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PROFESSIONAL CAREERS
The Professional Careers and Employability area offers specialized advice to students in the processes that affect their employability and entrepreneurship.
88%
High employability
88% of our students find employment less than 18 months after completing their studies.
86%
In their chosen sector
86% of the employed graduates work in the sector corresponding to their studies.
15%
Entrepreneurs
15% of our graduates work in their own companies.
What do we offer?
The following services and activities are offered to all undergraduate and graduate students and Alumni:
Personalized guidance service through which you can review your résumé, or get answers to specific questions.
Events such as Career Week, where we are visited by companies from each sector and motivational speakers who introduce you to the professional realities you will face beyond the classrooms.
Training and information workshops, inspirational talks and cross-disciplinary sessions aimed at better understanding the realities of the working world and developing skills.
Guidance resources in the job market and professional tools.
Forums and presentations in which you can network with experts from the business world.
Activities with active professionals where you can discuss more specific topics related to the job market, such as the skills and abilities demanded most or the use of professional networks.
Entrepreneuring Club, where the students themselves, accompanied by their professors, begin entrepreneuring before they finish their studies.
About us
What can we do for you?
We want to make a great professional out of you. Companies are looking for professionals with a skill set that meets the needs of the current job market.
The Professional Careers and Employability area will accompany you to help you improve your professional profile and help you find job opportunities.
Carreer Week
Career Week came from the need to keep in close contact with the business world. To do that, we created an annual event to provide an online space in which to interact with companies and entities in your sector. During Career Week, you can network with recruiters from companies and entities in various sectors, discover the most demanded professional profiles and how you can add value to your profile.
In our most recent edition, Virtual Career Week 2021, our students and alumni were able to enjoy over 100 companies, 60 webinars and 300 offers for jobs, internships and grants.
Time to take action
Below, we provide you with useful and practical information to answer basic questions before facing a selection process: What is a résumé and how do I adapt it to my career? Should I include a professional profile? How should I prepare for an interview?
Types of resumeTips for your resume in different countries around the worldCover letterProfessional profile
Types of resume
Chronological resume
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Professional experience and academic education are listed in reverse chronological order (the most recent is listed first).
This is used to highlight professional and/or academic growth in a single sector and when you want to highlight companies, duties and periods of progress.
Information that must appear:
Start and end date of each professional and education experience.
Company and job names.
Responsibilities, achievements and highlighted projects (short bullet points).
Degree, type of education and center of studies.
Not recommended when:
There are periods of inactivity and training gaps.
There is a constant change of jobs.
Functional resume
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This option highlights professional skills and abilities without a time criterion, offering a general idea of your skill set.
It is used if your experience is as a freelancer, you want to change sectors, or you have many changes of job or periods of inactivity.
Information that must appear:
Separate blocks with the information to be highlighted.
Titles defining the content of each section.
Not recommended when:
You want to highlight progress in your professional career.
You want to give importance to the companies where you've worked.
Chrono-functional resume
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This option combines the previous two types of résumé, indicating the skills with the professional profile and including information on jobs, companies and periods.
It is used when you want to highlight skills, as well as your professional evolution in a specific sector.
Video resume
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Professional brand presentation in video (duration: 1-2’ max.). Base it on your Elevator Pitch.
Use it to demonstrate your communication and/or editing skills and to highlight your candidacy by offering a more personal view of your profile.
Information that must appear:
Profile presentation (most relevant education and experience; most important skills, abilities and achievements).
A striking touch.
Express your willingness to do an interview.
Tips for your resume in different countries around the world
United States
Length for junior profiles of just 1 page.
Do not include a photo.
Professional experience must always be presented in chronological order, highlighting especially your achievements (more than your responsibilities).
Add a “Summary” section (no more than two paragraphs) in which you include your unique value and your professional objective.
Use action verbs and key words (inspired, solved, trained) and avoid clichés (hard worker, team player).
United Kingdom
Length for junior profiles of just 1 page. Neutral font between 10 and 12 points.
A photo is not normally included (only when the job so requires; e.g. model).
Include a section for your “Personal Profile” at the beginning.
Include references and their contact information.
Include hobbies and professional achievements.
Germany
Family details are usually included (marital status, number of children).
It is recommendable to include a photo.
If there are any time gaps (experience or education), it is important to explain why.
It is recommendable to include a cover letter specific to each offer.
Canada
Do not include a photo.
Use the simple past tense to describe professional experiences and avoid using the personal pronoun “I.”
Do not include personal information such as marital status, religion or ethnicity.
Use English or French depending on the official language of each city.
Include information on volunteer work.
China
You must include personal information (gender, marital status, number of children and ages).
Include responsibilities and achievements in the work experience, avoiding words of embellishment.
Include references.
Include all information on education, including complementary training.
Write it in English.
Japan
Use “Rirekisho” templates. Write it by hand in black ink.
Include a photo.
Use the following structure:
Contact and personal information (date of birth—year, month and day—, address).
Strengths and hobbies.
Education (from the oldest to the most recent).
Job experience (include duties and company details such as number of employees). It normally ends with 以上 ‘ijou’ (“that is all”).
Languages.
Reasons for wanting to work at the company.
Include the distance and time it would take to reach your job.
Cover letter
What it is
This is a document that complements your résumé in which you indicate why you feel you are right for the offer and you present yourself with a more personal tone.
What it should contain
Header: Personal information (name, professional title) and contact information (email address, phone number) and employer information (name, job, company).
Salutation: aimed at the employer personally. If you know the job and/or name of the person you are addressing, personalize it!
Introduction: personal, yet professional, presentation, adapted to the job and the company (How did you learn about this vacancy/company? Why are you writing this letter?)
Body: why are you the best candidate and why is the job perfect for you. Indicate your most recent and/or relevant job, as well as some skills, achievements or projects to highlight in relation to the job.
Close: provide information on your availability to receive a call or conduct an interview, and add your name (signature). You can also repeat your contact information.
Try to avoid
Do not send a standard letter without personalizing it.
It must always be accompanied by a good résumé.
Do not limit yourself to repeating what is in your résumé.
The length should not be much more than half a sheet of paper.
Spelling and grammar must be impeccable.
Use storytelling, highlight what makes you different.
Highlight the skills/abilities that are most related to the job.
Use vocabulary appropriate to the field you are applying in.
Follow the same style/template as your résumé.
Professional profile
What it is?
Brief summary/presentation about who you are professionally, including information relevant to the offer.
It is a paragraph of 5-6 lines at the start of your résumé and is not required.
Why we include it?
It helps give a first impression of you adapted to the offer.
It attracts attention, enabling you to explain your profile in full through a brief paragraph.
It helps you reflect on yourself with a view to a future interview.
It is important in ensuring that you stand out.
What details should it include?
Most relevant experience and education.
The most important skills that contribute to the job.
Highlighted achievements.
Professional objective.
Tips
Identify the job requirements and include those you have.
Look for information on the company culture and include the skills that could fit in best.
Organize the content in sentences/paragraphs with a professional tone always.
Highlight the key words that accompany the offer you are applying for.
Be brief.
Answer the following questions:
Who are you?
What are your best skills?
What are your greatest achievements?
What is your value proposal for the job?
Time for the interview
How to respond correctly? Here are some tips that can help you answer the typical interview questions and know how to respond to the most complicated ones.
Let's begin
Tell me about yourself. Combine skills with the description of yourself. Point out your “Unique Selling Proposition”, what makes you different.
What do you know about our company? Research the company’s website in advance. Highlight the projects and areas of the company culture that fit best with your profile.
Why are you interested in this job? Take this opportunity to show your enthusiasm about working with them! Briefly indicate your experience related to the duties of the job. Combine it with the company’s projects and culture.
Let's continue with skills
Strengths and Weaknesses. Avoid the typical answers; be honest. Give examples of your strengths (why do you think you have them, how have you developed them, etc.). Select areas of improvement that are not related to the job and always indicate the actions you are taking to improve them.
Handling Complicated Situations. Focus on your contribution to the action and the result obtained. Indicate whether other people contributed to the resolution.
Let's dig a bit deeper
What motivates you? Be professional and indicate why. Try to tie it into the skills that can play in your favor.
What do you have that other candidates don’t? / Why should I hire you? Talk about what you can contribute beyond your technical knowledge. Highlight your affinity to the company culture. Summarize your profile based on the duties of the job.
The most difficult
Why do you want to leave your current job? Don't speak poorly of your experience in another company; focus on your development and desire to face new challenges.
Personal Questions. You are not required to answer. The recommendation is to tell the truth naturally.
Questions About Salary. Highlight that the most important thing is not the salary, that you value other things such as the project and the opportunities for growth they offer.
Companies
What can we do together?
In Professional Careers, we work on the employability of our students and alumni through three pillars: Accompaniment, Training and Job Opportunities. Companies and institutions are one of the essential pillars in meeting our goal of improving the employability of our students and graduates.
We invite you to join us in a series of specific actions that we are starting up, but we are open to any activity that you see fit; just let us know. The University is the perfect place to access and understand young talent and for all of us to continue weaving our network of contacts.
