Our Top 10 Top Posts December 30, 2011
Posted by Andrew Falconer in : Languages, Law, Marketing, Marketing, Advertising & PR, Media, advertising and PR, arts administration, career profiles, city jobs, civil service, diversity, employability and skills, entrepreneurship , add a commentFrom creative CVs to interviewers wearing pjyamas, this blog has covered them all this year. When we write these posts we think about our target audience of University of London students, but are mindful that people all over the world access these pages and may need different things.
Many of the ideas for posts come from conversations with students. Issues such as being put off during a Skype interview because the interviewer was sitting on a bed in a hotel room wearing boxer shorts. Or navigating the graduate job market with a lower degree result than you were hoping for. Other posts come from campus workshops we facilitate, including my interest in LinkedIn and social media as a career development tool.
Whilst most of the (unpublished) comments are offering cheap viagra, instant Facebook fans or very personal cosmetic surgery, others have provided genuine debate on the issues. It’s nice to get comments and to be able to respond to such queries.
So here is our Top Ten Top Posts of 2011 based on readership, with a bonus 11 and 12 thrown in as a holiday special. Have a great New Year!
Do you live in West Sussex, East Sussex, Hampshire or Surrey and want a paid internship? December 21, 2011
Posted by Kirsti Burton in : Uncategorized , add a commentOriginally posted at QM Jobs Blog
GraduteOn is an internship programme that is run through the University of Chichester. The programme provides graduates with opportunities for paid internships across West Sussex and neighbouring areas. These opportunities may range from short-term, expenses only internships within the charity sector to fully-paid internships, in the private and public sector, lasting several months.
GraduateOn offers the opportunity to people from any university who have graduated within the last 3 years to gain graduate-level work experience. Applicants must be eligible to work in the UK.
For further information see www.graduateon.net
Internships & Work Experience October 3, 2011
Posted by Andrew Falconer in : Uncategorized , add a comment
What’s the secret to finding a good job after university? Work experience – and lots of it. From an employer’s perspective, work experience develops those all-important team-working and communication skills and turns naïve students into well-rounded prospective employees.
Internships
Around the beginning of your second year you’ll start to hear other students talking about finding internships for the following summer. If you haven’t already started thinking about your future career, this conversation might make you feel that you’re missing out and that this is a bandwagon on to which you should certainly be jumping.
Internships are work placement schemes offered by large organisations and companies primarily to penultimate year students. Typically they run during the summer vacation for between four and twelve weeks. Most commonly found in sectors such as IT and finance, they are usually well-structured and provide a diverse range of experiences.
In summer 2009 I attended a summer internship in Risk Management with Macquarie Bank. As getting internships in the financial sector is highly competitive I started applying in August last year. I discussed my applications with careers advisers and used the careers library to research specific companies. I also attended an assessment centre workshop which made me feel more confident about attending the real thing! The recruitment process is long but the careers service was able to help me from start to finish which I feel improved my chances of success significantly”
Carola Wiksten, Psychology undergraduate
Impress the boss
Companies use internships as a way of recruiting graduates for permanent positions when they leave university. In other words, if you succeed in impressing the boss during the summer, there’s a good chance you’ll be encouraged to apply for a full-time position the following year, and your application will probably be fast-tracked. At the same time, you’ll get a feel for what the job really involves which will help you decide whether or not this is a field you’d like to work in permanently.
Watch those deadlines
Internships are advertised to students from October to February of your penultimate year. If you’re interested in careers in finance, consulting or IT, it’s important to meet application deadlines, so drop into the careers service early in the autumn term and pick up free copies of our employer directories.
Beat the competition
A word of warning: internships are extremely competitive, and the application process can be long and gruelling, involving application forms and several rounds of interviews. If you decide to pursue this path, start early, attend application-writing workshops in the careers service and get a careers adviser to check your application before you send it off: it can make all the difference!
A world of work experience
So far, so good. But what if you don’t really know what you want to do, you’re not successful in your internship application – or you just don’t fancy working for a big faceless organisation? Internships get a great deal of publicity on campus largely because employers are very good at advertising them, but there are lots of other ways to find work experience.
Temporary talent
Registering with a recruitment agency to find temporary summer assignments (or “temping”) can be an invaluable way of building skills and finding out what kind of work you prefer. Assignments tend to be flexible in terms of timing and location, so you could be working for an accountancy firm one day and an advertising agency the next.
The opportunities to experiment with different types of work and expand your network are endless, and you’ll also have the advantage of being able to take off travelling whenever you want.
Finding opportunities
Formal internship schemes are advertised on employer websites. Your careers service should have graduate careers directories to take away (e.g. Times 100) and most of the companies in them will provide work experience and internship schemes. JobOnline is also a great source for a wide variety of internship and placement opportunities. If you have a particular career path in mind, it might be worth speaking to your careers service about more specialist sources – have a look on careerstagged.co.uk first.
A word of warning
The law requires, with few exceptions, employers to pay at least the minimum wage. Non-profit organisations and any work experience undertaken as a requirement of your course (i.e. sanctioned by an academic body) are exempt. In reality it is generally only the big internship schemes that provide pay. Certain sectors are notorious for no paying the minimum wage (or in some cases not even covering expenses) – marketing, advertising, PR, policy, the arts, political. I have seen some increase in the numbers of vacancies paying the minimum wage but the majority don’t. It is not unusual to see multinational marketing corporations still not paying the legal minimum wage. The Careers Group requires all employers advertising vacancies with us, both on campus and online, to comply with the national minimum wage legisation.
Internships in Europe with the Leonardo da Vinci programme June 28, 2011
Posted by Kirsti Burton in : Global Careers , add a commentOriginally posted at QM Jobs Blog
Good with languages? Want an internship in Europe? If so then the Leonardo da Vinci programme may be the perfect thing for you to do this autumn.
What is it? – Fully funded internship in Europe – Choose between a 2week or 9week placement – Chance to work in Ireland, France, Portugal or Spain – Programme includes return flights, accommodation, health & travel insurance and more.
Placements available in: – Business Administration – Marketing and Sales – Travel and Tourism – Journalism and Reporting. Only 30 places left for September & October 2011 so apply now. Visit this link for more details.
If you are interested in working in Europe or worldwide, International JobOnline is our job board for vacancies abroad. Find out about different opportunities and employers, and get ideas and inspiration for your global career.
We’re back with news on Internships June 24, 2011
Posted by TCG Info in : The Careers Group, employability and skills , add a comment
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to do an internship? We’ve recently launched a paid internship programme, working in partnership with Step Enterprise. Yes, we believe everyone who works should be paid at least the minimum wage. And you’ll gain experience in the workplace, develop your technical skills as well as enhancing your employment prospects.
You might be interested in reading some case studies.
Find out what’s currently available and register to receive emails about the latest opportunities.
All the background on the programme is on our News blog.
Careers in the City – mentoring and advice promoting diversity September 22, 2009
Posted by Helen Curry in : Uncategorized, city jobs, diversity , add a comment
Inquiry finds women in leading finance companies receive around 80 per cent less in bonuses – EHRC
Stories like this represent real disappointments to those of us who work with the belief that career success should come from ability and talent rather than gender, appearance or background. At least there are still public inquiries to remind us how much work remains to be done. And, fortunately these tend to encourage targeted schemes to counter this discrimination. Here are a selection of upcoming events/schemes I have found that might just be right for you:
- Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) London
is an organisation that provides hundreds of students from ethnic minority backgrounds with training, mentoring, and internships in the City – and the scheme is now open for applications for 2010. There are sector-specific strands for Investment Banking, Programming and IT, and Corporate Law. They also run a scheme for first-year students. 
ThisAbility is a one-day event on 18th November 2009 for talented students interested in investment banking, and who meet these criteria:
- Are you a first or penultimate year undergraduate?
- Do you have a real interest in the investment banking industry?
- Do you consider yourself to be disabled or have a long-term health condition?
Apply now as places are limited.
QS women in leadership and diversity in leadership careers fair – next event 25th September 2009 but check the QS forums website for more. Meet recruiters who are committed to diversity and inclusion.- Women in Technology
always has a long list of upcoming events (low cost or free) for women pursuing careers in IT. They are a recruitment service, but their website includes useful advice articles that are worth a look in their own right.
If you have attended any of these events, let us know what you thought of it! And if you hear of any more, please share them in comments.
You may have been aware of our own diversity scheme called Reach - this is just about to be re-launched. No longer a mentoring programme, instead we will have an interactive website featuring newfeeds, blogs, forums, events, inspiring case studies, and advice from employers. We hope this means we will be able to help a much greater number of students. Keep your eyes on the Reach page for updates – you can expect the site to be available in October!
You might also like to become a fan of our page on Facebook Careers in the City, for year-round jobs, links, tips and feedback from careers advisers. It does not have a diversity focus, but the advisers running the page would always be interested to explore that issue.
Graduate Talent Pool launches today July 29, 2009
Posted by Helen Curry in : Uncategorized , add a comment
Just a reminder that the Graduate Talent Pool internship matching website is now open for business.
Having had a quick look around the internship listings, it looks like there is a good number of opportunities available in London. Sectors covered range from Insurance to the Environment, Logistics to Finance, Advertising to Construction, so there should be something for everyone. Many of the internships I viewed were paid, but not all – it tends to vary by sector.
The site is definitely worth a look, and it might be a good idea to get your application in first as publicity surrounding the scheme may mean the positions receive a lot of applications. I hope more businesses will be encouraged to participate.
Survey: Considering an un-paid internship? June 8, 2009
Posted by Helen Curry in : Uncategorized , add a commentWith the government promoting the Graduate Talent Pool scheme, matching graduates to paid and un-paid internships, I was wondering if un-paid internships featured in our students’ current career plans or are they just a fall-back?
If none of these answers apply, please feel free to leave your opinion in a comment!
Un-paid internships – are you considering one? May 19, 2009
Posted by Helen Curry in : Uncategorized , add a commentWe are noticing some increase in university careers services being approached by employers offering unpaid internships. It is a point of concern with our careers advisers, as although the work experience can be valuable, how many students can afford to work for nothing? The internships available to you may depend on where your family is based (if you can only afford to live at home), what contacts you have, and how much time you can afford to spare.
Be aware that the minimum wage laws do apply to internships. The only circumstances when they don’t are:
- placements arranged as part of your course
- work for registered charities
- work-shadowing (that does not involve structured work or contractual arrangements)
Our vacancies policy explains minimum wage regulations, and explains why we do not include unfair un-paid work experience opportunities on JobOnline.
If you find an un-paid internship that you really want to take up, note that:
Graduates already receiving Jobseekers Allowance for 6 months or more will be able to do an internship for up to 13 weeks alongside claiming an allowance and looking for work.
If you are worried about the prospect of taking an internship rather than a graduate job, do make an appointment to speak to a careers adviser. They are not just there for career choice discussions and CV checks. They can help you find opportunities appropriate to your interests, explain your employment rights, and help you identify what you want to get from the internship to ensure it will progress your career.
I have found some useful blogs and websites addressing the difficulties of life as an intern, and fighting for the rights of interns to have genuine work experience and opportunities, rather than being just coffee-fetchers, photocopying assistants and envelope-stuffers (sound familiar?).
- Here is some advice from The Guardian on negotiating for more intereresting work.
- Interns Anonymous – student-led blog describing various intern experiences -http://internsanonymous.co.uk/
- Unfair Internships -http://unfairinternships.wordpress.com/
- If you are looking for opportunities in politics, see w4mp for paid and unpaid roles working for MPs, advice and training courses.
- And finally, if you are interested in media work, you should consider joining the Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU). Their student register is free for current students to sign-up. The media industry is somewhat notorious for exploiting enthusiastic volunteers (see The Watercooler forums). BECTU can offer advice on finding work experience and getting fair pay.
