We try to write in plain English when we’re telling you about the Careers and Employability Service, but you may come across words or phrases you’ve not seen before when you’re using careers resources. So we’ve put together this A-Z to help make sense of the jargon. Contact us if you find any other terms you’d like clarifying.

jump to: A • B • C • E • G • I • J • L • M • P • R • S • T • U • V • W

A

Accredited Course

An accredited course is one that is recognised by a professional body.

AGCAS

The Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services is the professional body for careers advisers in UK Higher Education. AGCAS produces some of the products you will see around the Careers Service and its website.

AGR

The Association of Graduate Recruiters is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that supports employers in all aspects of graduate recruitment.

Assessment Centres

A recruitment and selection event where a group of candidates take part in a series of activities including social events, group exercises, in-depth interviews and psychometric and/or personality tests.
See also Psychometric Tests.

B

Border Agency

The UK Border Agency is responsible for securing the United Kingdom borders and controlling migration in the United Kingdom. It manages border control and considers applications for permission to enter or stay in the United Kingdom, citizenship and asylum.

C

Careers Adviser

A trained and qualified adviser who will offer support on any aspect of planning your career.

Careers Fair

An event where employers market themselves. They can be general or cover one area such as Law, Science and Engineering or the Not-for-Profit sector. Employers usually have an exhibition stand with information on vacancies with their company and how to apply for them. The Careers Service has information on events all over the country.

Careers Workshops

See Workshops.

coMMUni

MMU’s own volunteering bureau. It’s got a database of hundreds of local opportunities from working with children to marketing, plus lots of advice and guidance about what to expect as a volunteer, as well as training and help with expenses.

Competencies

Specialist knowledge or skills needed to do a particular job.  Many employers provide a list of competencies and expect you to show how you meet them as part of the application process. To do this, you need to provide examples from your studies and work experience.

CV

Abbreviation of Curriculum Vitae. Known as a resume in the US. It’s a document containing information about qualifications, skills and experience, which you can use to market yourself to employers and demonstrate your suitability for a job. The Careers Service can help you write and present your CV.

E

e-Mentoring

Our mentor and mentee communicate privately over the internet. The mentee undertakes a series of tasks with the help of the mentor.

Employability

We define employability as ‘the development of skills, abilities and personal attributes that enhance our students’ capability to secure rewarding and satisfying outcomes in their economic, social and community lives’. In other words helping our students equip themselves to lead fulfilling lives.

Employer Presentations

Given by employers. These take place throughout the year and can be workshops, formal talks, or events where students can simply drop-in. They are advertised on the events page of the Careers Service website.

EU & EEA

The EU refers to all those countries within the European Union. The EEA stands for European Economic Area, and this represents EU countries plus other countries within geographical Europe but outside the EU arrangement.

G

Graduate Directories

This usually describes the two main directories: Graduate Prospects Directory and the Hobson’s (GET) directory which are published every autumn, and list companies that take on students in formal graduate training schemes.

The Directories can be collected from the Careers Service. Regular updates are available on the Graduate Prospects and Get Hobsons websites.

Graduate Job

A job for which you need a degree as the basic qualification.

Graduate Prospects

See Prospects

Group Exercises

May take several forms but usually, at an assessment centre, you may be asked to discuss a topic with others, which will be observed and assessed. See also Assessment Centres and Psychometric Tests

GVP- Graduate Vacancy Partnership

MMU is a member of the GVP, which is a consortium of several University Careers Services in the North West and aims to provide immediate graduate-level vacancies to job-seeking graduates.

I

Information Rooms

MMU Careers Information Rooms at All Saints, Crewe and Alsager are where you can access all our careers resources and see an adviser.

In Tray Exercises

Often set at assessment centres. You are given a variety of written information and asked what action you would take with each item. These are timed tests, the purpose being to see if you can prioritise and stay calm under pressure.

See also Group Exercises and Psychometric Tests.

Internships

An US term for a period of work experience. Can also be called a Placement. See also Work Experience.

J

Jobs4Students

Jobs4students is the MMU student ambassador scheme. Originally set up to provide a supply of trained and paid students to support recruitment and widening participation activity, the scheme employs around 600 students each year in roles across the University.

L

Learn Direct

Learndirect is a UK service providing courses at all levels including short skills-based courses and basic skills courses. You can access courses online or at centres dotted around the country.

M

MentorMatch

MMU’s mentoring scheme that aims to match students with a mentor who can help them to discover more about themselves, their potential and their capability.

P

Placements

A placement is a period of time away from your studies that forms part of your course. They usually take place after the end of the second year and last a year, although they can be shorter and be undertaken during the summer vacation. They are advertised on the Careers Service website.

Professional Passport

The MMU Professional Passport provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate to future employers that you have developed skills and qualities relevant to your future career. It helps you to create a clear career plan by pursuing and reflecting on your own personal development, and provides you with a portfolio of evidence to take to potential employers.

Pro-rata

If a job is part-time the salary advertised is often described as pro-rata. This gives the salary you would be paid if you were full-time. So if a three-day-week job has a pro-rata salary of £20,000, you would be paid three-fifths or 60% of that: £12,000.

Prospects

The major publisher of careers information in the UK. Prospects produce a series of recruitment publications and provides online information via the UK's official graduate recruitment website. Through this website, you can register with My Prospects, where you will get access to a range of services including job vacancies by e-mail or text message. You can also register to receive the free online-only digital careers magazine Prospects Graduate.

Prospects Planner

Part of Prospects, the Prospects Planner is a job exploration tool which helps you identify your skills, motivations and interests and then to match yourself to relevant job types.

Psychometric Tests

A tool increasingly used by employers. There are two types of psychometric tests; aptitude and personality. Aptitude tests measure verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, diagrammatic reasoning or other specific abilities. Personality tests produce a profile of personality traits and strengths and weaknesses. We have sample tests you can practice online.

R

Recruitment Agency

Agencies advertise vacancies and sometimes carry out initial selection on behalf of employers.

S

Short List

The people selected for a final interview.

Speculative Application

Contacting an employer/company directly, without a specific job being advertised, to ask whether they can offer jobs or work experience. Usually involves sending a CV and a specially written covering letter.

Statement of Service

We aim to offer high quality careers information and advice that is provided in a fair and equal way to all our clients regardless of their sex, ethnic origin, age, sexuality, religion or disability. The Statement of Service outlines what you can expect from the MMU Careers Service.

T

Transferable Skills

Skills which can be taken from one job or experience to another. These can be skills like those in communication, numeracy, or working as part of a team that you may have gained through your course, in paid or unpaid work or even in your social life.

U

UKCISA

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) is the UK’s national advisory body serving the interests of international students and those who work with them.

V

Voluntary Work

Work undertaken for no pay. Can cover anything from a few days to a long-term position. MMU has its own volunteering bureau, coMMUni, which advertises positions and offers advice on volunteering.

See also coMMUni.

W

Work Experience

A period of paid or unpaid experience in a workplace that can be part or your course or work around it.  Relevant work experience is essential when applying for most graduate level jobs. There are many different ways to gain work experience: industrial placements, projects as part of your course, vacation work, overseas work, part-time jobs, shadowing and volunteering. All of these help improve your employability.

Workshops

The Careers Service runs a wide range of free workshops to help you look for and find a job. They cover everything from helping you work out what you want to do, to application and interview techniques and job seeking strategies