One of the priorities of VSU is the successful employment of its students and graduates. This objective is pursued by the VSU Career Development and Business Partnership Centre, a unit that helps students find jobs. Students don’t have to wait until graduation and receipt of diploma to do that: the university’s partners are willing to employ students while they are still studying. For such students, the VSU Career Centre arranges meetings with employers and finds suitable positions, taking into account their availability and experience.
Vyacheslav Pavuk, a graduate of the Faculty of Mathematics at VSU, is working as a junior developer at the Digital Economy League. Vyacheslav chose his current specialisation, data engineering, during his third year, after he got acquainted with the job market at the VSU Career Day. In 2021, as part of a job fair, he met a developer, a representative of one of the university’s partner companies. Vyacheslav completed a test assignment, received a review of his mistakes, and an assessment of his skills.
“The expert reviewed my assignment and told me what I should improve so that I could come to the company for an interview. I began to prepare, to sort through the material, and realised that I was interested in a different area in IT than I had originally considered,” said Vyacheslav Pavuk.
At the job fair, the graduate of the Faculty of Mathematics was introduced to IT companies and began to monitor their vacancies and internships on social media. This led Vyacheslav to an interview at Neoflex, where he received training and met mentors and developers. However, he did not manage to get a job. Nevertheless, according to Vyacheslav, in three months of the internship he learned and understood much more than in six months of self-study.
In 2022, Vyacheslav came to Career Day again and met representatives of the Digital Economy League, where he now works. Last year, the VSU graduate was promoted from trainee to junior developer.
“Thanks to the Career Centre, I had the opportunity to talk to specialists in various fields: testers, analysts, developers, and HR managers. The events of the Career Centre, and the contacts I made there, helped me to sidestep CV drafting and portfolios. The skills I learned during my studies at VSU, such as analytical, abstract thinking, were also beneficial for my employment: In such a modern field as IT, you have to keep learning,” said Vyacheslav Pavuk.
The possibility of building a career in parallel with university studies is one of the priorities for the VSU Career Centre. A student can find a suitable vacancy not only through a personal acquaintance during the Career Day, but also through the Facultetus specialised platform. There are now more than 2,000 vacancies available from 300 VSU partners. On Facultetus, students can learn about internships and projects, compile their CVs, and start cooperation with potential employers. According to Ekaterina Mikhailyuk, Head of the Career Development and Business Partnership Centre, developing the digital environment is one of the main objectives.
“Our aim is to help students with their future employment. A common problem is that after graduation a person has no work experience and no portfolio. Not all students find the energy and time to work while studying. That is why Facultetus offers students to develop their skills by participating in events, contests, and grants,” said Ekaterina Mikhailyuk.
Maria Voronova graduated from the Faculty of Economics of VSU several years ago. She discovered the Career Centre while looking for a job and decided to contact its staff. Specialists at the Career Centre helped the graduate to identify priority vacancies, write a CV, and send it to the employer. A week later, Maria’s future supervisor contacted her and invited her for an interview. Now the graduate of the Faculty of Economics is employed by the Export Support Centre of the Voronezh Region.
“I had several interviews before getting the job. It took me a long time to decide whether to accept the employer’s offer or not. The Career Centre helped me with this as well. The staff articulated the pros of the job and the risks I might face. The Career Centre not only helped me to find an employer, but also supported me at the decision-making stage,” said Maria Voronova.
The successful operation of the Centre is ensured by the well-organised communication within the university. Over the past year, the Career Centre established cooperation with the university’s core departments and 17 faculties. Now each of the units has a placement manager. The centre actively cooperates with the Department of Educational Policy, the Academic Board, the Department of Innovations, the Department for Social Development, and the Department of Student Affairs of VSU.
The Career Centre is operated by people who have not only professional skills, but also big hearts. Its staff, Tatiana Gavrilova, Anastasia Orekhova, and me, we all put our hearts into developing this unit. We want VSU graduates to be competitive, successful, and just happy people, because today success is measured by workplace and income,” emphasised Ekaterina Mikhailyuk.
In 2022, the number of VSU graduates reached 4000 people. According to statistics from the VSU Career Development and Business Partnership Centre, most of the university’s graduates work in the Voronezh Region, 53.7%. The second priority for employment is Moscow with 24.3%, the smallest share of graduates work in other regions of the Black Earth Region. The average salary of a graduate of Voronezh State University is 48,000 roubles.
It is also possible to trace a university student’s career path through the Facultetus platform. Over the past year, 2,000 students joined the system. More than 400 of them are students from the first and second years, they are on the reserve list of partner companies. Senior students have a lot of feedback from employers, about 50 per week. The career environment covers higher education, as well as secondary and higher vocational education.
“I believe that VSU offers a lot of activities and opportunities. If you are proactive, the university will do everything to support you. You have to start expressing yourself at the 3rd or 4th year (but it’s individual),” said Vyacheslav Pavuk.
You can keep track of current vacancies and offers from partner companies in the Career Centre’s social networks, the VK group and Telegram channel. The unit’s staff support these platforms to stay in touch with students and alumni. The Career Centre provides information about meetings with employers, workshops, placements, and internships.
“We would like the students to understand the importance of our resources and events and not to lose the opportunity to take up a more vacant position,” said Ekaterina Mikhailyuk.
