London AlumniCareers Workshop;Get your foot in the door 2016

We will focus on 4 top tips to give you the competitive edge:

4. Developing your confidence - Understanding your skills & strengths - Developing effective marketing materials

3. Ability to network &build your contacts

2. Optimistic thinking patterns

1. Goal setting with realistic expectations

Get your foot in the door…

What is resilience?

“The ability to persevere and adapt” (Reivich, 2002)

“The ability to successfully cope with change” (Wagnild and Young, 1993)

“Turning disruptive changes and conflicts from potential disasters into growth opportunities.” (Maddi and Khoshaba, 2005)

How can resilience enhance your prospects?

The inevitability of failure…

How can resilience enhance your prospects?

The death of the corporate ladder…

How can resilience enhance your prospects?

The fast pace of

technology…

People with Resilience…

Feel a real sense of energy and engagement

Lose a sense of time because of being so engrossed in a task;

Learn new information and approaches

quicker

Demonstrate high levels of performance

Are drawn to do things that play to their strengths – even when tired, stressed or disengaged.

Benefits of career resilience to employers…

Employers expect you to have it already

Workplaces can be challenging environments, especially medicine

Some people can be very hard to work with

You need to be able to learn from all experiences, including

negative ones You will fail or make a mistake at

some point

Identify your skills & strengths…

11

‘It is probably true that we spend more

time planning our annual holiday than

we spend planning a career which

matches our skills, personality profile,

and aspirations’

John Lees - Career Coach

If you have no idea what you want to have a go on Prospects planner, this matches your skills and interests to job roles:https://www.prospects.ac.uk/planner

You can also have a look at job options directly related to your degree (but don’t forget 70% of jobs are open to graduates with any degree, this includes business and finance):

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree

If you have an idea but don’t know how to get there look for information on specific jobs (including salary, where to look for vacancies:

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles

Develop effective marketing materials…

Typical Chronological CV layout

1. Personal details

2. Profile/Career objective

3. Education

4. Experience/employment

(Can separate into ‘relevant’ & ‘other’)

5. Additional Information

(IT Skills, languages, certificates)

6. Interests

7. References

Profile

Bristol University graduate with good communication and organisation skills. Also very much a team player who is self-motivated, and ambitious with excellent time management.

An enthusiastic and capable Bristol University graduate with excellent communication and social media skills, now looking for an opportunity to develop a career in the marketing sector.

Education and QualificationsSept 2005-July 2011 Ralph Allen School, Bath

GCSE Maths A

GCSE English Literature A*

GCSE English Language A*

GCSE History A

GCSE Geography A

GCSE French A

GCSE Biology A

GCSE Spanish A

GCSE Double Science A

GCSE Religious Studies B

GCSE Music B

Sept 2011-July 2013 City of Bath College, Bath

A' Level English (A*)

A’Level History (A)

A’Level Psychology (A)

Sept 2012 AS Level: Geography (B)

Sept 2013-July 2016 Bristol University

BSc Chemistry

Education and Qualifications

Sept 2013-July 2016 Bristol University

BSc Chemistry

Relevant modules include ….

Developed knowledge of ….

Gained specific skills in ….

Second year project explored…

Sept 2011-July 2013 City of Bath College, Bath

A' Levels: English (A*) History (A) Psychology (A)

AS Level: Geography (B)

Sept 2005-July 2011 Ralph Allen School, Bath

GCSEs: 8, A*-B, including Maths and English

Relevance of work experience

June 13- Present Sales Assistant TescoShelf stacking, working on the till, serving customers, tidying the displays

June 13- Present Sales Assistant Tesco• Flexible and adaptable approach when working as part of a team.• Developed excellent communication skills when dealing with customer issues and complaints. • Driven approach to ensure daily duties and targets were met.• Proven ability to stay calm under pressure during busy periods.• Organised approach when training new members of staff.• Demonstrated an enthusiastic and motivated approach at all times.

Use the person specification…Frazer-Nash Consultancy - ROLE: Commercial Contracts Consultant

Location: Dorking / Closing date: January 2016

Frazer-Nash is a multi disciplinary engineering consultancy that excels at solving some of today's most complex challenges in engineering. Frazer-Nash has an exciting opportunity for someone with a law degree looking for a career in commercial contracts.

What the job will involve

Ensuring database of final contracts are kept up to date which will involve liaising across the business spectrum.

Checking list of government clauses are up to date and maintain up to date copies in file.

Keep abreast with company insurance and liaise with our insurance brokers where necessary.

The role for the right candidate will allow progression to a junior commercial contracts position subject to training and support. This will involve reviewing a range of varying and sometimes complex contracts across our market sectors.

What we are looking for:

Good communication skills, Attention to detail, Highly organised and able to prioritise own workload, Resilient under pressure., Team player, Proficient with Microsoft Office

Please send covering letter and CV to: cv@fnc.co.uk care of Rosie Hewitt. Closing date Jan 2016

Candidate Criteria from Job Description & Person Specification Comments Score

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Bill Giles

Barbara Norman

Danica Peters

June Evans

Jane Humphrey

Your name

Elizabeth Jones

Sii Ting

Robert James

Maria Garcia

John Hall

Ian Peterson

Joan Goodall

Wendy Roberts

Dimitra Lea

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Invite to interview

Invite to interview

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Invite to interview

Invite to interview

Use these power words and phrases…

Utilise & grow your network…

Adverts/

Websites

RecruitmentAgencies

ProfessionalOrganisations

Networking/Word of mouth

Contacts from existing employees

Internal promotion or lateral move

Employers hire

in this direction

MOST people

start looking for

jobs in this

direction

Accessing the hidden job market…

• Use your networks – friends, family, destinations of previous graduates from your course, Gain work experience and/or shadowing

• Make speculative letters particularly to SMEs

• Research employers thoroughly

• Use social media

• Request informational interviews

I’m exploring my options after I leave Bristol University and really want to learn more about account planning versus account management in advertising agencies. Would you have time to give me some advice about entry level roles in this area?’

Making initial contact…

‘I’m exploring my options after I leave Bristol University and want to learn more about XX industry/sector. Would you be able to give me some advice about X or Y? Is there anyone you know doing this type of work?’

Information Interviews…Questions to ask…

How long have you been doing the job?

How did you get started?

What does your job involves? What do you do on a day to

day basis?

Do employers in this field look for

particular skills or experience?

How would you describe the culture

of your organisation?

How is the sector changing? What are new and expanding

opportunities?

What are some of the challenges that the sector faces?

Develop your elevator pitch…

Optimistic thinking patterns …

THE FIXED-MINDSET says “Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have the talent.”

THE GROWTH-MINDSET answers, “I’m not sure I can do it now, but I think I can learn to with time and effort.”

FIXED MINDSET: “What if you fail—you’ll be a failure”

GROWTH MINDSET: “Most successful people had failures along the way.”

FIXED MINDSET: “If you don’t try, you can protect yourself from failure’

GROWTH MINDSET: “If I don’t try, I automatically fail.”

Planned happenstance…

Goal setting with realistic expectations…

As a result of this session you have learnt how to:

Identify and your skills & strengths

Develop effective marketing materials

Build and utilise your contacts

Think positively Identified one SMART Goal

Get your foot in the door…

0117 928 8221 www.Bristol.ac.uk/careers

Further support…

RESEARCHER DEVELOPMENT

www.exeter.ac.uk/as/rdp/

Thankyou for listening!