1. CAREER PLANNING FOR YOUR SECOND YEAR
Onwards and upwards – and then?
Jenny Keaveney
Careers and
Employability Service
11th June 2013

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

3. 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 2015 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
30% of 2011 graduate vacancies were expected to be filled by undergraduates who had previous work experience
Three-fifths of employers stated that it was either ‘not very likely’ or ‘not at all likely’ that a graduate who’d had no previous work experience –
either with their organisation or at another employer – would be successful during their selection process and be made a job offer
High Fliers Survey

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Help with self-assessment and career choice
Employability Skills leaflet
Employability Skills section of our website -
Choosing a Career booklet and web pages
Prospects Planner careers guidance program – “What jobs would suit me?”

8. 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!

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

10. SOME GRADUATE EMPLOYERS OFFERING SUMMER INTERNSHIPS
SEO London Jan
John Lewis Nov
Credit Suisse Dec
IAESTE Dec
Wellcome Trust 04 Mar
HSBC Jan
(these were the closing dates for summer 2013 internships)

11. SOME MORE GRADUATE EMPLOYERS OFFERING SUMMER INTERNSHIPS
Chartered accountancy firms
Retailers
Software companies
Government departments
Law firms
Holiday camps/summer schools
Small businesses
See “Employers offering internships” at
Govt depts – DfES advertised internships for this summer

12. 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

13. 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
You'll be able to hone your technical and commercial skills as you develop and present a five-year business plan for Shell in Gourami.  In teams, you'll make strategic decisions and recommendations about refining operations, the development of offshore oil and gas discoveries, the supply and marketing of products to customers, as well as look at manpower and costs Closing date was 7 Nov 2008

14. 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

15. “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

16. 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

17. 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)

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

19. Careers Employability Award
This will greatly improve your career planning and jobhunting skills, giving you strategies to make appropriate career choices and will increase your chances of getting a graduate job
Takes about 12 hours to complete – all done on-line via Moodle
Assessed by quizzes and assignments with feedback provided online

20. THE CAREERS EMPLOYABILITY AWARD How it works:
Register at by Friday 14th June
Complete the quizzes, three assignments (including submission of a CV for critique) and a feedback form
On completion you will receive a University of Kent Careers Employability Award certificate
Available off-campus: you can start on the award as soon as you register but it cannot be carried over until next term so you will need to complete by the end of June

21. 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 students
Course, School or Faculty rep
Attending CES events and skills training sessions

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

23. 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)

24. WHAT NOW? 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

25. 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

26. USEFUL INFORMATION RESOURCES
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 Jobs advice by sector on specific industries; Employer Insights into individual companies plus graduate jobs, placements and internships across every major sector

27. The Careers and Employability Service …
.. is open throughout the vacation
Careers Resources Room
Careers Advisers – book an appointment or just drop in
Networked PCs and IT resources
Opening times:
10.30 – 5.00 Monday
9.00 – Tuesday-Friday
or us:
or phone /1