A Juggling Act: Navigating Studies and Job Applications ⚖

15 April 202410 April 2024 Joel Williams [jow136] Digital Identity and Wellbeing, Student Digital Champions, Students Leave a comment

Blogpost by Joel Williams (Student Digital Champion)

For many students, balancing studying for exams, completing coursework, and actively searching for employment opportunities can seem insurmountable. I have found it challenging to stay on top of my studies while trying to find relevant jobs and then completing page after page of applications. Enter platforms like Gradcracker and AberCareers. First introduced to me during the Digital Skills Festival, Gradcracker, like many similar sites, amalgamated many employment opportunities explicitly tailored to my skills. In this blog post, I hope to outline some of the approaches I used to help manage my studies whilst job hunting and signposting several resources available via the University.

Managing your time ⏰

One of the foremost challenges job-hunting students face is time management. With lectures, seminars, and assignments demanding their attention, carving out dedicated time for job applications can be challenging. Truthfully, I found the time required by each job application to be an excellent way to procrastinate on my dissertation, which helped me complete it quickly. However, as my third year continued and other assignments started to loom, I found the best way to stay on top of it all was to give myself an hour or two each week when I would only focus on job application. To meet my self-imposed time limit, I save the URL of any roles I’m interested in and if they are on Gradcracker, I make sure to shortlist them, making them easy to find and highlighting how long I have to apply for the role.

So Much Writing ✍

Another hurdle students encounter is the pressure to stand out in a highly competitive job market. Crafting a compelling CV, writing tailored cover letters, and preparing for interviews are all essential components of the job application process. However, balancing academic achievements and relevant work experience can take time and effort, especially for those juggling multiple commitments simultaneously. The most helpful resource I found when trying to update my CV was to use the daily drop-in sessions offered by the careers service. I found having another pair of eyes check over everything invaluable.

One of the sections of my CV I have always struggled to complete has always been the skills section. This is partially because it can be hard to know what is the most important to list and also because it can often be challenging to come up with a list of skills on the spot. To help complete these sections, I used a combination of module information and the Jisc Digital Discovery Tool, which I used to identify my digital proficiencies.

***Example of a Jisc Digital Discovery Tool report***

Polishing your Digital Presence 👣

One of the first steps I took early in the job application process was updating and polishing my LinkedIn profile. Spurred on by a session on How to use LinkedIn during the Digital Skills Festival, I revised much of my pre-existing profile and created something that I am now able to use for job applications.

Checking your digital footprint is an often overlooked element of applying for jobs in a digital age. My fellow Digital Champion Noel has written a handy blogpost exploring the steps you can take to protect your digital footprint and ensure that the public and employers can only see what you want them to. The Digital Skills Team have also curated a LinkedIn Learning collection on managing your digital identity.

Career Service 💬

If you’re looking for more specific advice, the careers service is the best people to speak to and details of how best to use this service, which is open to current students and post-graduates, can be found on their webpage.

Strategies for Creating the Best Workspace

19 February 202420 May 2024 Joel Williams [jow136] Student Digital Champions Leave a comment

Blogpost by Joel Williams (Student Digital Champion)

The environment you have around you whilst working can significantly impact how efficiently you work and the quality of your work. A good working environment can also reduce stress; you can read more about this here.

However, it can be challenging to recommend a good working environment as this is subjective and varies from person to person. In this blogpost, I aim to provide some tips and tools that will enable you to find the best working environment.

Location, Location, Location 📍

Finding the best location to complete your work is often the first hurdle; this space could be a desk in your room or a table in the kitchen; or you could use one of the many spots on campus, such as the Hugh Owen Library or the Arts Centre. Or, perhaps you sometimes prefer to work away from campus in spaces such as the National Library of Wales or a café. It’s also worth considering the noise level of your chosen location, for example the working environment in the Food Hall will be drastically different to that of Level F of the Hugh Owen Library.

I’ve always preferred a quieter working environment, and I have always struggled working at home. Therefore, Hugh Owen Library has always been my preferred choice; however, I frequently find that different rooms suit my needs better on different days. While equipment can often decide which space I use, the noise almost always influences my decision.

Making the Most of the Hugh Owen Library 📚

This interactive map of the Hugh Owen Library makes picking a space to work easier and saves you from getting lost, especially as there are numerous options of where to work within the three floors of the library. Spaces like the Iris de Freitas room on Level E are brilliant for group study but can get reasonably loud, especially when busy. If you’re looking for a quieter space to work from then Level F may be better for you, or if want a more private space for individual or group work, the Library also has bookable rooms; you can reserve these and view their availability online.

The power of sound 🎧

Music and audio can be powerful tools at your disposal to help you when working if used correctly. Personally, I’ve always found I do my best work when listening to music using services like Spotify. However, members of the Digital Skills Team suggested white noise applications like Noisli, which can be used to play weather patterns and even has its own playlists while offering many customisation options.

Audiobooks are also a popular option and can be accessed using services like Libby or Audible. These are especially useful whilst completing more mundane tasks, especially those requiring much repetition.

Join us for the Student Digital Champions’ Winter Break Challenge! ❄

19 December 202319 December 2023 Joel Williams [jow136] LinkedIn Learning, Student Digital Champions Leave a comment

Blogpost by Joel Williams (Student Digital Champion)

Welcome to this year’s Winter Break Challenge, created by the Student Digital Champions. We’ve created nine challenges for you to complete while taking a study break over the Christmas holidays.

We’ve also created a LinkedIn Learning collection, which you’re welcome to use for days 3, 5 and 7 of the challenge. Or, please feel free to choose other courses from LinkedIn Learning.

Eyes on the Prize: A Student’s Guide to Defeating Computer Eyestrain 👁

7 December 2023 Joel Williams [jow136] Digital Identity and Wellbeing, Digital Wellbeing Series, Student Digital Champions Leave a comment

Blogpost by Joel Williams (Student Digital Champion)

Whilst computers can be excellent tools to increase and streamline a student’s productivity, staring at a screen all day can have several adverse effects. Through this post, and accompanying infographic, I hope to impart several tips which I’ve used to help make using computers a more enjoyable experience throughout my degree. In this post, I will discuss one common computer-related ailment, Eyestrain. Eyestrain can occur after extended periods of looking at the same monitor or by using a computer in a poorly lit environment.  

20-20-20 Rule 

One of the approaches I’ve found easiest to implement into my studies is the 20-20-20 rule; this approach involves taking a break every 20 minutes, looking at an object 20 feet away (don’t worry, this doesn’t need to be precise), for 20 seconds. Blinking often during this is also suggested, as this can help relax the eye muscles and further reduce the likelihood of strain. 

You can find out more about this via this LinkedIn Learning course.

Reducing Blue Light 

Another method to reduce eye strain is to limit your exposure to blue light; this is because the blue light produced by screens can limit the production of melatonin (the sleep hormone), which can disturb our natural sleep cycles and result in our eyes feeling strained at the end of the day. This topic is still up for scientific debate, and you can read more about it here. This is easier to setup on personal machines but with some tweaking can be used on almost any computer at the University.

There are two main approaches to managing this:

Firstly, you can use software to reduce blue light exposure; MacOS and Windows have built-in settings, Night Shift and Nightlight respectively; you can even enable Nightlight on university computers.
Secondly, most monitors and laptop screens have options which enable you to control brightness and contrast, enabling you to achieve a similar result. However, if you are looking for more customisation, you can use free programs like f.lux which works on MacOS, Windows & Linux, and can provide far greater control over the tone of the screen (shown below).

Finally, blue light glasses can also be used to filter light not only from your screen but also from the surrounding environment and can be purchased cheaply from several retailers.  

Enabling Dark Mode 

Finally, another strategy which works well on many of the programs I’ve used during my course to reduce eye strain is to enable dark mode; this can be done within both MacOS and Windows and both are designed to aid working in environments with poor ambient lighting.  

However, programs like the office suite and some internet browsers will require additional steps to change. Steps to switch Office to dark mode can be found here, and you can convert any Chromium-based browser to dark mode using extensions found in the Chrome Web Store. 

More information can be found within the Digital Ergonomics LinkedIn Learning collection, click on the image above or use the link here.

Top tips for Mastering your Schedule 📅

29 November 202327 November 2023 Joel Williams [jow136] Digital learning and development, Digital proficiency and productivity, Student Digital Champions, Students Leave a comment

Blogpost by Joel Williams (Student Digital Champion)

To accompany a blogpost that I published last week on how you can use time management tools to help you master your schedule, I’ve created an infographic (text version below) which summarises some of the key strategies and tools that have worked for me.

Mastering Your Schedule: A Student’s Guide to Time Management Tools ⌚

22 November 202322 November 2023 Joel Williams [jow136] Digital proficiency and productivity, Student Digital Champions, Students Leave a comment

Blogpost by Joel Williams (Student Digital Champion)

As module handbooks are released, work and deadlines can quickly feel overwhelming. In this post, I will show you some of the programs I’ve used to help take back control of my studies, which should aid you when managing your workload.

The first two programs, Microsoft–To-Do & Google Tasks, are relatively comparable and easy to use. However, this does sacrifice some of the features found in more complicated programs like notion.

Microsoft To Do

One of the most accessible programs to integrate into your studies is Microsoft-To-Do; at its most basic, it allows you to create tasks and then group these as needed. However, the reason this is usually my go-to is that you can also use it in conjunction with the Office 365 suite of programs, making it especially useful as the University already provides these (You can download these here).

I’ve found this especially useful during my studies as it shows any emails I’ve flagged, preventing me from forgetting about them. Therefore, I recommend creating an account with your university email, which helps keep it all interconnected. It is available on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and as a website.

Google Tasks

Another popular alternative is Google Tasks, which, as I stated earlier, is comparable to Microsoft’s offering. However, I’ve found it helpful because of its integration with Google Assistant, making it especially easy to set reminders and tasks quickly while working on something else.

Additionally, if you prefer using the Google suite of software over Microsoft or work on an Apple device, this program will likely be the best option. It is available on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store; you can access it within Google software on the Internet or as a Chrome plugin.

Other Helpful Programs

There are many alternative programs which can help with scheduling; one of the better-known ones is Notion, whilst it is worth mentioning there is a slight learning curve. However, the elements which make Notion hard to use result from the sheer breadth of options and customisation within the program, allowing you to tailor your own experience.

If you’re looking to plan out group work (but don’t want to use Notion), Microsoft Teams is likely one of your best options. Alongside being able to communicate as a group, you can also create a task tab, which allows you to set tasks to complete together as well as divide up tasks by person if needed.

Creating your own system

The critical aspect of using all of these programs is to find the one which can best integrate into your workflow, making sure that whatever option you choose is assisting, not hindering. For those who would like to view more detailed information about some of these programs, you can find a LinkedIn Learning collection here.

The Power of Digital Wellness: Introducing our Digital Wellbeing Series

15 November 202327 November 2023 Joel Williams [jow136] Digital Wellbeing Series, Student Digital Champions, Students Leave a comment

Blogpost by Joel Williams (Student Digital Champion)

One focus for the Student Digital Champions this year is to explore strategies and programs we’ve used to increase our digital wellbeing. This series will explore what digital wellbeing is and will consist of posts and infographics discussing reducing eyestrain, digital detox, working environment and much more!

This information will be posted throughout the year with several seasonal posts, including challenges for Christmas and Easter. You can also use the LinkedIn Learning collections we’ve curated if you want to find out more in between posts, and you can stay up to date with all new posts within this series through this page on our Digital Skills blog.

To accompany this introductory blogpost, we’ve created A student’s guide to defeating computer eyestrain! (text version and clickable links below visual)