Stand out from the crowd! Preparing for graduate employment

By the end of today’s session you will be aware of: Factors affecting graduates 2010 Factors affecting your employability Your skills as a graduate engineer What support is available to develop your career and skills at Warwick

Are there any graduate jobs? How ready am I to apply for a job? What do I need to do? What can I do? What will happen if I don’t get a job before graduation?

Reasons to be cheerful Graduate recruitment news UK Picture- Sept 2010

Reasons to be cheerful The UK Picture- Sept 2010 “Despite mixed economic news recently, there are welcome signs of greater stability on the graduate market front - plus a number of reasons for optimism.” UK economy 1.7% growth in the 2nd quarter -positive contributions from key sectors such as... “manufacturing and construction (including engineering)” 1/10 firms failed to fill all their current graduate vacancies and (73%) still accepting applications projected level of graduate recruitment for 2011 >26% Sources: Institution of Engineering and Technology report Sept 2010 http://www.ri5.co.uk/site/news/article/graduate-market-outlook-reasons-to-be-cheerful/ Explain who the AGR are : Association of Graduate Recruiters – represent the largest (often global) employers in the UK who represent around 17,000 vacancies at top employers Consulting was affected variably depending on type of firm eg Big 4 Advisory divisions and the top tier strategic consulting firms reduced their intakes but firms which are more technology or data based like CapGemini and Accenture reamined fairly buyoyant. So the 52% increase was not felt at the type of firms MSM graduates generally have tended to apply to . Confidence is now increasing amongst some graduate employers and they are cautiously starting to rehire – in fact banking and finance is expecting a strong bounce back and there are also reasonable prospects in areas like general commercial graduate training schemes. Lets see what is predicted for next year

Sample of jobs Engineering graduates- 2008/2009 Project Manager, Information Security, Procter and Gamble Production Planner, Colgate Palmolive Engineering Consultant, Arup System Analyst, IBM Graduate Leadership Programme, Unilever Senior Project Accountant, Network Rail IT Consultant, RBS Distribution Manager, AstraZeneca Engineer, Cathay Pacific Airlines

Employers who take on Warwick Engineering graduates Procter & Gamble Centrica Unilever Cummins GE Aviation EDF Energy Fujitsu National Grid Rolls Royce Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd Airbus Atkins IBM Network Rail RWE Npower Schlumberger Siemens We have more than 70 different employers coming to do presentations. The ones on this slide represent some you may find particularly relevant, However, we also attract law firms, banks, accountancy firms and others such as public sector organisations. These are also at the top of Rootes. Usually they are presented by a team of employers including approachable new graduates. They usually do a presentation followed by informal chat over – food! To find out who’s coming have a look at our website. If you’re not so interested in these companies we have many diverse companies doing more informal talks. These are also on our website under ‘Careers Sessions’. To give you some examples we have – getting into social work, working in an embassy and Careers in arts and cultural management.

Are you employable?

To be employable is to be secure. What is employability? “To be employed is to be at risk, To be employable is to be secure. Dr Peter Hawkins, 2005 http://www.windmillsonline.co.uk/interactive/index.html

The Graduate Jobs Formula E= Q + WE + S x C ? Employability = Qualifications +Work Experience + Strategies X Contacts The Graduate Jobs Formula, 2010, Dr Paul Redmond http://careers.guardian.co.uk/audio/careers-talk-the-graduate-job-formula

What Employers Seek AGR UK Survey July 2010 2.1 Undergraduate Degree : 77.5% Specific Degree Subject: 25.1 % From particular Universities 6.8% Relevant Work Experience: 33.5% Demonstrate certain competencies 62.8% Recent research by large graduate employers in the UK give a fascinating insight into what is important to them Explain what we mean by ‘2.1’ – explain if your degree is from outside UK employers will look at equivalent (ie about 60%+ in your degree). Some also ask for’UCAS’ points – explain. Can use naric organisation to check how many UCAS points their non A Level or international qualifications amount to. Specific degree subject – explain that for other 67% it doesnt matter what your degree is in! Even for: accounting and finance, law etc. Good news – you can pretty much go into any areayou like (other than science, medecine, engineering ) as long as you show a real interest in that career area and can explain where you have gained relevant general skills. Bad news- you’re in competition for jobs in your sector with undergraduates and/or graduates in subjects like English and history. Provided you have a 2.1 from a reasonable quality Uni – the employer then turns their attention to other factors. Experience – relevant means in the same sector. Surprised ? This is becoming more important but still not of primary interest to large employers (smaller employers may feel differently). Relate to specific sectors students are targeting Skills and qualities: idea of competencies.(behaviours associated with success often indicating management potential).Show what these are next...

What factors influence your employability? Work experience Knowledge of target market Employability Self presentation Awareness of career options Your work experience (pre Masters and during your studies) Your academic results Your awareness of the options How well you research your target market How soon you start your search Clarity and presentation of your CV Your employability, your skills, motivations, interests Motivations & interests Academic results

goal for improving your How employable are you? Think about your: Work experience? Market knowledge? Academic results? Self presentation? Motivation? Career options? Time for Action Set yourself one SMART goal for improving your employability this week

Online Engineering Information www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/careers/departments/science/engug www.gradcracker.com www.prospects.ac.uk/industries_engineering_overview.htm www.targetjobs.co.uk/engineering-graduate-jobs

How can we support you? Access to placement opportunities Online vacancy list Employer Events & Workshops 1-1 Guidance Warwick Advantage

Events and workshops Technology & Engineering Tuesday 23rd Nov For more information, register on My Advantage

Your Careers Consultant Andy Lloyd Careers Consultant School of Engineering Phone: 02476 524748 Email: A.D.Lloyd@warwick.ac.uk If you want a good job like those shown in the last slide, you need to start early! It may be hard, but because of the way recruitment works in this country, you will need to take action almost as soon as you start a Masters if you want to work in the UK. Most jobs in large organisations are openly advertised Most have clear selection criteria and methods Many recruiters start looking for staff a long time before they need them to start work Most UK courses finish in the Summer, so many firms plan to start their new recruits in one group

How to contact us In person: Help desk:10.00am to 6.00pm University House, Ground Floor Careers & Skills Library open 24/7 Phone: 024 7652 4748 (general enquiries) E-mail: careers@warwick.ac.uk