Uptree

What they are and how to book

Did you know that Uptree offers free one-to-one Support Calls to young people? Uptree Support Calls are a way for you to get personalised support and application advice from a member of the Uptree Education Team. These calls are typically 15 minutes long over Zoom and provide a safe space for asking any application and career-related questions that you have in a safe space. We recently conducted a survey to gather some feedback around the benefits of these Support Calls. Keep reading to see why you should book one.

Focus of the calls - how they help

Uptree started Support Calls as a way to provide young people with a platform to ask questions surrounding careers, applications and experience. We find that the majority of Support Calls focus on CVs and interviews. A lot of young people send over their CV to be reviewed prior to, during or after the call and receive detailed feedback on ways to improve their CV to make them stand out more to an employer. These calls are a chance to break down what a CV is and why it is important to keep it up to date. See our CV guidance document for some general advice. Others choose to spend the duration of their call discussing interviews - the different types of interviews, how to feel confident in an interview and how to make sure you stand out. Don’t forget to read our interview guidance document for more advice! You choose what you want to discuss during the call.

Impact on confidence

With these calls Uptree aims to help young people feel more confident when applying to opportunities. We want to reassure you that you are doing the right things, are capable of achieving your career goals and, as one student stated, ‘what you’re going through is normal’.

Over 90% of the students we asked stated that their Uptree Support Call boosted their confidence.

Support Calls are an excellent way to discuss feedback that you may have been given during applications as well as to talk through rejections or anxieties around applying to different roles. For example, a student mentioned that their Support Call “gave me CV and interview tips and helped boost my self confidence by encouraging me to keep applying to opportunities and events because rejections are not personal”.

Another student said, “it was so helpful to just talk and get advice in real-time, as I really needed the confidence boost and because of the call I was able to show my true self at interviews”.

Even if you haven’t started applying to roles, these Support Calls can still be extremely valuable in reassuring and encouraging you to start making career decisions, as emphasised by one student who said, “our conversation helped me find the confidence in myself to do well”.

Impact on job success

Of the 43 students we asked, 17 were successful in securing the role they had wanted support for during their call. Even though these calls do not guarantee that you will get a role, they are a great way to get specific advice on ways to improve your applications (especially as it is common to receive very generic advice when rejected by companies), gain an awareness on how to become more employable and to get reassurance that you are doing the right things.

Still not convinced? Hear what young people had to say:

“Our call a few months ago really helped. In fact I managed to get myself an apprenticeship offer after many rejections”.

“Thank you for the support call and advice you have for the video interview before I made my application. I was successful on the application”.

How to make the most of the call

When you book a Support Call, you will be given an option of potential dates and times. If none of these work for you, then feel free to reach out to the Uptree Team (educationteam@uptree.co) to try and find an alternate call slot for you.

As the call is online via Zoom, we recommend that you consider your surroundings to ensure that not only do you feel comfortable talking openly about any questions or concerns you have, but that you can also hear well without distractions.

We encourage young people to turn on their cameras and microphones, as this can help the conversation flow better, but we understand that this is not always possible.

We recommend that you think of some questions that you would like to ask during the call beforehand, to ensure that you can make the most of the time. If you would like Uptree to review your CV during the call, it is recommended that you send your CV over prior to the call to allow enough time to review it and prepare detailed feedback. The support doesn’t have to end after the call has been completed, we are happy to continue our support via email, as well as booking in another call if you feel that would be beneficial.

These calls are available for all Uptree students so don’t hesitate to book your call now! If you haven’t created a free Uptree account yet, sign up here.