Vacwork Les Waters Cambridge University Careers Service Why do it? What to do? How to find something suitable?

Why do it? Develop new science skills / knowledge Help with ideas for a project Develop additional transferable skills/knowledge Try out a particular field / role Add attractive material to your CV Earn money Get a future job offer Develop networking contacts

What to do Hands-on directly relevant science Hands-off science Other roles linking to where you want to go Something to develop a particular skill/s Something to bridge a gap in your CV Something in the real world of work

How to secure it 1. Apply to advertisements 2. Speculative applications 3. Networking 4. Be headhunted

Finding Opportunities Yourself Academia – e.g. UROP National or international leading players – national periodicals and journals Local firms – newspapers, trade directories, yellow pages Professional bodies – e.g. IOP Via personal contacts – personal, family, academic Self employed?

Effective Applications Well prepared CV Good covering letter Good application form Well researched application Speculative applications – correctly addressed and make it easy for them to say “Yes” Follow-up

Interviews Motivation Skill set and / or knowledge – often competency based interviews. Organisational fit

Key Resources CVs and cover letters book Careers Service Website / Library Vacancies & Opportunities Interview practice sessions Interview feedback files Gradlink

Key Resources Academic labs – UROP – CUED, Cavendish, Oxford, Imperial, Reading Other research labs – NPL, UKSPA, STEP Careers Service Bursaries Vacwork job sites. Examples ;

Be creative Stuff that lots of organisations have that might be of interest to you? – Technical libraries – PR / Communication departments – IT department – Websites – Health and safety – Standards accreditation e.g. ISO14000, 9000 – Technical writing – Product testing – Purchasing – Sales, marketing, market research, focus groups – Finance – IP

Why wouldn’t they take you? Cost and/or minimum wage Staff freeze, ongoing redundancies Client confidentiality Health and safety International students – permission to work in UK Has a student got the skills we need? They have no relevant work to be done Takes too long to train someone Unable to supervise Never done it before Workplace relationships Too complicated Can’t get their own HR department to sanction. Wouldn’t want you to have a bad experience Likely legacy of problems afterwards Did it before and it didn’t work