Summer is on the way!

Summer 2012 is going to see a huge influx of tourists both for the Olympics, Paralympics and the Queen’s 60^th Jubilee so not only will be really exciting to be in London, it will give you a good chance to add to your CV and your bank balance!.  Here are some ideas of how to get started:

• While jobs at the Olympic park are no longer an option (all employees needed to be UK Boarder Agency approved by April), extra help within pubs, cafes, restaurants and retail will needed to handle the crowds.  Keep an eye on the Careers Services Jobonline website or visit the jobs section of the UCL Careers Service website so you don’t miss out.
• Often smaller business advertise their roles by posting notices in their window so keep your eyes peeled as you’re walking around your local neighbourhood.  Getting a local part-time job keeps your travel costs down, and also gets you really involved in your local community.
• The most common type of summer work is within the hospitality industry.  Agency’s such as Hospitalitystaff.co.uk or fest staff recruit for a whole range of roles from checking tickets to serving food and security across loads of different festivals and events.
• Individual venues also take on extra staff over the busy summer period.  A good example is the Royal Albert Hall which hosts the Proms between July and September and who is currently looking for stewards to help out.
• If you’re more interested in an experience and less worried about the money, why not try volunteering.  UCL Volunteering is right here on campus to help out and organisations like the Volunteer England have special sections on volunteering for Olympics.  Also many of the museums, galleries and concert halls will be looking for volunteers over summer.  An example is the Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank who are looking for extra volunteers for their Festival of the World.

To help you out with other ideas, doing up your CV or preparing for interviews, the UCL Careers Service will be open throughout the whole of summer (apart from the official UCL closure days) offering application checking and short guidance sessions.  To check times and see how to book, visit the Careers Service website.

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Working in Pakistan 1: The Corporate Initiative

If you are from Pakistan and thinking of returning to work there after finishing your degree in the UK there is good news. Pakistani employers are currently seeking to recruit new graduates and the demand is high for those with a good UK degree.

To build up links between employers and students the UKTI and the Education UK British Council recently launched a project called the ‘Corporate Initiative’ to spread the word about the opportunities available in Pakistan. Top employers teamed up with these organisations and visited universities where high numbers of students from Pakistan are enrolled. We met up with them at Brunel University to find that opportunities are available not only in multinational companies but in flourishing Pakistani organisations, NGOs and Government Organisations. Recruitment is particularly strong in the energy sector and also in telecommunications, FMCGs (fast moving consumer goods) and construction and development.

More details about the Corporate Initiative and the Partner Organisations for 2012 can be found in the ‘Business Recorder’ at: http://www.brecorder.com/home/events/ukit-career-fair-2012.html

For the other 2 posts in this series focusing on Pakistan, follow the link to our friends at International futures and look at their blog.

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Interested in International Development?

Getting into International Development -Thursday 15 March 2012

Our parent body, The Careers Group, is holding a one day introductory course that will set out clearly how the development sector is structured, the different entry roles available and the combination of qualifications, skills and experience needed to get into international development.

• Learn how the  sector is structured and find out about a wide variety of jobs, graduate schemes, internships and short courses.
• Participate in a lunch time careers fair and network with education providers and NGO’s.
• Choose optional workshops on effective applications, working in emergency relief, campaigning and fundraising.

Keynote Speaker: Stephen O’ Brien, Parliamentary Under-Secretary Of  State For International Development, DFID

Organisations involved include:

• Action Against Hunger
• The Book Bus
• Childreach
• Christian Aid
• The Daneford Trust
• Development in Action
• Doctors of the World
• Inspirational Volunteer Journeys
• Mad4Africa
• Medair UK
• Peru Support Group
• PKF
• Raleigh International
• Results
• Skillshare International – International Citizen Service
• SOAS
• The Social Investment Consultancy
• Teach a Man to Fish
• World Service Enquiry
• theIDLgroup
• GOAL UK
• Oxfam
• 2Way Development
• Restless Development
• War on Want
• VSO – newly confirmed!
• The University of East Anglia (UEA)- newly confirmed!
• The University of Manchester -  newly confirmed!
• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) – newly confirmed!
• One Acre Fund – newly confirmed!
• Inter Cultural Youth Exchange (ICYE) UK – newly confirmed!

For the latest programme and to register , please visit this website

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UCL Marketing & FMCG Fair is Tomorrow!

Make your Mark On the World…

UCL Careers Service are hosting the Marketing & FMCG Fair, which is aimed at students considering careers in industries areas like: Marketing, PR, Advertising and New Media.

What? UCL Marketing & FMCG Fair

When? Thursday 27th October from 5.30 to 8.00 pm

Where? Old Refectory and Jeremy Bentham Room, Wilkins Building

There’s a diverse mix of exhibitors on show including some of the world’s biggest brands such as Google, Ogilvy, Trip Advisor, Proctor & Gamble, Ketchum Pleon and Unilever.

Many have never been on campus before and are keen to recruit from UCL, so don’t miss out on this unique opportunity. The fair is open to students and graduates from any degree background.  No booking required – just turn up with your UCL ID card!

To find out more please see: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/students/events/fairs/fmcg/

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Opportunity for Chinese Students – China Employability Workshops tomorrow!

The British Council, operating in China as the Cultural and Education
Section of the British Embassy, will run a series of employability workshop
in the UK from 22-23 October 2011.

The China Employability workshop will give Chinese students an insight into
career opportunities available to them; help Chinese students to better
understand employer’s needs as well as the current job market in China, and
how to get ahead of the competition by enhancing their understanding of the
job market.

HR executives from major employers in China have been invited to give an
overview of the competitive job market in China, talk about various aspects
of recruitment from the employer’s side and share job opportunities with
Chinese students. Students will also have opportunities to raise questions
they might have about job hunting and career development in China.

Companies attending

. Microsoft
. 58.com
. Nokia Siemens Network
. Nestle
. Deloitte
. Hay Group

Event Details

London Session
Time: 14:00-16:30, October 22nd 2011, Saturday
Address: Lecture Hall, Central Hall Westminster, Storey’s Gate, Westminster,
London SW1H 9NH

Manchester Session – nearly full!
Time: 14:00-16:30, October 23rd 2011, Sunday
Address: Lecture Theatre B, University Place, The University of Manchester,
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL

Workshop registration
The workshop is open to all Chinese students currently studying in the UK.
Due to limited venue capacity, RSVP will be required. Interested students
are required to choose one session from the below itinerary and fill in the
registration form online. Registration will be closed after capacity is met
or the stated closing date, whichever comes first.
Students who have registered successfully will receive a confirmation by
email after the registration is closed.

Please visit below link for more event details or to sign up to attend this
workshop:
http://www.educationuk.org/China/Article/China-Employability-Workshop?

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Exclusive access to Financial Alternatives employer speed meet

So you’ve considered investment banking, but you aren’t sure it’s the career for you. What else can you do in finance? Assess. Advise. Comment. Investigate. Regulate. Report.

Financial Alternatives is your opportunity to find out more about your options.

With a small group of other students, you will have a few minutes with each professional. They will tell you about their job and how they got there then you can ask them your own questions.

Employers involved include:

• Financial Times
• Allianz
• Factset
• Burns Anderson
• Tesco Finance Scheme

Venue
This event will be held in Beveridge Hall, South Block, Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU. 20 October 2011. It runs from 5.00pm – 7.00pm.

If you require any special assistance (including induction loops or large print materials) please let us know in advance and we will do our utmost to facilitate your access to this event. Contact us at cs@careers.lon.ac.uk or on 020 7863 6042 to discuss arrangements.

Cost
£16 – current students from colleges within The Careers Group, University of London Consortium and members of GradClub.
£20 – for all other participants.

You should be informed within two working days from receipt of your application whether you have been given a place on the course. All applicants who are not successful will be given a full refund. PLEASE NOTE: There is an administration charge of 10% of the total booking on all cancellations and refunds cannot be given after 5pm on 14 October.

How to apply

To register please click here and set up an account.

Important: Once you have set up an account you need to search the calendar for 20 October and select the Financial Alternatives event.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are a current student at any of the following colleges: Goldsmiths, King’s College London, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, SOAS, St Mary’s or UCL or you have signed up to receive JobAlert, you will already have an account. Sign in using your College Careers Service or JobOnline username and password and then search the events section for Financial Alternatives.

NB you will not be given a place on the course until we receive payment. After you have registered for the event, please pay online using the link given in the event description.

Please register before making payment.

For general enquiries, call 020 7863 6042.

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Should you disclose your nationality on your CV?

Lately I have seen a number of International Students who have asked me the same question, “should I put my nationality on my CV?” and “will this affect how employers view my application?”

My view is to be upfront about this… Remember an employer will read your CV and may well work out you are from overseas by simply looking at your previous education.

So if you are from outside the UK, be clear about your nationality on your CV whilst clarifying how this impacts your eligibility to work in the UK. For example, if applying for a part-time job whilst studying put something like:
Nationality: Indian, eligible to work part-time in the UK for up to X hours.

(Make sure you know the current position by always keeping up to date with information on the UK Borders website)

If you are looking for work in the UK after you have finished your studies, try something like
Nationality: Indian, Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant, eligible to work in the UK for 2 years.

Again there are excellent guidance notes from UKCISA

For specific question relating to your right to work in the UK contact UCL Rights and Advice.

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How to get an internship or graduate job! – UCL Careers Service Graduate Scheme Summer Schools 2011 now open!

Get the skills this summer to secure an intership

There are only 120 places for the 24,000 students currently at UCL on a first come first serve basis, so I’ve tried to pass this information on immediately so readers of this blog can benefit.

The Careers Summer School is a fantastic opportunity  to gain the tools and secrets of how to secure an internship or graduate job; so come autumn’s recruitment season you’ll be well ahead of the curve.

Details below

*
UCL Careers Service Graduate Scheme Summer Schools 2011*

*Week 1: Wednesday 14th to Friday 16th September OR*

*Week 2: Monday 19th to Wednesday 21st September*

Approximate Timings: 10.00am to 4.00pm each day

Graduate schemes and internships are offered by many larger employers looking to recruit future talent and are seen as a fast-track route to career progression. Competition for places can be intense and it is important to apply as early as possible as recruiters often start selecting candidates long before applications deadlines close.

The summer school is a bespoke programme of activities designed to give you a real head start for schemes opening for applications in the Autumn of 2011 or for remaining places that recruiters are looking to fill for immediate start.

Programme activities include:

· an introduction to the UK graduate labour market, graduate schemes and what employers are looking for;

· an opportunity to meet and hear from current graduate scheme employer staff

· an application ‘toolkit’ including workshops on CVs & applications, aptitude tests; interviews and other assessment centre techniques;

· an insight into how to make the most of the careers service support available to you

Priority will be given to those attending all 3 days. A returnable £25 deposit is required to confirm your place. To find out more and register for your place see: _http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/events/skills/summerschool_. Please note that the careers office is closed for its annual closure week re-opening on Monday 8th August. If you have problems registering, please contact the career service then.

UCL Careers Service

(Thanks to unknown for photo)

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Master class in securing a graduate job – with Tim Webster from FreshMinds.

If there’s a question I get asked time and time again it’s the one that goes something like, ‘Do you have any extra special advice that would make the employer love me and give me the job.’ So today I’ve got a man who maybe able to answer that question and also shed some light on the world of being a graduate recruiter.

Tim got involved with grad recruitment at FreshMinds after working in a business start up for 3 years. He moved across to further his ambition to have a career with a strong people focus. Tim works with some for the biggest players in graduate recruitment and specialises in the consultancy sector.

I asked Tim his killer tips for the must hire candidate:

Number 1 – Passion and knowledge

The golden rule is always; always demonstrate a passion and knowledge for the company that’s interviewing you. Rocking up having just skimmed the website is a big mistake as it shows you have no real interest in the company. Good things to do are meet the employer at an open day, read the companies news section and annual report, do an information interview with someone from the business, possibly an alum of UCL.

Number 2 – Know the differences

When applying for several companies in the same sector in is crucial to know how they differ. Tim says the candidate that tells the interviewer all consultancies are the same, is the candidate that’s going home. Really do your home work in this area and understand the different values and cultures at each firm.

Number 3 – Experience

Employers are looking for people that will quickly integrate into their business and start giving them a return on their investment. The best way to demonstrate your desire to perform in a role is having evidence you’ve done it before. Work experience placements or part time work are a tried and tested way of letting an employer know you’re a safe bet and have the relevant skills.

Number 4 – Perseverance

If you don’t get the degree result you expected and the sky seems to be falling down. Tim suggests taking a few days out to reflect on your change in circumstance. This should give you some perspective; as the great qualities you had before the result was announced are still yours today and with hard work you can still make your career a success.

Number 5 – Securing jobs as an international student

Tim said that the market has become tougher in recent months due to changes in Visa regulations but maintained that Top employers were still hungry to employ star talent. There seems a consistent message; that for great candidates there is still plenty of opportunity.

I also asked Tim what it was like to work in the graduate recruitment industry. He said it was fast paced with lots of client interaction and expectation. The role was based around building strong rapport quickly to gain buy in from candidates and employers. Tim said to expect the unexpected as working with people can throw up interesting challenges. He’s seen people drop job offers because they’ve just split with their girlfriend or suddenly decided to go travelling. It does keep it interesting.

His final tip was that if you’re a technical student particularly with a degree in computing there lots of operations roles within finance and banking that companies are having trouble filling. So if you have a Computer science degree and some first class communication and teamwork skills the market is looking for you!

For other insights see Nomura, JP Morgan

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