1. Work Experience in Scientific Services
Helen Hobson, Internships Officer
College of Life & Environmental Science

2. What we will cover….. Benefits of work experience
Types of opportunities
How to find opportunities in Scientific Services
Funding
Where to start when looking for opportunities
Funding opportunities if you are worried about costs
Ask if there’s anything else that they would like to be discussed

3. Benefits of Work Experience
Pathway into employment
Gain ‘real life’ examples
‘Earn while you learn’
Opportunity to develop network
Develop CV
Apply theory into practise
Confidence and assertiveness
Employability skills
‘Try before you buy’
Experience recruitment processes
Professional reference
Shout outs

4. Work experience counts!
‘We appreciate applicants who have a range of work experience built up from the first year, whether voluntary or paid, student jobs or more traditional internships.
…You should be confident that the work experience has value…and be prepared to explain how it links to the skills we are looking for.’
Vanessa Doust, KPMG, Campus Marketing Executive
Although this relates to finance, this opinion is common of most employers
“… nearly two-thirds of recruiters warn that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process.”

5. Types of Work Experience Opportunities
Internships
Short term / long term
Project work
Usually paid
UK or abroad
Work Shadowing
Shadow industry professionals
Insight into the sector
Source speculatively
Internships – These can be short term or long term depending on a companies needs. Most happen over the Summer and tend to be 2-3 months, but others can be longer than this (e.g. 6 – 12 months but these tend to be graduate internships). Most internships involve you getting involved with a project where you are usually paid to complete. Not all internships are paid – but we will talk about funding later. There are many organisation who offer internships abroad – many require a fee but we will look into this later.
Work shadowing - many small companies offer work shadowing for students. They are mainly sourced speculatively (we will talk about this approach later on). However some big organisations run schemes for work shadowing opportunities such as BP’s Shadow an Intern’ BP scheme. Some benefits of work shadowing include;
- Short duration – can undertake in any vacation, around mapping projects, etc
Can source multiple opportunities in a single vacation
Good insight into aspects of work
- Networking opportunities build up contacts within the industry
Can lead to longer-term opportunities
Can include on CV
Volunteering - Volunteering – Just as valuable to gain industry experience. Find experience with charities (e.g. national trust database highlights several opportunities with charities), museums (contact local museums e.g. geological museums - Lapworth on campus), & volcano observatories (opportunities in UK and abroad). Volunteering opportunities can be undertaken during term time around your studies.
Volunteering
Charities
Museums
Universities – helping with research projects

6. How to find opportunities…
Careers Connect
Currently 1140 opportunities on Careers Connect
Just like a job site – register for preferences, search by org or opp, filter by location, type, etc.
Logon regularly OR sign up for alerts!!!!
CC is also for booking appointments for careers advice, internships, interview, CV, applications…
Definitely worth while doing – how many of you are already on it??? (ACTION TO TAKE AT THE END))

7. Searching for work experience opportunities
From the navigation bar, select Opportunities
My Opportunities – matched against your pre-set preferences (profile)
Search & Apply – search the system and apply to opportunities
Search Organisations – search for opportunities from a particular organisation
Just like a job site – register for preferences, search by org or opp, filter by location, type, etc.
Logon regularly OR sign up for alerts!!!!
CC is also for booking appointments for careers advice, internships, interview, CV, applications…
Definitely worth while doing – how many of you are already on it??? (ACTION TO TAKE AT THE END))
Choose business area(s)
E.g.:
Scientific Services
Engineering & Manuf.
Extractive Industries
Environment & Conservation
Health Care
Utilities / energy…
Can then also choose ‘opportunity type’ to source work experience, internships and volunteering

8. Examples of current or recent opportunities:
Scientific Services
Summer Undergraduate Fellowships – Vienna Biocenter Summer School
Frankfurt Summer School – Goethe University
Summer Internship Programme – Wellcome Trust
International Undergraduate Summer School – The John Innes Centre, The Sainsbury Laboratory, The Earlham Institution
Undergraduate Student Summer Placements – Diamond Light Source
From Careers Connect

9. Continued… Petrophysics Internship – BP
Research and Development Summer Placements – Unilever
Global Quality Control Internship – Covance
International Internship Formulation Biological Activities – BASF
Crick-Calleva Summer Student Programme – Francis Crick Institute
Science Communications Summer Studentship – MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences

10. Job Boards and Websites
Sign up to receive alerts which are relevant to your area/location etc

11. Job Boards & Websites

12. Advertised opportunities
Look at organisation’s websites for schemes… BP
Cancer Research UK (Beatson Institute)
Arup
Unilever
Schlumberger
GSK
CGG
A starter for ten - not a definitive list!
AstraZeneca
CERN
Covance
Research Internships for Scientific Experience (RISE)

13. Close to home…
There are lots of opportunities on your doorstep – here at the university! Academics across departments will take on students to assist with research projects over the summer. I won’t talk too intensively on this as we have two speakers who will be talking about opportunities at the university, but if you are keen to gain experience in lab work for example, it is worth speaking to your tutors, lecturers, and contacting academics using the staff search tool on the website – look for those with research areas that interest you.

14. #WorkOpportunitiesWeds
@LEScareers
/LEScareers
University of
Birmingham
Internships
Community
New opps relevant to finding work experience including hints and tips. Sent every week via . Also our facebook and twitter pages will outline relevant work experience opportunities every Weds.

15. Canvas
Go into Careers Resources on Canvas on the main Intranet page – you can find Careers Canvas pages for your School, look for the work experience tab.

16. Speculative applications
Opportunities not advertised but the organisations could offer something!
Around ¾ to 2/3 of all jobs are not advertised – hidden jobs market
Sending CVs – Apply Yourself, Quick Guides (front page of Intranet)

17. Approaching an employer
Useful advice if you are unsure how to go about approaching an employer speculatively

18. Why finding an internship is like dating!
You say to a friend that you are looking to meet someone and they ask you your type…
“I’ll take anything!”
How does this sound?
You need some criteria to make a good match
Desperate, unfocused and no one will help you.
So that you can tailor your offer to the organisation you’re approaching
To create a good impression: knowledgeable and well-prepared
All will have different interests, so we will cover specific resources to help you focus and make your match later on in the session.

19. Finding Employers Online resources Utilise Your Network Attend Events
Prospects
Directories
Yell / Thomson Local
Social Media
Employer Websites
LinkedIn
Friends & family
Colleagues
Tutors
Career professionals
Careers fairs
Networking events
Trade events
Importance of growing your network – using social media, LinkedIn, attending events
Prospects is a great website for finding employers who hire in the role you are interested in

20. Societies and professional bodies
What are the benefits of joining a professional body?
Gives you access to new funding streams
Gives you many networking opportunities
Opens many opportunities for internships, research and potential employment
Provides you with an insight into current research, new approaches and developments related to your discipline
Looks good on your CV!
Speak to careers about societies and professional bodies which are relevant to your subject area
Funding – particularly society of biology – good advice on stipends and funding

21. Work Experience Bursaries
Used to fund unpaid/low paid work experience and internships over the summer to cover costs such as accommodation, flights/other travel, utilities and even fees for international volunteering placements
UK Professional – Up to £800 Deadline: 2nd April
Research – Up to £500 Deadline: 2nd April
International – Up to £800 Deadline: 2nd April
Gateway – Up to £2000 Deadline: 15th April
If you are eligible, you can apply to more than one bursary
Gateway is for anytime of the year, not just summer
Can also use to fund Careers conferences/events!
Point out that cannot claim a bursary for work experience which forms part of their course
Open to undergrads (not final year) Unfortunately not open to postgrads
UK Professional - supports students undertaking work experience in the UK, whose placement specifically relates to a chosen professional career path
Research – for students who wish to undertake research, for example a research project at a university, or within any organisation that is undertaking research
International – where proposed work experience placements are overseas, students can apply for the International Work Experience Bursary
Gateway – applicants wishing to apply for the Gateway Internship Bursary can only do so if they consider themselves as coming from one of seven priority groups
Can apply for more than one!

22. NEW – Virtual Internship Programme!
Take part in our innovative Virtual Internship Programme spanning 3 countries. A 10-week paid opportunity only available to University of Birmingham students
Work for social enterprise, ECoexist (based in India), in partnership with students from Swinburne University in Australia on an eco-project
Develop cultural awareness skills & gain international work experience without leaving the country
The internship will run from March to May 2017 & working hours (8 hours per week) are flexible to fit around your studies.

23. We’re here to help! Apply Yourself – workshops and Canvas resource
Book an appointment – 1:1 advice for applications, careers and internships – book via Careers Connect
Intranet pages –
Internships website -
Apply yourself workshops – help with CVs and cover letters

24. Thanks for listening. Preparing for a Careers Fair: https://canvas