advice

Careers fairs, at university or otherwise, are an important resource for job seekers. They offer an excellent opportunity to introduce yourself to potential employers and market yourself in your chosen industry. Even if you don’t get graduate jobs offers as a direct result of the fair, they can be valuable in expanding your network, learning about the industry, gathering company information, honing interview skills, building up your confidence meeting potential employers…the list goes on.

To make the most of careers fairs and the connections you make you need to ensure your first impression makes a memorable impact.  It is important to remember that anyone you meet at the fair could be prospective employer, so you want to stand out in a positive way.

For any student starting their first year of university, there are many things to think about: being away from home for the first time, a student loan in your pocket, plenty of freshers' activities on offer, making new friends, maybe going to the odd class...the chances are that eyecare is not on a typical student's list of priorities. For international students who also have to worry about a new culture, a new language and - let's face it - some pretty cold weather, it's even further down the list.

Yet caring for your eyes is important if you want to be able to put the time in in front of your laptop studying without creating health problems for yourself. There are many things which can cause problems with eyesight, especially if the climate is different to that which you're used to. Here we outline a few of the eye-related problems and what to do about them.

Long Flights

On the way in and out of the UK - which may involve five or six trips every year - your eyes may struggle to adapt to the low humidity in the plane. Those wearing contact lenses especially talk of dry and itchy eyes, which are made worse by dozing off on the plane. Having eyedrops to hand is very useful - these can be picked up from any UK pharmacy and will rehydrate the eyes.