

find the recruitment agencies in the sectors or

can set up job alerts.

industries you are interested in.

Utilise LinkedIn to make connections and

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It’s a good idea to keep a close eye on the

join groups of interest, this can increase your

websites and social media accounts of the

visibility of opportunities that may interest

organisations you specifically want to work for.

you. You can connect with other University

Many employers now post job openings on their

of Winchester graduates via the University’s

own channels before they appear anywhere

LinkedIn page by clicking the Alumni button. If

else, so checking them regularly means you can

you require support with setting up a LinkedIn

spot opportunities early. It also helps you stay

profile, or optimising your existing account, the

connected to the companies you are targeting

careers team can support with this.

and shows genuine interest in their work.

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5. Get ready to produce winning application forms

Pay close attention to the description of the person

Producing a job application takes time and practice.

the employer wants. For instance: the job advert may

In addition to adding contact details, education

state ‘We are looking for a self-motivated, organised

and employment history, many applications ask

and enthusiastic learner.’ Prepare answers that

for a personal statement to demonstrate how your

give examples of activities and achievements that

experience, values and skills match the person

demonstrate these attributes.

specification for the job you are applying to. The personal statement is a crucial opportunity to

The job description will often state the skills they are

showcase who you are, your goals, your values, and

looking for e.g ‘provide clients with insightful data

what you can bring to a role. A strong, persuasive

analysis and software-driven audit results’. As above,

personal statement can really set you apart from

prepare answers that include examples of when

other candidates.

you have completed such a task, or something very similar.

How to ace the personal statement: •

Use the STAR method to structure your answer

The STAR framework mentioned above is very useful

and ensure you provide the evidence the

to help you prepare your examples, and ensures the

recruiter is looking for. STAR stands for Situation,

anecdote is concise and stays relevant. Without this,

Task, Action and Result. Check out this video to

it’s very easy to lose track of what you’re saying.

find out more How to use the STAR technique.

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Use professional language and avoid slang, jargon and abbreviations.

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Employers often want candidates who have the potential to grow and take on positions of responsibility. To elicit this, they may ask question

Don’t fall into the trap of using the same

about your strengths. These are designed to disclose

personal statement for different applications

your motivations, where you perform well and your

as each employer is looking for different things.

preferred behaviours. For example, ‘what motivates

You should target the evidence that you provide

you to do your best?’.

to the job description and don’t be afraid of echoing the language used by the employer.

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Keep to the wordcount. Draft the personal statement in Word to make editing easy. You can then copy and paste it back into the application form once you are happy with it.

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Check out this video on CareerConnect which explains how to craft a strong and persuasive personal statement that sets you apart from others. How to write a personal statement to support a job application

6. Prepare for interviews

The key to doing well at an interview is do relevant and focused preparation beforehand. You will be expected to give examples of experiences and using your skills, either from your current or previous job or apprenticeship or hobbies.

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At the end of the interview, most candidates are given the opportunity to ask a couple of their own questions. This is still part of the interview so have these questions prepared. Don’t be tempted to ask about pay or holidays here, use these questions to find out more about the organisation or show your enthusiasm and ambitions. For example: What upcoming projects will the successful candidate be working on?

If you are asked to prepare a presentation, make sure you practice it, that you are comfortable with any technology being used and that you can complete it

Navigating AI in careers As the adoption of AI tools become more widespread, it can be difficult to know when it’s appropriate to use them during the job application process. Many employers are increasingly wary of applications that rely too heavily on AI-generated content. Still, when used thoughtfully, AI can support your job search in ways that enhance not replace your own voice and skills. Here are some tips on getting the balance right: F

application form rather than the end product. Use

in the time stipulated.

it as a thinking partner – e.g., to summarise or clarify your understanding of complex job descriptions.

For all the steps in this checklist, whether you tackle them independently or with the support of a Careers

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If you use AI in your job application, you may want to check if the employer requires this to be declared.

Consultant, you’re not just preparing for the end of your apprenticeship, you’re building the confidence, clarity,

Only use AI as a starting point for your CV or

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Use AI to suggest interview questions – just

and professional habits that will carry you into the next

copy and paste the job description and person

stage of your career.

specification into the AI generator.

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Ask AI to review your STAR-formatted answers.

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Use a specialist AI interview tool to record you practicing your answers and give you feedback.

This is especially useful if you have an automated interview coming up.

Careers for life The University of Winchester offers ‘careers advice for life’. Graduates who have completed their learning can continue to enjoy full support from the Careers and Opportunities Team. This includes booking 1-to -1 appointments with a Careers Consultant, signing up to careers events and access to the CareerConnect platform.

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Careers and Opportunities Team Visit us in SAB 303 for CV support.

E-mail careers@winchester.ac.uk

@uowcareers