CAREER PLANNING FOR YOUR SECOND YEAR Jenny Keaveney Careers and Employability Service 12th June Onwards and upwards – and then?

WHAT THIS TALK WILL COVER Why start planning now? Choosing a career Gaining experience Finding out more

WHY START PLANNING NOW? Choosing the right career takes time and thought As you progress into Stage 2, your academic workload will increase! Many popular graduate recruiters have early deadlines for graduate jobs and undergraduate internships Internships will be more important than ever in 2014 graduate recruitment - in a recent survey, 30% of vacancies with major graduate recruiters last year were expected to be filled by undergraduates who had had previous work experience with these organisations, such as internships, placements or vacation schemes

WHY START PLANNING NOW? “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

Just some of the options open to graduates in any subject Advertising Armed Forces Arts administration Broadcasting Computing/IT Finance Guidance/Counselling Heritage Work Information Management Journalism Law Management Consultancy Personnel Police Public Sector Management Public Relations Publishing Purchasing Retail Sales & Marketing Social Work Teaching English as a Foreign Language Teaching in Schools Transport and Tourism

So where do you start? Think about yourself –your subject –your skills –your interests –your strengths and weaknesses –your personal circumstances –your likes and dislikes

Help with self-assessment and career choice Career Management Skills booklet Skills section of our website - Choosing a Career booklet and web pages Prospects Planner careers guidance program

GAINING EXPERIENCE You can’t learn everything about careers and employers from books and websites Work experience can help you gain an insight and decide whether a particular career area is right for you If it is, the experience will be especially valuable for your future CV … … but no experience is ever a waste of time You are already building up experience!

GAINING EXPERIENCE Vacation experience and internships Part-time work during term-time Volunteering Work-shadowing Extra-curricular activities

SOME GRADUATE EMPLOYERS OFFERING SUMMER INTERNSHIPS SEO London30 Oct John Lewis15 Nov Morgan Stanley31 Jan IAESTE06 Jan Tata Steel06 Jan ATOS Origin29 Feb GSK22 Feb (these were the closing dates for summer 2012 internships)

SOME MORE GRADUATE EMPLOYERS OFFERING SUMMER INTERNSHIPS Chartered accountancy firms Retailers Software houses Government departments Law firms Holiday camps/summer schools Small businesses (for science/IT students) See “Employers offering internships” at

NOT ALL WORK EXPERIENCE IS ADVERTISED … You may need to make the first approach, especially for jobs in the media, advertising, public relations, stockbrokers and other popular career areas. See our booklet, “The Creative Career Search” for help with this

NOT ALL EXPERIENCE IS WORK … It also includes courses and events such as: Operational Research Careers Day (Nov) Shell “Gourami” Business Challenge “Careers In” events (London University) – include Arts Administration, International Development, Media, Medicine Target Chances events – law, finance, IT, etc Business games, competitions etc

NOT ALL EXPERIENCE IS WORK - some of it can be fun! And any other activities you get involved in: Sports Societies Kent Union “Join three societies and become actively involved in at least one” Alan Richardson, Graduate Recruitment, Royal Bank of Scotland Group

“WORK EXPERIENCE” ALSO INCLUDES Volunteering –teaching –social care –media –development Work shadowing And all those part-time or casual jobs you do just to bring in some money

WHY? “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

WHY? “If you’ve spent time at university finding out what you enjoy and what you are good at (or the opposite!) it will help you to develop an idea of what you’re aiming for when you leave. Even if the picture of your ideal job is still hazy, you’ll know enough to avoid drifting into one that’s completely wrong for you” (Association of Graduate Recruiters)

OTHER WAYS TO HELP YOUR CAREER The Careers Employability Award Employability Points Scheme

THE CAREERS EMPLOYABILITY AWARD can help you to: Identify your employability skills: learning how to develop these and to “sell” these to employers. Identify your interests, values and personal styles and find out which careers these may relate to. Research a particular career or industry Prepare a quality CV and learn how to perform well at interview Practise the type of skills-based questions used by many employers on application forms for graduate jobs and internships

THE CAREERS EMPLOYABILITY AWARD How it works: Register at Complete the quizzes, three assignments (including submission of a CV for critique) and a feedback form Get feedback online and collect 40 Employability Points Available off-campus: you can start on the award straight away (but we won’t be able to mark your assignments to allow you to complete the award until next term)

EMPLOYABILITY POINTS The Employability Points scheme rewards students at the University of Kent for active engagement in extracurricular activities such as: –Active involvement in societies –Completion of a World language module –Tour Guide for prospective International students –Course, School or Faculty rep –Attending CES events and skills training sessions

WHAT NOW? 1)Think about yourself, what you want from a career and which careers might offer this, using: –Prospects Planner –Choosing a Career booklet or website

WHAT NOW? 2) Research careers and employers - who offers the jobs you are looking for? - what are they looking for? - how and when do they recruit? - what relevant work experience can you get with them? How to get to the top of the pile in a very competitive market place? Do your homework. Research, Research, Research. (Carl Gilleard, Association of Graduate Recruiters)

WHAT NOW? 3)Start to plan ahead for next term - deadlines for vac work/internships - getting involved in activities - part-time work - starting to note your skills and interests

USEFUL INFORMATION SOURCES Careers and Employability Service website –including: –Timeline: when to do what: – Work Experience – –Employability skills – what do employers want? –I Want to Work In – brief introductions to 100 different career areas

USEFUL INFORMATION SOURCES Careers and Employability Service booklets on Choosing a Career; the Creative Career Search; Applications and Interviews Prospects.ac.uk -sections on special interests (including Working Abroad) and detailed descriptions of a wide range of jobs TARGET series – Law; City & Finance; IT; etc All available in Careers and Employability Service or on the web

THE Careers and Employability Service ….. is open throughout the vacation Careers Information Room Careers Advisers – book an appointment or just drop in Networked PCs and IT resources Open 9-5, Monday-Friday or us: or phone /1