1. WHAT TO DO AFTER UNIVERSITY

2. Employability and Economics
This talk will cover the following
What can you do with an economics degree?
What do you want to do? Employment or further study?
How you can improve your profile to get the right job, eg work experience, internships, University initiatives
Placements - what are they and how to get one
Advice on how to write a good application/CV
How does the job application process work and how can you win this game?
Come and see us
John Peirson (Employability Officer), Keynes CG.07, Thursday 2-5pm,
Sylvain Barde (Placement Officer), Keynes B1.12, Thursday 3-5pm,

3. How To Decide What To Do With The Rest Of Your Life
Probably is not the rest of your life, people change track and jobs many times
However, it is something you have to think about now
Do not embark on further study just to postpone your decision

4. Make a list of your skills and things you would like to do in a job, eg interacting with people, data analysis, making money,.....
Think about what jobs would involve your skills and wish list
List of job types and skills at (I recommend the first)

5. Prospects website www.prospects.ac.uk
Including
Options with an Economics degree
Occupational profiles for 600 career areas

6. Recent Economics Graduates Jobs
Finance -
Financial Services Authority, HSBC, JP Morgan, NHS Trust, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Schroeders, various Stock Brokers, Trainee Auditors, Standard & Poors
Business -
BMW, Debenhams, Homebase, House of Fraser, Mothercare

7. Other -
Channel 4, Kent Tourism Alliance, PR Companies, Church social worker,

8. What You Can Do Now?
Think about what you want to do after your degree. The next two and a half years rush past and the serious student has to think about the future NOW
Consider internships and work experience in the field you wish to work in. This is vital for getting jobs in highly competitive sectors like finance and advertising
There are a number of University run initiatives

9. What Does An Economics Degree Do For You?
You are and going to develop a fantastic skills set-
Numeracy
Data handling
IT skills
Problem solving
Oral communication skills - presentations

10. Oral communication skills - presentations
Writing skills
Economics is a way of understanding the world
Great skills for getting many different jobs
You are lucky to have chosen Economics
Be aware of the skills you are developing

11. How To Improve Your Profile
Work experience of some sort
Use the internet, eg finance internship London (think where you will live)
Use company websites, have to know them first
Look at Careers and Employability Services

12. Firms look at A levels
They often have minimum scores in UCAS points and need GCSEs, eg Maths and English
However, be realistic. No point in wasting effort

13. If it applies to you, Look at Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) London superior educational support and career access to young people from under-represented and under-served backgrounds to help maximise their opportunities for university and career success. See Some deadlines on this may have passed

14. Student Recruiters
A number of organisations recruit good students for internships, jobs, etc
They then try to place these students with firms
Beware that getting onto the organisations’ books does not guarantee an internship or job
Additionally, avoid any firms that charge for such services

15. University Help and Advice
The University’s Careers and Employability Service has a large website, friendly staff and a building just by the entrance to Keynes. See
Kent Union run a volunteering scheme that
allows students to record and attain awards for a large number of volunteering activities. See

16. Job Market Forum
This is a School of Economics run Moodle module which you can register for, see the right hand button on the School of Economics home page
Keyword to register with is Networking
The Job market forum is for past and present Economics students who are in the job market. It is a forum for student discussion about jobs in general and employment advice
If wish to receive a reference from a member of the School, we require you to upload your CV onto this site. In the first instance, you should be asking your personal tutor/academic adviser for a reference

17. MyFolio MyFolio is the University of Kent’s student owned
e-portfolio and Personal Development site
It is a personal develop planning (PDP) tool
It is designed to help you set and achieve personal and employment related goals
Most usefully, it records your achievements
• It is at

18. Employability Points Scheme
This University of Kent scheme provides students with the means to demonstrate activity across a range of activities.
The scheme has links with a number of external firms and organisations. Students can get work experience with a number of participating companies through obtaining points
More details at
or contact

19. University of Kent Careers Employability Award
The University of Kent Careers Employability Award helps students to identify and plan
Possible future careers
Potential employers
The student’s employment skills
Present these skills in CVs and job applications
The award takes about 12 hours, is free, undertaken online using Moodle and further details can be found at

21. Placements I am the Placement Officer for the School of Economics.
I am responsible for:
Helping interested 2nd years find a good placement
Supporting students while they are away on placement
Assessing their placement report when they return
Placements are probably the second best thing you can do to improve your employability
The first best thing is of course getting a top degree!!

22. Placements
What is a placement? How is it different from an internship?
A placement is longer (1-year vs. 1-3 months)
A placement is part of an assessed University program (degrees “with year in industry”)
Additional benefits
You are given more responsibilities – you learn more!
You get paid a good wage while on placement
You stand a good chance of being offered a job afterwards

23. Placements Costs / problems with getting a placement
They are much harder to get in the first place
Getting a placement is as hard as getting a graduate job
The recruitment methods are the same (this can be a +)
Placements are getting very competitive
They can disrupt your academic experience
You spend much of your second year looking for a job
You have to re-adapt to academic life when you come back

24. Timeline for placements
End of 1st year: Meeting for interested students
Placement information explained in more detail
Put on a mailing list
Talk by current/past placement students
During the 2nd year
Students make their applications throughout
I provide a series of placement sessions on CVs, competency tests, cover letters, etc.
These are followed by one-to-one drop-in clinics

25. Timeline for placements
While on placement (between 2nd and 3rd year)
Obviously, carry out the tasks given
Work on your portfolio of evidence on a regular basis
I will be in regular contact to offer support and advice
On your return
You submit your assessment (portfolio of activities and reflective report)
This is worth 10% of your overall degree

26. What to do in 1st year if you’re interested
Gather information on possible placements (especially the GES)
Work on your CV and practice cover letters
Come to the meeting at the end of the year
This is so you can be added to the mailing list
You do not need to change to the “year in industry” program at this stage
If you are not “with year in industry”, the switch is done in your 2nd year, once you have a placement.

27. What to do in 1st year if you’re interested
If you are interested by a placement, what is the single most important thing you can do at stage 1?
Focus on your studies and get TOP grades!
Just because you get told “the first year doesn’t count” doesn’t mean “the first year doesn’t matter”
Your first year transcript is the only thing you will have to go with when applying for placements in 2nd year.
What are the odds on securing a placement at UBS or Goldman Sachs if you get less than 60%?

29. The Process of Applying
It varies a lot between different firms and types of work experience and jobs (obviously latter are more intensive)
Some mix of
Online/paper application
CV + cover letter
Online tasks
Competency questions
Interview
Group tasks (wear a watch!)
It is hard work making applications and the application process is tough

30. Competency Tests
You may need to know about numeracy and other competency tests. Come to see us and/or look at

31. SOME DOs & DON’Ts
Quality of application is important. This takes hours and days of time. Take it seriously
Research your application
Clamp down on the security of Facebook and other social network stuff

32. CURRICULUM VITAE
Even if the application is online, the following rules still apply
List of education, work and other experiences related to getting you a job or placement
You are trying to match your skill set and experience to those that are required for the job
Make a list of the job requirements and make sure your CV match these. Use your brain, job description or look at or

33. So have to alter CV to fit the work experience you are looking for
Have a basic CV but make it fit the skills etc. required for the different work experience
CVs are just the beginning of the application process
CVs are often used as a filter to get the number of applicants down to a reasonable number
CVs have to be easy to read. Use bullet points (one-liners)

34. They are an advert for you. They are often read in less than 30 seconds
Think clearly about the design and order of presentation
No more than two sides (backed or unbacked?)
Some like one side. But a CV must be clear and bring out the message that you have the skills they want

35. Personal Profile - You can put a short personal statement at the beginning summarising the type of person you are and matching the requirements of the internship/job. They sometimes look awful
Do not have complicated boxes or tables, do not repeat yourself a lot, eg putting your school next to each educational qualification
Position the really good things so they catch the eye. Not every word of your CV will be read closely. So good things go first or last in a clearly labelled section.
You have to put exam results down. If they are not good, think about whether a job is for you.

36. What Is In A CV? Contact Details Personal Profile
Education: University, A levels (or equivalent) and GCSEs (or equivalent) but not in full detail, but make it clear what overall grades you got and that you have maths and English language
Experience
Skills
Other achievements, eg Duke of Edinburgh Silver

37. COVER LETTER
Be clear whether a covering letter or letter of application
A covering letter is a short introduction of yourself
Written in clear English – no mistakes. Short sentences
Make sure that it matches the requirements of the job
You can make no more than 3 short points
Try to have a name you are writing to
Show that you know the firm
Do not go over the top

38. COVER LETTER Start with you and what you are studying?
What you are applying for
Show knowledge of firm/gov department etc and link yourself to the job/firm/department
End with something like looking forward to hearing from you

39. CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR PROFILE?
Difficult as pressure of academic work
May need to apply for internships and work experience. Especially in the financial sector. Be realistic
Apply to smaller firms for experience
Will you be paid for internships? No
If you do not get a good summer internship, paid summer employment of any kind (specially if it involves long hours) looks good and is much better than nothing

40. How We Can Help You
We will help you, but most of the effort will come from you
What do you want? Talks from the Careers Service (about what)?
Help with thinking about what you want to do
Looking at CVs and applications
Advice about the job application process, eg numeracy tests, interviews etc.

41. If you have any questions or want some advice get in contact with me John Peirson,
Talk to your Academic Adviser. More specific advice from us or the Careers and Employability Service
If you have any year in industry questions please see our Placement Officer, Sylvain Barde,