About to graduate or want to get a head start for next year?

Worried about your job prospects? Thinking what options are open to you? Need advice on how to get a job? Then Summer Careers Events 2012 is for you!

The sun may not be shining yet, but we have organised a programme of events to get your career off to a bright start.

Graduating and not yet found a job or postgraduate course?

Come along to the Graduate Recruitment Fair in Manchester on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 June 2012, 10.30am – 4.00pm at The Armitage Centre, Fallowfield, Manchester, and get your first step on the career ladder.

There are hundreds of graduate jobs (permanent paid and voluntary) and some postgrad course places available. These include both local and national vacancies and are in a variety of sectors- so there’s something for everyone!

Don’t just take our word for it- Tommy (who graduated last year) gained a job from the fair:

Step Up and Stand Out! Employability Development Fair

Wednesday 2^nd May, 12pm – 4pm, Alan Turing Building

Sign up here

With over 20% of graduates unemployed, this event will give you the opportunity to find out more about what you can do to make yourselves more employable and to develop those skills required to secure a job once you have finished your studies and help you stand out from the crowd!

Organised by students, (the majority of us are third years) for students, this event will highlight the importance of extra-curricular activities and give you the opportunity to attend presentations, interactive workshops and speak directly to experts who will be able to help and advise you how to develop those all-important skills.

Hear from representatives from the Careers Service, including talks on Volunteering and Internships, as well as hearing from the employers’ perspective along with the chance to speak to volunteering specialists from Manchester City Council and Student Action. The interactive workshops will help you identify the skills you already have and those you need to develop.

Graduate Entry into Medicine Slidecast

Find out all you need to know about your options, funding and applying!

‘Informal enquiries may be made to…’

A high proportion of job adverts contain the phrase ‘informal enquiries may be made to…’, but what does this mean and what should you do?

Firstly, don’t ignore it- a lot of people will ignore it, so this can be something which will make you stand out before you even send off your application!

 Here are a few more reasons why you should make an informal enquiry:

What will make my CV stand out?

If there’s one question, I get asked time and time, over and over again by students it’s ‘How do I make my CV stand out?’  It seems to be more common than ever at this time of the year, with many finalists applying for graduate jobs and others applying for summer internships or placements. 

I have (I think!) a pretty good answer for this, but rather than always taking my word for it, I thought I’d ask this question to a number of employers, I’ve met with recently, and see what they said…

 So, ‘What makes a CV stand out for you Mr/Ms graduate employer ?’ 

Careers Service over Easter – open as normal

The Careers Service is open as normal during the Easter vacation only closing for the bank holidays.

The Quick Query service for application, CV and other advice is on daily 2.30 – 4.30. Bookings are taken at the usual times – you can ring up to book a time from 9.30 or you can pop in from 9.10.

It’s normally fairly quiet during Easter vacation and onwards into the  exam period, but don’t leave booking appointments until the last minute as it can still get booked up especially if you wish to see a specific adviser.

Into Summer…

It’s often busy towards the end of May and in June as final year students prepare for the Graduate fair and make plans for the next step in their career.  We run a series of events in early June aimed at all year groups so watch out for these if you want to get a head start on preparing for the year ahead or need to catch up!  They will be advertised in Careerslink nearer the time.

Which ever year group you are in good luck with your exams, and please don’t wait to visit us until you are on the way to the station cases in hand never to return!

Still looking for an internship, work experience or a casual summer job?

… Then you might like to hear about these talk talking place in the next couple of weeks. Sign up on CareersLink if you are interested!

Finding summer jobs, internships & work experience 14th March 1-2pm

Summer work experience is a great way to earn money, boosts your CV, develops your skills and can help you make new career contacts.

If you haven’t yet found something to do this summer, don’t despair! There are still opportunities out there, and this session will show you where to find them…

Whether you are looking for a professional summer internship, casual vacation job, summer work abroad or a few days work shadowing, you will come away armed with useful advice and tips.

Find out more about this session and register for your place in CareersLink

Work experience & internship Application and Interview Masterclass 21st Mar 1-3pm

If you are applying for internships, placements or work experience, then give yourself the edge with this hands on workshop. The session is designed to show you how to:

• Understand what employers want
• Identify what you have to offer (even without previous work experience)
• Build a great CV
• Show you are the right person for the job
• Handle tricky interview questions 

Please bring your existing CV to this session as you will use it as a basis to build from. This will be an interactive workshop and you will have the chance to have a mini mock interview, so be prepared to get involved, it will be fun!

Find out more about this session and register for your place in CareersLink

Is your CV good, bad or indifferent?

We are doing some research into what help and resources people use when writing a CV.

Tell us about what you have used – what you thought about it, and how we could improve it.

Please fill in this short survey  
As a little incentive we have a £20 Amazon voucher prize draw.

(Please note this survey is for University of Manchester students and graduates only)

 

Handling Volunteer Interviews

I decided to begin applying for summer volunteer jobs early, before I would go back to my regular university and job routine for the second semester. I have now got a volunteer interview in London next week and am brought back to the memory of my first interview for my current volunteer job in Manchester. Firstly, when they say ‘please come to our offices for a short and informal interview,’ it is likely to not be short and there still remains the formality associated with meeting new colleagues. The best advice I can give is to be prepared, regardless of the situation presented: