Work experience in the technology sector Presentation by Harjinder Kundra (College Internship Officer) Tanya Daskova (EY – www.ey.com/uk) Jimmy Madon (GENEO - www.geneo.co.uk)

Aims of today’s session Get access to resources to support you in searching and sourcing work experience Hear from EY and GENEO and understand the types of skills they look for in successful applicants, and the part technology plays in their companies Hear from current and past students who are now working in the technology sector

What’s coming up Introduction Delivered by Harj Kundra Technology in EY Delivered by Tanya Daskova Work experience opportunities available with EY Delivered by EY Technology in GENEO Delivered by Jimmy Madon Work experience opportunities available with GENEO Delivered by GENEO Q&A All

What is technology? Technology is a body of knowledge devoted to creating tools, processing actions and extracting of  materials. We use technology to accomplish various tasks in our daily lives, in brief; we can describe technology as products, processes or organizations. Technology is also an application of science to solve a problem. Source: www.useoftechnology.com

Ask yourself…where can your skills take you? Types of technology Communication Construction Information Assistive Medical Entertainment Business Educational Ask yourself…where can your skills take you?

What are your work experience options? Internships Voluntary Work Graduate Vacancies Placements Work shadowing Part Time/freelance Specifically for first year students (or 2nd years if on a 4 year programme Summer & YINI* Insight Programmes *Year In Industry Find out more at www.birmingham.ac.uk/internships

Timescales Larger organisations May start their advertising and application processes from August onwards Most vacancies filled by the start/early Spring Term Internships usually begin in the summer months Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Will advertise and recruit throughout the year May look for quicker recruitment process so may not advertise months in advance Timescale usually represents a similar cycle for jobs and graduate roles Smaller organisations and public sector

What work experience have UoB students undertaken in technology? Summer Analyst Technology Information Services- Web Intern Digital Railway Project Intern Software Engineer (Cyber Security) Information Technology Analyst Windows Phone Software Developer Software Developer Programming Analyst Cyber Software Engineer Software Developer Intern Technology Intern Visit ‘What do EPS graduates do’ for further employers

Online resources to find work experience Student recruitment websites Institutes and membership bodies

Online resources to find work experience Online magazines/publications

What else can you do to boost your chances of work experience Challenges Hackathons (also known as hack-days, hack-fests or code-fests) Competitions (Mobile phone app competitions) Challenges Think outside the box…don’t stick to your degree area only Make speculative applications Industrial challenges/competitions Hackathons Target small companies Join student societies Use social media Attend events (Comp Sci fair)

What else can you do to boost your chances of work experience Challenges Join societies to widen your network, learn skills and link with employer activities Computer Science Society (CSS) Women in Science and Engineering MathSoc oSTEM Enactus EESE Society SatNav (Science and Technology News and Views Magazine) Become a Student Ambassador Student societies

What else can you do to boost your chances of work experience Challenges Career Fairs Science, Engineering and Tech. Fair Computer Science Careers Fair Physics Careers Fair Maths Careers Fair National Graduate Recruitment Fairs Other events Industry roadshows Business talks (explore membership bodies and institutes for these events) Student societies Attend events

What else can you do to boost your chances of work experience Challenges Social media pages for University of Birmingham services Careers Network accounts General (@careersbham) EPS (@epscareers) Society pages Employer pages – keep up to date with the sector Use LinkedIn to connect to professionals in the sector Student societies Attend events Use social media

What else can you do to boost your chances of work experience Challenges What do you do in your spare time that could boost your options? Create a website for a friend/family Build and take apart personal computers Create a mobile app Promote your passions/areas of interest (e.g. gaming, writing blogs, etc) Create a portfolio Promote your work using social media Student societies Attend events Use social media Personal work Think outside the box…don’t stick to your degree area only Industrial challenges/competitions Make speculative applications Hackathons Target small companies Join student societies Use social media Attend events (Comp Sci fair)

What else can you do to boost your chances of work experience Challenges If there’s something you don’t know….don't be afraid to teach yourself. Highlight key projects from your studies to demonstrate your technical and transferable skills Student societies Attend events Use social media Personal work Teach yourself Think outside the box…don’t stick to your degree area only Make speculative applications Industrial challenges/competitions Hackathons Target small companies Join student societies Use social media Attend events (Comp Sci fair)

What else can you do to boost your chances of work experience Challenges Contact an organisation within the tech industry and enquire about possible vacancies/job shadowing/work experience Use business directories, events, membership body websites and your network to target employers Consider most effective way of making contact Great way to target small and medium companies/start ups Student societies Attend events Use social media Personal work Teach yourself Speculative applications Think outside the box…don’t stick to your degree area only Make speculative applications Industrial challenges/competitions Hackathons Target small companies Join student societies Use social media Attend events (Comp Sci fair)

In summary Consider the range of technology sub-sectors to explore your options Explore opportunities via student recruitment websites, institute/membership bodies and online publications Think outside the box and consider other ways to undertake work experience (e.g. challenges, speculative applications, etc)

Presented by Tanya Daskova, EY Technology in EY Presented by Tanya Daskova, EY

Presented by Jimmy Madon, GENEO Technology in GENEO Presented by Jimmy Madon, GENEO

Support through Careers Network Support with anything careers and employability related Exclusive internship programmes only available to UoB students Funding available to undertake unpaid or low-paid work experience Range of events and activities to support you with your search Online support available through the website: intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers www.birmingham.ac.uk/internships

Q&A

Visit our homepage/internships website https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers www.birmingham.ac.uk/internships Facebook facebook.com/careersbham facebook.com/epscareers Twitter @careersbham @epscareers University of Birmingham Linked In Internships community This presentation can be found on the ‘Preparing for a Careers Fair’ canvas course at https://canvas.bham.ac.uk/enroll/XX4KAD