Who we are
We are a student-led employability group aimed at developing, enhancing, and promoting student awareness of graduate careers and internship opportunities. We put on weekly talks from employers relevant to the fields of Geography and Environmental Science, engage with fellow students, and liaise with the employability officer and the careers service.
We hold regular meetings to report on feedback and ideas, to schedule new employer and alumni talks, gather research on how to improve the employability service, and make events such as the careers fairs more accessible to students through our various social media platforms.
Our teams
Communications team
Promoting and sharing all information about events, initiatives, recruitment and research through our social media channels Geography and ES Employability: University of Southampton (Facebook) and @EmployGeogSoton (Twitter).
Organisation team
Helping to run the ambassador group including recruitment, meetings, agenda setting, note taking, coordination, and liaising with all other teams.
Events team
Helping to organise, coordinate and support events. Liaising with the Strategic Planning Team about scheduling and Communications regarding promotion.
Research team
Designing and conducting research related to employability, analysing the data and feeding it back into ambassador initiatives and planning.
education team
The outreach team, helping to engage with students and provide information on the importance of the employability events.
strategic planning team
Working closely with the Organisation Team, Strategic Planning monitor progress and make decisions about strategy and the direction of the Employability Ambassador Scheme as a whole.
ambassador alumni
Emily Bennett
My name is Emily, I am a third year BA geography student and I am an employability ambassador because I want to help other students have as good an experience with internships as I have. My 3 month placement at Ordnance Survey was one of the best things I've ever done and helped me gain access to such a wide variety of opportunities and I want to help other students get access to similar opportunities and have confidence when they get thrown out into the real world after uni. I am part of the events team and enjoying planning an internship panel and a talk from OS.
Charlotte Campbell
I wanted to be involved with the employability ambassadors as I feel that employability is a key aspect of being successful after your degree. Employment prospects for Geographers are very varied, with graduates going in to a whole manner of different careers, so I wanted to make sure that employability services on offer became more tailored to what the individual wants to get our of their degree.
Emily Chandler
My name is Emily and I am a Second Year BA Geography Student. I wanted to be an Employability Ambassador because employability is such a key issue faced by all students and I want to help all Geography students gain a greater understanding of the wide variety of opportunities that are available to them. I am part of both the Communication and Strategic Planning Team.
Matt Evans
I wanted to become a Geography Employability Ambassador as it would allow me to have a more active role within the department. Moreover, it provides the opportunity to gain a holistic understanding of the requirements to create a successful project due to having an active role from discussing ideas to final delivery. This position has heightened both my personal and professional development through the use of organisational, time management and communication skills.
Jasleen Mahal
My name is Jasleen Amber Kaur Mahal and I'm a third year BSc Geography with an Applied Economics Minor student. I'm a part of the Events and Communications teams and I am also an intern for the Sustainability Department and a Careers Ambassador. I have a keen interest in Quaternary Science and environmental research although I do like the thrill of organising events and working with people and I feel this role has helped me develop a more substantial skill set that will help me in my future careers. I hope to help geography undergraduates realise their actual potential in using their skills in the working world. Geography is such a dynamical subject and I am proud to be a Geography Employability Ambassador.
Siobhan O'Connor
I wanted to become involved with Geography Employability Ambassadors as it enabled me to become more involved in the university and geography department. In an ever changing world, the type of employment available to students is very varied. Having the opportunity to explore these different roles and to help others find their way through the different types of employment open to students, is something I feel is very important. This position has helped me to understand more about employability and I have enjoyed passing the information on to others to help them in their future careers
Vicky Pratt
I wanted to become a Geography Employability Ambassador as I didn't know what sort of career path I wanted to go down after I had finished my degree. I was also unsure of the different careers I could choose from. By becoming an Ambassador it enabled me to discover new career paths and helped me realise the skills I needed for them. It also gave me the opportunity to help other people discover career paths suitable for them.
Ellen Pearce
I'm Ellen, a third year BA Geography student. I've been working with Brian since second year on the strategic planning team for the employability ambassadors. My role includes planning the academic year's events, publishing employability posters and just being generally organised! I've also completed an internship with the property company Grosvenor during Semester 1 and helped to organise an event with the company in November. This internship was an amazing opportunity and helped me to gain an real insight into the world of development and planning, so I'm really passionate about encouraging students to make the most of the resources available to them.