LSE offers a fantastic careers service where students can get support and advice on things such as applications, CVs, and interviews. Having used the LSE Careers service myself throughout my time at LSE, I thought I’d share my five tips for getting the most out of it.

Tip 1: Do your research first

Most undergraduate appointments last 20 minutes in a one-to-one session with a consultant. While this may appear a long time, time flies! Make sure that you’ve thought about what you want to get out of the session before it begins, perhaps by making a list of key questions to discuss beforehand that you can tick off as you go along.

Tip 2: There are no restrictions outside of term time

At the time of writing, undergraduate students are entitled to 4 discussion appointments and 1 mock interview per term. From my experience, I have found the start of Michaelmas term to be a “busy season” for applications, and as such there can be more demand for appointments. However, the breaks tend to be a quieter time for appointments, and they have no restrictions on the number of bookings. Therefore, I’d recommend booking appointments out of term time too, such as at the end of the summer break if you’re making applications in Michaelmas term.

Tip 3: Take note of the advice you get

The individual sessions can cover quite a lot of ground in 20 minutes, so I’d highly recommend taking some written or typed bullet points as you go along. If you’re getting advice on a CV or covering letter, then a good tip for you could be to print it out and annotate it as you go along.

Tip 4: Speak to a range of consultants

When booking your appointment, you can choose a consultant dependent upon availability. Personally, I have enjoyed having discussions with a variety of different consultants and getting a wide range of advice and input. I know other people may prefer to have appointments with one or a few specific consultants to follow up on feedback, so feel free to do whatever suits you!

Tip 5: Don’t be scared to book appointments

Finally, and most importantly, don’t worry if you haven’t got a great CV yet or a perfectly laid out 3-year plan. The LSE Careers service is there to help you improve, and the consultants are all very friendly and supportive. Just remember: nobody is born knowing how to write a CV.

Get more information at: https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/careers