How Societies and the Careers Service can work together
Societies and the Careers Service can work closely together to make it easier for students and employers to navigate the wide range of extracurricular activities that help students to develop valued employability skills and experiences.
The University of Cambridge Careers Service helps students, graduates and researchers to prepare for their future. Our experienced and impartial team is here to support you at Cambridge and beyond.
The Careers Service provides careers education, information and support through one-to-one careers discussions and by designing and organising careers events. We work with employers from a wide range of sectors and connect them with Cambridge students, researchers and graduates through a series of events and services via our platform Handshake.
To view the range of events we deliver, please see our events page.
How Student Societies can engage with the Careers Service
Promote your careers-related activities on Handshake
The Careers Service uses the Handshake platform, an innovative career development platform through which students can make use of the Careers Service and develop their career and network. Societies are invited to register on Handshake and use the platform to promote up to 5 relevant career and employability-related events per term. You can also post committee positions or paid opportunities offered by your society.
Publicise events
Student societies and sports clubs are invited to post up to 5 careers-related events per term on Handshake provided they comply with our event policy.
If a society partners with an employer(s) to deliver an event, the employer(s) should also have, or create an employer account on Handshake. Where event speakers are attending in an individual capacity only e.g., alumni or individual contacts not representing their organisation, this does not apply.
Events may only be listed once on Handshake. In cases where the event is posted by both the employer and a society, the CS will approve the employer posting only. In cases where multiple societies post the same event, priority will be given to the first society to post.
Societies should be willing to advertise Careers Service events and services that are relevant to their members.
Advertise your society or sports club vacancies
Societies may post vacancies for their committee positions and paid roles. Societies are requested to inform their Senior Treasurer (ST) before posting any paid vacancies. All vacancies must be compliant with the Careers Service’s vacancy policy.
Participate in a relevant careers fair
The Career Service organises a series of sector-specific careers fairs and events during Michaelmas and Lent term to enable students to explore the wide range of career opportunities open to them. Where space allows, it may be possible for relevant societies to have a presence at the event. Please contact employers@careers.cam.ac.uk to discuss further.
Share Careers Service activities with your members
Ensure that your membership is aware of the Careers Service and its activities that support their career interests.
Tell us how you’d like to engage with employers
Tell us what you’re planning and we may be able to direct employers interested in working with societies to you.
Working in collaboration with Cambridge Careers Service
If you would like to collaborate with the Careers Service, please complete the proposal form. Before completing the form, please read Top Tips for working with the Careers Service considering what we already offer to avoid duplication. Activities that complement our existing provision will be considered. See our events page.
Most of our event planning takes place from April to July. We recommend contacting us at least 12 weeks before the proposed event is due to take place. We are particularly interested in exploring collaborative events that focus on diversity and inclusion and global careers.
We can also support you with
- Scheduling events to minimise clashes with similar events
- Signposting to careers related events
Advice on organising and delivering events
How to register on Handshake
Societies should register on Handshake as ‘Employers’ using the official society name as registered with the Proctors or the Sports Department and the published society contact details e.g., president @society.cam.ac.uk, events @society.cam.ac.uk to ensure the account can be accessed and managed across changes of committee members and academic years.
The Careers Service will confirm that the request is from an eligible society.
For full instructions see How to register on Handshake.
Please note, Cambridge Careers Service is unable to pass over names of alumni and employer contact details or book rooms on behalf of societies.
Supporting resources:
Top Tips for working with the Careers Service
Top Tips for working with employers and alumni