Introduction to the Careers and Employability Service Bioscience Year 1 Bruce Woodcock University of Kent Careers and Employability Service You can download a copy of this presentation at

“Students in their first or second year at university need to ask themselves what job they want to do. It’s important that they do not wait until their final year to think about finding a job, especially in the current market”. Sarah Shillingford, Graduate Recruitment Partner, Deloitte

The more you enjoy university life, the more you’ll get out of it. Employers like you to have what they call “customer-facing experience”. You’ll get loads of that if you take a part-time job or work as a student volunteer. It’s a terrific help if you can understand how businesses work, show you can get things done and apply simple common sense. It was my work experience that gave me all these things, not my academic course. Kate, marketing officer with a PR agency Join three university societies and become actively involved in at least one. Alan Richardson, Graduate Recruitment, Royal Bank of Scotland Group

What can I do with a Kent Bioscience Degree?

One third of graduate jobs accept any degree subject. BECAUSE: Learn new skills quickly Analyse & solve problems Communicate well Open to new ideas, adaptable and flexible “Managers of change” Marketing and Sales Retailing Social Work Personnel Civil Service Accountancy Banking Computing

VACATION WORK Work Experience page See our jobs and internship database Science internships Placements

BUNAC Spend summer working and travelling in North America.  Summer Camp USA: employed as a camp counsellor, teaching sports, music and other skills  Work America programme: anything from working in a theme park or a restaurant to arranging an internship with a company.

WHAT SKILLS DO BIOSCIENTISTS NEED? - GSK Presentation skills Teamworking Computing skills Time management/organising skills People skills Report writing/documentation of experiments Laboratory experience Problem solving skills

Application Process The smaller company process is much simpler and you can apply much later (often after final exams) but salaries are usually lower and they offer less training and less chance to specialise.

Example Bioscience CV Apply early for placements in your second year as some deadlines are early in the first term!

Applications and Interviews Covering Letters Practice Interviews: journalism, teaching, marketing, HR, postgrad study etc. Application, interview and selection centre videos Applications and interviews University of Kent Vacancy Database

Telephone: Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9 to 5 including vacations Drop-in times (no appointment needed: 15 minutes): to and 2 to 4 pm Help given for up to 3 years after graduation Weekly careers s every Monday afternoon

Careers Employability Award on Moodle Half the unemployment rate for students completing the award DP2650 if you have problems

Bioscience Careers Page What Kent Bioscience graduates did after leaving Jobs related to your subject Employers and vacancy sources htm htm

How not to do it … – "I have a criminal record but I'm not in jail at the moment" – "I am somebody who knows my own destiny but I have no long term plans" – "I have good writen comunication skills" – "I want experience in a big sex practice" – "I enclose a tea-bag so you can enjoy a cuppa while perusing my form" – "I loathe filling in application forms so much that I'll give you details at the interview"

Competency Questions  The hardest part of the form for most applicants - asking for examples of specific skills such as teamwork, leadership, problem solving e.g. Describe how your personal planning and organisation resulted in the successful achievement of a personal or group task. Give an example of where others have disagreed with your views. How did you deal with this?

Competency Questions Answers could come from  vacation or part-time work;  university clubs and societies;  voluntary work;  study at school or university – especially projects;  holidays and travel or personal and family experiences. Planning and organising a week’s independent travel in Scotland is as valid an example as a trek through the Himalayas.

WORK EXPERIENCE Summer 2003Sainsbury's, Canterbury Checkout assistant This job developed my ability to deal with the public and work under pressure Don’t feel you have to include every job “In addition to the above, I have held a variety of temporary jobs during school and university vacations, including fruit-picking, factory work, bar work and waiting on tables”

Application Form Questions Describe how your personal planning and organisation resulted in a successful achievement of a personal or group task. Describe a situation where you had to work effectively as a member of a team. What were the team’s aims? How was the team selected? What was your role? Describe a challenging situation which required your persuasive skills and your ability to organise other people in order to reach a successful resolution.

The STAR Approach  S Whilst employed at Weaver Bros. last summer T I was given the task of rationalising the stock control system A I would look at factors such as when the stock was last ordered, what it was used for and how often it was used. I worked out a method of streamlining the paperwork involved in this process and redesigned the relevant forms, which I then submitted to my manager. R My ideas were accepted and implemented and a 15% reduction in stock levels was achieved"

The STAR Approach One way of answering these questions is via the STAR approach - Situation, Task, Action and Result. It's a bit like a mini essay. The Situation and Task are usually combined and form the introduction The Action you took, should form the main body of your answer The Result should be your conclusion

PREPARATION - THE KEY TO SUCCESS Research the employer and the job Prepare answers to obvious questions Think of your unique selling points Prepare some questions to ask Dress smartly

FIRST YEAR CAREER PLAN Career Planning is a long term process. Start early! Get a SUMMER VACATION JOB to add skills to your CV. GET ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN UNIVERSITY LIFE – societies, sports, student representative, to get evidence of skills for your CV. Prepare a Science CV Get the Careers Employability Award on Moodle See

THE COVERING LETTER First Paragraph  State the job you’re applying for.  Where you found out about it.  When you're available to start work (& end if it's a placement) Second Paragraph  Why your interested in that type of work  Why the company attracts you (if it's a small company say you prefer to work for a small, friendly organisation!) Third Paragraph  Summarise your strengths and how they might be an advantage to the organisation.  Relate your skills to the job. Last Paragraph  Mention any dates that you won't be available for interview  Thank the employer and say you look forward to hearing from them soon.

Science CVs: “Sell” your degree List relevant modules (plus marks if good!) Projects – especially if relevant Laboratory skills/IT skills Soft skills – evidence of teamwork, project management, problem solving etc. For non-science jobs (e.g. banking) you would need a different CV focusing on your soft skills more than technical skills.

Introduction to the Careers and Employability Service for Bioscience Year 1 students You can download a copy of this presentation at