September 2005 by Real World

+P + O FI

ST NA GR N AD CE ST UD Y

Career Advice * Inspiration * Jobs * Grad News * Your Future www.realworldmagazine.com

September 2005 Free to Students

CV Clinic How to sell yourself on paper

Sexy Skills

What do employers want?

What shall I do with my life? Our must-read guide to choosing a career

Focus on Careers in

Finance Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to cash in

Get moving! 5 strategies to kick-start your job hunt

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You’d be surprised what we get up to...

Graduate Opportunities Nationwide – Autumn 2006 You’d probably expect to go through exams when you come to PwC. What you may not realise is the amount of training and development we provide after you’ve qualified. You could specialise in a particular field such as banking, telecoms, consumer products – or agriculture. You could even choose to work overseas. Whatever route you take, we take a great deal of pride in the support we’ll provide. In fact, helping our people enhance their skills all the way through their career is one of our highest priorities. And that’s not the only surprise you’ll find here. Another big surprise is that careers at PwC are about much more than simply number-crunching. Whether we’re auditing a company’s financial results, identifying the commercial risks they face, helping with tax planning or assessing the implications of strategic business decisions – it’s about getting beneath the skin of other organisations*.

So wherever you join us, you’ll be dealing directly with clients right from the start, while working towards a professional qualification. And since the challenges we face span virtually every industry sector, the depth and breadth of experience you’ll gain will equip you for an exciting career in whichever field you choose. Even more surprising, you don’t need a business or finance degree to join us. Yes, you’ve got to be comfortable dealing with numbers and you must have a strong academic record. But the subject of your degree is less important than your willingness to contribute and your eagerness to learn. Find out more at www.pwc.com/uk/careers/ Go on. Surprise yourself.

*connectedthinking © 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. “PricewaterhouseCoopers” refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (a limited liability partnership in the United Kingdom) or, as the context requires, other member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.

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What is the one thing that makes us unique?

The 360° career. If there was only one thing that made an individual or an enterprise special, the world would be a very tedious place indeed. That’s why we are so committed to the idea of the 360° career. It’s not just the pace, energy and challenge of investment banking. It’s not just our prestige and position as a global leader. It’s not just the earning power or the learning opportunities. It’s not even the culture of creativity, teamwork and respect for the individual. It’s all of it – plus you.

360career.com

YO U’L L

E A RN

I T.

Aldi is not only a leading global retailer but also one of the largest privately owned companies in the world. It’s

company

where

progress

depends entirely on merit. Our people take on responsibility early, rise quickly and are rewarded well. Sounds like a dream job? For most graduates it will remain a dream because the Aldi Area Management Programme requires something special. As well as an excellent set of A-level grades or equivalent and a good degree, we want candidates who are driven, focused and have a record of achievement outside academia, who enjoy being part of a team but have the charisma to lead that team too. And who, despite having done remarkable things aren’t so sure of themselves that they can’t learn afresh. You’ll need all these qualities because the training year is a test of character. You’ll be expected to do everyone’s job; from stacking shelves, to ordering stock, to changing light bulbs. But the rewards speak for themselves; £37K plus an Audi A4, rising to £53K after three years and includes a pension, private healthcare, life assurance and five weeks’ holiday. Complete the training and as an Area Manager you’ll be running up to six stores with a level of autonomy, responsibility and financial reward you won’t find anywhere else. There are also opportunities for Area Managers to spend two years on secondment

Area Management Programme Trainee

in Europe or further afield. Within five years, there is every chance of a directorship. We don’t have any medals at Aldi. But we do recognise excellence. Need a checkout? Apply online: www.aldi-stores.co.uk or send CV and recent photograph, together with a

37K

audi a4

Area Manager in charge of six stores

53K

audi a4

Opportunity for

letter illustrating your leadership potential, directorship within 5 years quoting reference SP2EI to: Aldi Stores Ltd, Area Management Recruitment, Wellington Road,

South

Marston

Wiltshire SN3 4FN.

Park,

Swindon,

SEPTEMBER | 2005

Contents On the cover

Cover story: 8 Get Moving! Real World gives you 5 basics on making the most out of your job hunt. z

Upfront: 7 Editor’s letter. AL Emailz@realworld: Your letters. AM Soapbox: Graduate debt: Is it your fault? z AN Career coach: Will taking a gap year stop me getting the job I want?

Brainfood: AP Facts and figures about your job market. AR I'll do that job: Fancy a globe-trotting career as a holiday planner?

AS Love your careers service: Why you should get down there, pronto!

BT Competition! Do you have what it takes to be

Graduate of the Year, 2006?

BK Food for thought: Hobbies not to put on your CV; beating procrastination.

BL The hidden job market: How to find it. BM Regional focus: Is London really best for grads? RW Features: BN What shall I do with my life? At a loss what to do for the next 50 years? Join the club. Real World offers reassurance and some sound advice. z BR Class of 2006: The six final-year job hunters we will follow over the next year. Will they find a job they love? z

CT What employers will want from you: The easy-read guide to the skills you'll need to demonstrate. z CL S mall is beautiful: Real World meets the four graduate founders of Omlet, a chicken-coop business turning over more than £2 million a year.

CP CV clinic: Leeds student Benjamin Black wants to get into marketing. But is his CV up to scratch? z DT Business brainz: Thinking of studying a post grad degree? Five grads explain why they opted for a business school. z EL It’s not all about the money: The finance sector is going through an upturn so what can it offer to graduates? z

And finally: GN Alternate reality: Harry Potter applies for a job; In the next issue...

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The right platform to launch your career?

A professional qualification? Apply your degree to your job?

Earn your value in the market place?

To be mentored in your Job?

Ownership?

More than you could wish for? Knowledge Transfer Partnerships provide employment and personal development opportunities for talented graduates. Find out how Knowledge Transfer Partnerships can help you unlock your full potential. www.ktponline.org.uk/graduates Helpline: 0870 190 2829 Knowledge Transfer Partnerships A DTI Business Support Solution

EDITOR’S LETTER

At your service

his magazine will boost your employability. Short of giving you a job on a plate, we are here to give you everything you need to get ahead in the world of work. We’re aiming to give you the most useful, interesting, no-bull careers advice,

opinions and features of any careers magazine out there. Whether you want to join a fast-track scheme at a big graduate employer; work for a smaller enterprise; see the world; study some more; or run a business from your bedroom, we’re here for you.

Cover photograph by Katrina Webb

Editorial: 020 7735 2111 Editor Zoë Roberts Art Director Jennifer van Schoor Sub Editor Steve Smethurst INTERNS Shishali Meta, Keith Ruffles

SALES: 020 7735 4900 HEAD OF SALES Paul Wade SALES Josh Marshall, Harmesh Sansoa

DISTRIBUTION: 020 7735 4900 DISTRIBUTION MANAGER James Lynch

ADMIN: 020 7735 4900 OFFICE MANAGER Lauren Custance Managing Director Darius Norell Real World Magazine 22-26 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TJ Tel: Advertising 020 7735 4900 Editorial 020 7735 2111 Fax: 020 7840 0443 www.realworldmagazine.com Real World is published in the UK by Cherry Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written permission of the publishers. We cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs or for material lost or damaged in the post.

Over the next year, we’ll be talking to graduates who’ve gone into the world of work, to some of the foremost experts on job hunting and to the recruiters who’ll interview you. And we’ll be talking to you, to make sure we get to the heart of your dilemmas. Talking of dilemmas, graduate debt and the value of having a degree have been a hot topic over the summer. Much of it has descended to the usual graduate bashing. We’ve even given one of the chief complainers some space on our letters page to explain their viewpoint. Let us know what you think. But, to be honest, grizzling over whether your degree was worth it isn’t going to get you anywhere. Yes, there are more graduates now than ever before, but it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a decent job out there with your name on it. Your starting point has to be defining your own motivation. Take a look at page 24 if you are feeling career confusion and aren’t sure what you want to do with your life. Judging from the numbers of emails we receive from students who are at a loss over which career to choose, it’s a common problem. Big dilemma number two, is how to stand out from the crowd in graduate recruitment. Our cover feature, ‘Sorted’, gives you essential tips to kick-start your job hunt. We’ve taken five classic mistakes and suggested strategies to get round them. And if you’re worried that your dream job is a bit unusual, don’t worry, turn to page 31 to read about the four grads making a lucrative career out of a strange love for chickens. We’ve come over all a bit businessy in our sector focus this issue. That’s because there’s good news – the finance sector has picked up again and you’ll see the big banks recruiting again this year. The bad news is that it’s as competitive as ever. So how do you break in? We have the answer, as graduates in the industry give you the benefit of their experience, on page 52. And if you are among the one in four students considering postgraduate study, turn to page 40, as we talk to grads who opted for business school. We’re published three times this term, but check out www.realworldmagazine.com to register for advice and info straight to your inbox. In the meantime, if you’ve got any suggestions for things you’d like to see covered over the next year then get in touch. Zoë Roberts, editor zoe@realworldmagazine.com

CONTRIBUTORS

James Lynch

Shishali Mehta

A graduate of Queen Mary University of London, James has taken the honoured position of distribution manager at Real World. It’s his responsibility to make sure the magazine gets into your hands. Having done pretty much everything, everywhere, since he left uni, James will be adding to his impressive travel resume with a whistle-stop tour of universities of the UK. He'll be handing out Real World at career fairs over October and November. Be sure to stop by and say hello.

Real World intern Shishali is a recent Brunel University graduate. Having spent the past year teaching English in Japan, Shishali is now back in the UK. Following stints at a local paper and a teen magazine, she is looking to carve out a career in the UK. Not one to sit around doing nothing, Shishali’s CV covers the fact that she's managed to climb Mount Fuji, back pack around the east coast of Australia and Hong Kong, and tour through central Europe, India and Africa.

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COVERSTORY

Katrina Webb

you know f o e m o S hat you exactly w o – for want to d after uni is e others, lif heet. a blank s of you But for all denying o there’s n emplating t that con that jump o cosy bubb ut of the le education of work is bothand into and somew exciting But there a hat scary. re a number of th ings you can do to find the job you want.

Get

DON’T: Panic. Fear usually stems from two sources. First: you have no idea what you want to do, everyone else does and if you don’t sort yourself out you’ll be living at home with your parents and working in the supermarket… Second: you do know what you want to do but there’s so much competition you’re considering poisoning the uni’s beer supply to kill off your rivals. But: the majority of you will find satisfactory work. It’s not like the good old days when your degree was expected to earn you an extra £2,000 for every year of your life. But it will provide you with a good basis on which to build a satisfactory career.

weeks, students should aim to update their CV, have a go at completing a practice application form, do some research or attend a fair or an employer presentation. “It’s small things on a regular basis. It is important to prioritise and to set realistic achievable goals. You don’t have to spend six hours a week in the careers service.” Navin Patel, 21, graduated this year in project management for construction at University College London. He knows what he should have done in his final year. “I just didn’t make enough use of my time. I’ve yet to visit my careers office and wish I’d done it earlier,” he says.

DO: Strategise. Academically, the pressure is likely to be on in your last year and job hunting might seem like a tall order on top of everything else. “Your top priority is your degree, as you only get one go at it,” says Alison Bailey-Calcutt, careers adviser at Salford University. “However, I would suggest it is possible to set aside a small amount of time to meet some goals.” She says that over a period of a few

DON’T: Think further education is an easy option. A postgrad course is not a default option for delaying entry into the real world. Course fees (c. £3,000) and living costs (c. £7,000) mean it is an expensive decision that must be weighed carefully. According to surveys, about 25 per cent of you are considering postgraduate education. A postgrad degree can break you into your chosen career, or may be a prerequisite, but only if it’s the

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Moving right one. In the words of one MA student: “I thought my masters would give me a chance find out what I wanted to do. It did, but the problem was it had nothing to do with my course. Halfway through I couldn’t wait to get finished. Worst of all to get into my chosen career I need another masters in that area, which I can’t possibly afford. I wish I’d thought about it properly.” Remember that many graduate employers do not give priority to applicants with higher degrees nor pay salary premiums unless the qualification is directly relevant for a specialist role. DO: Consider the options. More of you than ever before are deferring your career choices until after graduation because of time pressures – but make sure it’s a conscious decision rather than something that just happens (see Career Coach, page 14). Remember that you won’t have access to careers services or lecturers, or might be away travelling during crucial application deadlines. You’ll also need to convince employers that the reasons why you deferred were good ones. “Employers are a lot more flexible

now and increasing numbers are starting to recruit all year round,” says Katrina Gray, careers adviser at the University of Edinburgh. But make it a decision that you have control of, she advises. “You don’t want to be forced into a gap year just because you’ve missed all the deadlines.” DON’T: Run with the herd. At the start of your last year, the temptation is to fall in with the herd and run around in a blind panic mailing CVs out right, left, and centre to the same industries that your housemates are applying to. About 0 per cent of you will achieve success applying for jobs this way. “There is a lot of peer pressure to go for the same very visible employers. There are a number of big employers who spend a lot of time promoting themselves on campus but that doesn’t mean that they have to be the ones that you will go for automatically,” says Katrina at Edinburgh. If you don’t really want the job the chances are that the employer will realise that and you’ll have wasted your time and

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COVERSTORY

their’s. Common employer complaints are: “didn’t understand the demands of the job “

Essential deadlines for your first term:

or “didn’t know what he really wanted to do”.

y Find your careers service! If you are in your second or final year, now is the time to start taking advantage of some of the facilities on offer. To get the most out of it see Brain Food (page 16)

y Check out the careers fairs: fresher or finalist careers fairs are a great way to find a bit more about what jobs are on offer. See www.careersfairs. org for details of some events near you and check www.realworldmagazine.com for up-to-date lists.

y Keep your eyes peeled at your careers service for employer presentations. October and November are when companies like to come in and talk to students about what they do.

Keep your eye on this:

y Many investment banks, management consultancies and advertising agencies close their deadlines this term.

y Law interviews for training contracts with big firms will begin so you’d better get applying. Secondyear law students should also start applying for summer placements.

y People interested in teaching should start looking at when they have to apply. If you want to work in a primary school you’ll need apply by the end of December in your final year.

y Work Experience for Christmas: Some management and professional services firms offer work placements in the festive season – it’s also a good time to try even just a week of the job you fancy. You should also start looking for work experience for next summer if that’s what you are planning.

y Publishing – some, such as Penguin and Macmillan, run very competitive graduate training schemes and closing dates can be early this term.

y Postgraduate study: Depending on your chosen institutions, start applying for postgraduate courses. You should also start applying for grants. The Arts and Humanities Research Board, for example, has a May closing date but the application form comes out in December. If you are thinking of doing a postgrad in business or finance be aware that many of the business schools look for early applications (see page 40). Also be aware that some competitive postgrad courses such a Cardiff’s journalism diplomas close in February, so you might want to start considering your application.

y First closing date for Civil Service ‘fast-stream’ online appointments is November 30.

y Some overseas teaching programmes such as JET programme (teach English in Japan) take applications.

y Budding entrepreneurs can also start looking around. There are a number of grant schemes, loans and advice on offer for graduate entrepreneurs. Start by checking www. starttalkingideas.org or www.shell-livewire.org

Next term:

y The milkround begins – this is where employers interview applicants on campus. Check with you careers service to see which employers do this.

“

DO: Your research. The first thing to research is yourself. Spend

my exams are over and i'm panicking a little bit. i should have planned ahead. i still don't have more than a vague idea of what i want to do

some time getting an idea of what you are about (see What Shall I do With My Life, p24). As well as helping you get that job, good research will ensure that you don’t make a big mistake. For example, what do you really know about the career you think you’d enjoy? Sam,

24 who graduated from Swansea Uni with a 2:1 in English tried his dream job – journalism – for a week and really hated it. “I love creative writing but actually found little in journalism is actually about that. I spent my week’s trying to talk to people who didn’t want to talk to me and writing things to the editor’s precise specification.” He’s now found his niche in teaching, something he’d never expected. Research will also get you into unadvertised jobs. Jaime Robinson, 25 is going into her final year of BA history and the history of art at Canterbury,

”

Kent. She wants to work in a gallery and has been emailing people who work in the sector to ask for advice on finding a job. “A lot of the start level jobs in the arts aren’t advertised,” she says. “Contacting people has been really useful to both build networks and to get a clearer idea of how I should target my job hunt.” DON’T: Procrastinate. “If you’ve got to swallow a frog, don’t spend a lot of time looking at it,” is the advice from Brian Tracy, author of Eat that Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating. With such a vast range of choices and the possibility of rejection by employers, the temptation to delay action is difficult to resist. But as with everything in life the more you do it, the better you will get at it. Anup Panchal, who graduated in biology from Royal Holloway earlier this year, wishes he’d made a start. “My exams are over now and I’m panicking a little bit. I should have planned ahead. I still don’t have more than a vague idea of what I want to do,” he says. His advice? “Use your careers service and get at least a rough idea of what you’d like to do.” Do: Learn How to Make Decisions. There is a simple process you can follow to make career decisions, says Alison at Salford University. Start with thinking about yourself, your values and what you do and don’t like doing. Then review your skills and consider how they fit with certain industries. She suggests the Windmills Programme’s virtual career coach www.windmillsprogramme.com. The second step when you’ve whittled down the area is to research and draw together information on the industry and individual companies. Look at their culture and how they represent themselves online. Many careers services can put you in touch with alumni who are working and can give you an honest opinion on what the sector is like. However, Alison advises that you don’t get too focused on job titles at the start of the decision making process. Zalihe Baransel graduated this year from London Met with a joint degree in music and media management/peace and conflict studies. She’d put off her job hunt because it seemed too daunting. “I’ve realised now it doesn’t mean you have to search for just one job, you've just got to get started. I wish I had!” n

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LETTERS

Fed up, excited, want to request information, pass on a good job hunting tip or just have a general whinge? Don’t hesitate to email us at Real World.

emailz@realworld.com Illustration: Mo’Mint Studios

Online agony Dear Real World, I wanted to offer a warning to students about to apply to companies online: You may end up wasting HOURS. I’ve had application forms disappear after I’ve spent hours on them, others I’ve laboured away at only to find a rejection email in my inbox almost before I’d even finished. Had anyone even bothered to read my application? I doubt it. I spent a day on one application only to file it and receive an automatic email telling me that they weren’t recruiting. Why didn’t they tell me at the beginning? I’m so angry: I’ll never use any of those companies for anything again. Why can’t employers sort this out? A seriously frustrated student. Ed: We know that the amount of time online application forms take is a big issue for students and we’ll be looking at how to avoid online agony in the next issue of the magazine.

LETTER OF THE MONTH Dear Real World, This is a shout out to my fellow students about finding what you want to do. After my first year of university things seemed pretty set in stone for me. I was going to graduate with a decent law degree and move onto a career as a city lawyer. I never even considered anything else and why should I? I’d be on good money doing interesting work on big deals. After a summer of placements with a number of City law firms it has become all too apparent that a career in the city holds no long term future for me. Slowly, my perspective on my future career path began to change. I had heard of Oxford Entrepreneurs before, students trying to spread the word about the happiness and joy that entrepreneurship had brought to their lives. To be honest they all seemed a bit too slick for my liking and “being an entrepreneur” sounded like an excuse for being too lazy to get a proper job. But I got chatting to a few people and within one week we were running our own company, www.boso.co.uk, an online marketplace for students. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to spend some time checking out that your dream job really is what you want to do. Only by comparing working in the City, during several vacation schemes with law firms this summer, with the experience of running my own business have I been able to see which future career path really suits me best. Harjeet Taggar, final-year student, Oxford Uni.

WHO’S THE REAL WORLD GEEZER IN GIZA? IT’S LOUGHBOROUGH UNI GRADUATE ANDY HEDGES WHO TOURED THE PYRAMIDS THIS SUMMER COURTESY OF REAL WORLD, ON THE GO, AND STUDENT FLIGHTS. “I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE – I OWE REAL WORLD A DEBT OF GRATITUDE FOR SUCH A GREAT PRIZE!” HE SAID. KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR FURTHER EXCELLENT COMPETITIONS IN REAL WORLD, STARTING WITH OUR MASSIVE GRADUATE OF THE YEAR COMPETITION. LAST YEAR’S WINNER HAZEL MOWBRAY WALKED AWAY WITH £10,000!

Help! Dear Real World, I’m coming up to my final year at uni and am still clueless about what career path I should follow. Please help, because time is running out and I feel like am the only one who feels this way...! Henrietta Omisore, final year, Business Administration at the University of Luton. Ed: You’ll be glad to hear that our inbox over the summer has been filled with emails like yours. You are not the only one, so turn to page 24, for ‘What shall I do?’, the lowdown on finding your true calling.

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OPINION

Soap Box Graduates not ready for work?

Got something you want to have a rant about? Well, here’s your space. In this issue, Leicester student Keith Ruffles gets het-up over the state of his bank account...

Dear Real World, about brushing up their life skills – because

At the top of just about every student’s list of worries at university is the amount of debt they’re in, and I’m certainly

it’s going to boost their competitive edge

no different. It just doesn’t seem right that these days

in a tight jobs market.

getting a decent education saddles us with a financial

Graduates have been ranked as ‘mediocre’ in a national survey of more than 4,000 firms by The Forum of Private Business. More than half of employers said grads were ‘average’ or ‘poor’ in terms of numeracy and literacy. And just under half gave their oral skills the same rating. This shows that graduates are lacking in basic educational and social skills and it’s going to hurt them when it comes to earn-

burden that will take up to 10 years to pay off.

Graduates need to think more seriously

ing a living. And it adds weight to the view that universities should provide real opportunities for students to prepare for the world of work. Rex Garratt, national spokesman, the Forum of Private Business Ed: Hmmm. I’m sure our readers will have something to say about these comments...

Am I too perfect? Dear Real World, I graduated recently and I find online psychometric tests – specifically the personality tests – completely baffling. I visited my University careers centre and was asked to answer a sample test, to help research into their usefulness. I completed it truthfully, but the results showed me to be “too perfect”. This gave the impression I was lying. What am I supposed to do, lie so that I look honest? Also, I have a suggestion for the magazine. Is it possible to follow a recent graduate through their first year out of university i.e. job-hunting, starting graduate job, travelling, whatever they decide to do? They could write an update for every issue. Lorna White Ed: We’re looking at psychometric testing in the next issue of Real World in November, so hang in there. Also, keep your eyes peeled for our feature in the next issue on what really happens to grads when they enter the world of work!

“

STUDENT DEBT ONLY EXISTS BECAUSE WE STUDENTS SPEND ALL OUR MONEY ON BOOZE AND HAVING A GOOD TIME. THAT’S THE GOVERNMENT’S STANCE ANYWAY

A cool £15,000 is the average student debt and my own personal millstone, when taking into consideration overdrafts, student loans and credit cards, is currently approaching this figure. But, apparently, this debt has got nothing to do with basic survival expenses and only exists because we students spend all our money on booze and having a good time. That’s the government’s stance anyway. According to a recent government-commissioned survey, the estimated cost of living for a student, including household and course-related costs, only totals half of the amount that students spend every year. Yep, student debt: it’s all our own fault. Whether it be alcohol, mobile phones or holidays, much of the debt that we complain about so much is in fact brought on ourselves by high living and poor money management. But is this borne out in reality? Well, while I’ve never been too reckless with money, I do know people who find little difficulty in spending more than £100 on alcohol in a week. Indeed, the Institute of Alcohol Studies, has found that students – both male and female – have among the highest rates of alcohol dependence in the country. But are we any worse than previous generations? Studies such as the one undertaken by professor Claire Callender of London South Bank University counter this view by claiming that student spending on alcohol has actually decreased by 10 per cent in the past five years. So, back to the government, which claims that expenditure on entertainment – including sports, hobbies and alcohol – has risen, along with extra living expenses such as non-study related travel and holidays. Me? I’m not convinced. The more you read, the more you realise that the whole debate is subjective. As far as I’m concerned, it’s important to note that while the amount a student decides to spend on non-essentials is completely down to him or her; other factors that influence debt are often out of our control. The bottom line is that going to university costs money, and lots of it too. Has it been a worthwhile investment? Well, the numbers of people going to uni continue to rise, so it seems that the perception of university is as an investment. Ah, no more space… let’s go and talk about it down the pub!

”

 Got an idea for a soapbox? Email zoe@realworldmagazine.com

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UPFRONT

Career Coach

Got a problem? Send it to us at Real World. Dear Real World, I’ve just graduated and, after 17 years of education, I feel I could use some time out before starting a ‘proper job’. I’d really like to go travelling around the world in 2006 and so, in the meantime, I’m going to be working while living at home to save some money. But I’m worried that by simply getting a job as a barman/waiter I may be lessening my appeal to potential employers, even if the work is easy to find and convenient. I have thought about getting a temporary job in my desired career field (marketing/advertising) – but there aren’t any near my parents’ home, they all seem to be in London. I appear to have two choices: a less lucrative, less flexible but more relevant job in a major city; or local work to earn cash easily, but at the cost of my longterm attractiveness to employers. Any ideas? Andy

The Career Adviser’s view:

The Employer’s view:

Real World concludes:

Dear Andy

Real World concludes:

While relevant work experience will be of

Although it’s a popular choice to simply

Andy has narrowed his choices too quickly.

most help, I have met those who have

immerse yourself into a career – with the

The temptation is to fall back on a familiar

landed graduate positions without directly

promise of paying that student loan – it

area of work, such as bar work, to earn fast

relevant experience: one had played in a

can in some cases be wise to simply sit on

cash. But both our experts point out to him

band for three years! But working in a retail

your qualifications for a short while.

that there are a number of alternatives to

based, customer focused environment is something employers will value. You should also do research in a more

But although bar/waitering work can provide short-term exposure to a diverse

the two paths that he has mentioned. Has he considered that he can gain

range of consumer environments, you

marketing experience even when working

serious way. Start a portfolio, collecting

should concentrate on gaining work

in a bar? By using his initiative, and

ads you like or hate, with a summary of

experience in a field which will

suggesting promotions or marketing

why. This would show you really are

complement your future career choice.

projects for the place he’s working in, Andy

interested in advertising and have researched the industry.

It is true that there is a distinct

can gain some valuable experience. Few

concentration of marketing-related

employers will say no to free publicity, and

businesses in London, however, there is still

working out how to do it on the cheap will

agencies help students and recent

a very strong industry network around the

test his powers of innovation.

graduates find work experience, eg

country, with just as many opportunities for

Pathfinders, F1 recruitment, or the Garden

part-time work in a range of capacities.

You do have other options though. Some

Partnership. And don’t discount voluntary

If you have had difficulties in finding work

He needs to step back and reconsider his options. Drifting is tough to explain to prospective employers. The last thing he

work for a local organisation while

in the exact areas that you wish to work in,

wants to do is spend the next few months

working, for example you can do the

consider doing other things to gain extra

doing bar work then to suddenly find that

publicity, advertising and marketing for

skills. If you haven’t already, join The

heís only saved enough money for a two

an event. See www.do-it-volunteers.org

Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Career

week package holiday.

And you should look at the IPA (www.ipa. org.uk ) website regularly – some of the bigger firms recruit grads a year ahead.

Partner Scheme for new graduates by

Another key message to Andy is it’s not

visiting www.cim.co.uk/careerpartner.

what you do, it’s how you explain or sell it

But what ever you do – enjoy it!

to employers. Any experience is good experience as long as you can show the

Margaret Flynn, careers adviser, University

Christine Cryne, chief executive, the

employer how it enhances your value to

of Birmingham

Chartered Institute of Marketing

their organisation.

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Want something more? Want a management development programme that doesn’t just churn out identikit managers? A programme that instead is designed to help you become everything you can be? One where your contribution is valued and you’re positively encouraged to make a difference? One that doesn’t involve instruction in tea-making? See what we’re about, and apply, at

www.nationwide.co.uk/graduate 20098 A4 ad AW.indd 1

VOTED THE UKʼS BEST LARGE EMPLOYER

2005

Proud to be different 12/9/05 12:39:24 pm

BF BRAINFOOD HOW BEST TO APPLY?

The vast majority of big employers prefer electronic applications, usually through their corporate websites. But many smallto medium-sized firms still accept CVs with a covering letter. Most employers opt for the initial application, interview, tests/assessment centre model of recruitment. Assessment centres are one of the most popular selection methods used by graduate employers and usually involve psychometric tests, a group problem-solving exercise, an in-tray exercise, an interview and making a presentation. More than half of recruiters use psychometric tests when selecting their graduate trainees.

£19,800 is the amount that finalists expect to earn, according to research by High Fliers. Some 4 per cent higher than the previous year.

The median-average salary for female graduates who graduated in 2004 was £17,000, while for men it was £18,000. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

The media and teaching are the most popular choices for graduates, with both sectors each attracting 12.7 per cent of graduates. Marketing and investment banking are the next most popular.

Reasons to be cheerful...

“

Good news for graduates... the market is continuing to grow. Graduate vacancies have risen by more than 20 per cent since 2003 and there have been consistent aboveinflation rises in salaries for three consecutive years. This suggests employers value graduates who can offer the right skills and experience.

”

Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the AGR

NEWS y VIEWS y ADVICE y STRATEGIES

67% 26%

of graduates move employer at least once in their first four years of work

of graduates in 2004 said they had either applied, or were considering applying for the public sector, up from 21 per cent in 2003 Source: Graduate Prospects

FAC Knowledge is power... so get to know your job market. Reporting by Keith Ruffles

Reasons to be gloomy... 49 per cent of employers think graduates are under-prepared for employment. And 67 per cent think they lack businessawareness skills Source: University of London Careers service.

Just in

1 6

of 2005 graduates agreed that there were ‘plenty of graduate jobs for finalists’

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3 5 in

students won’t make any applications until they graduate.

Vacancies among large graduate recruiters rose by 11.3 per cent on last year. Source: AGR

London

Sectors on the up:

47% IT companies; accountancy and 20% professional services; 17% investment banks; 9% retailers.

remains the top destination for grads with 40 per cent of respondents to the High Fliers survey hoping to work in the capital following graduation.

(increase in vacancies)

CTS

What do the graduates from 2005 plan to do? 21% Start a graduate job 15% Look for a graduate job 8% Take other work 25% Postgraduate study 17% Take time off/go travelling 14% No definite plans Source: High Fliers Survey 2005

Average number of applicants per vacancy in the big blue chip organisations fell from 37.6 to 32.9 this year.

Source: AGR

There were an estimated

80,000

graduate-level positions available in 2004, with 15,000 of these on formal graduate training programmes.

23%

more graduates left university in 2004 than in 1995 – that’s nearly 300,000 graduates in 2004 alone.

Good news for: Medicine & dentistry and education students, who had the highest employment rate among graduates of last year.

73.6 per cent of the Class of 2004 have found employment: a slight increase on the year before. And 23.9 per cent went into further education.

BAD news for: Computer science graduates, who had the highest unemployment rate at 11 per cent. Creative arts & design; engineering & tech; and mass communications graduates also had high unemployment rates.

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Barometer << Scorchio!

Real World reviews this month’s trends... The hottest CV accessory: Work

Is it really possible to wake up every day looking forward to work? Real World seeks out those who say yes!

experience! Over 60 per cent of stints lead to a graduate job offer according to a survey by the University of Manchester and UMIST Careers Service. Check out Get*A*Hed, the Real World guide to this topic at your careers service.

Virtual volunteering: A great way to volunteer if you like to give time but are unable to turn up in person. Take a look on www.timebank. co.uk under ‘About Giving Time’.

Changing careers: More than 70% of recent graduates plan to switch careers by the time they are 35 in search of better pay and new

I’ll do that job... Emma Curteis, 35, is a cruise-ship planning executive for Swan Hellenic Cruises. Her job involves escaping the rat race to travel and discover new places, while getting

challenges, according to research

<< Lukewarm

by the Teacher Training Agency.

Media hype: Graduate unemploy ment higher than national rate? Graduate pay keeping up with debt? Graduate debt takes 15 years to pay off? ‘More’ university leavers working? Confused?

Fake boobs: A Russian youth was

RW: You are a lucky, lucky person.

RW: Any strange parts to your job?

I know. I started this job a year ago and it involves travelling all over the world to find places that are off the beaten track, and that might offer a culturally rich travel experience. Once somewhere has been suggested, I’ll visit the ports in the area, looking for exciting excursions and sites of interest for passengers.

I have to count steps into museums that we might visit: it’s this kind of attention to detail that ensures it all goes smoothly.

female friend. The uni said that the man’s “especially protruding

<<Freezing

female features” gave him away.

Bad CVs: Six out of ten CVs are rejected without being read fully, according to recruiters Eurobase People. It’s because of poor grammar, punctuation and spelling. And length… one recruiter said

I have to wear a nice yellow uniform when I’m on the ships.

RW: What’s about a highlight?

caught by Moscow University trying to sit an entrance exam for a

RW: And the worst part?

RW: And how exactly do you carry out this arduous task.

A recent trip to Libya, when I visited the Roman site of Leptis Magna, it was amaz-

Well, sampling the local culture and taking in tours is vital before anything can be added to the schedule. The year is split into 26 cruises and each planner is allocated an equal number of cruises to plan from start to finish. My job title is ‘planning executive’ and I plan where the ship goes and what our passengers experience – minute to minute. It’s my responsibility to ensure that our customers are offered a truly unique experience.

ing, completely untouched.

RW: We want your job! Well, you can’t have it. You’d need to start at the bottom. I’ve been in the industry for 11 years, following an MA in Tourism Management at Surrey University.

RW: Throw us a bone…

been bulk emailed to at least 20

RW: So, basically, you plan a holiday and then go on it?

addresses. Remember to target

Yes! Four times a year, two weeks at a time.

It helps to have done some kind of itinerary-planning, perhaps on coaches. Start by looking for product-planning jobs or jobs as product assistants that involve lots of contracting. I did French and Italian at university so languages are useful.

Text speak: Writing ‘I hope 2 hear

RW: Sounds stressful…

RW: And finally?

from u soon’ or ‘thanx’ on an

Well, actually it can be. The very first cruise I planned gave me a constant headache. You have to be able to pay attention to detail and be very organised.

Don’t join this industry if you want to become rich. That said, there are other compensations. I’m off to Venezuela now for a two-week stint. Bye!

he’d received a 27-page CV!

Grad spam: Employers claim that half of graduate applications are now dismissed as junk as they’ve

your applications carefully!

application is not going to get u a

job 2moro. Or ever.

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8 reasons to love your career service Are you missing a trick? Research from the Graduate Recruitment Bureau suggests that two thirds of graduates are dissatisfied with their university career services and a quarter had never visited the service at all. But here are eight reasons why you should get your butt along there!  For their website. For many this is an invaluable resource. Also you are not limited to your own uni. Check www.pathfinder.com for a full list of all the UK’s services. Use it to find employer presentations and careers advice, and sign up to receive events notifications. Check if your service is linked with Targeted GRAD – a new initiative linking leading graduate recruiters with graduates. www.targetedgrad.com

Most careers services will offer informal dropin hours and the chance for a longer consultation. The advice on offer can range from specific help on breaking into a sector to a general discussion about your future. “Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to know what you want to do to walk through the

 For mock interviews. Interviews can be nerve-wracking but again, practice will help. A mock interview gives you the chance to roadtest your professional personality. You will receive helpful feedback, which will prevent avoidable mistakes in the real thing.

EER SERVIC R A

careers service door,” says Laura Dean, career development tutor at Leeds Metropolitan University. “Individual guidance sessions allow you the time to work through your options and think about your personal circumstances with someone who is non judgmental.”

 For free CV sessions. You should be able to find advice on putting your CV together and learn how to taylor it to each application. Far better that they spot errors than the employers. Same for letters and application forms…

 For aptitude test practice. “Encountering an aptitude test for the first time as part of an assessment centre or other recruitment process doesn’t give

 For 1-on-1 advice.

you the chance to do your best,” says Laura at Leeds Met. “It’s a great idea to go to your careers service to try out at least one aptitude test so you know exactly what you’ll be doing on the big day and be calm enough to score well.”

 For employer presentations and recruitment fairs. “In addition to organising visiting local-employer talks and recruitment fairs your careers service will be able to tell you about all the events happening nationally, including specialised fairs such as for working in the media or abroad,” says Laura.

 For work experience. Careers services devote a great deal of time to encouraging employers to offer work placements and experience to students. They can provide guidance on applying for internships and can put you in touch with volunteering organisations.

 For networking. “Your career service will be in contact with a range of employers,” says Laura at Leeds. “They can also help you draw up action plans, networking maps, and give you guidance to ensure you make the most of the contacts you have already.”

CV Booster VOLUNTEERING What is it? With 2005 designated as ‘Year of the Volunteer’, everyone is being encouraged to lend a helping hand in the community – whether that be at home or on the other side of the globe.

Why should I volunteer? While giving up your free time to help others is reason enough for many, it can help you gain valuable experience of working in an organisation and may provide you with contacts and suitable references further down the line. Future employers will love the range of new skills you will learn while volunteering and it can demonstrate your commitment.

That sounds like too much hard work. Not necessarily – the great thing about volunteering is its flexibility: you can put in as many, or as few hours, as you like.

Who volunteers? People from all sorts of different backgrounds volunteer – it doesn’t matter how old you are or where you come from, all that matters is that you have that desire to help and make a difference.

Any examples? Lots. Take Dina Mistry, 21, studying history and politics at Keele. She found voluntary work as a classroom assistant through the Voluntary Experience Project at the university: “Volunteering is a great opportunity, whatever field of work you chose to do! The experience is invaluable and will definitely be a bonus if you want to go into that profession. Plus it looks good on your CV.”

OK, I’m convinced. What should I do now? The internet has a wealth of information on offer; www.yearofthevolunteer.org and www.studentvol.org.uk feature a huge number of placements so there should be something suitable near you. If you already have something in mind, you can contact the organisation directly. For more information look out for Get*A*Hed: The Real World guide to Work Experience, which will be in your careers service. Words: Keith Ruffles

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2006

THE SEARCH IS ON

FOR GRADUATES

WHO HAVE MADE THE MOST OF THEIR TIME AT UNIVERSITY

, £20 000 CASH TO BE WON www.realworldmagazine.com

SPONSORED BY

Read about the winners of the 2005 Graduate of the Year competition at www.realworldmagazine.com

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Graduate Careers Fairs Careers fairs are one of the best ways to check out which employers are hiring and which might suit you. For the full list check www.realworldmagazine.com

3 OCTOBER

Volunteering fair, University College London. www.ucl.ac.uk

10-11 OCTOBER

General fair, University of Warwick. www.warwick.ac.uk/careers/students/ fairs

11 OCTOBER

Hazard warning: hobbies on a CV

erret racing, Samurai sword collecting and an interest in guns are just some of the hobbies that job seekers have listed on their CVs, according to recruitment agency Reed. But trying to sound interesting by admitting to unusual hobbies on your CV can backfire. More than 80 per cent of the 900 recruiters surveyed said that what is listed as ‘other interests’ can have an influence on hiring decisions, and anything too ‘weird’ could have a derogatory effect. And citing ‘drinking’, ‘socialising’, or ‘reading’ as a sole ‘other interest’ could be equally damaging to an individual’s chances of landing a job. Most recruiters say that they are looking for a few bullet points that suggest a balanced mixture of interests.

The Ps and Qs of telephone calls

Dealing with time management

Making a call to a prospective employer – whether to introduce yourself or just get some further information – should be a simple task. But according to employers too many graduates are forgetting the basic etiquette…  Do your research beforehand and try to find out who you need to speak to.  Be sure to identify yourself. Prepare one or two sentences by way of explanation of the purpose for your call.  Keep it simple: For example, “Hello, this Mark Johnson. Could I speak to Joan Rodgers in graduate recruitment, please.”  When you are connected with the person, state the purpose of your call and remember it’s polite to ask if you are calling at a convenient time.  Don’t forget to thank whoever you’ve spoken to for their time.

Francine Kaye, author of Time to live, suggests ways to bring order to your chaos.  Have your goal in mind: be sure to know what your outcome is before you attempt any task.  Repeat what works: when you last got the most out of your study hours, how did you do that?  I’ve started so I’ll finish... you can greatly increase your personal effectiveness if you make deadlines for each of your tasks, schedule in when you’ll do them and stick to it  Anticipate: before going full steam ahead with a new piece of work spend some thinking time anticipating the challenges that could arise  Chunking down: make sure you chunk down a large task into bite size pieces and don’t be daunted by the size of the whole thing.

General fair, University of Liverpool. www.liverpoolfairs.org.uk/

12 OCTOBER

Banking fair, University College London. www.ucl.ac.uk Ethnic diversity fair, University of Manchester. www.careers.manchester. ac.uk/events/fairs/ethnicdiversity/ General fair, University of Edinburgh. www.careers.ed.ac.uk/STUDENTS/ Events/Fairs/careeroppsfair.htm

13 OCTOBER

Financial services fair, University College London. www.ucl.ac.uk General fair, University of Hull. www.hull.ac.uk/careers/careersfair

18 OCTOBER

UCL consultancy fair, University College London. www.ucl.ac.uk

24 OCTOBER

Finance, consultancy and IT fair University of London. www.citykid.co.uk

25-26 OCTOBER

The Scottish graduate fair, Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre, Glasgow. www.careers.strath.ac.uk/sgf

26 OCTOBER

GRADES diversity fair, Canary Wharf, London. www.grades.org.uk Finance, business and management consultancy fair, University of Manchester. www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/events/ fairs/finance/

27 OCTOBER

Science, engineering & technology fair, University of Manchester. www.careers. manchester.ac.uk/events/fairs/science/ City and finance fair, University of Warwick. www.warwick.ac.uk/careers/ students/fairs

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SuperSleuth: Finding the hidden jo S If up to 80 per cent of jobs in the market are unadvertised, how are you going to find out about them? Shishali Mehta has the answers.

canning the job sites and failing

this person doesn’t have exactly what you

to find anything that really inspires you? That’s probably because you’re seeing just a fraction of the job market. Many employers fill their job vacancies by methods other than national advertisements. Using referrals or word of mouth and hiring speculative applicants or former interns are common practice. According to Warwick University careers service, this can mean that up to 80 per cent of the job market might go unadvertised. To find those jobs you are going to have to be proactive…

need (ie a job), they will give you essential background information.

1 Targeted applications There is no point in sending hundreds of speculative applications out. You need to do your homework first and then carefully target your letter of application in order to convince the employer that they might want to give you a job. Call up first to make sure that you’ve identified who to send the letter to. Asking for a job outright isn’t always the best approach either. An excellent way of using speculative applications to your advantage is by asking for an “informational interview”. This is a short interview with someone in the company either face to face or over the phone about the sector. You’re asking employers for a few minutes of their time so they can talk about their jobs, their industry and opportunities. It sounds intimidating, but in most cases if you get into a conversation with the mentality of, “Hey, I want to know all about you” – people are flattered. These interviews should be prepared for with the same care and research as you would for a conventional interview. Ask what it’s like to work in their industry; ask how you break into the field; do they know anyone else you can talk to; or even ask for a bit of job shadowing or work experience. The approach is that even if

2 Do your research This is critical. The Graduate Recruitment Bureau advises that “an excellent source of information and expert knowledge” is your careers centre. The internet is also a primary port of call for employer information. Use online directories like www.yell. co.uk, which is the Yellow Pages online to search for companies in your area. Trade directories and professional magazines are also valuable sources containing ‘market intelligence’ that are often overlooked by graduates and students. Most are online now Richard Budd, careers consultant at Cardiff University, says too many students approach information gathering in the wrong way. “What people usually do is either think in a very focused way and ignore lateral thinking [which involves looking at the issue from range of angles] or do everything in a very lateral way and don’t ever end up doing anything.” He believes the trick is to combine the two.

3 Make more of personal contacts Whether it’s a multi-national organisation or small start-up, recruiters are increasingly relying on word of mouth and speculative CVs to sign up new recruits. In fact, many very competitive industries don’t need to advertise as they are able generate enough interest through their referrals scheme. One way is to network among friends and family. Panna, a business management graduate from Brunel, knew that competition is fierce. To increase her chances of success she put her networking skills to good use when she realised that her older sister and friends were an ideal pool of contacts. “I started to talk to them and collect business cards

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n job market and send them my CV.” She also remembered the importance of asking the right questions “I asked for a relevant contact name and what jobs their companies are advertising for... this worked pretty well.” Careers services will often have lists of working alumni that can talk to you about their jobs and how you can break into the sector they work in.

Where to live after uni…? For the first in our seven-part snapshots of the UK’s big cities Real World takes a look at London. The basics Home to more than 10 per cent of the UK’s population, London is one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities in the world. The city consistently polls as top choice with 17 per cent of this year’s graduates saying they’d be job hunting in London.

Pros

y There’s a huge range of things to see and do in London: take your pick from the pubs 4 Put yourself out there You need to show that you are ready to go out on a limb. Dominic, who graduated from UCL with a degree in geography, found his perseverance paid off when he bagged some great work experience while on a gap year in Japan. Looking to gain some experience in the world of banking he posted a message on a web forum for the foreigners’ community asking for help. Someone replied to his message and Dominic ended up working for Toyo FX, a subsidiary of a Singaporean bank. “It was really rewarding; I wasn’t paid for it but I learned so much about the financial market”.

and clubs of Soho, the shops of Oxford Street, the markets of Camden and Portobello Road and the museums of South Kensington…

y More than a quarter of the city’s population is from an alternative ethnic background, lending it a cosmopolitan feel unique in the UK.

y London is a young city, with 47 per cent of its population aged between 16 and 44. With some 24 universities and colleges, the capital is home to some 300,000 students in higher education at any one time.

y On average, wages are 20 per cent higher here then the rest of the UK, with average salaries for non-manual work floating around the £40,000 mark.

Cons

y London suffers from more than its fair share of congestion. Measures to deal with this, such as the Congestion Charge, are having an effect however.

y Peak-hour public transport can at times resemble an assault course; opponents of the congestion charge cited it as one of their main concerns.

y The high cost of living, stiff competition and the demanding nature of many jobs means that Londoners on average work longer hours then their counterparts in the rest of the UK – 25 per cent of all people working more than 48 hours a week are based in the capital.

5 Work from the inside According to the National Council for Work Experience, 62 per cent of employers use work experience to find permanent staff. This is particularly true of smaller employers in highly competitive industries such as advertising, music management or media. These often offer work experience in order to trial potential recruits. Or, like final-year information management and computing student Hinesh from Loughborough University, you can get a job from your uni placement. He was project manager and support co-ordinator for Lloyds Bank. He threw himself into it and at the end of the placement he was offered a job.

y London is expensive. In surveys of global cities, London consistently polls second only to Tokyo in terms of its cost of living.

y Although the days of permanent smog have long gone, the capital can be rather grimy. y London suffers from crime. Common-sense precautions, such as avoiding walking the streets alone at night, can dramatically reduce the chance of you falling victim to it.

Main employers

y 63 FTSE 100 employers have their head offices in London. Its sheer size and importance means that a huge variety of companies provide a major incentive to move to London.

Average prices

y Pint – £2.30; rent – £102 per week; house prices – £260,000 (first-time buyer). Sales pitch! “It’s one of the most exciting and dynamic cities in the world”, says Hannah Collingbourne of the London Tourist Board. “There’s such a brilliant atmosphere and buzz in the city. It feels as though you’re at the centre of everything in culture, music and the arts.”

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FEATURE | YOUR FUTURE | A JOB YOU LOVE

What shall I do with my life? Have you been putting it off, are you a bit confused... or you simply have no idea what to do job-wise? Well, you’re not alone, read on for plenty of reassurance and some sound career advice.

ome people have all the luck. Take Arif Haq: he graduated from Warwick University with a 2:2 in politics, clueless about what he wanted to do with his life. Within a couple of months, he’d landed a dream job as brand manager at

since graduating earlier this year to find what he wants to do. “Towards the end of my course there was some discussion about job hunting, but I was working part time and also focused on getting my grades, so I decided to leave it until I graduated,” he says. He had considered a career in teaching but realised that he didn’t want to continue studying. He’s applied for a range of jobs

Pepsi UK. “I left uni with no idea about what I wanted to do, but aware that I had to get a job very quickly as I didn’t have the money to support myself – a year-out travelling around was definitely out of the question,” he says. He signed up to two recruitment agencies and after a few interviews, landed a job as an account handler at marketing company KLP – part of Euro RSCG, the world’s fifth-largest marketing communications agency. Within two months, Pepsi UK, one of KLP’s largest clients, came calling. They needed someone fast and Arif fit the bill. Now he is in charge of the marketing activities for a number of Pepsi brands in the UK. The job is high pressure and varied, ranging from organising TV shows to PR and management. Arif loves it. “I don’t think it was confidence that meant I hadn’t considered my career after uni, I was just lazy and fairly apathetic,” Arif admits. “I guess I’m just lucky.” If only it always worked out like that. But, for the majority of people, a job you are passionate about won’t just fall into your lap. Smart, with a 2:1 in business administration and buckets of work experience under his belt Jamie Beecham has struggled

and things look better now, than earlier in the summer when Jamie fell into some serious career depression. “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do and found it difficult to get out there and start looking. Things looked bad, the competition was tough and I was getting worried,” he says. Having experienced some unfulfilling part time work, he’s determined to find something he enjoys doing. At the moment, Jamie’s considering whether to risk setting up his own business, he’s got an idea for setting up a triathlon marketing website but he’s unsure about plunging himself into more debt.

“You’re not a freak…” Jamie is not the only one battling career confusion. “It’s true that significant proportion of finalists haven’t made up their minds by their final year. For some, it’s because they haven’t thought about it, and for others it’s because they have thought about it and are still confused. It can be a nerve-wracking time and it’s easy for panic to set in. It’s important to realise you’re not a freak… Lots of other people are in the same boat, and being obsessive can be counter-productive,” says Carl Gilleard chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR).

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I’LL DRINK TO THAT: ARIF HAQ SAYS HE WAS LUCKY TO LAND A JOB WITH PEPSI, BUT FOR MOST THE RIGHT JOB REQUIRES PLANNING

The trouble is if you feel you are running out of time it can become even harder to think about what to do. Like when you are staring at a blank piece of paper in an exam room, there are times when inspiration can seem a long way off. Well, here’s the bad news. If you really want to find a job you love you’ll need to set aside some time to think about what you want to do. The good news is that the more time you spend thinking about it, the more likely you are to find a job you enjoy, say the experts.

The quarter-life crisis

Dream jobs take time Nick Isbister, author of career book Who Do You Think You Are? believes that the ground rules on finding what you want to do have changed, but we’ve still to catch up. “The reality is that the

Jennifer van Schoor

According to leadership development organisation Common Purpose, about half of workers between the ages of 25-35 say they are not fulfilled in their current jobs. The main reason for this discontent, the research found, is that workers are struggling to combine the demands of their job with their wider life ambitions. It’s been tagged “the quarter-life crisis” and more and more 20something’s are suffering from waking up in the wrong career two years after graduation. The reason? A simple lack of planning. “Most people spend more time planning a car purchase, or an annual holiday than they do thinking about their career,” writes John Lees, author of bestseller How to Get a Job You Love. “How do people choose the work they do? For many, work chooses them. Careers are often formed by the first job that happens to come along after graduation. It’s staggering how many people drift from one job to another with no clear plan.” So why do so few people actually try to find out what they really want to do? “There are three main reasons,” argues Stephen Coomber in The Careers Adventurer’s Fieldbook. “First, most people don’t actually know what they want to do... they either take the path that is laid before them, or follow the received wisdom of those around them. Second, those who do have an inkling of their true vocation don’t know how to go about making it a reality... the third reason is fear of failure.” No one can make this decision for you, says Carl at the AGR. “You’ll always have the graduate that can’t make a decision and wants someone to make it for them, but that kind of direction isn’t available, even at your careers service,” he says. “It is your life and ultimately you have to come up with a decision.” Don’t let fear of the unknown push you into a state of paralysis or denial, warns Brian Staines, careers advisor at the University of Bristol. “The worst thing you can do is get into a state of inertia, where you are so afraid of making the wrong choice you don’t make any choice at all,” he says. “This isn’t a one-off life or death decision, it’s a decision that will move you forward. You can always change later but do make it a choice based on solid research.”

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FEATURE | YOUR FUTURE | A JOB YOU LOVE

THE HARDEST PART OF THIS WHOLE PROCESS IS DECIDING WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. BUT NICK WILLIAMS BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE WORK WE WERE BORN TO DO HAS SPENT YEARS LOOKING INTO THIS PROCESS. HE SUGGESTS SOME KEY STEPS:

emphasis in employment until recent years has been on skills rather than motivation. The implication is that we will tend to enjoy a job that we have the skills to do.” But he argues “Our personal motivation is a much more complex matter than just finding a good skills fit.” This means considering some very personal questions (see left). If you get stuck thinking about what you do like doing, start with what you don’t like doing, the AGR’s Carl suggests. “Some of this you will only realise when you are actually in the job so be realistic and acknowledge that you won’t necessarily springboard

 You can work for love AND money

into your ideal job immediately,” he says.

The majority of the population believe you can work for love or

Research by the government last year suggested that it can

money. Either you sell your soul to earn good money, or you do

take graduates anything up to four years after graduation to find their way into a job with high levels of job satisfaction, good pay and prospects. This is daunting, but Roger Steare, careers consultant advises: “From a maturity point of view, people don’t really get into an adult frame of mind until their mid to late twenties. So it’s actually quite natural to feel unsure.”

what you love and are inspired about, but can never succeed financially. But you CAN have both. Seek out those who do both, study them, learn from them and spend time in their company.

 Listen to your inner voice. Create a list, and keep adding to it, of what would inspire you, what would seem really you and what you think would fulfil you.

Find what you love

 Understand the process of resistance

Steve Jobs is the CEO of Apple, the guy that oversees the making of funky hardware like the iPod. Despite founding the company

Beware of procrastinating, talking yourself out of an idea or finding reasons why something wouldn’t work.

 Expose yourself to the real world Most people have a limited view of the world of work and it’s possibilities, but the truth is there have never been so many possibilities and opportunities to find and create work that is inspiring. Read up on interesting companies, go spend days at work with family and friends, work-shadow people, both to discover new ideas and find out what you definitely don’t want. Then you can make more and inspired informed decisions.

 Think purpose, not job title Sometimes you will think that a particular career will guarantee some particular experiences, like security, fun, inspiration, creativity, excitement, intellectual challenge, meaning or purpose. Start thinking the other way around. Write down your non-financial goals, like, “I want to feel fully utilised, I want to make a difference, I want to keep growing and learning, I want to be inspired.” This is your purpose in your working life.

at 21 and becoming a multi-millionaire by the age of 30, he managed to get himself sacked from Apple and went through a serious career crisis. Never one to stay down for long, he spent the time soul searching, only to be rehired as CEO of the company. His YOU’VE GOT words to this graduates of 2005 at TO FIND WHAT Californian university Stanford were YOU LOVE. THE straight to the point: ONLY WAY TO “You’ve got to find what you love. Your work is going to fill a large BE SATISFIED part of your life, and the only way to IS TO DO be truly satisfied is to do what you WHAT YOU believe is great work. If you haven’t BELIEVE IS found it yet, keep looking. As with all

“

”

GREAT WORK

matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. So keep looking. Don’t settle.” n

working life can be a series of successes, and even some

 Don’t make employability and the market your idols

failures, but you can change course your whole life. Even your

When you are motivated by fear and a belief in a lack of

seemingly bad decisions can become great sources of learning

opportunity, you might be tempted to override your own interests

and transformation for you.

in order to be wanted and employable. But if you have had to mould and distort yourself to get a position, you probably won’t

 Get in touch with the real you

enjoy it much when you get it. Instead, believe that the more you

One of the greatest causes of pain around careers is when you

live authentically, the more opportunity you can create.

fulfil other people’s expectations of how they’d like you to be

Recognise that you can create your own business if the work

and what they’d love you to do. Even being a great success at

you’d love doesn’t seem to exist now.

someone else’s dream for you will bring you misery. We all want to be liked and approved of, but you must be aware the times

 Know you can make new decisions as you grow

when you override your own desires and instincts in order to

It can seem daunting when you need to make decisions that are

please your family or friends. This is especially the case when we

going to have a dramatic impact on the rest of your life. But

don’t yet know what we want to do ourselves.

every decision you make now can be changed in the future. Your

www.nick-williams.com

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Over the coming year, Real World will update you on the trials and tribulations of six final-year job seekers. By charting their progress we hope you will share their highs and lows and perhaps learn something along the way. What will life after uni hold for them? Read on...

Class of 2006 

NAME: EMMA BARKER DEGREE: BA PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY: UNIVERSITY OF YORK There will be no pondering over whether to take a gap year for 24year-old Emma. After six years at university she’s raring to get into the world of work. “I’m bored with student life and desperate to get out into the big wide world!” she says. Struck down by chronic fatigue syndrome in her first year studying law at Oxford University, Emma changed course to study geography, but eventually left the university to fully recover. She reapplied to the university system and accepted an offer to study philosophy at York where she’s now entering her final year. She’s looking for a challenge in her new job. “I am determined to succeed,” she says. “I am looking to go into consultancy or management training. It will be interesting to see how the job market opens up for me and whether the fact I’ve suffered from chronic fatigue will affect my chances.” Emma is so keen to get on with working she’s decided not to pursue her interest in media. “I’d love to go into broadcast journalism, I read the news on the university radio station, but I’d have to go through another year of training, which has put me off,” she says. “I can carry on doing it: it just won’t be as a career.”





 



NAME: WING YEE LI DEGREE: ENGLISH LITERATURE UNIVERSITY: UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

NAME: HEATHER MCLARTY DEGREE: BA MEDIA PERFORMANCE UNIVERSITY: UNIVERSITY OF LUTON

“I have a lot of ideas for after graduation but am certainly not close to deciding which one is for me,” says Wing, 22. “My core motivation in any decision will be my desire to feel valued for the job that I do and also to know that I am contributing to society.” She’s just spent the summer in London working as an intern at Cancer Research. “I have been thinking about going into the charity sector but I’m considering teaching and social work, going into postgraduate education or maybe just going for a graduate scheme. I’m open to options,” she says. She’ll be visiting her career service in September but intends to use friends and family to get some real info on what jobs are like. “It’s more honest and that insight is invaluable for job hunting.” And Wing is definitely not going to limit herself: another possible career route she’s considered is plumbing: “My sister’s sink tap fell out two weeks ago and we couldn’t get a plumber out to fix it,” she says. “It’s a profession where there would be no lack of work and which would give me a lot of freedom. Plus, it would be brilliant to have a plumber handy when the tap breaks or when the shower hose snaps...”

“I am extremely nervous about leaving university,” says 22-year-old Heather. “I am not 100 per cent sure what I want to do but I will be applying for jobs in my final year.” She’s thinking about looking for work in media production companies but her main passion is finding a career in drama therapy. “It’s something I’ve been interested in a while,” she says. “Years ago, I remember reading about a particularly difficult abduction and murder case where the police used a drama therapist to work with the children involved.” As its name suggests the job means using drama and action as a form of therapy with adults or children. Finding work experience has been difficult and Heather wants to do a lot more research into career paths in the area. She’s considering doing some work in prisons, which often run drama workshops. “It’s a bit scary but I want a challenge,” she says. So far, the information she’s found has been pretty minimal. “It’s been quite pants really,” she says. But because the majority of work in her final year is based around one project she’s confident that she’ll have the time for some serious careers research.

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FEATURE | CLASS OF 2006 | JOB SEEKERS

PHOTOGRAPH BY ED MILLER

 NAME: LAWRENCE FREEMAN DEGREE: BA POLITICS AND SOCIOLOGY UNIVERSITY: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER “As a student who took a gap year, I see all my friends getting jobs and I have started to feel fear about what I want to do in my life,” says 21-year-old Lawrence. He’s spent some time this summer doing work experience for his local MP at Westminster and the experience has made him fairly sure that, “Politics is not for me”. He’s still interested in the wider area though and is considering applying for jobs in the civil service or the European Union. Lawrence’s father was in the army and joining the forces has always been in the back of his mind but he’s not sure what security it would offer. “It seems like a great idea and can offer fantastic careers but with cutbacks all the time I don’t think you could ever be sure that it would last that long.” Lawrence is adamant about one thing though: he’s not going to leap into a job just for financial reward. “I’m not going to put up with five years of torture for money.” To make sure he doesn’t end up in a job he hates he is considering applying for more internships. He’s also finding that there are many more companies and job roles than he’d ever expected. “I’m often hearing about companies because a friend of a friend works there,” he says.



 





NAME: PAUL RAVEN DEGREE: BSC MANAGERIAL/ADMINISTRATIVE STUDIES UNIVERSITY: ASTON UNIVERSITY

NAME: ALICK VARMA DEGREE: BSC MATHS AND ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY: UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK

Paul, 21, has just come to the end of a sandwich year at management and IT consultancy company LogicaCMG, where he’s been working with the HR and marketing teams. His father owns a department store and Paul’s been involved in the family business from quite a young age. “I might consider working in the family business later in my career but I want to do my own thing first,” he says. Paul plans to start applying for jobs in September. He’d been considering roles in HR and marketing but his experience at LogicaCMG has led him to focus on marketing and operations. He expects most of his applications will be made online. He’s already spent some time researching employers and feels he can identify the best schemes by looking at how good the websites are and how much emphasis is placed on graduate recruitment. Working in a company that offers good work-life balance is a big issue for Paul. “It will be a key thing I’ll be looking for,” he says. His year out has also confirmed the importance of having extracurricular activities on his CV, so he’ll be making sure he gets involved in as many society planning committees as possible.

Alick, 21, has just finished a summer placement in London with management consulting and technology services company Accenture. He’d also spent his pre-uni gap year working with them. While in London he’s also been busy setting up and running a business called Interns Experience (www.internsexperience.com), which runs networking events for summer interns who are in the capital. “It’s been great – a big success,” he says. Continuing to run his own business after uni is definitely an option for Alick. “Part of me thinks I’d like to work with a large corporation to gain more experience and see how that works, the other part of me wants to work on my own business, and a third is seriously considering time out travelling,” he says. Alick will be taking advantage of seminars and employer presentations to get some info on what is available at firms. “Trying to understand the culture of a company and what it’s like to work there on a daily basis is really hard,” he says. “You’ll usually only find out about six months into the job.” To avoid that happening he plans to call up friends who have done internships to get a much better idea of what it is actually like in companies.

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What employers will want from you... Employers are forever complaining that graduates are unprepared for the world of work. So what exactly are they looking for? Real World breaks down the essentials... ONE: ADAPTABILITY AND FLEXIBILITY The world is moving fast and you need to show employers that you can keep up. They are looking for assurances that you are able to cope with changing circumstances and demands – that you can take on new responsibilities without much notice. “Flexibility and adaptability are the key skills we look for,” says Emily Chandler, Accenture graduate recruitment sourcing lead. “Our projects are based all over the country and we require people to move around and to be adaptable.” She says the organisation will ask candidates to be able to draw on a situation where the goal posts were moved and they’d had to react quickly to a new situation. So think about the times when you have demonstrated flexibility and adaptability – perhaps when coping with the pressures of balancing study, work and your social life.

THREE: COMMUNICATION SKILLS According to the National Council of Work

TWO: THE X-FACTOR

Experience, 67 per cent of employers believe

Showing self-awareness and being able to

communication skills are the most important

articulate and sell your abilities to an employer

attributes when recruiting for work placements.

– not in a boastful way but by giving evidence

taken as a given. They are looking for the ability to

according to Carl Gilleard, head of the

negotiate and pick up nuances in conversation.

Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR).

Empathy (the ability to understand where someone

He says this is the ‘X-factor’ that employers

is coming from) is a vital skill as is the ability to

look for. “It’s a cocktail of motivation,

influence or persuade people either as part of a

enthusiasm, commitment, passion and self-

team or as a leader. Body language is also

efficacy,” he says. Self-efficacy, despite

important – not only your own, but also that of the

sounding like a disease, is actually an

person you’re talking to.

individual’s estimate or personal judgment of his or her own ability to succeed, says Carl. “In a way it boils down to self-esteem. If you

Gettyimages

The basics of reading, writing and talking are

of what you have done – is a key skill,

Linda Graham, graduate programme manager at Marks & Spencer, says employers look for: “someone who can articulate their experiences, and show

believe in yourself then there’s a higher chance

expressive verbal and non-verbal gestures – such as

that others might also believe in you.”

making eye contact when speaking.” They should also be aware of their own personal strengths and weaknesses, she says.

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FEATURE | PREPARING FOR INTERVIEW | THE ESSENTIALS

MARKET YOURSELF: The next steps

FOUR: BUSINESS AWARENESS

 The majority of

This is a key gripe for employers: too few

organisations are very clear

graduates have any business or commercial

about the competencies they

savvy. Even in the not-for-profit and public

look for, so read their top tips

sector you’ll need to have an understanding of

online or call to ask.

the environment that your employer operates in.

“Employers realise that you will

“Candidates should prepare themselves for

be applying to lots of firms but

the application process by researching the

you must make them believe

business environment and anticipating some

that the job you really want is

of the commercial questions that may be

their’s,” says Carl Gilleard at

raised at interview,” says Linda at Marks &

the AGR.

Spencer. “For us, a broad awareness of

 Now you know what skills

the commercial factors facing retail

they are after, the first step is to

organisations is also necessary.”

look at each one and to review

To brush up on this, check online news

whether you have these skills.

archives and also read through the company’s

For each, list at least two

own website, especially its press releases.

examples of how you have demonstrated them.

 You probably have more examples than you realise. Graduates frequently undersell what they’ve done, according to Carl. “When asked ‘Have you had any work experience?’

FIVE: INITIATIVE

The wrong answer is ‘Well, I

This is a big one for employers. “We look for

have only worked in the union

graduates who are self starters – they don’t

bar’,” he says. “Do not under

have to wait to be told what to do next, but can

value your work experience! It

weigh up an issue and implement it,” says Linda

all counts. Successfully

at M&S. “Companies are looking for graduates

pacifying a drunken student

who have shown initiative and have done

who is demanding a last pint,

something meaningful during their spare time.

five minutes after closing time,

This could be joining a society or club at

is quite an achievement…”

university, taking a gap year out, showing

 Try to quantify what you’ve

entrepreneurial skills by running their own

done. Rather than saying,

business, or working while studying and

“I helped out at my local

managing to get a good grade.”

school,” break down what you

This also covers decisiveness and problem-

did. “I held hour-long reading

solving skills. Employers are looking for

sessions with 32 under-sevens

evidence that you can identify options, assess

every morning.”

SIX: TEAMWORKING

their suitability, decide on the best course of

 Don’t ramble on. Careers

This is an integral part of almost every job and

action and carry it out.

advisers suggest breaking

in many organisations working in small project

“It’s one of the key skills that we look for,”

down your answer into three

teams is the norm. You are almost inevitably

agrees Emily at Accenture. “Particularly people

chunks. About 15 per cent of

going to be asked to give examples of times

who have looked for ways to improve things:

that should be the situation or

you have been a constructive team member,

examples candidates give include redesigning

problem. The majority (about

contributing, in a practical way, to the success

a process to make it more efficient, or

70 per cent) explaining how

of the group, so come prepared.

redefining something to make it different

you handled the situation; the

from the status quo.”

skills you used; and how you

“Much of our work is done in project teams so it’s important that the candidate is happy in

evaluated it (communication,

that environment as that will really show us

creativity, leadership). The final

whether they will be successful at Accenture,”

15 per cent should explain the

says graduate recruitment lead, Emily.

outcome of your example.

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Sunny side up... Designer housing for chickens? It might not sound like the idea of the century but for four design grads it’s proved to be their ticket to success. Gareth Walker meets Omlet....

Photographs by Charles Glover bright summer day in London, and a corner of Regents Park has been transformed into ‘Fruitstock’, an annual mini-festival sponsored by smoothie-makers ‘Innocent’. It’s an opportunity for a host of organic food companies and environmental charities to display their wares to the public. Something’s attracting a lot of attention from the crowds. The focus of their attention turns out to be a pair of quite ordinarylooking chickens. Fortunately, the hens in question seem quite used to the attention, strutting up and down like a couple of seasoned supermodels. Their sense of superiority is understandable given the upmarket pad they call home – a bright, pink, plastic pod that looks like a space-age home-of-the-future. In fact, it’s an Eglu: a weatherproof, fox-proof, easy-to-clean and stylish-tolook-at designer henhouse for the 21st century. They’re appearing in thousands of back-gardens across the country. Nearby, smiling benignly at a crowd of children begging their parents to let them watch the chickens for just a little longer, is 27-year-old Johannes Paul – one of the quartet of students who designed the Eglu and then set up their own company, Omlet, to manufacture and market it. He leaves the job of handing out chicken-keeping advice to co-founders James, Will and Simon, and explains why, three years ago, they made it their mission to bring hen-keeping to the masses. Chicken and Eglu After completing an undergraduate degree in engineering at Brunel University, Johannes went on to study for a Masters in industrial design at the Royal College of Art – where he met the other three. They found they all had something in common: “We didn’t want to work for somebody else, and use up all our youth, intelligence and excitement on something that we wouldn’t actually benefit from directly,” Johannes explains. “What we were interested in was putting our own idea into production and then finding customers for it – that was our kind of challenge.” Such ambition might seem odd for four students in their midtwenties who, by their own admission, had no more commercial

experience between them than a couple of weekend jobs. But Johannes (who grew up on a small farm in West Sussex) credits their independence of mind to the fact that most of their families had owned small-businesses. Together, they tried to come up with an idea they could develop a product. One day, James suggested they design a new kind of chicken-house. Johannes remembers: “That was the moment. It was just so unique we knew it would be interesting – we all just looked at each other and thought, yeah, that’s the one!” But why? What’s so special about chickens? A look of almost evangelical fervour appears on Johannes’ face: “They’re just a completely neglected pet! They’re widely available and there’s instant satisfaction with being able to collect the eggs,” he enthuses. “Lots of people who keep chickens rave about how easy they are to keep, but they do tend to live in the countryside – so we hit on the idea of transferring that into urban settings.” However, a solid commercial logic did underpin this devotion to all things feathered. With organic and Fairtrade produce one of the fastest growing sections of the food industry, the four students saw an obvious market: “We specified a target audience – fairly affluent 30-somethings with families – and then realised we could get away with doing something quite different and modern. The design and concept all flowed from that.” Then, in the last year of their course, the four set about drawingup designs, working on prototypes and writing business plans in their spare time. Armed with these, they sought funding from investment councils and small business competitions – only to be

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FEATURE | SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL | OMLET

watch the birdie: omlet (From left): will windham, johannes paul, a chicken, Simon nicholls, James tuthill, another chicken

met with bemusement whenever they appeared: “It was hilarious,” Johannes remembers, “everyone else would be offering up life-saving devices and ways to put out fires quickly, and we were just going to try to get the world to keep chickens. But it seemed perfectly obvious to us that this would be a great thing to do!” The group’s enthusiasm was infectious enough to gain them a host of runner-up prizes, but no hard cash. By the time they graduated, in July 2003, they had only £3,000 to work with – “Chickenfeed!” Johannes says with a laugh. Undeterred, to save money the four of them moved into a house together in Oxfordshire, took odd-jobs to make ends meet, and set about constructing a proto type from bits-and-pieces bought at the local B&Q. Getting off the ground Six months later and ‘Omlet’ (as by now they’d christened themselves) had a fully tested prototype, designs for the final product,

a website, brochure and promotional material all on disk – everything they needed, in short, except the money to turn it all into reality. But with the banks and funding councils still not interested, Omlet’s founders were forced to launch the company with money borrowed from their families. Asking their parents for support was strange at first, but according to Johannes it turned out to be exactly the right thing to do: “Having talked to a lot of people since then, that seems to be what most small businesses do,” he explains.“They can’t convince somebody to lend them the money, and so family and friends pitch in. And everyone could see how hard we’d been working and that we would make it happen, so I think they knew they could trust us with their money!” With this financial backing Omlet could go into production, but they now faced a tight deadline. Months before they had booked a stand at a massive garden exhibition at Olympia,

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FEATURE | SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL | OMLET

London, to launch the Eglu. At the time it had been a sign of their absolute conviction that everything would work out – but it now left them with very little time to be ready. A bit of a scramble If that wasn’t pressure enough, a month before the exhibition a number of national newspapers, searching for a good Easter story, had seized upon an early press release Omlet sent out. Full-page articles soon followed. It was great publicity, and advance orders began to flood in, but as Johannes observes: “It was a little odd for us taking orders. We hadn’t even built an Eglu yet!”

Start Ups The independence of running your own business is tempting. But the high risk of failure can be intimidating. Real World offers five essential steps towards small business success.

1 Are you Ready? Two-thirds of small businesses are set-up by people who’ve worked for a larger business, learnt the trade, and are now going it alone. Would you benefit from gaining commercial experience, making contacts and building credibility in another company before striking out for yourself?

2 Have a Plan: A well-researched business plan is essential. It’ll be the first thing anyone you approach for advice or money will want to see. Don’t avoid the tough problems – solve them! A good plan will cover all aspects of your venture, and should demonstrate you have the ability and experience to make it a success.

3 Money Matters: The less money you have to borrow at the beginning, the less debt you will have to repay. Potential sources of finance include friends and family, banks, investment councils and enterprise funds. Nobody will offer you money without strings attached, so weigh the relative risks carefully. Account and plan for every penny with a detailed budget.

4 Get the Right Advice: Legal requirements, tax registration, health & safety regulations – you can’t know it all! Free advice can be had from business advisers, government bodies and employers’ associations. Also consider employing a solicitor and accountant for specific help.

5 Be Realistic: Only half of small businesses are still trading three years after they set up. So expect things to be tough. It can take several years before a new business is consistently profitable. (But remember, sometimes the best option may be to cut your losses.)

“

Preparations went right down to the wire. With 24 hours to go before the show, the four of them still hadn’t seen a finished Eglu: “It was a mad rush,” Johannes recalls. “The night before the show, Simon slept at the factory. Our first Eglu went on the stand 20 minutes before the show started – it was that close!” Despite all this, the product’s launch was a massive success. “It was incredible,” says Johannes,

the night before the show, simon slept at the factory. our first eglu went on the stand 20 minutes before the show started. it was that close.

”

“They did a story on it for Breakfast News on BBC1, and it carried on like that – it just went all over.” The only problem for the fledgling company now was that it found itself buried under a mountain of orders – customers faced a three-month waiting list before their Eglus were likely to be delivered. It was an exciting time, but one that, as Johannes ex-

plains, brought home to them the realities of running their own business: “It was really difficult, after designing and dreaming it, to suddenly have customers,” he remembers. “We couldn’t just go away for the weekend, because if we did that on Monday morning everything would have fallen apart.” A year on from that frantic launch, and Omlet is spreading its wings. In its first year of business the company turned a profit, and now has an annual turnover in excess of £2million. And it has already diversified, selling rabbit- and duck-houses, plus a range of chicken-related accessories. What’s more, the business is now big enough to employ 10 other people. The founders still pitch-in, but for the moment they’re free to concentrate on planning for the future. It’s a process that has brought home to them all the best things about running their own company: “It’s like in the beginning, when we were just coming up with ideas that would be fun to do,” Johannes observes. He won’t be drawn on what those ideas are, but the quartet has already proved that best-laid plans do sometimes work… n

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Real World 190x140

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salary package & benefits

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There is no single right way to write a CV but there are many, m

CV Clinic 











THE CANDIDATE. Benjamin Black is about to go into his final year at Leeds University and he will be job hunting this September. He’s interested in graduate schemes in marketing. Benjamin has masses of work experience, but has struggled to incorporate it into a format that makes any impact. “The tragedy is, here is a candidate with exceptional experience, who has used his spare time to maximum effect,” says Sue Hawksworth, senior career adviser at the University of Leeds. “Benjamin wants to go into marketing, and he has gained relevant experience, but this is buried in a dense, list-like CV, which will attract no one to do anything but aim for the wastepaper bin.”



 

 

*SOME OF BENJAMIN’S DETAILS AND

CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE BEEN ALTERED FOR PRIVACY REASONS

Before…  Benjamin’s CV doesn’t make an impact and the layout is cluttered and confusing. “He should emphasise his name, lodging it firmly in the middle of the page, in a large font, so he actually stands a chance of being remembered by the reader,” says Susan Hawksworth, senior careers adviser at the University of Leeds. He should also change his font from Times New Roman, which gives an old-fashioned look to the type, to something clean and modern like Arial or Trebuchet.  Missing colon. The small details are very important and can let the CV down.  This section is in the wrong place.“At this moment in Benjamin’s career, the most important thing to stress is that he is (almost) a graduate. The long list of employment/work experience would be in the right position if he had 15 years’ experience in

marketing, because by then his occupational knowledge and workplace savvy would have become far more relevant than his superb A levels and degree classification,” says Sue. It’s also impossible to tell anything about Benjamin such as: Does he have a degree? Did he graduate 10 years ago or is he still a student? What kind of job is he interested in? You shouldn’t make the employer work for basic information like this.  Benjamin has totally undersold himself in this section. Every line of the CV has to sing out to the employer and provide as much clarity around what he has done and why the experience was relevant. The lack of clear dates and lack of job descriptions do Benjamin no favours in any of the entries.  “Oh dear,” says Sue.“Working for an organisation as prestigious as Bentley, and that’s all he has to say about it.” Benjamin lacks

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FEATURE | CV | MASTERCLASS

ny, many things you can do wrong.

even the basics here such as how long he was there. He needs to describe his role and then,

most

importantly,

what

relevant



experience has he gained from his time with the UK Events team? “All employers want to know what the candidate has gained from his or her experience in the workplace, as they extrapolate future performance from the candidate’s ability to reflect on their development,” she says. He doesn’t say what he does in this role, never mind what relevance it has to his career plans. So much could be made of these recent experiences. The only point of Benjamin’s writing a CV or filling in an application form is to get to interview, so he should give more thought to marketing himself properly.  Same again. And don’t use ‘ongoing’.  Date alert. It looks like Benjamin has taken a year out but he doesn’t say so. Employers want to know these things.  What type of work?  Avoid acronyms – same goes for ESOL in the above entry.  Interests and voluntary work is a very vague heading and doesn’t reflect accurately the actual entries.  “Benjamin has really put himself about in terms of gaining positions of responsibility at a local, national and international level,” says Sue at Leeds. “Clearly he is a guy with a great deal of energy and commitment to his community, as well as to his career development, but yet again, it’s his perennial problem: he doesn’t explain what he does, and he doesn’t demonstrate what he has gained from his experience. He must start to offer evidence for his skills.”  Heartbreaking. These are two impressive achievements, which are relevant to his aims and they are buried on the second page. “Another golden opportunity missed to really big up his team-leading qualities as the Charity Ball organiser,” says Sue.  Getting into ancient history now. If Benjamin had done less in recent years it might be worth including these entries, but only if he can make them relevant to the job he’s applying for. As it is, he should scrap them.  Ongoing? When does he graduate? This is vital information. . Try standardising the layout to make things easier on the employer. The Millennium Volunteers and the driving licence don’t belong here.



  

  

 “The undergraduate’s spelling error of choice,” says Sue.“More than half the CVs that I see spell driving licence as ‘driving license’. Because it is a correct spelling in certain contexts (ie when you use the word as a verb), the spell-checker doesn’t pick it up, but plenty of humans do, and it is an irritation to many of them.”  It’s not usual to list all your GCSEs, as they do take up a lot of space.  It’s not necessary to mention your primary school, just senior school and sixth form college are enough.  What does the vague heading “Other” mean? These skills are worth noting, but they need to be anchored under an appropriate heading.  Referees?

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After…  Much clearer and easier to read. Benjamin’s name stands out. Good clean layout with hairlines dividing the various sections.



 Benjamin could consider using a “mission statement” to give the CV a sense of direction. When applying for a specific scheme, echo what they are



looking for ie “leadership, teamwork and problem-solving skills” in this statement. But beware, don’t make any claims you don’t back up in the CV. Benjamin could have included “An enthusiastic undergraduate committed to a career in marketing: Proactive and dedicated, with a wide range of relevant experience: A leader and team worker, proven organisational and problem solving skills”.  Education and qualifications are clearly set out. If he feels he is strong academically, it might be an idea for Benjamin to indicate the degree classification he anticipates after BA (Hons.) English. Most candidates go for 2:1, or “Good 2:1” if they think they might be on for a First. He could also include any relevant modules taken during his studies.  Benjamin needed to save space. Because his A-Levels aren’t relevant to marketing, he’s better of just listing the grades and a couple of (semi) relevant subjects.  His year out is clearly explained.

 Benjamin has so much work experience, and he needed to separate his long rambling list of Employment/Work experience in some logical way. As he knows he wants to target marketing opportunities it seems sensible to group relevant work experiences together.  Benjamin’s work experience is much easier to understand. We emphasised his achievements and drew out his experience. Too many people are overly modest on their CVs. You need to sell yourself! “You can be liberal with the truth to persuade, just avoid absolute lies as they can be exposed at interview,” says Sue at Leeds University career advisory service.  Here Benjamin would still really benefit from being able to quote some hard numbers to show how much business he has brought in. A good example of this is the charity ball (see 10). Be sure to describe the situation, say what your contribution was, and what you gained from it. “Go for ‘action words’ such as led, organised, developed, instigated, succeeded, which imbue a CV with a dynamic feel,” says Sue.





 









 Try, wherever you can to give examples of how you succeeded. Compare this entry to the first CV, you can you see a clear improvement!  Note the use of facts and figures to add credibility. By showing how much the ball made, Benjamin is giving the employer solid proof of success.  “Benjamin has crammed a lot into his life, and though like most careers advisers, I’m not keen on lists, I couldn’t see how else to fit his employment history in,” says Sue at Leeds. We’ve cut some of it, pulling out the most important periods such as his time teaching in Hungary. We’ve also cut very short periods of work experience.

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FEATURE | CV | MASTERCLASS

 TOP TIPS:  Always target your CV. “Establish an audience, considering which sector and organisation is being targeted,” says Mark Baldwin, careers adviser at Manchester University. “The CV needs to make a ‘professional offer’, informing the potential employer what is in it for them”. A good tactic is to compare your CV to the job description. Every sentence of your CV should fulfil a purpose.



 

 What is your selling point? Entries under the Employment/Work Experience’ section should carry an indication of key responsibilities and achievements and the key skills/ aptitudes developed. These should be coupled with specific examples which illustrate them. Don’t leave the potential employer to assume which skills you have.

 Make every single word count. Sell your experience but be succinct. “Keep descriptive information concise and to the point. Bullet points are better than blocks of text,” says Mark.

 Proof read, proof read and then read again. Sloppy spelling, poor layout, garbled grammar you name it – employers hate it.

 Contact details: Make sure that  “This section shows Benjamin is a well-rounded individual, something employers welcome, willing to give his time for the benefit of others,” says Sue. Again we’ve shortened it but made sure that we explain what he did in the various roles. If a position is elected then say so!  A short skills section can pull together diverse parts of the CV.  It’s up to you whether you list your references or handle it as we have done here for space purposes.  The spell-checker is not always to be trusted, ask someone to look your CV over before you send it, they can often spot typos and spelling errors you will have missed. n

you give a number where you can be contacted all the time. Employers won’t be tracking you down if you’ve changed mobile or moved house. Remember this is the employer’s first impression of you: now is the time to lose the amusing email address (pisshead@hotmail.com) and the funny voicemail message. Also think carefully about giving out a communal number: you need to be sure the message will get through.

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BB BusinessBrainz

Want to study a business-related course for your postgraduate degree? Join the club. The popularity of postgrad management and business courses has surged in recent years, according to the Association of Business Schools. More than half of graduates who choose to go on and study a business-related course say their key reasons are good career prospects, combined with potential to improve earnings. Lucy Jolin talks to five business school graduates about their choices.

y Photographs by Jennifer van Schoor 40 RW WWW.REALWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

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SPECIAL FEATURE | POSTGRADUATE | CASE STUDIES

Elli Salmon, 23, has a business studies BA from De Montford University and an MSc in strategic marketing from Cranfield Business School. She is now an operations project co-ordinator at e-business outfit Freeway Commerce.

lli

y Why did you decide to continue your studies?

Selling your postgrad to employers

To gain the skills that would qualify me to make marketing decisions. y How did you fund your postgraduate studies? My grandfather is a great believer in education so he offered to fund it for me from some

Elli knew she needed to make the most of her postgraduate studies. “I had two

money he’d put by for the grandchildren when we were younger. I was incredibly grateful as I already had an undergraduate debt and I didn’t want any more. y What was the workload like? I never used to believe the pep talk that tutors always give you before a course, when they say that you’ll be working 60 hours a week – but they were telling the truth! I had to be very organised. Preparing for exams and hitting coursework deadlines wasn’t so bad but doing the 18,000-word dissertation was a big challenge. y What was it like studying again? I went straight into my postgraduate studies from undergraduate with only a brief break for summer, so I didn’t find the transition too hard. But some people found it quite challenging. y How was it different to undergraduate study? You can get away with missing a couple of lectures as an undergraduate but not as a postgrad. We were also put in learning teams which we stayed in for the whole year. They were fantastic preparation for the workplace. We had some initial difficulties with a lot of dominant characters all wanting to have their say. But we ended up working well together. y Did you enjoy it? Yes, I made some good friends – we did all sorts of things… tobogganing and bowling. It isn’t all work and no play. You enjoy your free time more because it’s so precious. y Advice to those considering taking a postgraduate course? Make sure you enjoy the subject, you’re going to be paying a lot of money for the course. And try to get some relevant work experience, you’ll have a much easier time finding a job.

years’ commercial experience working in a sales office but that was only parttime,” she explains. “So I made my MSc relevant to prospective employers by showing how certain modules on my CV would benefit their businesses. Before I started my dissertation, I also contacted Freeway Commerce and we worked together to find a topic I could investigate that was of interest to them. So I did two versions of my dissertation – one for the university and one for Freeway Commerce. I think that helped me get a job and will certainly help my future in this company.”

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MASTER’S IN MANAGEMENT

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As a university graduate, you are keen to succeed in a business career. You are ready for international mobility and intercultural challenge. ESCP-EAP offers a portfolio of Masters courses which will prepare you for new challenges. Study in different countries and languages alongside students from all over the world. Enhance your CV with company internships and projects.

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Durham’s Masters will help your career reach new heights The period following graduation from an undergraduate degree is one of the most crucial in your life – decisions taken at this point will alter your career path and irrevocably change your life. Whatever your first degree, from anthropology to zoology, a Durham Business School Masters degree can help you gain a competitive edge in an over-crowded job market. Durham Business School offers the following masters programmes, aimed at recent graduates looking to move into business, economics, finance and management. You’ll also obtain a qualification from one of the UK’s leading academic universities and top ranked business schools.

MA Programmes

� MA Management (full-time and distance learning) � MA Financial Management � MA Human Resource Management � MA Marketing � MA Enterprise Management Durham Business School’s Masters programmes offer you an exciting opportunity to study in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and be taught and guided by staff with up-to-date theoretical and practical knowledge of key areas of business and management. "I found the MA Management to be a highly informative and engaging course that opened my eyes to the world of business. It provided ample opportunity to further my key skills and provided an excellent platform when applying for graduate recruitment schemes. The staff at the Business School were both well-versed in their fields and thoroughly approachable, which made for highly enjoyable tutorials and seminars, and I would thoroughly recommend a Durham Masters." Andrés Sanchez - MA Management For further information on MA Programmes contact: Tel: + 44 (0) 191 334 5539 Email: ma.admin@durham.ac.uk or visit www.durham.ac.uk/dbs

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MSc Programmes

� MSc Corporate and International Finance � MSc Finance � MSc Finance and Investment � MSc Economics and Finance � MSc International Banking and Finance � MSc International Money, Finance and Investment Teaching in the Department of Economics and Finance was rated as excellent with the award of 24/24 in the 2001QAA Subject Review. Research in the Department has been recognised as of international excellence with the award of 5A in the HEFCE Research Assessment Exercise "Studying an MSc in beautiful Durham is like doing a 'Wall Street' degree in 'Hyde Park', We have virtual trading facilities - Stock-Trak; a superb guest speaker programme; and the opportunity to study with some of the highest quality graduates from all over the world. Much of the knowledge and skills I have gained at Durham will be an essential part of my professional life." Sheldon Ma - MSc Finance and Investment For further information on MSc Programmes contact: Tel: + 44 (0) 191 334 5134 Email: pgadmissions.economics@durham.ac.uk or visit www.durham.ac.uk/dbs

makers of business leaders Durham Business School is committed to embracing diversity

16/9/05 18:15:17

SPECIAL FEATURE | POSTGRADUATE | CASE STUDIES

Peter Barry, 23, has both a BSc and an MSc in economics and finance – from University College, Dublin and Warwick Business School. He did a four-month internship and went travelling before joining US investment bank Bear Stearns.

ETER

y Why did you decide to continue your studies? I did economics and finance for my undergraduate degree and thought the MSc would be a great way to pursue that interest and improve my future career prospects and earnings. y How did you fund your postgraduate studies? Part of the loan came from the Career Development Loans company and then, luckily, my father put up the rest.

Making contacts for the future Good contacts are vital for any career and, Peter says, postgraduate courses are an obvious way to meet people who will be following a similar path to yours.

y What was the workload like?

“I have friends from university in most of

There was a great deal to cover in a shorter amount of time. I used my nine-to-five time for lectures and studying and I tried to play sports or go to the gym in the evening and then do a bit of study after that. But I made the decision to give myself a night off each week where I’d meet up with friends. y What was it like studying again? I’d just finished my undergraduate studies a few months before so there was no huge change. I knew what I was getting myself into. y How was it different to undergraduate study? Apart from being a lot more intensive, the postgraduate course was a great opportunity to pursue my own academic interests. At the end of the year I had a much greater interest in finance than I’d had at the end of my undergraduate degree. It was also a lot more practical, which was a big plus for me. y Did you enjoy it? I loved it. I lived at home when I was an undergraduate, so coming to a different country and meeting people from so many different cultures and countries from around the world was absolutely amazing. y Advice to those considering taking a postgraduate course You need to manage your time very efficiently and be organised and goal-oriented. You’ll also need to be a lot more independent and a lot more motivated than you were as an undergraduate. But if you work hard, it’s all worth it.

the large investment banks in London and they’re only a phone call away whenever I need help,” he says. “They’re great contacts because they are your friends first and foremost. The people on your course may all come from different backgrounds but they will be going into similar jobs and could prove very useful for you.”

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MASTER YOUR FUTURE

When you graduate with a Masters Degree from EBS London, you will be entering the job market with a set of skills for which employers around the world are prepared to pay a premium. Situated in the beautiful Regent’s Park you will also be able to take advantage of: � � � �

Dedicated PG centre Small Classes International Focus Central London Location

European Business School London, Regent’s College, Inner Circle, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4NS, UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7487 7505 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7487 7425 E: EBSL@Regents.ac.uk

16:37

Page 1

Professional marketing qualifications with CIM

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We’ll take your talents further The School of Management is a leading provider of internationally recognised postgraduate vocational management degrees in the specialist fields of hospitality, tourism, food, retail and health care management. We also offer a well established and highly regarded MBA, a variety of postgraduate programmes across a range of broader business disciplines and a one-year Master Entry Programme (MEP) for those who wish to gain a postgraduate qualification but require extra study to meet the entry requirements.

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SPECIAL FEATURE | POSTGRADUATE | CASE STUDIES

OIFFE

Aoiffe McGarry, 23, has a BSc in economics and finance from University College, Dublin and in 2004 began an MSc in finance and investment at Durham. She has now secured a job at Citigroup.

y Why did you decide to continue your studies?

Filling your skills gap

The MSc provided everything my future employers needed. So when I was applying to them I could say that I might not have the work experience but I’ve covered relevant areas in my postgraduate study. y How did you fund your postgraduate studies? In the Republic of Ireland we’re very lucky as we don’t have to pay for undergraduate study. I also worked and self-funded, with the shortfall made up by my parents. y What was the workload like? We spent the first two months establishing the fundamentals, but from November the workload really took off. We had to hand in assignments throughout the year, which were graded. That really helped because it meant I was spreading my workload and not leaving everything to my exams. We also had weekly seminars to check that we were keeping up with our work. It’s good to get a little push now and again, however motivated you are. y What was it like studying again? It took me a little while to get back into it. My gap year was great, and it was good not having so much structure in my life. But I did miss studying. I always had an eye on the financial pages and I’d always try to pick up a paper in any part of the world I was in, just to see what was happening in the local economy. y How was it different to undergraduate study? A lot more was expected of me. It was up to me to find the areas I was most interested in and explore them myself. I also felt as if I was finally getting to grips with my topic. We didn’t just read the books, we debated them. y Did you enjoy it? I had a fantastic time. With the mix of people in Durham it was easy to integrate. y Advice to those considering taking a postgraduate course I didn’t just look at the course as a whole, I investigated the individual skills on offer. There was no point in doing a course if it didn’t match what employers wanted.

Employers will want to know how you addressed weaknesses in your CV. “I didn’t have experience in investment banking but I wanted to demonstrate to employers that I was up to speed on current issues,” says Aoiffe. “I discussed this with my course director and consequently we set up a meeting once a week with fellow students to discuss current topics in the finance world. I made it clear to prospective employers that I knew I had a lack of current knowledge and a lack of analytical skills on current events and had taken steps to remedy that. Finance is a very competitive world but taking the initiative can really give you the edge.”

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Sharpen Your Career Postgraduate Qualifications from DIT

The Dublin Institute of Technology has an exciting and diverse range of postgraduate opportunities that are aimed at educating graduates towards industry focused career paths. These opportunities include a diverse and exciting range of â&#x20AC;˘ Taught Postgraduate Conversion Courses â&#x20AC;˘ Taught Postgraduate Continuation Courses And a broad array of Competitively Funded Postgraduate Research Programmes for graduates who wish to undertake innovative indepth research at the cutting edge of their subject area. These opportunities are available across the Instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s six faculties â&#x20AC;˘ Applied Arts â&#x20AC;˘ Engineering â&#x20AC;˘ Built Environment â&#x20AC;˘ Science â&#x20AC;˘ Business â&#x20AC;˘ Tourism and Food For further information Please review our website: http://www.dit.ie/ or contact Bob Kavanagh Head of Graduate Studies and Research Dublin Institute of Technology, Fitzwilliam House, 30 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin 2. T: +353-1-402 3434 F: +353-1-402 3431 E: postgraduate@dit.ie

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Developing Tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Leaders

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SPECIAL FEATURE | POSTGRADUATE | CASE STUDIES

Carl Wahlquist Ortiz, 24, finished his MSC in global banking and finance at EBS London this year. He works as a merger and acquisition analyst at financial information company Mergermarket. Originally from Miami, he has a degree in international business and language studies from Bentley College, Boston.

ARL

 Why did you decide to continue your studies? I’d been planning to study law at postgraduate level but also had an interest in investment banking. London’s a real international hub for the financial world so I took some time to search out postgraduate study online and found this course.  How did you fund your postgraduate studies? I found that there are a wide range of options such as scholarships and financial aid out there. But you’ve got to be ready to do the research and it can be very time consuming.  What was the workload like? Some people worked up to 12 hours a day and others worked for as little as an hour on some days. It really depends on the person and how much they have to learn. The experience of people on the courses varied widely.  What was it like studying again? The most basic requirement was that applicants have one year’s work experience. I had this from working at communications company Hughes Network Systems during my undergraduate studies and for nine months after university. I think if I’d have taken any more time out working I would have found it hard to get back into studies.  How was it different to undergraduate study? It’s very different. There is definitely much more self-motivated study. With the MSc you have more choice in what you want to study. For example, if you are looking at private-equity valuations, you can choose which sector you’d like to look into and which companies.  Did you enjoy it? Most definitely. I can’t say I regret one thing about the course. The whole experience, not just the study has been worth it, especially the different people you meet.  Advice to those considering taking a postgraduate course? Doing some work experience before you start studying is a really useful way to get a bigger picture of what you want to get out of your course. I look back and realise that I would have got more out of certain modules if I’d had more workplace knowledge.

LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPAND YOUR SKILLS. Don’t just rely on the study itself to enhance your employability. “I put myself forward and was voted the module leader for the course, which meant that I met with the faculty heads a number of times and acted as a liaison between them and the students. This role really expanded my management and negotiation skills. I enjoyed it and employers saw it as a real plus on my CV.”

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*ESRC recognised for research training funding

SPECIAL FEATURE | POSTGRADUATE | CASE STUDIES

Spiros Mesomeris, 30, is a Cambridge graduate with a BA in economics; a masters in mathematical trading and finance from Cass Business School and a PhD researching equity markets. He works for Credit Suisse First Boston.

PIROS

y Why did you decide to continue your studies?

Staying motivated

I always had an interest in research and I wanted to combine my interest in the financial markets with a more in-depth analysis. It was also to improve my job prospects. y How did you fund your postgraduate studies? The business school funded both my MA and my PhD. I also taught some classes. Those two sources of income were sufficient to keep me out of debt. y What was the workload like? It was fine, although hectic in the first term. Postgraduate study takes a lot of self-discipline. With the PhD, I knew I was going to have to spend months researching certain topics properly with the aim of publishing in good journals – which I managed to do. y What was it like studying again? I didn’t find it hard as I had come straight out of undergraduate study. However, a lot of people who had come back to university from business found it more difficult. y How was it different to undergraduate study? As part of my masters, I had to undertake a lot of group work and learn how to manage my time around the group meetings. Also, the masters had a much more practical approach. y Did you enjoy it? Yes, it gave me exactly what I was looking for – a much greater understanding of the financial market. I also think my postgraduate study has helped my career. Although I went on to do my PhD, the vast majority of the people who graduated from the masters course the same year got very good jobs in the City afterwards. y Advice to those considering taking a postgraduate course If you’re looking for a career change, in particular, you will have to do a lot of research beforehand. Attend open days and speak to the tutors who are responsible for each course. Ex-graduates may also attend these open days as well. Get as much information as you can before you make a decision.

Long-term plans demand long-term motivation. But it can be hard to keep going when you’ve got no clearly defined end to your journey. “It’s a lot easier to stay motivated when you’re working towards a goal,” says Spiros. “Taking up the option to do a dissertation on a masters will enable you to work for several months on something that really interests you and that you will hopefully be able to sell to future employers. It’s also possible to hook up with the industry in the form of a summer internship, and possibly do your dissertation in collaboration.”

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Cass Business School is a highly respected and influential business school. Located on the doorstep of the City of London in a state-ofthe-art building, we offer a range of specialist, full and part-time Masters courses that have earned us a reputation for excellence. These courses have been developed to meet the needs of employers in the global business and financial communities and are taught by an internationally renowned faculty and practitioners.

Join a great City institution To find out more: C as

si n

ess

www.cass.city.ac.uk/masters +44 (0) 20 7040 8600 cass-masters@city.ac.uk

The Business School offers specialist Masters courses in the following areas: International Accounting, Actuarial Science, Banking, Energy, Charity, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, Investment Management, Logistics, Management, Mathematical Trading, Pension Science, Property Valuation, Quantitative Finance, Real Estate Investment, Shipping.

Get yourself a before you graduate at the Liverpool Graduate Careers Fair In October 2005, some of the UK’s most prestigious employers will travel from all over the UK to be in Liverpool for just one day. Make sure you’re there to meet them. If you’re a final year student looking to find out about the graduate jobs that will be available to you after graduation Real jobs for the or in your penultimate year and right candidate. looking for attractive work experience Somebody’s got opportunities with major graduate to get them… so recruiters, then this fair is for you. Some exhibitors will also be advertising why not you? immediate start vacancies for recent graduates - so if you graduated in the last two years and are not fixed up yet, this may be your lucky break.

Tuesday 11th October 2005 St George’s Hall, Liverpool 10.30am – 3.30pm

Contact:

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For more information and an exhibitor list visit the fairs website at www. liverpoolfairs.org.uk

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Loughborough University

Economics Finance Banking MSc in Economics and Finance MSc in Financial Economics MSc in International Finance and Economics MSc in Monetary Economics A rigorous preparation in economics and finance leading to PhD entry that also provides a solid foundation for professional careers in economics and the financial services sectors of government and Commerce. (All students on this programme initially register for the MSc in Economics and Finance.)

MSc in Banking and Finance MSc in International Banking Rigorous training leading to careers in central banking, banking and the financial sector, in developed and developing countries. A suitable selection of modules provides research training for PhD entry.

MA in Banking and Financial Markets MA in Money, Banking and Finance Training for careers in central banking, banking and the financial sector, in developed and developing countries. (Open to students with limited undergraduate specialisation in economics and finance.)

Diploma in Economics (conversion) Open to graduates of all disciplines, this diploma prepares students for careers requiring an Economics degree. Successful completion may qualify students for admission to an MSc programme.

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A wide variety of modules in specialised areas of economics, banking, finance, econometrics and a new module in financial market trading.

www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ec/ For further information about all programmes contact The Administrative Officer Department of Economics, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK tel: +44 (0)1509 222730 fax: +44 (0)1509 223910 e-mail: msc.economics@lboro.ac.uk Ref: EC/3961

An acknowledged leader in Banking and Finance

Investment banking remains the most potent symbol of the UK’s finance market. But it’s not the only area graduates should consider in terms of a career, says Julie Ferry.

not

money m It’s all about the

“

oney makes the world go round,” or so the saying

goes, and it has never been more true. With an increasing world population and the desire of its inhabitants to acquire a ‘better life’ for themselves, the question of how to make money will always be at the forefront of debate, whether in boardrooms, government offices or at the local corner shop. This is, of course, very good news for those graduates considering a career in finance. Those who are lucky enough to pass the endless rounds of interviews will join a lucrative sector, (with some starting salaries fixed at £25,000) and one which invests heavily in finding the best people. But what does a career in finance actually mean? Most people’s minds spring immediately to investment banking, which remains one of the most popular and competitive areas for graduates. However, there is more

 Photographs by Domenico Pugliese 52 RW WWW.REALWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

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SPECIAL FEATURE | CITY & FINANCE | CASE STUDIES

“

A LOT OF CHIEF EXECUTIVES IN MAJOR COMPANIES HAVE COME FROM FINANCE. IT IS A CAREER THAT GIVES YOU A BROAD UNDERSTANDING OF BUSINESS

to it than that. You shouldn’t underestimate how many opportunities can be found

”

within this thriving sector. It’s not what you think Investment banking, fund management, retail banking, management consultancy and working for the regulatory body are just a taster of the careers that come under the finance umbrella. And it’s by no means all London based either. Did you know, for example, that Edinburgh is the secondlargest financial centre in the

JONATHAN POPE, 23, WORKS AS A FOREIGNEXCHANGE ANALYST AT MORGAN STANLEY

country and the fifth-largest in Europe? Fiona Sandford, director of careers at the London School of Economics, says that the wide-range of jobs on offer is one of the sector’s main strengths and the skills graduates learn in the sector are valuable commodities that will help them throughout their careers. “The skills that you get from any of the graduate schemes transfer very nicely to a whole range of opportunities. A lot of people make quite radical moves from finance into the not-for-profit sector. The portability of skills is really something that the industry could do more to promote.” Sarah Shillingford, graduate recruitment partner for Deloitte, agrees that a career in finance can pay dividends later in your career. “Having a really good grounding in finance is excellent for your overall business education even if you are not going to stay in finance. There are a lot of people that are chief executives in major companies that have come from a finance background. It is a career that gives you a broad understanding of business in a very practical way.”

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IN OUR BUSINESS WE KNOW ALL ABOUT * CONVERTIBLES .

Global graduate careers ABN AMRO is one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading financial institutions with a global network in 59 countries. We have opportunities for talented graduates in London, Amsterdam, New York, Hong Kong and Sydney. Our Graduate Development Programme starts with a six-week training course in Amsterdam, before enabling you to specialise in areas including mergers and acquisitions, equities and fixed income. For the definitive guide to corporate and investment banking, please visit www.graduate.abnamro.com *Convertible â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The exchange of one type of security, such as a convertible bond, into another type, such as equity.

SPECIAL FEATURE | CITY & FINANCE | CASE STUDIES

“

INVESTMENT BANKING IS SO COMPETITIVE. IT’S A CHALLENGE TO GET AN INTERVIEW. ONE OF THE LEADING BANKS HAD 9,000 APPLICATIONS FOR 90 PLACES

”

This sounds great, but how do you secure a position? Peter Harrison runs Harrison Careers, a company that coaches people on how to get a job in the finance industry. He says that one key way for graduates to get a job in an ultra-competitive area like investment banking is to secure a summer internship while at university. Do something special “Investment banking is so competitive that it is a challenge to even get an interview. Last year, one of the leading investment banks had 9,000 applications for 90 places, so to get selected by interview you have to do something special and an internship is a good place to start.” He estimates that about 60 per cent of the full-time jobs on offer in finance will go to someone who has work experience in the sector. First-hand experience can also be a great way of finding out what is actually on offer, the industry can be very opaque and from the outside it’s often difficult to find what jobs actually exist.

Sandford agrees that getting an internship is a distinct advantage if you want to go into investment banking, but warns against feeling dispirited if you don’t manage to secure a place. “A lot of people are put off because they don’t get an internship and think that means it’s not for them, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Recruiters are looking for wellrounded personalities, so if you Inter-railed in your first year or worked in a shop, you have gained excellent skills. Good analytical skills and the importance of maths is moving higher up the agenda as banks get more reliant on complex mathematical modelling. However, that doesn’t apply to all areas and they are just as interested in English, history and language graduates.” Outside of the cut and thrust of the investment banking arena, the finance sector is looking for a wide-range of other skills from graduates. “Primarily we assess graduates on their academic record but we are also looking for people with very strong inter-personal skills,” says Shillingford at Deloitte.“Our staff are constantly working in teams and dealing with clients. Being able to develop relationships with them is very important. Graduates also need to demonstrate an interest in business by reading the business press or being able to talk about businesses they have read about or worked in.” Retail banking and fund management are two areas where communication skills and business interest rate highly, as Sandford explains: “Retail banks look wider than investment banks. Customerfacing work experience is vital though. Fund management is

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SPECIAL FEATURE | CITY & FINANCE | CASE STUDIES

another area where the skills needed are often the softer communication skills. What they are all looking for is an interest in finance and evidence to back that up – you must do your research.” But what is it like when you are actually employed in the finance sector? The traditional

image

male-dominated workforce which has a poor record on work-life balance. There are more than a few stories of new graduates being expected to pull all-nighters at the office, but are these just urban myths? According to Harrison, finance isn’t “an Old Boys club anymore,” and Shillingford backs this up by saying that 40 per cent of Deloitte’s graduate intake is female, so any imbalance is being addressed. However, the industry’s record on work-life balance appears to vary substantially depending on what area you decide to go into.

“

QUICK FACTS:

WE ARE EXTREMELY FLEXIBLE ABOUT PROVIDING CAREER BREAKS AND ALLOWING PEOPLE TO WORK PART-TIME. IT ENSURES WE KEEP TALENTED PEOPLE WORKING FOR US

Work hard, play hard? “If you are an investment banker you are going to earn a lot of money, but you are going to earn that money both in terms of the level of intellectual skills that you use and the amount of time you are going to put into it. However, that may just be in the early part of your career and there are good role models that initially put a huge investment into their job but have now managed to take career breaks or balance it with family commitments,” says Harrison. Shillingford is confident that the UK’s finance sector is changing and says that it is possible to achieve a good work-life balance. “We are extremely flexible about providing career breaks and allowing people to work part-time. It is really important to us as it ensures that we keep talented people working for us.” So although it is trying to shake off its work hard, play hard image, the world of finance still demands a lot from its employees both professionally and personally. However, the rewards are plentiful, including training programmes, good career development and of course an excellent salary. The choice is yours. But just ensure that, as Fiona Sandford says, “The worse the work-life balance is the more money you make – that’s the pay off.”

”

Finance is one of the UK’s biggest service industries. Most large financial organisations will recruit from any degree discipline, but the more competitive industries will ask for a 2:1 minimum and 22 UCAS points.

Skills: As you might expect, most employers will look for the ability to work with figures and analytical skills. But soft skills, like communication and the ability to work in a team are also vital, particularly for client-facing roles.

Training: For some jobs, further qualifications are recommended, if not a prerequisite. Some industries will require you to pass an entry-level qualification within 6-12 months of joining.

Pay: The estimated graduate starting salary is £14,000 – £27,000. A typical salary after training is £30,000 – £55,000. (Source: The Graduate Recruitment Bureau)

USEFUL WEBSITES www.fsa.gov.uk Financial Services Authority

www.ifslearning.com The Institute of Financial Services

www.ft.com Financial Times

www.bba.org.uk British Banking Association See Real World in February for accounting and actuarial jobs.

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choose your challenge It’s all about choice at CIBC World Markets With our Graduate Training Programme you get to try everything, from highly-tuned Mergers & Acquisitions to feeling the buzz of the trading floor. Through an intensive training programme you will learn new skills and gain new knowledge, all with help from your own personal mentor. It’s your challenge It’s your choice CIBC World Markets

Apply online before 30th November 2005 at: www.apply-cibcwm.co.uk

SPECIAL FEATURE | CITY & FINANCE | CASE STUDIES

Name | age: Paul Cabry, 24 Degree | university: Economics, University of Leeds, 2:1, 2003 Occupation: Finance executive, Tesco

 What do you do in your job? I am responsible for reporting and analysis for our

“

stores. This means I’m the link between the stores and the finance team and have to let YOU HAVE TO BE them know how they perform compared to their budgets. All transactions in store are PREPARED TO GIVE recorded centrally in a management recording system. I go into the system, bring out all the numbers and report back to stores on their daily trade. UP SOME OF YOUR  What was your motivation in applying? I was keen to get financial experience in a EVENINGS AND big blue-chip company. I also wanted to be part of a structured graduate programme WEEKENDS TO STUDY, which supports you and enables you to study for an accountancy qualification. There AS A JOB IN RETAIL are so many different areas of finance that you can go into, but retail has such a dayto-day impact on everyone. Tesco is the biggest retailer in the country so seemed like FINANCE REQUIRES the obvious choice. YOU TO DO FURTHER  What did the application process involve? It was an online application form, which QUALIFICATIONS was handled by an external financial-recruitment agency. They conducted a telephone interview with me and I was invited for a first stage interview. This was followed by an assessment centre, which was the first time I had actual contact with Tesco.  What do you enjoy about your job? Working in a company like Tesco means you have a lot of different people working around you. I come into contact with the people who work in the stores and people who work in logistics as well as those who work in finance.  Most challenging part of the job? We are only a small cog in the overall business but we have to ensure that we communicate financial information to non-finance people in an accessible way. You need to make things as simple as possible for people who don’t have a financial background.  Worst part? It can be difficult to juggle work, study and your social life. When you are studying for six months of the year to do further qualifications it can be difficult. But, I knew that I would be doing more exams before I took the role so I just have to accept it.  Advice to readers considering a career in your field: Make an effort to understand the industry. Big retailers like Tesco feature in the news a lot so make sure you are on top of all the hot issues. You also have to be prepared to give up some of your evenings and weekends to study, as a job in retail finance will require you to do further qualifications.

”

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SPECIAL FEATURE | CITY & FINANCE | CASE STUDIES

Name | age: Helen Hartwell, 22 Degree | university: Masters in Physics, Oxford University, 1st, 2004 Occupation: Analyst, PA Consulting Group

 What do you do in your job? I work in the financial services sector of PA Consulting,

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which is a management, systems and technology consulting firm. We work with clients THERE ISN’T A to solve problems or to help them achieve certain business objectives. As an analyst, WORST PART TO THIS I support the team, which could mean that I’ll do quantitative analysis, research or client interviews. At the moment I am developing an intranet site and I am currently JOB… YOU HEAR working with a global insurer. HORROR STORIES  Motivation in applying? It was really important for me to work in a team and that is ABOUT CONSULTANTS a large part of consulting life. You are rarely working on your own – you work with WORKING REALLY people from your own company as well as clients. There is a lot of variety in the job. Since I joined here I have worked on four different projects. We can work where our LONG HOURS, clients are based, and so consultancy can offer really good opportunities for travel. It BUT I HAVEN’T also offers the opportunity to do high-profile work with high-profile clients. I didn’t see it EXPERIENCED THAT as a complete change in direction from my degree; you learn many transferable skills from reading physics, such as logic and analytical skills.  What did the application process involve? There was an initial online application form and then a number of interview stages. I had a general interview and a verbal and numerical test. The next round was an assessment centre, which involved a group exercise and a case study that you do on your own. Then there was a final interview. When you join you attend a three-week residential training course.  What do you enjoy about your job? The number one thing for me is the variety of work.  Most challenging part of the job? You have to learn a lot very quickly. You might be doing long hours some days and it can be tiring, so it is a challenge to keep yourself balanced.  Worst part? There honestly isn’t a worst part to this job. You hear a lot of horror stories about consultants working really long hours but I haven’t experienced that. We do work reasonably long hours but I haven’t done any all-nighters in the office.  Advice: It is really important to make sure that you know what the job is about before you even consider writing the application form. It is hard to find out what consultants actually do, so try to talk to someone that does it, so that when you get to interview you know exactly why you want to do it, not that it just seems like a good idea. Don’t be put off by the fact there is a lot of competition.

”

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At Lehman Brothers, we do ground-breaking deals. Recruiting you, for instance.

At Lehman Brothers, our greatest investment is in our human capital. We hire smarter â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and have earned a reputation for targeting high-potential men and women. We train smarter too â&#x20AC;&#x201D; offering one of the most intensive training and development programmes in the industry. Our dedication to our people and our clients has recently earned Lehman Brothers the ranking of Best Investment Bank and Best Credit Derivatives House in the Euromoney 2005 Awards for Excellence. To learn more, visit us online www.lehman.com/careers/europe

Lehman Brothers is an equal opportunity employer. ÂŠ2005 Lehman Brothers Inc. All rights reserved. Member SIPC. Lehman Brothers International (Europe) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

SPECIAL FEATURE | CITY & FINANCE | CASE STUDIES

Name | age: Jonathan Pope, 23 Degree | university: Engineering, Cambridge, 2:1, 2003 Occupation: Analyst, Morgan Stanley

 What do you do in your job? As foreign exchange is a 24-hour market, I begin each

“

day quite early at 6.30 am, attending a morning meeting to discuss prominent news AS FOREIGN and movements that may have occurred during New York’s and Asia’s trading hours. EXCHANGE IS A Being a trader it would be very difficult to describe a typical day as each is very different depending on how news and flows are affecting the market. Some days are 24-HOUR MARKET, filled with incident, while other days can be relatively quiet and it is during these periods I BEGIN EACH DAY that I try to read as much research as possible and formulate trade ideas. QUITE EARLY AT  What was your motivation in applying? After deciding I was interested in a 6.30AM, ATTENDING banking career, I attended the various on-campus presentations by different banks. Morgan Stanley impressed me as I felt it managed to balance the professionalism of A MEETING TO one of the top-tier banks while maintaining a personable relationship among its DISCUSS NEWS employees. I accepted a summer internship and it was extremely well organised. It AND MOVEMENTS allowed an insight into all areas of fixed income. It confirmed that banking was the career I wanted to pursue, so I accepted a full-time position.  What did the application process involve? The application for the internship involved filling in an online application. Once this was passed I went to a testing centre where there was a maths test, a number of interviews and a group planning exercise.  What do you enjoy about your job You are always given the chance to prove what you can do. When I first arrived, I was required to lend a hand on the sales side. It was daunting, but in hindsight there was no better to way to learn as quickly as I did  Most challenging part of the job? Working in foreign exchange means my role is intense, fast paced and requires an ability to make the correct decision under pressure. However, there are few things that can beat making a good trade! Since joining I have got past the technical jargon of foreign-exchange trading and now pay a lot of attention to the technical analysis.  Worst part? It would be a lie to say that the hours are not demanding in this job but starting early allows me to finish early.  Advice to readers considering a career in your field: Although the industry is well paid, I feel that this is the wrong reason to decide on a career in banking. As you are likely to spend the large majority of your day at the office, it is important to do your homework and confirm that it is an environment in which you will be happy and, in turn, productive.

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No NAO. No news. Without the NAO’s audits and reports into public spending, real news stories would be a bit thinner on the ground. Every day, we’re mentioned in newspapers and on TV about all kinds of stories connected to public spending. Because that’s what we do: ensure that around £800bn a year is spent wisely. If the range and scale of our work surprises you, so will the opportunities. We’re one of the few public sector organisations to offer graduates ICAEW Accountancy training, with a three-year professional training programme that’s built around annual block release periods.

When you get here, you’ll realise just how supportive the culture is. So much so, that by the end of your training, you’re quite likely to have seen an entire audit through to completion. Your starting salary will be £23,369, and benefits include a final salary pension scheme and free life assurance. Moreover, our London office has a subsidised staff restaurant and a gym. Find out more at

www.nao.org.uk/graduates

We aim to reflect the diversity of the public we serve.

SPECIAL FEATURE | CITY & FINANCE | CASE STUDIES

Name | age: Christina Bohm, 26 Degree | university: Management and accountancy, University of Uppsala, Sweden, Pass with distinction, 2004 Occupation: Business foundation programme trainee, KPMG

 What do you do in your job? I am on the business-foundation programme, which

“

means I do two years as a trainee and rotate through four six-month placements. I was YOU JUST GET TO placed in audit at the beginning and now I am in the corporate social responsibility KNOW EVERYBODY (CSR) department. Within CSR I work on a lot of different projects; I help manage our continuous volunteer programme where staff are given time during work hours to do AND WHAT YOU ARE volunteer work. I manage the relationship between the volunteers and the schemes DOING AND YOU that we have in place. HAVE TO PACK UP  What was your motivation in applying? I knew I wanted to get into some sort of YOUR STUFF AND business consultancy but didn’t know exactly which field, so I thought this programme would be a really good opportunity to try different things and figure out what I wanted MOVE AGAIN – BUT to do. It is a big firm with a good name and has all the benefits that come along with I ENJOY LEARNING that, such as excellent social life and good salary. NEW THINGS  What did the application process involve? I did an online application and an online verbal and numerical reasoning test. I was called down for a first interview with HR and then the last step was an assessment day. The great thing about KPMG was how quick they were at getting back to you. I never had to wait more than 24 hours for a response at each stage.  What do you enjoy about your job? I really enjoy the fact that I get to move around, because I love learning new things. Within CSR I enjoy the creativity of picking up new ideas and seeing what can we do with them. Seeing projects through from the initial concept to implementing new programmes is very satisfying.  Most challenging part of the job? Starting something new every six months is exhausting. You are on such a steep learning curve and have six months to learn everything in the department. You just get to know everybody and what you are doing and then you have to pack up your stuff and move again.  Worst part? At the moment I really enjoy it. There is nothing that I don’t like about my job.  Advice to readers considering a career in your field: Try and keep an open mind. When you are at university you may think that you know what you want to do with your life but don’t close yourself off to any opportunities that might arise.

”

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YOU

You have the drive and determination to achieve in business. Powered by the CIMA Professional Qualification you will have the financial expertise and strategic ability to accelerate to your goals. If you have the ambition to develop a successful career in business, training to become a Chartered Management Accountant will give you the skills to operate at senior levels in leading organisations. You will not be trained to become a number cruncher, compiling or auditing accounts, but to be an important member of the management team, helping shape organisational strategy. With CIMA, you have the flexibility to train in any organisation where you can gain the necessary experience; ranging from banks to management consultancies; and blue chip companies to public sector organisations. You will build your skills as you progress through the qualification, increasing your earning potential as you develop. Once qualified, you will become highly sought after. Those who lead, understand that learning never stops.

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SPECIAL FEATURE | CITY & FINANCE | CASE STUDIES

Name | age: Rob Scholes, 26 Degree | university: MA Hons in triple modern languages, St Andrews, 2:1, 2002 Occupation: Integrated and acquisition finance analyst, Bank of Scotland (part of HBOS)

 What do you do in your job? I work as a member of a team and we offer equityfunding packages, supporting management teams and equity houses. As an analyst, I have a variety of duties including financial modelling, credit reports and taking part in negotiations.  What was your motivation in applying? I had a summer job working in a bank and I really liked it. I wanted to work for medium to large businesses which meant I decided to go into corporate banking. Bank of Scotland has an excellent reputation within the banking community and the graduate scheme was offering excellent onthe-job training. It seemed like a good start for someone like me who wasn’t from a finance background. I decided to stay in Scotland because I came up here for university and really enjoyed it, so it seemed like a natural step to work in Edinburgh.

“

I COULD BE OUT SEEING A MANUFACTURING COMPANY ONE DAY AND A RETAILER THE NEXT. IT’S VERY SOCIABLE, MEETING PEOPLE IS A BIG PART OF THE JOB

”

The bank itself is a dominant player in the Scottish market, even though London is still the financial centre of the UK.  What did the application process involve? It was a three-stage process; an online application form, a telephone interview and an assessment centre, which gave me an opportunity to meet graduates that were currently on the scheme.  What do you enjoy about your job? We deal with a whole range of different companies so I could be out seeing a manufacturing company one day and a retailer the next. It isn’t all work either and we get the opportunity to go out and network with people at dinners and golfing days, so it is a very sociable job. The bank will only get business if you have a good relationship with the client, so meeting people is a big part of the job.  Most challenging part of the job? The time pressures are very challenging because we are working to finish deals. We interact with a whole range of companies so you have to almost be a specialist in every sector, tailoring the financial package to that business. This means getting down to the meat and bones of what that business does.  Worst part? When work needs doing you have to put the hours in, which means sometimes working longer than you would like.  Advice to readers considering a career in your field: Get some work experience, even if it is not exactly what you want to do, it can be very useful at interview. The key to getting a job is ensuring you prepare well for every stage of the process. n

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THE OLYMPIC GAMES WILL BRING TOURISTS, TRADE AND PROSPERITY. YOUNGSTERS WILL BE INSPIRED TO EXERCISE, REDUCING FUTURE STRAIN ON THE NHS. EAST LONDON WILL BE REGENERATED.

BE WHERE IT MATTERS BUT HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO BUILD SPORTING FACILITIES? ROAD AND RAIL LINKS? AN OLYMPIC VILLAGE? Economic issues don’t come much bigger than this. But for a Fast Stream Economist, it’s a typical project. As part of the team, you’ll help the Government run the economy by examining the economic impact of all sorts of key matters. Whether it’s global warming, health service reforms, or the Olympic bid, you’ll contribute to policies, analyse trends and advise Ministers. In fact, you’ll influence life at every level and shape the nation’s future. This sort of responsibility demands an incisive intellect, an articulate manner and at least a 2:1 in single or joint honours Economics. Gender, sexual orientation, race and disability are irrelevant – it’s your ability and outlook we’re interested in. To make the most of your degree, apply online at www.ges.gov.uk between 19 September and 31 October 2005.

C I V I L

S E R V I C E

w w w. g e s . g o v. u k

A real role from day two (we’ll give you a chance to settle in first.)

Finance opportunities at RM – excellent progression RM is the UK’s leading provider of software, services and infrastructure to UK education, from primary schools to colleges and universities. We work at the leading edge of ICT (information communications technology), setting the very highest standards at all times. Working within RM’s Head Office Finance Division this is a great opportunity to perform and deliver a real job with significant responsibilities. You will be exposed to an enormous range and breadth of experience both within central finance and specific business areas and benefit from long-term career opportunities within Finance and beyond. But that’s not all. You will study towards a recognised professional CIMA or ACCA qualification. And not only will we provide assistance with books, course fees and give you time off to study, you’ll receive an extremely competitive starting salary of £21-£25k. To find out who we’re looking for, take a peek at

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www.rmgraduates.com

16/9/05 18:08:48

Your exceptional talent drives our success. It starts with you. How did UBS become a global financial powerhouse? Through the ideas, skills, and commitment to excellence of everyone of our employees. We offer talented individuals a world of opportunities. A diverse culture of mutual respect and support gives everyone the opportunity to excel. Our world-class training prepares you to be successful. Your skills and ambition are recognized from the first day on the job. To learn more about life at UBS and apply for a position, go to: www.ubs.com/graduates

Wealth Management

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Some people live life in the fast lane. Finance Graduate Development Programme £23,000-£25,000 + benefits An industry that changes by the day can offer you a steeper learning curve – and all the benefits that go with it. Over our three-year rotational programme, you’ll be working at the hub of a vast, global company – in one of the fastest-moving industries there is. You’ll gain an excellent grounding in a hugely successful business. You’ll have direct exposure to senior management and first-hand commercial experience – whether that’s producing quarterly results on a global scale or supporting business cases for revolutionary products. What’s more, you’ll also enjoy a competitive salary, excellent benefits, and an exceptional study package to help you gain professional qualifications. For the highest-calibre graduates, this is the head start you’ve been looking for.

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The ultimate business school

Choose carefully, Join one of our graduate development programmes and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll end up well respected, well known or possibly even famous. Find out more by seeing us at the graduate careers fair or visit www.mars.com/ultimategrads

because thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no going back to obscurity.

Reward yourself. The British Council takes an active interest in the welfare and careers of its teachers and there are many other rewards for teaching English abroad. Discovering and engaging with other cultures makes all our teachers richer people. If you would like more information about a rewarding career teaching English as a Foreign Language, please e-mail us on teacher.vacancies@britishcouncil.org telephone 020 7389 4931 or visit our website at http://trs.britishcouncil.org

THE AUTUMN GRADUATE CAREERS FAIR

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At ExCeL London. 19 & 20 OCTOBER 2005, 11am – 4pm NEAREST TUBE: CUSTOM HOUSE (DLR)

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16/9/05 18:05:10

BACKEND

Alternate Reality:

Where strange stuff happens... Harry Potter applies for a job:

He might be more famous than the Queen, and worth millions a year, but even Harry’s going to struggle when he hits the tough world of graduate recruitment.

Real World Graduate training programme 2005 Please complete this form with great care.

Title: Mr Name: Harry Potter Education: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Email: Send me an owl Date of birth: Summer, 1986 Nationality: British Describe a challenging project you’ve undertaken. What did you do, why did you do it and what was the outcome? Most of the challenges I have had to undertake haven’t really been my choice. During my years at Hogwarts I was, for example, mysteriously put forward for the Triwizard Tournament, an ancient ritualistic competition in which Hogwarts competes against a pair of international schools. As one of the school champions, I had to face three life-threatening challenges, including dragons, being attacked by mermen and finding my way through a magic maze. I won, although I was helped by the fact that Lord Voldemort, an extremely evil wizard, turned up at the end and killed my fellow competitor.

Indicate a key event or experience which has been helped shape your life: When I was a baby, the same Lord Voldmort tried to kill me to prevent a prophecy coming true. He hit me with an unforgivable curse which rebounded on him and left me with a lightning-shaped scar on my forehead. Course, I can’t remember all that, but it has shaped my life. Oh, and I’m pretty good at Quidditch – a game played on broomsticks.

Give an example of a time when you have effectively communicated your thoughts to others and obtained their agreement on a matter of importance. Well, no-one ever believed me when I said they couldn’t trust Professor Snape. But just look what happened there… And although I’m not much good at French, I’m pretty gifted when it comes to Parseltongue, the snake language. I managed to track down and destroy a giant one, which was roaming the school attacking students. Apparently, it’s quite a rare gift.

Recruiter’s comments:

notes: Recruitersessarily c ne Not proactive the mostidates but d of can ady to certainly re the to rise challenge. ntial pote Leadershipld have a but cou h problem wit . teamworking s: Recruiters nottein es er int d Goo r extra curricula but .... sports activityk that need to chec ort this Voldem n’t character does turn up Could unexpectedly. aster! be a PR dis Recruiter notes: Extremely worrying – we do not want snakes in the office: health and safety would have a fit.

In the next issue of Real World:

y S upergrads: What makes a graduate stand out from the crowd? Real World investigates...

yW ho wants to be an entrepreneur: What’s it really like working for yourself? y I’ll do that job: what does it take to become an underwater cameraman? yP lus: careers in science and IT, jobs in the legal sector and the truth about the UK’s most popular industry.

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Feed your mind. How would you like your career – well done? Fed a diet of first-class training, top-drawer clients and innumerable opportunities to excel, both as an individual and within a team, it’s easy to see a career at Deloitte is something worth getting your teeth into. As the fastest growing professional services firm, we can offer you unparalleled career opportunities to stimulate and reward your grey matter. Our training and development schemes for graduates are first class and, thanks to the uniquely collaborative way in which we work, you’ll participate in team projects that draw on expertise and experience from across the firm’s key service areas of audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance. There are a number of undergraduate opportunities on offer as well, from our Summer vacation schemes to our Insight days which showcase what working at Deloitte is really like. If you’ve been predicted or obtained a 2:1 and have at least 300 UCAS tariff points under your belt, visit www.deloitte.co.uk/graduates where you’ll find plenty more information to chew on. We recruit from any discipline, welcome applications for deferred entry and recruit nationwide.

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Audit Tax Consulting Corporate Finance

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Heads up. High performers start here.

Go on. Be a Tiger.

Don’t let the grass grow under your feet. If you’re a high performer, we can offer you more opportunities to push your career forward than virtually anywhere else. We deliver international business and technology solutions for some of the most dynamic organisations around. Join our global team and you’ll be delivering the innovation that helps our clients become high-performance businesses.

Graduate Careers in Consulting Almost everything we do involves the application of IT to business challenges. But that’s not to say you have to be a computer genius to get on here (although we certainly wouldn’t hold it against you).

As well as doing interesting, challenging work with exceptional people, and using the latest technology, you’ll be rewarded well with a salary of £28,500 and an additional £10,000 over your first two years.

If you’re genuinely interested in business and technology, expect to achieve a 2:1 degree and have 24/300 UCAS points, we can offer you a truly rounded career.

We also actively encourage people to get involved in community and charitable activities that make a real difference to communities across

Visit accenture.com/ukgraduates

the UK and around the world—from a day painting a refuge to six months transforming a business in the Balkans. For people with the right intelligence and personal qualities, consulting is possibly the best job in the world. To find out more, and to apply, visit our website. Accenture is committed to being an equal opportunities employer.