Our team of specialist careers advisers offer personalised, lifelong support to both current students and graduates.
Whether you're making career decisions, building experience, or connecting with employers, we're here to help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
We can help you to:
- Explore your career options and make informed decisions.
- Find and apply for jobs, placements, and volunteering roles.
- Take part in funded global experiences and study abroad opportunities.
- Reflect on your skills, strengths and values.
- Develop business or self-employment ideas.
- Discover new ways to broaden your experience and enhance your employability.
There’s also a wide selection of helpful careers and opportunities related articles available on the YSJU Student Hub website that you might find useful. We would advise you to explore these prior to booking an appointment.
What is a careers appointment?
A careers appointment is a confidential, supportive one-to-to-one conversation between you and an adviser to help you with your career plans. Your adviser can help you with different goals and aspirations that you may have. Some examples of queries are:
- I don’t know what career I want to go into.
- How do I get experience?
- I'd like in-depth help for an application or interview.
- I have an enterprise idea to discuss.
- I'm thinking about further study.
- What are my options as an international student?
- What are my transferable skills?
It’s ok if you don’t know the answers to the questions your adviser asks. It’s their job to help you. Your advisor may offer some advice, provide resources or do some action-planning with you, and they may also set up a follow-up appointment with you if required.
How do I book an appointment on Handshake?
- Log into your Handshake account. Your Handshake account is linked to your York St John email account
- Select Careers Centre > Appointments > Book an appointment
- Choose the appointment category and type that aligns most with the support you need
- Choose a time and an adviser and fill out any pre-appointment survey
- Select “Request” to book your appointment
What type of appointment do I need?
When you are booking your appointment, you will be offered a selection of appointment types with our team. Please read through the descriptions and select the appointment type that most suits your needs. If you are unsure of the support you need, please select a Careers Guidance appointment.
Please note: If you are a London campus student, please ensure you book an appointment applicable to London campus.
Where can I have my appointment?
Your appointment can be face to face in a confidential space or virtually via the Handshake platform or Microsoft Teams. There is also the option of booking phone call or “walk and talk” appointments. These will need to be requested when you book the appointment. Please state this in the adjustments and personal needs section of the appointment request.
Before your appointment
- You can select the type of appointment that you need and the adviser you want to book with.
- If you have any questions or require any adjustments ahead of your appointment, please feel free to contact the Student Hub.
- Please ensure you complete your pre-appointment survey and add any additional information in the help requested box.
- If your appointment is in person
- York Campus: Please check handshake to see the location of your careers appointment. It will either be at the Student Hub or in another room on campus.
- London Campus: please arrive at Careers Space, Floor 6 of the Export Building (LX611) and wait for an adviser to collect you.
After the appointment:
There is nothing more that you must do unless previously agreed by the adviser in the appointment.
You are welcome to book another appointment in the future.
Cancellations
We understand your time is precious, as is ours. Non-attendance and late cancellations mean other students are unable to book into the busy appointment system. We'll allow 10 minutes lateness, after which we'll mark the appointment as a ‘no show’. Please, also, do not cancel appointments with less than 12 hours’ notice. If you need to cancel, please do so before 9am on the day of the appointment. If you do, we’ll treat this as a no show.
If this is a virtual appointment, the Handshake video link will be activated 5 minutes before the appointment time.
If you have any queries, please contact the Student Hub.
Frequently asked questions
How long are the appointments?
Appointments are typically 30 minutes long; however, it may be agreed with your adviser that more time is needed for the appointment. There is also no obligation for you to stay for the full 30 minutes if you feel all your questions have been answered. Some appointment types may be shorter or longer than others. This will be stated when you attempt to book the appointment.
Do I need to see the same advisor every time?
You do not need to see the same adviser for every appointment. When booking appointments, you will have the choice of selecting an adviser.
How many appointments can I book?
You can have one active careers appointment at a time. If you would like to book further appointments, have a conversation with your adviser to agree on whether a future appointment is necessary.
Do I need to pay for an appointment?
No. Appointments are free.
Will I need to do anything outside of my appointment?
Aside from specific preparation as stated in the Handshake booking description, there is no requirement to do anything outside of your appointment. However, you and your adviser may agree on some goals to work towards. If you are wanting support on a specific application or CV, it may be beneficial to print it out or have it available on a laptop or memory stick to make the most of the appointment.
Is the appointment confidential?
Yes. This is a confidential conversation between you and your adviser.
Do I need to commit to more than one appointment?
There is no requirement to commit to more than one appointment. You may agree to have another appointment with your adviser if you require more support in future.
What do I do if I need to cancel or rearrange my appointment?
You are free to cancel your appointment if you can no longer attend. Please do so at least 12 hours before the scheduled start time. If you need to cancel on the day, please do this via Handshake before 9am on the day of your appointment.
What should I do if my query relates to another issue such as study abroad, work experience, internships etc.?
Please check the list of appointments on Handshake to get support for these queries. You can also contact the Student Hub who will be happy to help.