Road Map for Personal Tutors: Level 2

Academic / HEAR & Careers / Personal
Term 1
/ Exam results – were they what you were expecting?
Why do you think so well/why do you think you found X more difficult? Was there anything you could have done that would have helped you to improve Y?
What feedback have you received so far (on assessed and non-assessed work)? How might you use this? Are there any modules that you’re taking this year that build on what you learnt last year?
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How do you think you are at managing workload and deadlines? [may wish to follow up with a question about whether there is anything else impacting on a student’s time or energy]
If you suspect a student might have a learning disability, encourage them to explore assessment options with the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service.
Module choices
Look over results in HEAR - the second year counts towards your degree award, so it’s a good idea to identify strengths/weaknesses from grades and subjective experience.
Have you got part-time employment? How will that (or any other time commitments) impact on your studies?
Academic students might be interested in applying to participate in SURE (Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience) (deadlines for different schemes vary - see
Have you thought about being a course rep? (you can get HEAR recognition for this) / Use the HEAR’s summary of first-year achievements:
What have you already achieved?What do you still want to do while you're at Sheffield?
Are there any activities or schemes that might help you to gain experience or skills for a career that you're interested in, or to achieve any other future goals that you have? Signpost to Experience Sheffield website for overview of activities available
To find out which ones are ‘HEARable’, go to:
Are you doing any activities that are not ‘HEARable’, but represent useful experience/skills? If so, have you thought about how you might document these, so that they can also be useful to support applications etc.?
N.B. Employers are being made aware of the limitations of Section 6.1, so will not expect the HEAR to contain an exhaustive list of extra-curricular activities.
The Student Jobshop can help you to find part-time work
There is a Part-Time Work and Volunteering Fair in Week 2. See:

Have you visited the Careers Service yet?
Application closing dates for internships and placements are early. If you are interested in any of these activities, start exploring your options now - why not visit the Careers Service?
Could you use any term-time jobs / work experience towards achieving the Careers Service Skills for Work Certificate (this will also go in your HEAR)?
If you haven’t got any work experience yet, did you know that the Careers Service has a number of schemes available, e.g. Taste of Work? Also On CampUS placements (these are advertised when available)?
‘It's Your Career...’ Fairs Programme in November
Are you considering doing the Sheffield Graduate Award?

N.B. This does not replace the HEAR, but is an example of a high level achievement that can go into Section 6.1.
If you are interested in degree with employment experience, have you started applying yet? / How did money go last year, are you going to be ok this year?
Visit Things Not Going Right? ( / chat to someone in SSiD if have worries.
How’s it going where you’re living?
Academic / HEAR & Careers / Personal
Term 2
/ Exam results - warm congratulations/unambiguous and constructive advice if a student is finding something more difficult
What feedback have you received so far (on assessed and non-assessed work)? How might you use this?
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Have you heard of SALT (Student Ambassadors for Learning and Teaching)? Would this interest you? Recruitment opens in March, and you can get HEAR recognition for this activity ( / If you haven’t engaged with HEAR and the Careers Service, you really do need to think about doing this - it won’t be too long until nearly finished; and you are investing so much into university in terms of time and money, you might as well make the most of everything available!
Signpost to Experience Sheffield website for overview of activities available (
To find out which ones are ‘HEARable’, go to:
‘It's Your Career...’ Industry Days in February & March (Careers Service has more information), and a Careers Fair in March (
Have a look into summer opportunities and options.
Students who have found a society that really suits them might consider joining the committee (AGMs around Easter). This will be recognised in the HEAR. / Do people at home know about your exam results (if good, have you celebrated with people at home?)?
Do you feel you are managing to balance your academic commitments with keeping some time back for yourself and looking after yourself during exams? Are there any significant impacts on your time other than your studies?
How are things going more generally? Are things still going ok where you’re living?
Academic / HEAR & Careers / Personal
Term 3
/ Planning for following year - module choices, year abroad for languages
If module choice available:
Do you have any idea about which modules you might like to take next year?
What other modules might flag up experience/skills that would be useful for you to demonstrate via your HEAR?
If interested in postgraduate study:
Do you think completing a dissertation would be a good aim for next year? / What are you up to over the summer? Does this tie in at all with any future goals?
Application closing dates for internships and placements are early. If you are interested in any of these activities, start exploring your options now - why not visit the Careers Service? (
Could you use any summer work experience towards achieving the Careers Service Skills for Work Certificate? ( / How are things set up for the summer/next year?
For students staying in Sheffield, there is a ‘Staying in Sheffield Summer Vacation Programme’ (
Are you International? Be aware that tuition fees may rise for next year - check on university website.