After 22 years, our Careers Team Manager, Joanne Watson, is taking early retirement. Joanne has been an integral part of our university, first at our legacy institutions, Cumbria Institute of the Arts and St Martin's College, and then at the University of Cumbria. Throughout her career, she has made a huge difference in the lives of countless students and graduates, helping them navigate their career paths. We sat down with Joanne to talk about her time here, what she's learned, and her top career advice for students.
Where did you study, and what were your career ambitions as a student?
I studied English Language and Literature at Newcastle University and graduated in 1988. I chose the course because I was passionate about literature. There was about 10 hours in total per week contact time with lectures, and the rest was literally reading books and writing essays. The Royal Shakespeare Company came to the Theatre Royal every year, and they had really good literary festivals, so I thought it was perfect.
My ambition was to read books! I knew I wanted to work with people, but I was unsure as to what field.
What made you choose to work as a careers advisor?
After uni, I took some time to do a few different things. I did a TEFL course and taught English, I travelled to the States and Canada and then I worked in a lot of temporary jobs, like admin and in youth hostels to save some money. I worked in local government on the customer service counter, and I realised I was quite good at calming people down, diffusing situations, listening to people and saying reasonably sensible things!
About three years after I graduated, I came upon the careers diploma in guidance at Northumbria University, so I went back to the North East.
I first worked as a careers advisor for Connexions, a UK governmental information, advice, guidance and support service for young people aged 13 to 19. I specialised in sixth form and FE students and worked with Trinity School in Carlisle as well as Carlisle College and Newton Rigg College in Penrith.
I really loved working with adults. I worked with unemployed adults, career changers and young graduates. Although it was great fun working in schools with younger kids, I just felt it was more meaningful working on a one-to-one basis, having those in-depth discussions with adults. I found them more complex, they had a life, and a history, it was more interesting, it was problem solving.
Can you give us an overview of your career at University of Cumbria, when did you start and what roles have you had?
I started with a few days' maternity cover at Saint Martin’s College Fusehill Street campus in 2003. I then used that little bit of experience to get an interview at Cumbria Institute of the Arts, Brampton Road. I worked part-time as a careers advisor there alongside working in Connexions until I got a permanent part-time job at St Martin’s. So, I worked for both of our legacy institutions! Then when the university merged the two together, I merged so I became full-time.
I genuinely loved being a careers advisor and I didn’t have ambitions to be in management. Then in 2015 there was a service restructure and a promotion opportunity opened up, and I was recruited to the team manager position.
What were your most memorable experiences at University of Cumbria, Cumbria Institute of the Arts and St Martin’s?
There are loads, but I think the most memorable is working with students on a one-to-one basis. That really sticks out, when you hear from them again afterwards and they let you know how they get on and the impact it's had on them, that is fantastic.
I kept in touch with some students for quite a number of years, the occasional update, because you create a bond, particularly if you see someone a few times. The students know you're genuinely interested in what they're doing. Hearing that they have got on to their PGCE or got their first jobs in healthcare, it's really rewarding.
What are you most proud of in your career?
I’ve found this question hard to answer. But the main thing for me has been managing the team. It's the team that makes things happen, hopefully, they have felt the freedom to have been really creative, to follow their interests with the resources we have, and they have achieved such a lot.
Team members over the years have become lecturers, academic staff, event managers, they are all brilliant. Education and career development is what we are about as a university, so it is really positive when colleagues move on and develop.
It's the manager’s role to give that core stability; the vision and goal so everybody's clear what we do. We always work with empathy, with friendliness, with genuine interest in our students and graduates and our goal is to help them to get where they want to be. The great thing is that this can be achieved in loads of different ways.
I am really proud of many of the projects we have introduced as a team such as developing the Career Ahead Employability Award, My Career Enriched career hub, setting up Mindless Academy and virtual internships for our students.
I’m very proud of the team and they'll definitely cope without me because they're great!
If you could go back and give your younger self advice about your own career, what would it be?
My advice to myself then would be to not worry, have more confidence in your abilities and to take a few risks! It’s good advice for students too, take a bit of a gamble and put yourself out there. I find growth mindset theory by Carol Dweck so useful, focus on the wins and see mistakes as a chance for learning.
What's the biggest change you've seen in the job market or in students' career goals over the past 20 years?
Graduates are less likely to be unemployed, they have greater job satisfaction, and on average, they earn more than somebody without a degree over their working lifetime. So, there's loads of positives about the labour market for graduates.
I think what's increasingly important is about being adaptable in your career and responding to change, so changes within the workplace and within your professional area. Being more flexible, picking up new things, especially with the continuing impact of new technology.
There are often peaks and troughs in the labour market, but I think graduates can often deal with that better because they've got the graduate mindset. Thinking laterally, thinking critically, planning things out. This is linked to the university’s new Graduate Attributes, it’s not just about the qualification you end up with, it's about those many different transferable skills that graduates acquire at university; being critically curious, creative, innovative, collaborative. I think these are going to be massive in careers and technology will be at the heart of that.
The labour market is a lot more complex these days. 22 years ago people weren't working from home on a regular basis. The pandemic has changed things a lot. Even more so today, students need to clear in their career decisions, to take a bit more responsibility on themselves rather than have their employer do things for them. They've got to be proactive. There are a lot less structured career options. This is where careers services comes in, it is still hugely relevant. You can do initial research on your own, but nothing beats that one-to-one, that focused time working with somebody focusing on your plans and your development.
What's the single most important piece of career advice you would give to students today?
Use the careers services! (Available to current students and graduates up to three years after graduation).
A couple of times a year, taking an hour of your time to check in with a careers advisor can really help with your next steps. Time with somebody who is really listening to what you are saying, somebody who is really interested in you, it's a nice feeling!
I want students to be proactive in all aspects of their career from day one, from thinking about work experience, who their networks are, getting out and talking to people. Being open and curious to all the opportunities that university gives them, joining societies and events, volunteer, meeting new people, getting outside of their comfort zone.
What are you most looking forward to in retirement?
I’m very excited (and a bit nervous) to be going into primary schools to help with reading. But then also a bit of travel, gardening and having coffees, having the time to sit and read a book again!
What do you hope for the future of our university and our students?
I hope for the continued success for our graduates and the university. I would like to see the Graduate Outcome Survey remain so positive and continue to be in the top ten in the UK.
I hope in the future that the university is able to do more work on funding for career development and for our graduates, that’s an exciting emerging area, with a student opportunities fund and practical support for their career etc.
What's one thing you will miss most about working at the university?
I’ll miss the university, and I’ll very much miss the people. We have our challenges but the majority of people you work with are friendly, there is a lot of humour, a lot of spirit and people genuinely want the best for our students and graduates.
Find out more about the work of the Careers and Employability Team HERE