Your Guide to Successful Skills Sessions

This guide will help you develop a successful and engaging skills session. You will find suggested formats, useful examples, and questions to consider while designing your proposal.  

Employer speakers or alumni can lead the session on their own, with colleagues or in collaboration with another organisation or a Cambridge Careers Consultant.  

Sessions should last between 60-90 minutes and not be used for recruitment or promotional purposes.  

All session proposals are subject to approval by our team. If you would like to discuss your skills session before submitting a proposal please contact your assigned Employer Engagement Coordinator or email us to arrange an appointment. 

Skills session formats 

There are 4 suggested formats that we ask you to consider: 

1. Skills-based interactive session
2. Industry/role insight
3. Hot topic session
4. Career Journey 

1. Skills-based session 

We welcome proposals focused on developing workplace skills whether specific to a particular industry or more general. 

Key elements for a successful session 

• Interaction: incorporate tasks that require active participation
• Group discussion: facilitate conversations that encourage collaboration and ideas sharing.
• Simulations: use real-world scenarios to help students apply their academic knowledge and experience in a practical, non-judgemental setting. 

The chart above shows some of the skills we would like our students to develop:

Consider: 

• Where do most applicants fail in the application/interview/assessment process? 
• What skills have I had to quickly develop in my career or current role? 
• What skills did my degree equip me with that I still use in my job? 

Examples:

Public Sector assessment centre simulation / Case study / Data hackathon / How to develop numerical skills from a non-numerical degree / Interviews in a US Law Firm.

2. Industry/role insight 

The aim of an industry or role insight session is to develop in-depth knowledge of a sector, the labour market, or a specific role. Speakers are encouraged to present an overview of a particular field and discuss recent developments affecting it. You have the flexibility to determine the focus of your session.  

Alternatively, you may decide to focus on a particular role or department in your organisation, delving into the key skills and work experience needed to secure the job, as well as highlighting the opportunities for personal and professional growth it offers. 

Consider: 

• What are the conversations dominating the industry I work in?
• What do I wish I knew before entering the industry?
• Is there a role in my organisation that is relatively new or unknown that would benefit from attracting recent graduates? 

Examples:

An introduction to the voluntary carbon market / Insights into Theatre Production / The future of the creative industries / What does a … do?  

3. ‘Hot topic’ session 

In this type of session, we invite speakers to use cutting-edge data and insights to lead an engaging and thought-provoking conversation about a current ‘hot topic’. The aim is to broaden and enrich students’ knowledge and perspectives while developing their critical thinking in a non-academic industry context.  

Group discussion and an opportunity for Q&A should be integrated into the session. 

Consider: 

• What conversations, research, innovations or factors are having an impact on your industry or role right now?
• What experiences or research can you share to enrich students’ understanding?  

Examples:

Working in a public inquiry / Spotting misinformation and deepfakes in the media / Generative AI: How to plan a career in the AI era / How X organisation is bridging the gender pay gap / How to champion EDI in the workplace.

4. Career journey 

We welcome speakers, particularly alumni, to share the steps that led them to their current roles. Whether you followed a traditional path into your current role or took a more unconventional route, we invite you to inspire our students with your unique career journey.  

We would particularly welcome speakers who would be able to talk about what they are doing in the field of equality, diversity and inclusion or share their stories of being welcomed into the workplace and bringing their authentic self to work. 

By sharing how you found your path, the skills you developed along the way, and your insights into the reality of the jobs market, you will provide valuable guidance and tools to help your former peers embark on their own career journeys. 

Consider: 

• How did I end up in this role?
• How do I know I picked the right career for me?
• What lessons have I learned along the way?  

Opportunities for further collaboration 

Collaborating with another organisation 

We welcome and encourage collaborations and partnerships between employers. Our portfolio of employers features a range of diverse organisations and spans across all sectors. Your Employer Engagement Coordinator may suggest delivering a session alongside another employer if they spot the potential to enhance the value of the session.  

Co-leading a session with another organisation is an opportunity to add layers of complexity, expertise, and perspectives, and attract a more diverse audience than your session may otherwise draw. A successful example is a past collaboration between a car manufacturing company and an employer from the beauty industry who held a joint session to reach specific talent groups both organisations were keen but unlikely to attract.  

Co-delivering a session with our Careers Consultants 

Cambridge Careers Consultants have a broad spectrum of industry expertise and curate a range of resources to enable students to make informed career decisions while embedding and promoting a culture of life-long learning.  

They are sector-specialists with a wealth of experience who can add a "Cambridge voice" to your session, adding value by contributing their insights into our students' frequently asked questions and concerns, what skills they most need support with and where their interests lie.  

Practical ways in which a Careers Consultant might add value to your session are:  

• Support with session structure and /or session delivery
• Extra person to help with Q&A
• Signposting resources  

If you wish to discuss the possibility of delivering a session with a Cambridge Careers Consultant, reach out to your assigned Employer Engagement Coordinator. Please note this is subject to availability.

Submit a Skills Session Proposal