This blog is written for international students studying at Royal Holloway, University of London. The blog is written by Andrew Falconer, International Student Careers Adviser with contributions from other careers professionals.
Speculative articles for publication are welcome.
GradMalaysia.com has just launched its first guide to the top 100 recruiters in Malaysia. The guide is similar to some of the employer directories we hold in the careers service but is also based on the results of a student survey. They are currently undertaking the survey for next year’s guide. The book gives you an overview of what it is like to work for a company, what they offer and the business areas they work in.
Guides like these are useful in that they can give ideas of potential employers. However they tend to focus on those companies with highly funded marketing and recruitment teams and perceptions can be a bit different from reality.
The whole guide is available online here. To influence next years guide with a chance to win some money, click here.
Congratulations to all students who have succesfully passed through the Zara (China) recruitment process and been offered positions for when they graduate. If you are not sure whether you should accept the offer I suggest you come into the careers centre to discuss your options.
Zara were very impressed with the quality of Royal Holloway candidates in general and we hope there will be further recruitment from the college next year.
For those candidates who were not succesful, I suggest you contact Stanley directly to get some feedback from your interview performance. The careers centre can give you one-to-one interview coaching for next time. Drop in and see us – we are open over Easter but click here to see our times.
Last term this blog looked at how the global recession is affecting job prospects in India. Of course such information becomes out of date very quickly as the financial crises deepens. The recent “Get the Job in India” workshop held by the careers centre saw mixed reviews of the impact of the recession. There was a general feeling that India is escaping most of the negative effects but an awareness too that the graduate market is more difficult than before. This blog will continue to consider the labour market in India and other countries in updates to articles. Read the rest of this entry »
Employers still recruiting on campus so don’t panic or opt out
The media headlines are concentrating on pockets of bad news, giving an unbalanced view of the whole graduate labour market. RHUL graduates have always moved on to many different careers and the Careers Service is still receiving phone calls from employers targeting RHUL graduates.
Downturns are times for organisations and individuals to think creatively. Maybe your first choice of employer has filled all their vacancies, but there are a lot of other employers out there. Graduates often pick employers for the glamour factor. Maybe now is a time to research a little more deeply and discover an equally rewarding Plan B. What you need is accurate information of what employers are doing and thinking now and the best way of doing that is to talk to them directly. From February onwards 13 employers have booked to give presentation slots on campus. And there are lots of alumni returning to campus to give you the benefit of their experience. Alumni events are scheduled for Modern Languages, Politics and Geography finishing with the Creative Careers Event for any discipline. For full details see the programme on www.rhul.ac.uk/careers
Another way to improve your chances is to hone your job hunting skills. Employers tell us they are receiving more applications but many of them are weak: unfocused and lacking in evidence. Good, targeted applications still stand out. How to raise your game? The Careers Service provides a whole range of coaching resources – seminars, CV and interview guides and individual feedback. We look forward to seeing you in the Careers Centre in the Horton Building. We’re here to support you – whatever the market.
Assessment Centres are a typical part of the graduate recruitment process. Some international students may not be aware of what they are and how they work and so can feel disadvantaged when attending one.
The typical application process for a Graduate Training Scheme would be: Online Application Form, Online Psychometric Tests, telephone interview, assessment centre, final interview followed by the job offer. As you can see it can be a lengthy process with each element being crucial to the overall application. Not all companies run this process and many will not include the telephone interview but rather have the first interview at the assessment centre.
Employers like assessment centres because they believe they can assess the practical skills required to do the job whilst giving candidates the opportunity to show their strengths. Employers believe assessment centres can help to remove bias in the selection process. Another benefit is that they can compare candidates with each other more easily.
The criteria you are assessed on should be the same core competencies that were covered when you applied for the job. Assessors will use a table to score you on each of those competencies. But they are also looking as you, how will you fit into their company, how capable are you of presenting a professional image to clients and external stakeholders?
You should attend the Assessment Centre wearing smart business attire – and that means well polished shoes too! Remember, you want to act professional so the employers can visualise you in their workplace.
So what happens at the Assessment Centre?
This really does depend on the company or organisation you are applying to. Most Assessment Centres take place in corporate offices or hotels and usually last a whole day, some may be over two days (e.g. some investment banks, JWT). The centre is often the first time that the company sees you so it is essential to make the right impression. You will attend the centre with other candidates and that can be intimidating for some people. You should bear in mind that you may not be competing with the other candidates because they might be applying for slightly different roles or locations. Throughout the day the staff should make you feel at ease and you will have regular refreshments and usually lunch provided. Remember that whilst these breaks aren’t assessed they do present the employers with an idea of how the candidate behaves so remember to be nice and sociable with staff and other candidates!
A good recent account of a candidate attending the Ernst & Young assessment centre can be found on Wikijob.
The centre will run several exercises and the staff will assess each candidate based on their performance. You may also be asked to do further psychometric tests – companies do this to verify your performance in the online tests. Some employers will only re-run the psychometric tests on a selection of candidates as a sample of overall reliability.
Typical exercises include delivering presentations, business games, in-tray (or e-tray) and group exercises.
We are running a couple of lunchtime workshops to give you hands-on experience of some of these tests:
In-Tray Exercises – Tuesday December 2, 1.00pm Careers Centre
Group Exercises – Wednesday December 3, 1.00pm Careers Centre
You do not need to book – just turn up!
I will post articles on this blog afterwards to give an overview on Assessment Centre technique.
The Careers Centre has a lot of very good resources to help you prepare for an Assessment Centre. These include DVDs and well researched guides to different elements of the process. Drop in to find out more.
I was speaking with an international student recently who had been disappointed that Grant Thornton were unable to recruit students who required a work permit.
Many employers many not have reconsidered the increased potential of candidates taking advantage of the Tier 1 – Post Study Work visa. This visa allows students to stay in the Uk and work for up to two years after graduation. The evidence from recent recruitment fairs is that more companies are willing to take international students and that the two-year scheme makes opportunities more viable than the previous visa scheme (International Graduates Scheme) which only allowed for one year. For example, Enterprise Rent-a-car, the UK’s largest graduate recruiter, now accepts applications from international students on a post-study work visa.
But the reality is that some companies will not recruit international students. Where possible it is best to ask the employer before completing an application form. Applying to companies that do not recruit international students is a waste of time – they won’t change their mind even if your application is sparkling!
So you need to find out who will recruit you. Royal Holloway has a comprehensive database of employers who recruit international students – and we keep adding to it whenever we have new information. It isn’t 100% reliable because company positions change but it is a good starting point.
The database is a horrible Excel spreadsheet but we have tried to make it as user-friendly as possible.
It is organised into different pages (worksheets) covering Advertising & Media, Banking & Finance (also IT), Physical Resources, Retail & Production, Property & Construction. We have provided links to company websites where possible.
The database can be accessed here and is a permanent link on the “Blogroll” on this blog.
If you want to add to the database or find wrong information, email here. Please also use the comments tag to share your experiences of applying to UK companies. Have you been experienced companies that have a policy against recruiting international students? Have you found a better or different source of companies that do recruit? Is there a sector that you feel is more prone to not accepting such applications? Use the comments tag to tell us!
This session is aimed at 1st year undergrad students from China.
The skills agenda is increasingly important in China. Employers based in China are expressing concerns that job applicants do not have the right skills for careers in an international business economy. The purpose of this session is to explain what this means for current undergraduates and how to make sure they have the right skills to impress employers back in China.
More information on the China Talent Paradox. You are not expected to have read this before today’s session! Information on Hai gui or Hai Dai is available here.
This is the second of the short series on how the recession is affecting graduate prospects around the world. The first considered opportunities for international students who wished to work in the UK. Please do leave comments and share your experiences or concerns.
Dubai
Middle-East and North Africa (MENA)
The Middle-East has, so far, largely escaped the turbulence of markets around the world. Investment is increasing and employment prospects remain high. The increased price of oil has ramifications across many sectors including legal, finance, logistics, engineering, property and of course the job market. For example, it is expected that last year’s near 8% growth in employment in UAE will continue to grow despite the forecast elsewhere. Omar Bouhadiba, executive vice-president of Mashreqbank said “Times are good for everyone in this part of the world.”
But even in the Middle-East things aren’t quite as good as they have been. It has become more of an employer’s market – that is when the number of vacancies is significantly less than the number of applicants. Employers and their representatives can become more selective.
Banking and Finance:
Wide-scale job losses that are occurring in other parts of the world are having limited effect on MENA. Equity markets in in Dubai, Doha and Saudi Arabia have certainly been hit but not at the same dramatic level that has occurred in other countries However the closure of Lehman Brothers globally has resulted in short term temporary job losses. The expected job cuts at HSBC will concentrate on the UK and US offices and should have little effect in the Middle East. Banks that are suffering in their own domestic markets are turning to the Middle East to generate increased revenues.
Consultancy is still a strong profession. PWC, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Deloitte are all advertising positions in the middle-east. There may be a possibility of working in the UK with one of these firms before moving overseas but candidates have found that, by applying to their home regions first, their chances of success improve.
The Gulf Times have reported that the Royal Bank of Scotland has already incorporated ABN AMRO’s operations in the Gulf and is looking to expand into other key business areas. It will also develop it’s first Islamic product range. Such expansion will be phased and suggests employment scope for new graduates in key fields such as wealth management and investment banking.
The financial sector is connected by the vital web of information services. With growth within the sector there is growth within information service providers. Bloomberg have a consistent recruitment for Arabic speakers to be based around the world but particularly in MENA. For other IT, Microsoft are actively recruiting in North Africa and Kadi Arabia have several positions based in Egypt.
Legal Services
The high oil revenues and continued investment in MENA have provided increased opportunities for Private Equity lawyers as well as oil and gas commercial solicitors. For those working in the energy sector the rewards can be considerably higher than for solicitors working in financial services. The Dubai Corporate Counsel Group indicate that the top level solicitors in the energy sector earn $400,000 p.a. compared to $270,000 in the financial sector. England and Welsh legal qualifications lead to earnings second only to those with USA qualifications. Scotland has its own legal system and those qualified in Scotland may need further training and qualifications before working in the Middle-East.
Law firms that are currently expanding in the Middle-East include Latham & Watkins, Norton Rose, Clifford Chance and Dewey & LeBoeuf. Positions are advertised locally but are often available through international recruitment companies. Legalweek.com has a range of positions on offer and some useful links to recruitment companies.
Real Estate
Property continues to be big business in the middle east. A study by Jones Lang LaSalle researched opinions from over 350 developers and property investment businesses with over 50% of respondents believing that the middle-East market will outperform other regions over the next two years. However there should be a note of caution. Funding for real-estate investments is being limited by banks and that will effect the market.
Roles are varied and include requirements for marketing and sales executives, architectural, engineering and surveying professions, financial and acquisitions consultants. A range of roles can be viewed here
Where can I start looking?
My favourite jobs sites are Naukri and GulfTalent because they are so easily searched by region and profession. UAEGraduate is a useful if somewhat less intuitive site for jobs. Less specific jobs websites like Total Jobs sometimes have useful vacancy information for graduates – well worth a look.
We see many students at the careers service who do not know what they want to do when they graduate. If you are like that you are definitely not alone! Some are scared by competitive jobs but others genuinely do not have a sense of direction. This is what makes a careers service different from an employment agency – we are trained to help students identify career paths. Even the more vocational courses at Royal Holloway have students who aren’t so convinced they want a dream job in the City or in marketing. Maybe they want to organise music gigs? We can help with that too.
We have a “Choosing a Career” session today at 2.00pm in the careers centre for those who are unsure about the first steps in deciding their career. These sessions aren’t run very often and are extremely useful for some students. It is fun and interactive and may just give you some ideas as to what might come next. You don’t need to book – just turn up at 2.00pm.
If you cannot make this session we have lots of other ways to help. You can book to see a careers adviser and have a chat about your options. We also have our own online career management software that some students have found really helpful.
In the careers centre we have a range of books about career choice that should help too. For example, Dude Where’s My Career. Traditional careers guides are pitched at motivated old jobseekers, whereas this is the first really helpful handbook for the real-life graduate who’s unprepared, uninspired, overwhelmed – and losing confidence fast. Sections include: Myth-busting (the 10 biggest secrets about life after graduation), The Three Day Plan (to clarify your job-hunt goals), Alternatives to the Job-Hunt (when to go travelling, sign up for further study or do work experience) and Rescue Remedies (how to stay motivated during your job-hunt). Have a look at a copy in the careers centre or buy a copy here.
The high profile Royal Holloway Careers Fair will open its doors at 11am in the Picture Gallery.Remember that employers are generally here to “sell” one or two career paths but that does not mean that there are no other careers available – for example, PWC recruits for accountancy but they also need IT professionals, human resources etc – ask them! Also remember to try to get their business card because if you do apply to them in the future, it might be useful to mention you have met them. For more information on how to make the most out of careers fairs click here.
Not all employers will recruit international students. A list of employers recruiting international students can be found here - bear in mind that this is accurate as we can make it but if you find different information please let us know!
Organisations attending today who have confirmed they are recruiting international students are: Proctor & Gamble, JPMorgan, Tessella, Enterprise Rent-a-car, NDS, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Logica, Research in Motion, Jacobs, Deloitte, Ernst & Young. Some of these companies may only take students at certain levels or on certain types of permits – or potential to achieve them. Others have not confirmed and may be worth speaking to directly.
You can view videos from employers attending today by clicking here.
