Tag Archives: mental health
By Mike Grey There’s no doubt that students are brilliant. You are brimming with skills, ideas and potential. So why is this not always fully reflected in graduate recruitment processes? I often talk with students about the Dunning-Kruger effect in relation to their performance in graduate recruitment processes. It has prompted powerful reflective discussions, supported them to develop their self-awareness and often encouraged them seek help from careers professionals to develop their competence in making graduate job applications. What is the Dunning–Kruger effect? The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias stating that people with low competence at a task often ... read more
The first few months of any graduate programme from September to December are busy. From induction to line manager briefings, the first placements and inevitable first bouncers working out they are in the wrong place. January is often the first chance to come up for air and do some thinking about the year ahead. The programme structure, budget and core topics will most likely have been set for some time, but there are a few key questions I’d encourage all graduate developers to ask as we all plan and prepare for 2018: • Has the business environment, leadership, strategy or ... read more
In May 2017, Gradconsult announced the five successful recipients of our microgrants for early-careers researchers, to support them in developing their research, pursuing publication and creating impact. We’re delighted to share the first of a series of updates from these individuals. The following piece is from Andy Fletcher, Durham University, who is making headway with his research looking at links between music and mental health. Music increases wellbeing. Some people have a fair idea of how and why this works for them but the reasons differ between individuals. My PhD sought to disentangle some of the connections between music activity ... read more
Yesterday was World Mental Health Day and as a result there were lots of fantastic articles and blogs online about managing your mental health and wellbeing. In particular there was a lot of content aimed at students in University. Universities are usually pretty good places to discuss mental health. There seemed to be a real culture of acceptance, particularly in student groups, societies and the Students’ Union that created a safe space for talking about mental ill-health, something I hope I contributed to during my time as an Officer at Sheffield Students’ Union. This feeling of being supported didn’t always ... read more
Resilience has been a buzzword in education for years now. Advocates say that young people need to develop the ability to cope with difficulties themselves, rather than expect others to solve their problems. But critics argue that it is used as a catch-all term that removes responsibility from institutions and fails to address the problem of worsening mental health in students. I have been working as a welfare officer for the past year, and I have rarely seen the term used to encourage self-improvement in an effective way. I have seen students told by their tutors, counsellors and other support ... read more