1. Making the most of the Recruitment Fairs
Ellen O’Brien International Careers Consultant

2. Aims of the session To help you prepare for the recruitment fairs
To practice your pitch and
questions to ask employers
To network with other undergraduates and build your professional network

4. Theme 1: Recruitment Fairs and Goal setting
In your group discuss:
Have you attended a UK Careers Fair before?
What benefit can students get from attending a Fair?
What do you want to achieve at the fair?
What is your main objective?

5. Employers
What do you think employers want from international students?
Discuss in groups

6. Employers want… Experience of working in the UK
Excellent language skills
A range of transferable skills (employability)
Cultural competencies
Commercial awareness
Creative and targeted job hunting
Effective applications

7. Examples of transferable skills gained during your studies
Project management and organisation skills
Self-management
Add some more of your own

8. Standing out in the job market
How can I use the skills from my studies and experience to stand out in the job market?
Think more broadly about your skills, strengths
and experience.
Which employers are likely to value your skill set
and what you can bring to their organisation?

9. Researching employers and asking questions
Find out about the organisations you want to target by doing your research
Prepare questions to ask at the Fair
Be open to meeting employers on the day you had never really considered before
Listen, and when there is ‘common ground’, tell them about you - so you need a short, personal statement (career objective, sales pitch etc) saying what you want.
Ask for their suggestions and advice.

10. NOT: Can you offer me a job in your organisation?
INSTEAD: I’m exploring opportunities in Engineering and I’m particularly interested in Electrical Engineering. What advice do you have about who might be able to help me with my job search?

11. Employers offering opportunities to international students
• Absolute Internship
• Academies Enterprise Trust
• Airbus Group
• AMEC
• ARK Teacher Training
• ASDA
• Bank of England
• BDO
• Bishop Challoner Teaching School Alliance
• BP International Ltd
• BT
• ConSol Partners
• Decathlon
• Deloitte
• E.ON
• Everyone Everywhere
• Fluidata
• GSK
• Glencore
• Goldman Sachs
• GradEye
• Graduate Advantage
• graduate-jobs.com
• Grant Thornton
• Great With Disability

12. Focus on three employers attending the Autumn Fair?
2. ?
3. ?
Read the Fair guide for more information and go to the
company websites to find out more details.
See also details of forthcoming fairs on the events section of
the Careers Network website:

13. Activity – Questions to ask employers
Prepare questions relevant to your situation.
Here are questions you could consider: • What experience do you like applicants to have?
• What words would you use to describe the company culture?
• What are the key changes or trends within the industry/profession?
Research the programme that you fit with & then develop some indirect questions ….
I was reading about X programme on your web site & was curious to know Y (because)
It seems that most of your successful students have X, Y and Z – and
I’ve got these so which of your schemes would you recommend?

14. What is networking? What it isn’t
Meeting one-off contacts who get you something
A drawer full of business cards
Making direct approaches with a request for jobs
What it is
Building strong, lasting relationships
Using existing skills in focused way
Making the most of arranged and chance meetings
Following up your contacts
Being prepared to play the long game

15. Definition of networking?
Networking is building and developing mutually beneficial relationships

16. How to behave in networking situations
If you arrived with someone, split up
Introduce yourself
Be aware of your body language
Move around the room
Be prepared to remember names
Start with positive subjects
Ask questions to show a keen interest
Gather positive information about individuals that you can bring back into a conversation later
Be prepared to make personal disclosures
Be prepared to introduce others and broker connections
Use a clear and short statement to close the conversation, agreeing any follow-up
Visa questions???
LISTEN

17. Career networking in the virtual community
Key components include blogs, online forums/chat-rooms, social networking websites and business/professional websites
Fundamental difference from face-to-face networking is that social networking allows you to stay on periphery, observing discussion and transactions

18. Top Tips!
Preparation
First Impressions
Introduction
Business Cards
Be positive
Build relationships
Look for opportunities
Remember
Maintain your network

19. Elevator Pitch: What message do you want to convey?
You have 5 minutes to work on a pitch to a potential employer
Write a few sentences that cover current situation, key words to describe you and what you are planning to do.

20. Elevator Pitch example:
Hello, my name is Lucy and I’m a master’s student. I work part time as a brand ambassador for a graduate recruiter and have recently run a successful social media campaign which increased traffic to the recruiter’s website. I love digital communication and have read a lot about your recent campaigns using on-line games. I’ve come to talk to you today to find out if my online skills are what you’re looking for and what else I could be doing to boost my application.

21. Next steps What actions are you going to take after today?
Research companies you want to meet at the Fairs
Connect with Careers Network on LinkedIn and Twitter
Find out what is happening in your School and College to help you move ahead with your career plan
Do you have further questions? Ask us your questions on LinkedIn, book a one-to-one guidance session or speak to our Careers Network staff at the Fairs
Remember to do more work on your career action plan

22. Connect and stay informed
Linked in for UoBMasters students bit.ly/uob-pgt
LinkedIn for UoB international studentshttp://
Subscribe to Careers Network and College newsletters and Canvas
International Students’ Careers Canvas course.

23. Key events this autumn
‘Kick Start Your Career’ Careers Network Showcase - 5th October, 12pm – 3pm, Great Hall
Autumn Careers Fair- 12th & 13th October, Great Hall
Science, Engineering & Technology Fair – 19th October
Business, Finance & Consultancy Fair – 2nd November
Law Fair – 9th November
Virtual Global Fair- March 2017
See our full event listings at intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers/events
Kick Start Your Career’ Careers Network Showcase: come along and see how we can help!

24. Workshops for international students
How to start job hunting (17 Oct.)
Networking skills (24 Oct.)
How to apply for internships (31 Oct.)
Working in UK after your studies (7 Nov, 2pm)
Preparing for interviews
Assessment Centre/ online test preparation
Mondays, Harvey Milk Room, Guild usually 1pm:
Workshop series just for international students

25. To access Passport Career for the first time:
You may be seeking a job, internship, or simply looking to explore opportunities in other countries. For these and other global career interests, the system provides extensive resources, guidance, strategies and tools to help you make your career move to 81 countries.
To access Passport Career for the first time:
Go to
Click on ‘Have a Registration Key?’ (upper right corner of the homepage)
Enter the following registration key: ubbus678 (all lowercase)
Fill out the brief registration form.
Use your /password to login in the future.