For non University readers

Having analysed the viewing statistics on this blog I recognise that nearly a third of visitors are external to Royal Holloway, University of London.  We have had over 16,000 hits in the past few months of which over 70% have originated from the campus network.

The end of the academic year

For undergraduates, this is the end of the academic year.

Over the past year we have run a comprehensive set of events for international students including over 20 specialist seminars and workshops on immigration, job hunting in the UK, finding jobs in China and India, remote networking, career options for Psychology students and UK CV styles.  Compared with comparable institutions, Royal Holloway is very much leading the way in careers support for international students. If I may say so myself!

Who do you follow?

Already hundreds of students are following The Careers Group on Twitter. For the latest graduate vacancies you can follow JobOnline, for careers news you can follow The Careers Group and the Guardian London Graduate Recruitment Far from The Careers Group is also twittering!

Royal Holloway Careers Service has also joined twitter but we haven’t started updating – yet! Have a look at us on twitter here.

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Careers in international development

International Development is a growing sector that employs a wide range of people around the globe. This one day introductory course will set out clearly how the sector is structured, the different entry roles available and the combination of qualifications, skills and experience needed to get into international development.

Wanting the City life?

Reminder! If you want to attend The City Course you must get your applications in by June 11!

The City Course

14 – 18 September 2009
Closing Date: Thursday 11 June 2009

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The City Course is a five-day non-residential course guaranteed to give you an insider’s perspective on a career in the City.

For an entire week, top financial firms will open their doors to you. Through a series of in-house workshops, case studies, presentations and discussions, you’ll get an up-close-and-personal insight on working life in London’s financial centre. You’ll start early, work hard, and come away with a detailed understanding of how the City works.

Like film? Win cinema tickets!

As the international student careers programme draws to a close (its ok, we have some fabulous events planned for post-finals!) we want your feedback on what was useful and what wasn’t.  The online suvey has twenty questions and will take about five minutes to complete.

Why Commercial Awareness is so valuable

OK, so you’ve heard the term “Commercial Awareness”. You may have seen it on some employer websites. But what exactly do they mean? Well, shockingly, the clue is in the name! It is certainly about your awareness or understanding of the commercial world. But I would extend that further and suggest it is more about your awareness of the commercial world and the specific market in which the organisation operates. This wider definition can also include organisations that do not operate on a commercial basis. For example, if you want to work as a scientist you will need to know your area of expertise as well as the issues and environment your employers would work in.

Thinking of undertaking a Research Degree?

In Britain there are two types of post-graduate course. The main one is a taught Masters programme. This is similar to undergraduate tuition but will usually have a signficant independent research compenent. The other is a Research Masters. These arise accross most disciplines but are often associated mainly with science related degrees. The research masters does not include a significant taught element but relies on the student undertaking independent research.

Choosing a research masters route can be difficult. Our colleague Terry Jones is a specialist in working with postgraduate students . He has recorded a podcast of him in coversation with information officer Helen Curry about common questions such as deciding on a project, supervisor or university. The podcast is 17mins long and can be downloaded here.  Other podcasts are available here.  Thanks to Off the Shelves for highlighting these resources.  To find out about postgraduate options within the University of London click here.

Target China

I recently attended Target China, a forum run by UCL Careers Service for Chinese students seeking work back home in China. The event is specifically for UCL students so I was not able to publicise it earlier. Congratulations to the UCL careers service for putting on a very well co-ordinated event even down to having traditional erhu music on arrival!

Of the employers who attended, some were law firms that might be of interest to Royal Holloway students considering converting to a law career after graduation. They were Mayer Brown,  Linklaters and BDO Stoy Hayward who offer a variety of opportunities for graduates.

Consultancies represented included PWC and Harvey Best who were detailing their operations in China, Hong Kong and India.  For IT and business students, IBM spoke about their international graduate programme based in the UK.

For students returning back to China or Hong Kong the message from employers was clear – make sure you have the right skills for the job and that your command of Mandarin, Cantonese and English, where appropriate,are of professional standard.

The event was recorded for future podcasting. I will publish details of this when I have them.

Careers in the Charity Sector

Charities aren't just about fundraising

The UK’s voluntary sector is huge (employing around 500,000 people) and growing faster than many industries. ‘Charities’ range from tiny self-help groups through to multi-million pound organisations employing hundreds of staff and seeking all the graduate skills needed in any large company. Charities might be concerned with children, animals, cultural heritage, medical research, politics, social deprivation, and many, many other areas.  The sector is also known as the “Third Sector”.

International students may need to emphasise that the Post Study Work visa allows them to work in the UK without the charity having to apply for a permit.

There are many different career paths in the sector: campaigning, fundraising, policy-making and lobbying, research, marketing and PR, administration and project management.  For more information about these different roles click here

If you are interested in working in the sector you may have to work unpaid for a while.  Charities rely on volunteers and often you can volunteer in specific departments to benefit you and the charity.  The Guardian newspaper has an excellent article about breaking into jobs in the Third Sector here.

Charity jobs are advertised in The Guardian, the JobOnline website and on various  such as Third Sector jobs , NCVO and charityjob – even on Facebook! There are also specialist recruitment agencies that recruit into the charity sector.

The Careers Group organises a one-day event for those wanting to find out more about careers in the third sector. The next Careers in Charity is scheduled for 2nd March 2009 and details will be posted on this blog closer to the time. To see details of last year’s event click here.