The hunt for a part-time job

Adam Coombs, student blogger

It finally hits you. Your student loan is not going to be enough to sustain your wild life of parties anymore. Well, maybe if you cut out food and decide that alcohol is more important than the rent, but most sane people would either cut back on going out or do what I’ve been doing for the past month or so. And that is to try and find a part-time job in recession-struck Britain.

Graduate scheme closing dates – 2009/10

Final year students I see here often ask how they can find out the closing dates for grad schemes starting next September.  The 500 full-time graduate vacancies (at the last count) on the Careers Service website are helpfully sorted by application deadline, but not all graduate scheme listings are so user friendly.  So my colleague Jenny, who also writes for this blog, has pored painstakingly through two of the main graduate recruitment directories – the GET Directory and the Prospects Directory – to produce a Calendar of Graduate Scheme Closing Dates for 2009/10.

‘Describe a time when you had to fill in an online application form…’

Angela Wipperman – student blogger

After mammoth amounts of procrastination, I finally took the decision to begin my graduate scheme applications this month. There is something very imposing about an application form. It is a clerical mountain – the last thing you want to do is begin the long and torturous ascent but once it’s complete you feel quite good, actually.

I drew up a  modest list of 25 companies to which I will be applying. I have found that with most of these application forms, done one, done them all. Over the last couple of weeks, and the last twelve forms, I have identified a few useful rules to approaching an online application form.

Beat the rush for CV and application advice!

If you are in Manchester now and think you are going to need some help with applying for jobs then don’t wait  – do it now! 

Experience tells us that in a couple of weeks people will be queuing up for applications advice.  If you can make it in now you will save yourself time and have a nice smug feeling when you see everyone else queuing later on.

Every day we run a drop in session – where you can book a 15 minute 1-1 with an adviser to help you tailor your first CV, make the best of applications or ask quick career related questions. 

So if you are applying for a job or course and need a bit of help:

• Read the appropriate information on our website
• Think carefully about the skills and experience required for the job.
• Use the tips and methods described to help you tailor your application so that the employer can easily see why they should employ you.
• Use the Quick Query drop in session to help you make any final alterations before you send it off.

If you are not in Manchester yet don’t worry – although it will be busy we will be providing extra advice on applications via talks, workshops and live guidance.

Closing dates – not always what they seem!

We have had reports from students and recruiters that by the closing date some graduate schemes are already full.  Thus those that apply later on may not be considered.

Tailoring your CV

If you’ve ever had your CV looked at during a quick query drop in session here at the careers service, you’ll probably know that first question we usually ask is ‘what are you using this CV for?’.  To some, this may seem like a stupid question – I mean, the obvious answer is ‘jobs’ right?  Well, it’s not quite that simple…

Making the most of your summer experience

OK so maybe I’ve mis-sold it with ‘making the most of your summer experience’! I’m not going to tell you 10 things you must do before the summer is over (I’d love to but think that might be deemed as procrastination). Hopefully this short blog piece will help you to try to make the most of what you’ve done in terms of future applications.

Getting a job in a recession – feedback from employers

Even though we are in a recession there are still jobs out there.

There seems to be a somewhat convenient urban myth going round that there are no jobs so you might as well not bother looking or applying – just give up and go travelling. Check out the article in The Times: There are still 10,000 reasons for graduates to get out of bed.

Application tips from graduate recruiters…

An event last week for careers advisers focused on careers that Humanities graduates go into.  The clear message is that 70 per cent of graduate vacancies are open to any degree subject so there are lots of opportunities to apply for.   While those with a Humanities degree may need to dig a little deeper to make the connection between what they’ve studied and what they’re applying for, it can be done.  For instance, critical awareness and the ability to assimilate a lot of information quickly are just two of relevant skills you’re likely to have developed during your degree.  A particularly sought after skill, particularly in the current economic climate, is the ability to problem solve. 

Common application mistakes

…. A Guide from the ruthless recruiter

Don’t make it easy for me to put you in the reject pile, if you are going to apply for a job put the effort in to do it well or don’t waste my time!

Do – include your personal details. Even if your application is wonderful, it’s no good if they can’t contact you.

Do – make sure that you refer to the correct job role at the correct organisation. The reader will be instantly put off if they think you can’t be bothered to get the basics right.

Put enough stamps on to pay for the postage! Letters that don’t have sufficient postage on them are kept at the sorting office. An employer is unlikely to pay for the postage plus the admin charge to get it redelivered.

Check your spelling. It’s just careless and is especially inappropriate if the job calls for written skills and attention to detail.