Working for a Better World

Sue Briault, Careers Adviser, discusses ways to get into working for a charity.

There is a lot of information around about working for businesses and you may think that this is your only option on leaving university, we are, however, frequently asked about jobs in a charity or in a non-commercial organisation.  It is possible to make a career in this area but the path is not as clear as it is for those who want to work for a blue-chip company graduate recruitment scheme.

About the Sector

Let’s get a bit of terminology right, first of all.  The Charity Sector may also be referred to as the Voluntary Sector, the Not-for profit Sector or even the Third Sector.  The type of organisation could be as big as a charity like Cancer Research which not only campaigns and fundraises but also carries out scientific research itself.  At the other extreme there are  small community organisations which provide services, often in addition to statutory services, at a very local level to particular groups in their area e.g. the elderly.  Those two examples are UK-based but some organisations can be bi-lateral, multi-lateral and international although this tend to be referred to as NGOs or non-government organisations who are overseas aid agencies. We are not dealing with those specifically in this article but the resources mentioned at the end will be useful to research this.

What are the roles?

The roles that exist in the Charity Sector can be as diverse as any you will find in a big commercial company. Charities will have staff in a press office, an event planning team, an HR department, Finance Officers as well as Marketing and Sales staff.  In a smaller charity you may find roles less clearly defined.  Some roles are unique to the sector such as Fundraiser or Volunteer Co-ordinator. Also Research and Campaigning/Lobbying roles are not common across the commercial world. Either way it is a good idea to think about where your skills and interests might lie across this broad spectrum of roles. It can also help to focus on an issue or a group of people you are most interesting in helping or campaigning for: animals, international development, children, disability, mental health, the environment, human rights?

How do I get into the Sector?

As with any role you apply for you need to show your motivation. Without doubt the best way to do this is to gain experience as a volunteer. At the very least you should be able to show you have been a member or a supporter or even been involved in fundraising like fun runs or collections. A small number of charities have formal internship schemes, often voluntary, as a way into their organisations - Oxfam and Barnado’s are two. Cancer Research, Charity Works  and Charities Advisory Trust offer paid internships for graduates or graduate training schemes.   Those looking for paid work on graduation will apply for jobs directly where they think their skills are suited or they train and gain experience in the commercial world before joining a charity as an experienced employee. The majority of openings will be immediate start positions, and you may only be able to apply in the months leading up to your graduation and beyond. It’s never too early to start browsing for positions to get an idea of what is out there and what the employers are looking for.  Do your research and find out which charities that interest you advertise on their websites, sign up from email alerts if they offer them.  There are also a few specialist recruitment agencies that you can use to find entry -level positions suitable for a new graduate.  Links to these can be found at the ‘Working for a Charity’ website.  Honing your office skills would not be a bad idea.  Make sure you are competent at Microsoft packages like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access. This means that you might be able to get paid office work in a charity if working as a volunteer isn’t an option for you.  Hopefully you will prove yourself and find you can apply for more responsible roles once you are established.

Further Help

Our catalogue contains lots of useful links to websites and books which can help explore more about this area. Listed within this is a useful guide: “Working for a Better World’ published by NCVO. Focus on this publication first if you are short of time. We have a reference copy or you can buy your own by following the link. A discussion with a Careers Adviser may help too.

‘Postgraduate Study – is it for you?’

Message from Alan Bunch, Careers Adviser: “If you are thinking about Postgraduate Study you may not realise the Careers Advisory Service can help you. I am running a session called ‘Postgraduate Study – is it for you?’ on Thursday 5th November at 13.15.  You can sign up at the Careers Advisory Service.  You should check out our website for information too. Go to the Student Homepage and select ‘Find Further Study’. There is a particularly helpful section on what to write in your personal statement which forms part of your application for any course of  further study see http://www.bath.ac.uk/careers/student.html

Degrees of separation

Ghislaine Dell, Careers Adviser, offers advice to those who don’t want to use their degree in their future job.

From the many guidance interviews we do with students each year, we know there are large numbers of people who, for one reason or another, don’t want to pursue a career directly related to their degree subject. They’ll often say something along the lines of: ‘I don’t mind what I do but I really don’t want to do ….. any more’.

But if I don’t use my degree, what can I do?

These students often worry that they’ve shot themselves in the foot, wasting time studying something they don’t want to pursue, and that they have no chance of getting a job doing anything else. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Even if you know you don’t want to use your degree in a practical way, you might be surprised how much it helps you and, in some cases, can be the way in to a job:

“They were actually looking for candidates with science degrees for my particular job which was a graduate trainee programme within a pharmaceutical company, spending a year as a medical representative before moving into a marketing position.” Sally Adam, European Brand Manager, Champix, Pfizer (ex-Natural Sciences) 

It’s not the discipline, it’s the degree

You may be surprised that 50% of the employers at our Careers Fair yesterdayoffered graduate jobs which required no, or broad, subject specialism. So what is it they’re looking for?

“The experiences that students will encounter during University life (from leading a sports team, to planning group project work and interaction with societies) will all impact and serve to shape a students personality and will help to mould their future careers. Important life lessons will be learnt and enthusiasm, drive to succeed and professional ambition are often displayed by keen graduates looking for their next challenge after University. We are looking for that aspiration and desire to make a difference as these are qualities that will create excellent future teachers and leaders.”  Laura Muir, Graduate Recruitment Office, Teach First

For an increasing number of employers, it’s interest in your chosen career that counts:

“Although some of our functions require a specific degree background, for any function we are looking above all for a passion for the specific area. We accept that some graduates have developed their passion for a given area by studying it, but that others will have studied a different subject (perhaps the one they found most academically appealing) and later realised that they potentially want a career in a different area.” Meri Williams, South West Recruitment Leader, Procter & Gamble

More and more, it’s those transferable skills that employers focus on – and by their very nature they can be developed in the whole range of degree areas and, indeed, in what you do outside your studies. Employers recognise, too, that in some cases moving away from your degree subject can bring benefits:

“It is much easier to learn marketing / business skills having a science degree and put them into practice rather than learning the complexities of a science degree after having studied business. When I first started training as a medical representative, I had to learn about complex medicines in terms of their mode of action etc, which I found much easier having a science degree behind me. Those with a business degree found this much more difficult to grasp.”  Sally Adam, European Brand Manager, Champix, Pfizer (ex-Natural Sciences)

But what about people who are on their second degree and then want to change?

The key here is to make the most of what you have got from your further study and work experience, and emphasise that you are making a positive move to your next step, rather than being forced to do it! And be realistic about the worth that any future employer will put on your qualifications – they’ll matter a lot more in a technical specialist role than, say, in retail:

“It is very difficult to say in hindsight, but I think that my PhD qualification went a long way towards getting me to the first interview. Of course the benefit of the PhD in name stopped at that stage. Obviously any future employer will want to know why you are making a career change/moving away from your degree. I was very clear with my reasons for joining Lidl – I was excited about the job and the more I learnt about the company the more impressed I was by its philosophies.” Jane Dickinson, ex-Biology & Biochemistry postdoc, now District Manager for Lidl

So what is it about you that companies are after if they’re not interested in which degree you took?

On the face of it, this is a hard one to answer – so we asked some graduate recruiters from well-known companies. This answer, from Suzanne Harley, sums it up very well.

“University students regularly show commitment and diligence towards the work they undertake, regularly showing parallels with the experiences in the workplace such as working to deadlines, planning and prioritising activities and learning new skills. We are able to select individuals who show us the academic excellence which we seek to translate into excellence in the workplace.”  Suzanne Harley, Emerging Talent Recruitment, Lloyds Banking Group

 And don’t forget that many companies are very open to you moving sideways into an area that interests you more:

“My employer tends to recruit graduates from a science background but are quite flexible, they are aware that you may or may not want to work in a deep technical area and fortunately have the scope to allocate projects accordingly.”  Jean Woollett, Indirect Fire Systems Team, DSTL, ex-Physics.

So if I can do anything, how do I decide which thing to do?

If you’re reading this about to do, or having done, a placement, the decision might be easier than you think. Three’s nothing like spending a year working, for finding out what it really is that makes you tick:

“I began at the University of Bath studying Computer Science, believing that I wanted a technical career. It was only when I did a summer internship at P&G that I realised how interested I was in the business side of things as well – here in Information Decision Solutions the roles consist of a mix of business, technology and project management. I was lucky enough to be able to study this mixture, moving to a ‘Computer Science with Management’ degree. My colleagues in IDS are from a range of backgrounds, however, ranging from Business and/or Technology to Politics & Economics, Geography and Psychology!”  Meri Williams, Information Decision Solutions Manager, Global Business Services, Procter & Gamble

Of course, this can be a catalyst in a different direction if your placement year was not all you expected:

“It really stems from doing a really boring year in industry. I realised that it wasn’t about the money and ideally I wanted to work in the public sector – defence seemed ideal. Ultimately I knew I wanted to do something that was challenging and that I enjoyed – whatever shape it took.”  Jean Woollett, Indirect Fire Systems Team, DSTL, ex-Physics.

But I haven’t done a placement…

Well, for sure it’s easier to think about what matters to you in a job if you’ve spent a year immersed in a particular environment. But the chances are that you have had some kind of work experience so far – part-time jobs, volunteering, society committees. Think about what you have enjoyed about those experiences. Perhaps you really enjoyed the challenge of changing established procedures to get improved performance? Or maybe you loved dealing with people? Possibly you found you got frustrated with others’ approaches to detail? All these things can give you valuable clues about what would be important to you in a job.

Even if you grew to hate your degree subject, there will have been parts of the academic experience that you got a lot out of. Did you enjoy those group projects – or did you get impatient with chasing others to do their part? Maybe you were so efficient that that never happened? Maybe you loved reading all those papers and extracting the important bits, formulating them into a killer essay that scored you really high marks?  That kind of research/analysis mindset comes in very useful for some jobs.

That’s all very well, I hear you saying – but how can I match the things I like to the jobs?

As a first step, you could try Prospects Planner, a computer-aided guidance programme which takes your answers to questions about what is important to you and magically matches that to lists of jobs. Yes, some of the things it suggests might surprise you, but don’t discount them completely. Have a look at the job profiles it suggests – it can be surprisingly revealing in terms of what certain jobs involve and also in terms of whether what you thought was important to you, actually is! You can also look at the jobs on offer on MyFuture, our vacancies portal, for your particular discipline. Yes, I know you don’t want to stay in it but as many companies don’t restrict by degree discipline you’ll get a broad picture of what’s on offer. If something sounds interesting, you can look at Occupational Profiles on Graduate Prospects and check out what the job involves. Once you have started to build up a list of possible jobs, come in to the Careers Advisory Service Information Room in Norwood House (of course you can come in before that if you want to!) and ask to have a look at the Graduate Contacts Database. In there are lists of Bath graduates listed by employer and job title, and they have all agreed to help people like you find out more about working for a particular company or in a particular job. It’s one of our most useful but also most overlooked resources – do make the most of all this valuable inside information. And of course you are most welcome to come in and talk to a Careers Adviser, either at our daily drop-ins or a pre-booked guidance interview.

So I shouldn’t worry, then?

Well, not about going into a different area to the one you studied, certainly. So many people do – and once you are doing a job you love it won’t matter how you got there. But if the prospect of changing completely is a little off-putting, then you could always take the long-term view:

“Perhaps go for something semi-related to your degree but look for companies which are willing to move you around, secondments etc or have societies active in your area of interest. Once you have your foot in the door you can often make opportunities for yourself.”  Jean Woollett, Indirect Fire Systems Team DSTL

And a final quote to send you on your way:

“Go for it! – Any company will understand that you were young when you decided on your degree choice and it may well not be what you want to pursue as a future career.”  Jane Dickinson, ex-Biology & Biochemistry postdoc, now District Manager for Lidl

The early bird catches the worm

Sue Briault, Careers Adviser, offers some advice to new and returning students. 

The idiom “The early bird catches the worm” means that if you start something early, you stand a better chance of success. This applies just as much to your career as it does to getting a bargain at the sales. Here are a few thoughts about how you can improve your chances of getting the job you want.

First Years

Initially you will be focussed on making friends, enjoying your freedom and having fun.  Make some time to find out how you can get involved in university life by joining clubs and societies or finding out about volunteering so you start to build up your CV with new skills and experiences.  Start working towards your Bath Award and learn more about reflecting on your experiences.  Read our Get Work Experience Guide.  It’s never too early to start thinking about it.

Penultimate Years

If you are going to do a placement then you will need to start working on your CV, learn how to fill out application forms and get yourself prepared for interviews.  Look at the Succeed in the Selection Process  part of our website for events and resources.  If you aren’t planning on a placement year then now is the right time to be thinking about what you can do next summer.  Read our Get Work Experience Guide  and check out our vacancy database MyFuture  for work experience and internships with employers who target Bath students. It also includes placements. We always alert departmental placement offices if we receive a vacancy suitable for their students but you may want to check for vacancies which are aimed at any discipline. Be aware that many employers use their placements and internships as an extended selection process for graduate jobs.  Still keep involved in university life and try to deepen the skills you have already developed by taking on more responsibility in the sports or societies you are involved in.

Final Years and One Year Postgraduates

If you have no idea what you want to do when you finish make sure you get started now.  Look at the Choosing a Career part of our website especially the leaflet “Preparation for a Guidance Interview“.  If you have ideas then extend your knowledge of these areas of work.  Our earlier blogs Research before Job Search and New Ways of Networking will tell you how. Look at Find out about Occupations for resources that will help you build up your knowledge. If you feel you are now ready to apply then look at Success in the Selection Process on our website for essential information that will put you ahead of the competition.

All students

The Careers Advisory Service can support you through all these activities.  We understand that thinking about work experience and jobs after graduation is challenging and can be quite scary.  We are a free service on campus staffed by knowledgable professionals offering an impartial and confidential service for which we have received positive feedback from numerous students. Our website is very comprehensive but best of all we can offer you a chance to talk to someone about your individual situation so why not give us a try.

Apply in haste, repent at leisure

Sue Briault, Careers Adviser, offers some advice to the early birds who hope to beat the competition in the coming graduate recruitment season.  

Our careers team have added many graduate recruitment schemes for 2010 into our MyFuture database. To find out what has been added select “Springboard for Finalists” in the  Type of Opportunity box. So you may think that you need to get started straight away with making applications. Indeed an email came through from a 2010 finalist who asks just this question. He found my response useful so I thought it worth reiterating here.

There is a need for you to exercise a certain degree of caution in making applications so early in the season. You only have one shot at an application and to proceed without seeking advice is not a strategy we recommend. 

Many employers recruit on a rolling basis therefore do not wait until the deadline date has passed to start reviewing applications and interviewing students.  However many students find it beneficial to wait until they have attended an on campus presentation before submitting their application. Employers are conscious that students often wait until after on campus events have taken place and take this into consideration during their selection process. Many of those employers with very early closing dates, for example investment banks, attend campus events early in term to take account of this. Our Careers Fair is on 22nd October when you will have an opportunity to talk to many recruiters. You will still need to keep an eye on MyFuture and your prefered organisation’s own website to note closing dates and cross reference this with the details of employer presentations and attendees at the Careers Fair. both of which will be available at the start of term.

There is nothing to stop you beginning the process, looking at forms, registering for websites, practising answers, getting feedback from Careers Advisers  and then sending them off once you have spoken to someone from the employer about their opportunities.  You could pre-empt talks on campus with a look through our graduate contacts list and start your own conversations.  Constant feedback we get from employers as to why applications fail revolves around candidates not demonstrating they understand the company and/or role as well as not being convincing about their motivation to do the job or work for the company.

You might find these other blog articles useful:

http://careersatbath.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/research-before-job-search/

http://careersatbath.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/new-ways-of-networking/

 

Apply in haste, repent at leisure only if you do not make use of the help and support we are here to give you. Good Luck or should I say Good Research and Preparation?

New Ways of Networking

Sue Briault, Careers Adviser, follows up on her earlier blog “Research before Job Search” to explore more evidence of the power of networking.

 

My recent professional development activities have brought even more evidence and examples of the power and importance of developing your networks in order to find a job. Only this week I attended a very interesting conference for careers professionals at which I learned more about how my colleagues are using social networking in order to connect with people who have the power to hire or at the very least give an inside view on a career sector or company.

Helen Pownall from the University of Manchester described using the Internet and especially social media to create unprecedented opportunities to  network with employers and other professionals in your areas of interest.  She discussed on-line networking tools like LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs as a “must” rather than “nice to have” for job seekers. Effectively you could be come a much better informed candidate as well as raising your professional profile which might just get you hired.

For most of you Facebook will be your normal social networking medium, however LinkedIn provides a professional network which is focused on the world of work.  It has members in countries around the world and includes both senior and junior managers. You can create your own profile and even include your CV. Once your in you can search for contacts.  You can join groups which reflect your area of interest and communicate with people in your group to ask and answer questions as well as contribute to discussions.  I have met with PhD researchers who would find this invaluable for trying to link up with specialists or experts working in the commercial world who are utilising similar or same knowledge or techniques. For example if your research area was applicable to the field of renewable energy you could identify possible information or employment contacts in smaller companies that might not otherwise be easily identifiable through other means.  

A use for all students and graduates is to search for people working  for a company you may be thinking of applying to.  If you already have a network on LinkedIn you can see whether these potential contacts are linked to you by a third party.  A second degree contact will mean that you have a contact in common.  This is a reference to six degrees of separation a theory conceived by US academic Stanley Milgram, after experiments in which he asked people to pass a letter only to others they knew by name.The aim was to get it, eventually, to a named person they did not know living in another city. The average number of times it was passed on, he said, was six – hence, the six degrees of separation. This has come to be considered an urban myth although in 2008 some Microsoft researchers found it was probably true although more likely to be seven degrees of separation. LinkedIn seems to make the process easier but Pownall still reckons that approaching someone without having a contact in common, cold calling, is not any more successful through social networking than is by the old fashion direct ways of phonecalls.

The session also looked at Twitter and I have been using this on behalf of the Careers Advisory Service .  Twitter is a micro-blogging site where youcan communicate your thoughts and what you are doing in “tweets” of 140 characters or less. There are many businesses on Twitter too and they are mostly using it for marketing but many professionals are using it to share knowledge and observations with their community.  You can follow people.  I like to follow Peter Rowlett who is the University Liaison Officer at the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.  He meets a good number of mathematicians doing interesting jobs and if anything takes my fancy I can check it out on his website.  It is also possible to follow topics. I follow other university careers services who are “tweeting” so I can steal their ideas! I am also alerted to news I may have missed which is relevant to my work so it is a good way of keeping up to date in your area of interest.  The current awareness possibilities are obvious if you are going for an interview in a particular field.  There are already examples of people finding jobs on Twitter and being headhunted through it.

At the same conference I also attended a session on digital identity. Shirley Williams, a lecturer from the University of Reading, introduced us to her project which has been to design a workbook, This is Me, to raise awareness of this important issue.  She reminded us that we leave a digital footprint everytime somebody puts something about us on the Web as well as what we put there ourselves.  Other people will post photographs of us, there may be reports of our successes and achievements and we log into chatroom conversations. This material remains there for an indefinite period so information can be aggregated about you by anyone including potential employers. So far in conversations Bath careers advisers have had with employers there is not much evidence that this kind of screening takes place during new graduate recruitment but you might want to think about your future employers. Having a personal and professional Facebook profile may be worth considering.

Finishing on my networking theme, this week I was reading the report from a UoBath student who went on the China Study Programme.  I was most impressed to read how he had taken the opportunity to investigate the manufacturing of a product in China which was relevant to his final year project before he went. He then managed to make some appropriate contacts while away and found out even more. He said  ”I would advise that all those who take part in the program in the future to set-up meetings with people and companies that would help their course or career.” That is a piece of advice I can’t argue with especially now social networking could give you so many warm leads to many potentially useful contacts.

Addition 28th July: Just read this blog article about using Twitter for job hunting http://mdalums95.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/beginner%e2%80%99s-guide-to-the-twitter-job-search-top-5-essentials/. Worth a read.

Bye Bye Bath but what next?

Sue Briault, Careers Adviser writes a message for the class of 2009.

Leaving University is up there amongst those traumatic life experiences.  For the past three or four years you have had your life organised by the academic year and all the pressures that brings. Now you stand on the threshold of the next stage of your life.  For some Bath University graduates this is an exciting time as you have things planned: a new job to look forward to, some voluntary work possibly in another country or a period of travel to places you have longed to visit. For others it may feel like a gaping chasm and the perhaps the not too happy prospect of living back home with the family. International students may be facing reverse culture shock.

As with any period of transition it is important to make time for taking stock and making plans.  The post finals period is obviously a time to relax but it is not a time to stick your head in the sand. So here at the Careers Advisory Service we would like to reassure you that we will continue to help you once you graduate. If you are around in Bath we can assist you in person as you will find us open over the summer period.  Do make sure you check our opening hours though.  If you are away from Bath but still in the UK then you can still access our services by phone.  For those who are further afield then email us at careers@bath.ac.uk and we will do our best to help you.

Take time to read our earlier postings which contain some valuable advice.  Make sure you explore our website. If you are unclear about your direction then the Pathfinder route on our website will be of most use to you.  You will probably find this leaflet a useful starting point too.  Although it is written for someone who has already booked a guidance interview with a Careers Adviser, it is equally useful for those who are getting started in thinking about their future.

It is important to remember that this stage in your life, if you have not already sorted out your next step, is a period of transition which always brings with it periods of uncertainty and doubt.  However there are strategies that you can work through to help you move on and become surer about the direction you need to take.  The only certainty is that the direction will not come from a blinding flash of inspiration whilst you are doing something else.  It is more likely to come from an organised process of thinking about your skills, values and personal attributes and trying to relate them to jobs that you think sound interesting.  Plan to spend time every day on working out what you want to do.  You might do this by working on your CV and really thinking about your key selling points and strengths. It might be through networking with people to find out more about jobs from people who actually do them. It might be through identifying where the jobs you want to apply to are actaully advertised. You might consider asking someone a little more experienced than you to be a mentor.  Making a promise to your mentor that you will take some particular action in your job hunting may keep you focused and on track.

We will be present at the graduation ceremonies so if you haven’t spoken to us yet then make sure you catch a word then.

P.S. We have just come across this site called Careerplayer which we think looks quite interesting as a way of finding out about different career areas.

Don’t just turn up and do the job.

Many students will be starting summer internships or sandwich placements soon.  It is worthwhile thinking why employers offer these opportunities.  For them it is like an extended interview and a chance to get a fully rounded picture of our potential. So how should you make the most of the opportunity?

Obviously you must do all the right things like turn up on time, dress appropriately, complete tasks promptly and be courteous to colleagues and clients or customers.  You get no brownie points for doing the basics.  Employers are looking for interns/placement students who will go that extra mile, use their initiative, make themselves an invaluable part of the team and add value to the organisation. They are the ones who will have their internship/placement  turned into a possible full time post when they graduate.

How can you do this? Simple things like:

• Completing tasks ahead of schedule and looking for ways that you can add more than you have been asked to do
• Asking questions about tasks you are assigned so that you can understand it better and therefore make those additional contributions
• Offering to help out when you see someone needs an extra hand
• Volunteering to take notes at a meeting and circulate them afterwards 

From your own point of view the more you can understand about the organisation the more likely you are to be able to find ways to contribute.  To this end make sure you take advantage of talking to as many people as you can.  Look out for any training that is available too. Utilise any buddy or mentor who are assigned to you to help in your development.  They may give you clues as to how you can make yourself more useful. If you aren’t assigned someone seek someone out and ask if they can spare some time each week to review your performance. Act on any feedback you receive.

Above all show enthusiasm, motivation, flexibility and a willingness to learn.

Careers Advisory Service any use?

Reflect on Yourself

Bath students are now in their exam period and so thoughts of job hunting are put on hold.  When exams finish it will be easy for final year students to drift into euphoria  so that the final weeks of university become one long celebration.  I hate to spoil the party but it would be a good time to make use of the Careers Advisory Service before you find a big distance between us develops.  So many graduates who don’t make use of us while they are here find it hard doing so from a distance.

Reviewing your strategy so far is no bad idea.  Have you applied and failed?  Do you know why? Are you regularly looking at MyFuture for the latest vacancies we are posting?  Does the field you are interested in normally advertise in this way?  If you don’t know the answer to these questions or you are still pretty clueless about your direction then its time to take stock. 

If you are in the latter category can the Careers Advisory Service really help?  A quote from a Guardian article on Saturday implies we can’t – “I think the careers services are very good if you know what you’re doing, but if you’re not sure what direction to take you can find the service limited.”  An interesting observation but one that seems to come from a person who simply wanted a list of jobs she can do. This is a pretty tall order.  You wouldn’t expect a travel agent to be able to come up with the ideal holiday for you without doing a bit of thinking yourself about your priorities, budget and preferences. A guidance interview is really the start of the process where you begin to figure things out for yourself. The Careers Adviser can help you clarify what to focus on and explore strategies that you can use to make progress.  You may not leave with all the answers – but you should be closer to finding them. There is certainly preparation you can do and we have produced a sheet to help you do some structured thinking before you come. Guidance interviews can be hard work – a Careers Adviser may challenge your statements and will want you to do most of the talking. We aim to make the picture clearer for you and to enable you to plan your next steps. Most of our users are pleasantly surprised by the confidence they gain from talking with a skilled listener who has a broader knowledge of graduate careers than they do.  What’s the harm in giving it a try?

Research before Job Search

Sue Briault, Careers Adviser, talks about networking

The title of this piece comes from a rather good book by John Lees called “How to Get a Job You”ll Love“. In it he muses on the fact that when people start job hunting they do just that i.e. start reading job adverts and filling in forms or sending off CVs.  He rightly points out that if you do this you have missed out a vital step in the process which is researching the field you want to get into.  This has come to mind because we are planning our post exam activities and we know that the Careers Advisory Service will have a succession of soon to be graduates, starting the process of finding a job.

Ask the family

The likelihood is that your family and friends will expect you to be submitting applications and the pressure to do so is great.  But stop and think about it.  When you have a piece of academic work to complete you don’t launch in and start writing straight away, you do some research first. And so it is with job hunting.  An effective application is one that will show that you know what you are talking about when you match up your skills and experience to those required by the employer.

You can build up your knowledge by:

• Reading available careers material, both hard copy and on the Web – use the resources in our office and on our website
• Clarifying the aspects of a job that are not covered well in written sources e.g. day to day activity or lifestyle implications.
• Exploring ways in which the same occupation can differ when carried out in different employment sectors e.g.compare marketing in business and charities
• Understanding the sector you want to get into: how is it doing in the recession, who are the major players
• Going  beyond the careers section of a company website, looking at how a customer, client or other stakeholder would view the organisation
• Talking to people about their work in the role or within the company or sector

Bath Alumni

This last point is crucial.  One of the most valuable but underutilised resources we have at the Careers Advisory Service is our Graduate Contacts List.  This gives you contact details of Bath graduates who are willing to talk to you about the work they do.  Every time I introduce this list to a student they are so grateful to have someone who they can quiz and get some inside information.  But don’t stop there, think about your family, your family’s friends and your friends’ families .  Make a list of what occupations these people are doing and think carefully if there are any useful contacts there.  Talk to key people in your department if your career choice is related to your subject.  Think about using Social Networking sites like Facebook or their professional cousins like LinkedIn. Discussion groups are another way of networking with people.  Try Yahoo groups for instance.  Even Blogsare a wonderful source of information.  Many companies keep there own corporate blogs or you might find some which are industry specific.  Twitter too can reveal some useful contacts with whom you might be able to have a dialogue. My final suggestion is professional bodies.  When I was working at another university I found a speaker to talk about HR careers by contacting the chair of the local branch of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.  You could do the same for your chosen area.

Scared about what to ask?

Then here are some hints:

• “Can you describe your current role?”
• “What are the most and least satisfactory aspects of the work for you?”
• “How have you reached your current position? What are the typical career paths in your field?”
• “What are the main lessons you have learned?” 
• “Would you have done anything differently?”  
• “What skills/qualifications and experience are vital for getting in and getting on in this career area?”  
• “What is the range of salaries and rewards available at different stages in your profession?” 
• “How would you describe the work culture of your organisation? Is this typical in your work field?”
• “How is your profession changing?” 
• “What advice can you give me on … (getting into this career, further research etc.)?”
• “Do you know of any opportunities, in your firm or elsewhere, for … (work placements, jobs etc.)?”
• “Is there anybody else it might be useful for me to speak to?”
• “What sort of work culture exists within this organisation?”
• “ What sort of person fits in well into this organisation?”

• “Do you have any knowledge, skills or experience which is particularly relevant to this organisation?”

So going back to my original point, find out what you are applying for before you send off that application.  After all it will be worth it as you are only going to get one bite of the cherry. By the way don’t forget me have some Podcasts as well.