In this current economic environment, CV development is an essential step towards enhancing employability and ensuring that opportunities for moving up the career ladder do not pass you by. While you may have left your studies behind you several years ago, the competitive nature of the jobs market requires any savvy business person to continue to upskill if they wish to stay ahead of the game.

Some students express concerns about how they will juggle their career with college workload. If you are worried about the dash from the office to the classroom, here are some helpful tips from our academic support team on how to successfully maintain a work/ life/ study balance:

• Good time management is essential. Your classes will be taking place in the evenings from approximately 6:15 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.  Plan your travel route, structure your workload accordingly on days you have class and if necessary, ask your employer can you take a shorter lunch those days to ensure you can make class on time. DBS has parking faciltiies for students with cars and bikes, find out more on our website.
  
• Plan your work well - Identify your deadlines in advance and put them in a place where you can easily see them, either at work, or at home, or both. You will be given plenty of notice for exams and assignments; work these around additional commitments.
  
• Make good use of all spare time - such as reading on the train or bus, searching for resources at your desk at lunch time and if you are in the city centre in the evening, drop into the library for an hour.
  
• Communication - If you think you may struggle meeting a deadline, or you've had a family or work emergency, let your course tutors know. They are human, and will understand the pressures of trying to balance work and study. Tell people if there's a problem sooner rather than later.
  

Remember that there are lots of mature students going back to part-time study that may work in your industry or the field where you desire to work. See this as an opportunity to expand your network.

Make good use of the careers service . They are there to advise you; you may wish to consider a career move following your qualification, and the advising staff are best placed to assist your during this time.

Remind yourself constantly of what doing the study will mean for you. Have a very clear reason to do the course. There will be times that your motivation will wane, so having a clear end goal will drive you to succeed.

Dublin Business School has years of experience educating on a part-time basis, and has provided support services and facilities to assist our students to work and study successfully. To find out more about our Evening Degree Programmes and services, please contact our admissions office today.

The steady recovery in the employment prospects of graduates is a striking feature of the annual survey carried out by the Higher Education Authority.

Of particular note is that graduates in computing are now enjoying employment rates equivalent to graduates in medicine and health sciences -- and most are working in Ireland.

The latest 'First Destination of Graduates' report tracks where the class of 2012 -- both those with primary degrees and those with a postgraduate qualification -- were in spring 2013, about nine months after leaving university.

More than half (52pc) of those holding a primary honours degree, known as a Level 8, were in employment, up from 48pc the previous year and the highest level since the 50pc recorded in 2008.

*Independent .ie

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