NEW Diversity 2011 by Real World

www.realworldmagazine.com

graduate jobs + careers advice + sector news + case studies + employer profiles +

Section | topic

» Glad to be gay Why it’s good to be out at work P.26 »Mixing it up Why employers need diversity P.14

2011/12

» Getting on Success at any age P.32

living Make a life, not just a

EXUALITY S Y IT IC N H T E R E GEND

AGE

Gaz Choudry Team GB Paralympic hopeful

GOLDEN BOY “If there’s no winning, what’s the point?”

DIVERSITY SPECIAL

DISABILITY

FAITH

’t n o d e l p o e p g n u o ‘Y fail in education: em education fails th and that’s not acceptable’ Kafilat Agboola, taught Science. now Faculty Head of Science

change Their lives and change yours Just 16% of kids eligible for free school meals make it to university, compared to 96% from independent schools.* Take up the challenge, Teach First.

www.teachfirst.org.uk Teach First is a registered charity, no:1098294

TF2204 Real World Diversity A4.indd 1

*Sutton Trust, 2010

24/08/2011 11:06

:06

CONTENTS | WHAT’S INSIDE

CONTENTS Editorial

News

The Interview Gaz Choudry sets his sights on gold

The Spring 12 Spring Project raining Case studies 14 Real stories from the real world Infographic 18 Here come the girls Female Networking Scanning the opportunities

Case studies 22 Real stories from the real world Looking further afield Succeeding internationally

Out and proud Why there’s never been a better time to be gay

The Best practice Talking to employers about disabilities

Case studies 30 Real stories from the real world Just a number 32 Don’t let age hold you back Divine Right Explaining your religious rights

Get inside the professions

Real World has teamed up with TotalProfession.com to help you get inside advice from those in the know: Including architects, artists, technicians and teachers.

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EDITORIAL | WELCOME

C fe P

EDITOR’S LETTER

Editorial Publisher: Johnny Rich Editor: Jon Madge Assistant editor: Galen Stops Writer-Researchers: Jenny Collins, Sabrina Wimalasuriya

Sales Nafeesa Shamsuddin

Marketing and Distribution Manager

THE COUNTRY IS GEARING UP FOR 2012. For sports fans that’s a big deal, but it should be for everyone else too. The Olympic and Paralympic games are the ultimate celebration of diversity: people from all walks of life competing as equals. Luckily, that isn’t so rare anymore. In the wake of the recession, and with more graduates than ever applying for jobs, employers have woken up to the fact that the only people who are hurt by a lack of diversity is themselves. The creative industries have spread their net further than ever before (p.14) and there’s never been a better time for LGBT graduates (p.26). As Gaz Choudry, one of the UK’s Paralympic hopefuls, tell us in an exclusive interview (p.8) “there’s no cheating in life”, just as there isn’t in sport. Graduates who know the rules and work the hardest are likely to succeed in the job market, especially now there are fewer barriers than ever before. So all that matters now is making sure your technique is great and you’re the first off the starting line. And that’s what Real World’s Diversity Special Issue is for.

Diana Maggiore

GRAPHIC DESIGN Luke Merryweather / Aaron Paterson

Jon, Editor editor@realworldmagazine.com

Client services manager Marie Tasle

FOUNDER

Make a life, not just a living

Darius Norell

Real World 22-26 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TJ Tel: 020 7735 4900 info@realworldmagazine.com www.realworldmagazine.com Copyright © 2011 Cherry Publishing. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher. We cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs or for material lost or damaged in the post. The views in this publication or on our website are not necessarily those held by the publisher.

WWW.REALWORLDMAGAZINE.COM Real World doesn’t end here, we’ve got more news, advice and exciting competitions on our website.

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At Real World we believe you should have a job that you want to get out of bed for. You should be doing something that’s going to inspire you, reward you and challenge you for the next 50 years. We help you do what you enjoy and enjoy what you do. We want to be the ones to tell you about the job opportunity that’ll change your life. And we want to help you to get that job and then succeed without limits. Real World is more than just a magazine. We’re leaders in graduate employment research. We train people how to raise their game. Everything we do is about helping you understand your career, kick-starting it and developing it. After all, apart from sleeping, you’ll spend more time working than doing anything else in your life. We want you to make a good living, but we also want you to make a good life in the process. No sugar-coating and no dry job jargon – Real World tells it like it is. Just the best facts, advice and opportunities.

Section | topic

Career Resource featuring over 270 Professional Bodies

34 sector summaries and a profession finder search Supported by professional bodies such as: Association of Accounting Technicians, Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment, Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers, Chartered Insurance Institute, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, Socitm, British Institute of Facilities Management, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Institute of Physics, RW 5 WWW.REALWORLDMAGAZINE.COM Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, Association of International Accountants, Society & College of Radiographers

NEWS | WHAT’S HAPPENING

News BarCap best at diversity Barclays Capital has won the Best Diversity in Work Experience award at the annual RateMyPlacement awards. The award recognises the promotion of inclusion and diversity in a company’s work experience and internship placements. Nominations can be made by students or graduates that have taken a place with one of the companies programmes.

unt Amo n’s e wom grew ries sala 2010 in

2.4%

Barclays Capital secured their position as number one for Diversity for the second year in a row. In total, they offered 376 internship or work experience placements last year. Graduates that completed the placements came from a total of 99 different universities and represented more than 45 different nationalities. A spokesperson for Barclays Capital

pointed to the company’s diversity initiatives as one of the reasons they won. “Such diversity initiatives over the two years have included the establishment of Elevation Networks, to increase educational and employment aspirations of young people from inner city areas and No City Limits, an insight day for women interested in investment banking.”

98 years until women earn the same as men The results of a yearly study have shown that, on average, women earn £10,546 a year less than men. Published by the chartered management institute, the findings of the survey show male employees have an average yearly salary of £42,441, compared with £31,895 for their female counterparts. Worryingly, the gap is nearly £500 bigger than it was for the same period last year. Commenting on the survey, CMI’s director of Policy and Research, Petra Wilton, said, “This year’s Salary Survey demonstrates, yet again, that businesses are contributing to

the persistent gender pay gap and alienating top female employees by continuing to pay men and women unequally. This kind of bad management is damaging UK businesses and must be addressed.” Women’s salaries grew by 2.4%, 0.3% more than men’s last year. At that rate it will take almost 100 years for men and women to earn the same wage. For recent graduates, however, it’s far from bad news. On the lower rungs of the corporate ladder, male and female employees are earning exactly the same as each other for the first time in history.

Careers fair celebrates graduate diversity The UK’s biggest diversity-focused careers event is getting ready to launch for another year this October. Each year, the Diversity Careers Show travels to cities all over the UK, offering graduates an opportunity to meet with some of the country’s top employers. This year the show will feature recruiters from London

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2012, alongside annual stalwarts like Google and the RAF. Linda Riley, managing director of the Show’s organisers square peg media, said, “We’ve packed this year’s show full of great benefits for candidates and recruiters alike - creating a truly exceptional opportunity for jobseekers from a diverse range of backgrounds to seek employment and

helping both candidates and recruiters make the most of diversity in the workplace.” The Show will also feature seminars from Stonewall on important diversity issues that graduates should be aware of when entering the workplace. For information on the Diversity Careers Show, visit the website www.diversitycareersshow.com

NEWS | WHAT’S HAPPENING

Channel 4 champions diversity in the media Channel 4’s Talent Boutique, a new applicants on the scheme get to meet scheme to connect talented people with established members of the channel’s on disabilities with jobs in the media, shows and off-screen teams. Representatives the industry values diversity. from departments such as Online, In last years Real World Marketing, Sales, Finance and Diversity special, a news Human Resources will be on story highlighted how the hand to give a taster of what It is really creative industries were goes on. People who thought inspirational failing to recruit graduates that the industry was a close that Channel with disabilities. Now door to them, will hopefully 4 is tackling the see the opportunities we’re not saying we did issue of disability available and start a few it all by ourselves, but a confidence so new scheme launched by careers in the process. Channel 4 shows that things openly are changing for better. For more information on Part of a wider programme Talent Boutique go to: to match up new blood with 4talent.channel4.com/extra/ experienced media professionals, talent-boutique

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Lloyds sets example on recruiting disabled graduates Lloyds Banking Group has set the standard for tapping the often overlooked pool of disabled graduate talent. The announcement came on the back of Lloyds publishing a new piece of research into the career aspirations of graduates with disabilities. “We want to attract more disabled applicants as we know there’s a large group of talented people we’re not always reaching” said Tim Taylor from the Group’s diversity and inclusion team. It’s hoped that the research will allow Lloyds to make their job opportunities and

graduate placements more accessible to graduates regardless of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation or religion “The response was amazing,” said Helen Cooke of My Plus Consulting, a leading authority on disability issues, who carried out the research for Lloyds. “There were over 1500 responses in all so we were able to compare the aspirations and feedback from disabled and non-disabled people.” The hope is other organisations will follow Lloyds in making apply for jobs to easier for applicants with a disability.

www.realworldmagazine.com/news for all the latest graduate news including: • • •

Legal profession takes pride in its LGBT workers The legal profession got behind its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers this year, for a public display of support at London Pride. Joining the estimated 1 million people that turned up for the day long festival, delegates from the Bar Council marched under a banner that bore the slogan “Equal Under the Law”. Commenting on the day, Chairman of the Bar Council Peter Lodder QC, said how important it was that the legal profession celebrate all of its members. “The promotion of diversity and inclusion across the legal profession is a key Bar Council priority, and our Equality and Diversity Committee works tirelessly throughout the year to support this work.” “The fact that members at all levels of the legal profession – whether lesbian, gay, transgender or heterosexual – support London Pride demonstrates that the Bar is open to all, regardless of sexuality. Pride is a great way to celebrate the excellent achievements of our LGBT members.”

le peop d e t a ’s Estim his year e t rid at on P d n o L val festi

How to make the cut for training schemes Defending the public, working for the CPS Converting to law – it’s never too late

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INTERVIEW | GAZ CHOUDRY

The big interview: Gaz Choudry

TALKING MOTIVATION AND SUCCESS WITH THE PARALYMPIC STAR

Gaz Choudry is a wheelchair basketball player and part of the GB team that has just won the European gold medal for the first time in 16 years. Now they’ve got their sights set on Paralympic gold at London 2012 and, as far as Gaz is concerned, that’s all that matters.

Credit the photos of Gaz Choudry to SA Images

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INTERVIEW | GAZ CHOUDRY

Basketball is pretty much what I’ve always wanted to do, ever since I got into the chair. For me, university was more about the whole experience”

AVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN INTO SPORT? I got involved in sports when I was 12 years old. I lost my leg when I was 10 and then just joined a local wheelchair basketball team and progressed. I was pretty sporty before I lost my leg. I just needed some kind of outlet really, something to let me get back into that kind of environment. I always loved team sport, I love being part of a team. I got into basketball because I went along to a basketball

roadshow and saw some people playing and I loved it straight away. It might seem contradictory, but as soon as I got into a chair I felt like a kid again. WAS IT EASY, AFTER YOUR LEG WAS AMPUTATED, GETTING BACK INTO SPORT? The biggest thing for non-wheelchair users to try to understand is that you reach for things but you can’t get them. You’re left grabbing at the air. You have to learn to move the chair and then grab. You just have to think of it as acquiring a new skill. Once you know how to do it, you can.

HOW DID YOU COME TO JOIN THE GB WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL TEAM? I made my debut with the GB Juniors when I was 15. Then I just progressed from there really. I wasn’t part of the men’s team until I left university, but I was part of the most successful Under 23 team they’ve ever had. For me, keeping on with education was totally important. I wouldn’t change that and I know people who left university earlier, but for me it was more important I got an education. I was always told by my family that education comes first and that was the key really. The good thing was I

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INTERVIEW | GAZ CHOUDRY

found that the support was fantastic to allow me to do that. It was important for me to have a career after basketball, to have something to fall back on. It wasn’t just job-focused but university gave me a perspective on everything that I wouldn’t have got otherwise. The plan for my career after basketball, it’s a work in progress. We get a training grant every year to gain more qualifications. With that in mind, and being a full-time athlete because that’s where my expertise is, hopefully I can be involved in sport after. Coaching or something like that. I’ve also learnt a few languages because we’ve had a couple of years abroad now in Italy. But basketball is pretty much what I always wanted to, ever since I got into a chair. My degree, political science, was sort of education for education’s sake. For me, university was more about the whole experience. I made lifelong friends and the process of learning how to get information and decide for myself was the most important thing I learnt. In some ways I missed out because of my time at uni, I was only a reserve for the team in Beijing. If I’d been a full-time athlete I might have made Beijing. I wish I had the experiences I have now before going to uni, learning self-motivation would’ve helped get the dissertation in.

HAT MOTIVATES YOU? Right now, everything is London 2012. Nothing else motivates me. We just came back from Israel and won a European gold medal. Now we’re all completely focused on London. EARLY IN YOUR CAREER YOU MET A FEW FORMER GB PARALYMPIC TEAM MEMBERS. DID THEY IINSPIRE YOU? Yeah, absolutely. My first ever session, Ade Adepitan was there at only 23 years old and at the prime of his career. Seeing those guys playing was just amazing. I remember being 13 , maybe 14 and seeing Ade stay behind and playing one on one with this little kid. Also the work ethic those guys carried was really inspirational. Seeing how hard

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you have to look at yourself and see what you can do. There’s no contradiction between being the best and being a team player. For me, the best is winning, however you do it. I played for a team in Australia, I went out and scored 40 points a game and lost every game. Then I’ve played in games where I’ve come out for one minute and provided a spark and we’ve won a gold. I’ve always been a team sport person, I enjoy team sports. But at the end of the day whether it’s a team sport or not, it always takes a whole team to prepare you. You might see a boxer or a tennis player win a fight or a game but it’s the whole team that wins. And that’s not just true in sport.

If there’s no winning, what’s the point?

those guys worked and what they got as a result had a big impact on me. IS HARD WORK IMPORTANT TO SUCCESS? I love that there’s no cheating in sport, whatever you put in that’s what you get out. That’s true of whatever you do. For me, I’m lucky, I love training. I love the 6am get-ups and all those things, just trying to be the hardest worker in the world. When you take a day off, your competition is working harder than you. That speaks to me. Sport’s about results, life in general is about results. If it doesn’t that help you win, don’t do it. And if there’s no winning, what’s the point. That competitiveness carries over to everything in my life. If it doesn’t make you better then don’t do it. Whether that’s playing for 40 minutes or being the loudest guy in the bench. Every little bit counts and

IS THERE ANYTHING IN YOUR CAREER THAT YOU REGRET? You can’t control some things, and whatever decision you make, you make at the time for a reason. Hind sight is a great thing, but you have to just roll with it because you can’t change that. We all came back from different leagues and teams over the world to train for GB this year. So now I’m away from a coach I’ve been with since I was a junior. That’s going to have an effect on me but I think it’s important and it will be a positive. AS SOMEONE THAT COMPETES AT AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, WHAT’S THE SECRET TO SUCCESS? The biggest thing is that you have to love the process of getting somewhere. If I get up in the morning and train at 6am on hills in my chair I love that. Stay in the moment and love it. You have to take small bits too. When I think back to my degree, I’d be doing an assignment or dissertation and be worried about the full 10,000 words and the biggest thing I’ve realised is that you can’t be like that. Break down the processes, you have to be focussed on the task at hand.

Gaz and the GB wheelchair basketball team will be competing at the London 2012 Paralympics. If you want to support them tickets are on-sale now.

Use what you’ve got to get where you want

At Ernst & Young we know your natural strengths can get you further, faster. We’ll help you identify, develop and use them to achieve your full potential. We have graduate and undergraduate opportunities available now in Advisory, Assurance, Corporate Finance and Tax.

Go from strength to strength www.ey.com/uk/careers

© Ernst & Young 2011. Ernst & Young is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. The UK firm Ernst & Young LLP is a limited liability partnership and a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.

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Get ahead

05/10/2011 15:20

Postgraduate study at the University of Winchester Postgraduate Open Evenings 30 May 2012 4 September 2012

Enhance your employability

www.winchester.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1962 827234 Email: course.enquiries@winchester.ac.uk

Order a POstgradUate PrOsPectUs

Spring Put a

HOW ONE TRAINING SCHEME IS CHANGING HOW GRADUATES FIND JOBS

IF THE LEGENDS ARE TRUE, applying for a job and starting a career used to be so easy for graduates. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d walk in, flash your degree and blow the competition out of the water. With more graduates and fewer jobs, many graduates are finding themselves in a situation very different to what they expected.

in your step

training | what can i do?

“The Spring Project challenges the accepted way of thinking about graduate job-hunting and shows that there are other options”

HE SPRING PROJECT in London is one training/assessment/ recruitment programme that instead encourages participants to deeply question what it is they’re looking for, and get a proper understanding of what employers want from them. Set up by the people behind RealWorld, their approach goes past the skills and CV workshops that are so common in training programmes, and instead asks the questions ‘what do you want?’ and ‘what does an employer want from you?’

WHAT DO YOU WANT? The fact that there aren’t enough jobs for everyone can get you down. We all know the feeling of having been rejected, or worse not hearing back from, five jobs. It hardly sets you up for writing the killer cover letter for the next application. That cycle of rejection and dejection is one of the things that the Spring Project is trying to overcome. Graduate skills are in demand by employers and graduates can do the jobs on offer, the real problem is getting them both to realise it. Their training focuses on letting trainees discover three things: what they want to do, what they’re good at and how they can useful. For anyone that’s been on training schemes before, the Spring Project might seem very different indeed. Activities aren’t focused on how to improve particular skills or deal with specific situations. Rather, they focus on how to recognise what needs to be done and how to do it. One past team of trainees visited local businesses

around Vauxhall, where the Project is based, to offer to improve their websites. The point of the exercise wasn’t about sales technique or web design but about creating new work that would benefit everyone. If an employer sees a graduate seeking out what should be done next, even after their work is finished, then they’ll be the one that gets remembered for the right reasons. The most important thing about learning how to find work that needs to be done is that it can be applied to any situation. When you can succeed no matter what you’re doing, you can choose what you do, meaning you can find a job you love. What does an employer want from you? Often, the very things that employers want from graduates are things that the graduates train themselves out of doing. Things like being resourceful, seeing what’s missing in a situation and doing it without being asking, that’s what all that taking care of yourself, starting societies and managing our own time at uni was all about. The guys at the Spring Project hope to show trainees they can that again, but even more so. The process isn’t always a comfortable one. Trainees are given the opportunity to confront the reasons why they’re struggling to find a job they like, or one at all. The reasons might be hard to confront, the trainees might even discover that they’ve been making excuses or going about things in a way that makes them responsible for holding themselves back. But the Spring Project isn’t about blaming anyone. They’re keen to challenge the accepted way of thinking about graduate job hunting and to show graduates that there are other options.

WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT? The Spring Project runs training schemes continuously. They’ve worked with big name organisations like Ernst & Young, the Association of Graduate Recruiters, Enterprise Rent-a-Car and D&AD, the representative organisation for UK creative industries. If you want to be on their next scheme or find out more, why not go to their website and see whether your ways of thinking about your career can be challenged.

For more information on the Spring Project go to

www.springproject.co.uk

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diversity| in industry

Like minds on different journeys WHY DIVERSITY IS IMPORTANT TO INDUSTRY AND MAKING SURE THAT EMPLOYERS KNOW IT.

IVERSITY IS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE IN TODAY’S SOCIETY, and, now more than ever, in modern industry as well. However, while companies are increasingly beginning to recognise the importance of diversity in the workplace, there’s still a way to go. So what exactly does ‘diversity at work’ mean? Well workplace diversity is essentially about making ambitions achievable for everyone and ensuring that the leaders of the future represent the best and brightest of each generation. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), ‘recognising diversity is about recognising the fact that everybody is unique’. This means valuing everybody as an individual and making sure that they have the same opportunities - regardless of their race, disability, gender, sexual orientation or age. Equally Professional, a network of professional bodies committed to promoting equality and diversity in and through their memberships, claims that in a society that is more diverse than ever professional bodies must reflect this level of diversity in their membership if they want to deliver the highest level of professional standards possible. By sharing their experiences and working together to continually improving diversity in their membership, the network’s members seek to inspire and equip people from under-represented groups to join them. With support from the Professional

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Associations Research Network (PARN) and the Equality and Human Right Commission (EHRC), Equally Professional last year published a report titled ‘Like minds on different journeys’. This report found that “interest in and commitment to equality and diversity has become more widespread and mainstream among professional bodies”. However, leaders of organisations that campaign for equality have said that despite an increased commitment to workforce diversity among employers, the elite levels of the professions remain exclusive. In a letter published by The Guardian, representatives from 15 organisations including Age UK, Mencap, Operation Black Vote, The Lesbian and Gay Foundation and the Disability Law Service, called for a higher level of scrutiny of workforce diversity across all professions: “A commitment to increasing diversity must be more than a feelgood also ran when it comes to business planning – it needs to be at the centre of creating an attractive offer to consumers. Throwing open the doors of the professions to greater transparency can be a major force for economic recovery.”

The call for action follows the government’s decision to abandon plans to force businesses to disclose the pay gap between male and female employees in the UK. Instead, businesses will be expected to reduce the pay gap by voluntary means, a move which has been criticised by equalities campaigners who have accused the government of “watering down an already weak proposal on tackling equal pay”. TotalProfessions.com was set up as a free resource for students, careers advisors, parents/carers and people considering a career change. It focuses on fair access and supports initiatives such as these that are working towards more diverse professions.

Interested in this issue? Check out other articles on this subject at tinyurl.com/6zxzhgc

REAL LIFE STORIES | GENDER/DISABILITY

URRENTLY MY JOB INVOLVES working for a highways engineering team doing anything from drainage design for a highway scheme, to car park layout design. Most work in design offices is done on computers using different software, like AutoCAD and Windes, some of which we didn’t necessarily get taught how to use in university, but I learned the background knowledge that helped me understand how this software works such as the equations a programme uses. I think it’s important to understand how to design things yourself so you have a greater understanding of the software that can do a lot of it for you. Also, we had a lot of assignments to prepare and submit in university, every week in fact, and constant deadlines prepared me for the pressures of deadlines in work. I’ve worked in a number of teams within AECOM since I graduated. I’ve worked for Development Planning, Transport Planning, Traffic Engineering, Sustainable Transport and Highway Engineering. All these teams would be considered to be mainly male

orientated, which in all honesty they are. But I’ve never felt that it was because I am a woman that I’m been treated differently. When you are new to a team, people will give you small, simple tasks to do, but once you prove yourself to be an intelligent person, able to do the tasks assigned, you find you are quickly given more responsibility. Everyday can be so different. For example, one day I began the morning by helping design vehicle restraint systems for a bridge, and by the end of the day I was working on another job designing drainage for a highway scheme, something which I had never done before. It really keeps you on your toes and helps you develop all those problem-solving skills you were told that are so important in the real world when you were in university. You sometimes have no idea how busy you are going to be until you actually get to work. Also, having no interest in soccer can mean that a lot of the office banter between the men goes over my head, but that can happen in any office.

asters Will Thoms did a M at in Audio Technology sity. er Thames Valley univ He’s now a major the incident manager in d Enterprise Comman ley an St Centre at Morgan

HE JOB INVOLVES leading the investigation of critical failures in technology systems such as trading platforms, exchange connectivity and client reporting systems. I run conference calls with up to 100 representatives from technical teams across the organisation, send out rapid notification by SMS and email messages and interface with senior management. My degree covered a very different area from what I’m doing now, although the two core skills were the same, people skills and the ability to quickly understand new technologies. I’m both blind and dyslexic and it’s been very challenging at points during my working life so far. I started my job at Morgan Stanley with a four month intensive training course in New York. To some this sounds like a fantastic holiday but the reality for me was that I had to navigate the streets of Manhattan with my guide dog independently, find many different ways to access the plethora of technologies that were involved in the training and rapidly absorb the hundreds of pages of detailed programming and technical materials that made up some of the course. Following this training I started my full time job in the Enterprise Command Centre, that is exciting, exhilarating and tiring at

Elaine Carroll studied Civil and Env ironmental Engineering at University College Cork , Ireland. She’s now a g rad engineering w uate ith AECOM.

times. When financial institutions say they’re going to push you and really challenge you, they mean it. I wouldn’t change any of it and I’d do it again. The position I’m in now, I’m a respected member of my group and I’m the service manager for one of the key functions in the global team leading continuous improvement and service delivery. The best thing about my job is the variety of technologies that I interact with each and every day. Lots of new areas and lots of people interaction. And the worst is that the pressure can be negative when I’ve still got adrenalin flowing through my system even after I’ve got home. Plus even with all the access software and adaption’s I do find that several tasks can take longer than my sited counterparts. I’d highly recommend technical graduate programs at large institutions like Morgan Stanley because of the wealth of information they provide. I’d also say that knowing and understanding your own requirements for accessibility is very beneficial. When I was getting ready to start my job I had a good idea of the access technologies available to me and I knew the areas I needed help in. Without an understanding of this its too easy to let someone else dictate what access technology you should have, even if it’s actually not totally appropriate.

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real life stories | ETHNICITY

Nafisa Shafiq studied for a BSc in marketing at Bradford University school of management. She’s now an intern with PR firm Northern Lights.

❝ I come from an Asian

background, so speaking from my experiences, PR is something you tend to do and not discuss

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Y DEGREE COVERED ALL THE TOPICS ACROSS BUSINESS so I understood accounts, law, organisational structure, etc. But marketing always appealed to me because generally I’m a talker. Its part of my personality and comms suits that just fine. I believe that communications is vital for any business. It’s always evolving, from pigeons to letters to faxes. Now we have texts, phone calls, tweets and social media, so it’s always evolving and that makes it important to any industry. That’s what interested me in it. I come from an Asian background, so speaking from my experiences, PR is something you tend to do, not discuss. You tend to build up a relationship with the community and build up relationships and repeat business. There’s no definition for it in a lot of ethnic minorities, it can be completely different depending the industry you’re in and the business you have. So it was not something that was ever mentioned as a career. So it’s interesting but I’d never really thought about it until it was advertised across the school and I went along to an open day. I was always told at school that I speak

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too much and ask too many questions. I think generally it’s not that widespread as a subject, even in degree form. There aren’t that many PR courses, it’s still very up and coming. I think the big thing about the internship is that it actually lets you work on real life projects. It can just be like work experience but this internship was a bit different. We got to sit in on masterclasses with people who’d worked on big brands, big organisations, and key individuals. We also got to work on big projects. We worked on a real life project for hallmark, one for Bradford Uni, Northern Rail and Northern Lights PR too. It was a steep learning curve. To say that I’d learned a bit was an understatement. Like a rollercoaster ride is how I describe it. I know there are few jobs about at the moment but paid and unpaid internships are a great way to show commitment to a career or a job. A lot of time, if you’re doing an internship you might be offered a job, it’s a good way to get foot in door. Showing initiative and asking questions is a good thing. I say if you don’t ask you don’t get. I’ve got all my jobs because I’ve gone to business or picked up the phone and asked the businesses.

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DIVERSITY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU? ALL THE ESSENTIAL FACTS AND FIGURES ON THE DIVERSE MAKE-UP OF THE UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WORKFORCE.

90%

76%

Percentage of disabled graduates of working age, with a job

Number of women in the UK in employment 15,6332,000. Number of men in the UK 53.59% in employment 15,632,000

53.59%

Percentage of non-disabled people of working age, with a job

Number of women in the UK in Number of13, women in the UK employment 537,000. 46.41% in employment 13,537,000.

46.41%

60.30%

£11.08

Percentage of people from ethnic minorities of working age, with a job

By 2030 8% of the workforce will be from ethnic minorities

Average hourly pay for women £13.14

Average hourly pay of someone with a disability

Average hourly pay for men £11.71

Having an accessible website will increase a company’s web traffic by

Ethnicity

Percentage of ethnic group in full-time employment

Key Statistics courtesy of the Shaw Trust Statistics courtesy of Employer’s Forum on Disability Statistics by Office of National Statistics Statistics by the Work Foundation Data from Labour Force Survey

White British 50

Other mixed 44

Other White 53

Indian 49

White/Black Caribbean 30

Pakistani 24

White/Black 42

Bangladeshi 23

White and Asian 42

Other Asian 41

Black Caribbean 47 Black African 44 Other Black 45 Chinese 38 Other 40

women in work | get networking

THE SISTERHOOD NETWORK How TO meet people and make opportunities come to you.

Separating the girls from the boys

ETWORKING used to be what go-getting city boys and media types did to get ahead. Now, thanks in no small part to the popularity of social media sites like LinkedIn, having a good network of contacts and colleagues is crucial to success in any industry. It’s also one of the areas in business that women seem to have the upper hand. Sylvia Baldock is the National Sales Director for the Athena Network, a networking organisation exclusively for women. We spoke to her about the impact networking can have on your career and how it’s different for women.

❝ Men are less

likely to invest the time required to build really supportive and productive relationships which women find invaluable

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“Some men (I emphasise ‘some’) perceive networking to be a ‘quick fix’,” says Sylvia, “and so they are looking for a sale at every event and soon become disillusioned when that doesn’t happen. Generally men are less likely to invest the time required to build really supportive and productive relationships which women find invaluable.” Investing time is really what networking is all about. A successful network is a team of people you can rely on and who, combined, can solve any problem you have. You’re unlikely to find that fully formed but putting the effort in at the beginning can save you a lot of time later. If you’re going to a meeting, networking event or work do “take time to pinpoint who you might want to connect with beforehand and do your research on their business so you can have a professional and targeted conversation with them. Print out the list and take it with you to each meeting so you can write notes next to the names.” This might seem like slightly obsessive behaviour but anyone you’re networking with is also networking with you. If your first impression is professional they’re far more likely to want to stay in contact.

women in work | get networking

What are you waiting for? Building a network of people that can help you, and that you can help, can have a huge effect on your career. When you’re stuck, they’re there to step in. When you need someone new on a project, they can be that someone. And, most importantly, when you’re looking for a job they can be the one to offer it. So what’s stopping you?

Make an impression for all the right reasons

The personal touch “During an Open Networking session aim to speak to at least five different people,” suggest Sylvia. “Listening is key. Take an interest in what they have to say even if you cannot see a direct benefit. You never know what or who you might need in the future.” Building a network naturally favours the people person. Being the sort of person you’d want to stay in contact with, someone who’s chatty, helpful and interested, will make the whole process that much easier. And if you’re network become your new friends, that’s not bad thing either. “If you receive a referral from a fellow networker, don’t forget to thank them and give details on how useful it was,” adds Sylvia. “You’ll find they will be much more likely to refer again. In turn help other businesses wherever you can. It will be remembered.”

❝ Don’t fall into

“Networking is all about finding the people you want to meet up with on a 1-2-1 basis to explore mutually beneficial opportunities,” says Sylvia, “so avoid the hard sell. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to speak to everyone and rushing round handing out your business cards and flyers. You won’t achieve anything and it will make people avoid you in future.” You want to make sure every time you network it’s a good use of your time and you have something to show for it at the end. But that doesn’t mean getting a pocket-full of business cards and a reputation for being stressed. “Be remembered by being creative and get people talking about you for all the right reasons. It’s interesting that the more you get someone to talk about themselves and their business, the more likely they are to warm to you.”

the trap of trying to speak to everyone and rushing round handing out your business cards and flyers. You won’t achieve anything

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real life stories | women in work

❝ What university didn’t pre Aimmee Broughton completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees in physics at the University of Oxford. She is currently a business development analyst working for Centrica in the Netherlands.

Laura Wilkinson studied landscape architecture at the University of Sheffield. She’s now a Landscape Architect.

❝ Occasionally situations will arise where I am outnumbered by men, but this hasn’t been a problem so far ❞

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andscape architecture is typically about designing open spaces, and working with other professions (architects, engineers and so on) to create places for people to live, work and play. My team also tends to do a lot of assessment work, advising developers on the environmental impacts of their proposals. I spend most of my time either producing landscape drawings, writing landscape assessments or out of the office, on site visits. My degree was a vocational degree so it typically leads you into landscape architecture, whether that’s working in the public or private sector. However, as with any profession you learn most of it ‘on the job.’ Whilst some sectors of the construction industry are male dominated, landscape as a profession is fairly even in terms of male and female members. Occasionally situations will arise where I am outnumbered by men, for example when we’re working on site with landscape contractors, but this hasn’t been a problem so far.

My favourite bit of my job is getting to work on a diverse range of, sometimes high-profile, projects within a multidisciplinary team. I’m currently working towards my chartership exam and have been well supported on this by AECOM and the landscape team. One perk of the job is definitely going on site visits. Recent opportunities have included climbing a munro in the Scottish Highlands and taking a boat trip out to islands off the North Ayrshire coast. For anyone who wants to do what I do, the Landscape Institute has a website aimed specifically at people interested in landscape architecture as a career (see iwanttobealandscapearchitect.com). It’s also well worth going to open days at the universities as each landscape course is different, and you might find that one suits your interests more than another.

real life stories | women in work

n’t prepare me for was taking responsibility for my own work ❞

y role focuses on aiding decision-making around opportunities and assets in the upstream Dutch/ UK gas sector. This involves modelling different business scenarios and analysing lots of confidential data for exciting new business opportunities. I also conduct analysis to try and extract maximum value out of our current or potential assets. Physics is a very analytical degree and certainly, the analytical thought-processing, mathematics and problem solving techniques gained as part of my studies has been a definite advantage in my career. What university didn’t prepare me for was how to cope with taking responsibility for my own work. Now my number crunching and analysis can directly impact some key important business decisions.

❝Some people do think of medicine and science as ‘male’ jobs. But the majority of those I work with and who hold senior positions are female❞

During university, I didn’t have a defined career path and had absolutely no idea what I would do after completing my degree. Was I ready to head into a full time job or should I carry on with further study? I was thoroughly interested in the energy industry and when I found the Centrica summer placement, I saw it as a great opportunity as a potential stepping stone into a future career. I really enjoyed the summer placement and having gained excellent exposure to the varied opportunities Centrica could offer, I didn’t find it difficult to say “yes” when I was offered a place on the graduate scheme. Having a job under my belt also massively took off the pressure during my final fourth year, allowing me to concentrate on my studies. My two year grad scheme has encompassed three different placements,

offering a great opportunity to experience varied parts of the business, including my current opportunity to work abroad. It allows you to try roles you wouldn’t have thought about trying before. One of the best things about my current role is the opportunity to grasp responsibility. It’s exciting to see how my work is making a direct impact on the business. As my work is mainly project based, the work load can vary; I never know how much work I will have to do tomorrow but this also keeps things interesting. Also, as a graduate and having near to zero experience entering a role, it can take some time getting up to speed with your job and actually feeling like you are contributing but, once you get there, every piece of work feels like an achievement.

Kimberley Parsons is a Trainee Clinical Technologist in Radiotherapy Physics

he bulk of my job is planning radiotherapy treatments using specialised computer programs. I also spend time working in the Mould Room, where we use a range of materials to produce immobilisation aids and shielding for patients receiving radiotherapy. I also work as part of the Brachytherapy (radiotherapy using radioactive sources rather than x-rays) team, and assist in quality assurance on various treatment machines, which ensures that they are all working as they should be. I’ve always enjoyed science throughout school and college, and have always had an aim to work in healthcare in some way. Finding out more about the job, which combines both of these, made it seem like an ideal path to take, so I went for it. I like the patient contact I get when working in the Mould Room. As well as that, I enjoy the challenge of having different patients with different requirements, and the variety of materials that we work with, some of which are lovely and messy. Knowing that someone is being treated with a beam

arrangement that I have come up with and planned feels surreal but also quite good. Some people do think of medicine and science as ‘male jobs’. I do find that sometimes when I tell people that I work in medical physics, I think it’s the physics bit that makes them think that though. Although, in my department at least, the majority of those I work with, and that hold the most senior positions, are female. I love my job but having to get up and go to work for seven is a bit of a killer sometimes, especially in the winter. There are various routes into medical physics and not all of them require degrees, so do as much research into apprenticeships and vocational courses as well as traditional academic routes. A basic grasp of physics helps a lot, as well as an ability to take on a lot of new information in a relatively small space of time.

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women in work | careers abroad

International woman

HOW TO SUCCEED AS A FEMALE GRADUATE ABROAD

Wendy Kendall is a chartered occupational psychologist, she runs ExpatJobSuccess. com, an online organisation that helps people build international careers. She told us what it takes to succeed all over the world and how women should prepare.

❝ L In international

companies especially, the corporate culture can be quite different from the national culture

❞

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ike making the most of a holiday, working abroad is about expecting things to be different. “I remember after I moved to France being quite frustrated for a while because it seemed as though there were endless holidays and places were always shut. I used to think ‘why doesn’t anyone want to work in this country?” Wendy says, “but what I realised is that family and community are big priorities here and so these two parts of life sometimes get prioritised over ‘work’.” Most importantly, though, you need to add corporate cultures over the top of national ‘norms’. This is one of the reasons I’m not so enamoured with ‘intercultural training’ preparing people for international mobility. You can postulate about the culture of this and that in a country but it’s often just a partial picture and doesn’t take into account corporate culture. In international companies especially, that can be quite different from the ‘national culture’.” These sort of cultural differences are often amplified for female graduates, with the role of women very different in different parts of the world. “Women’s roles in the workplace are heavily restricted in certain countries, obviously. But what you tend to find in countries where work roles are restricted for women is that there’s also a lot of expectations or rules placed on men’s behaviour too.”

Like preparing for an interview, knowing everything you can makes moving abroad to work a lot easier. “I’d advise women to take advice from local HR people and recruiters about whether there are certain rules or laws about women’s work if they’re moving to a new country,” says Wendy, adding “Rules and regulations can even differ across regions so it’s impossible to generalise” “As for cultural or social barriers, don’t go looking for them in the first place. There’s always going to be someone willing to give you reasons not to do something if you look hard enough. Look around for how people in that place are making their careers and businesses work and build on good examples.” So what are Wendy’s tips to succeed internationally? “If you want to stand out as a UK graduate in an international recruitment process, even for internships, go and spend a year studying in a nonEnglish speaking country, even if the course itself is taught in English, or do a year’s voluntary work overseas. And learn how to speak English clearly to non-native English speakers. After that, if you speak some level of a foreign language, that will also help but it won’t replace the overseas experience and clearly spoken English.”

❝

real life stories | WOMEN IN engineerING

I feel more real world or practical assignments in university would have prepared me more for my job and the world of work Jennie Harrison

❞ Jennie Harrison studied MEng Civil Engineering at The University of Manchester. She now works as a graduate engineering on highways.

y job involves many different aspects of civil engineering, from designing highway alignments and surface water drainage systems, to producing CAD drawings and reports and occasionally visiting job sites. I think my degree gave me a good all round background knowledge of all areas of civil engineering, including structures, hydraulics, geotechnics, design, water engineering, highway engineering, and materials, but I feel more real world or practical assignments in university would have prepared me more for my job and the world of work. I enjoy the variety of projects I get to work on as I feel I am gaining useful experience. I also like the problem-solving aspect of my job, especially the feeling of accomplishment when a solution has been found. When it comes to downsides, sometimes tight deadlines on projects can lead to busy, stressful days at work. But overall I very much enjoy my job. I would advise graduates, if they’re interested in getting into engineering, to do summer placements or work experience during the summer whilst on their degree course, as it gives you invaluable ‘real world’ experience of what you do day-to-day as a civil engineer.

Julia Christakopoulou studied Civil Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and did an MSc in Geotechnical Engineering at Newcastle University. She’s now a graduate engineer in AECOM’s geotechnics department.

❝A

To develop a career people should always look for opportunities to enhance their knowledge and extend their skills

❞

-Julia Christakopoulou

s geotechnical engineering covers a wide variety of projects, a graduate engineer has the opportunity to get involved in many different things. This could mean desk studies, ground investigations and geotechnical design. Some of the projects that I have had the opportunity to work on are highway design schemes, wind farms and slope stabilisation projects. I think my degrees helped me prepare for the job. During my degree and MSc I had the opportunity to acquire valuable knowledge and develop skills relative to my position. But there are always things to pick up at work and my colleagues’ help and support make life a lot easier. I would say that the best thing about my job, and engineering in general, is that you get to see the realisation of projects that you and your team have spent time and effort on. It is very rewarding. This summer I enjoyed participating in the construction supervision of a reinforced earth embankment that my team designed for the remediation of a bank section of the River Wear in County Durham. I was involved with this project from inception through to completion and the finished slope looks a natural part of the surroundings which is another thing to be proud of. A degree is great starting point but to develop a career people should always look for opportunities to enhance their knowledge and extend their skills.

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LGBT | now’s the time

Be out, Be proud

THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BE LGBT IN THE WORKPLACE

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lgbt | now’s the time

❝

The focus has shifted from employees making themselves fit a workplace to employers making their company an inviting place to work THE DAYS OF ‘DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL’ ARE BEHIND US. EMPLOYERS ARE ACTIVELY SEEKING MORE DIVERSE WORKFORCES, MEANING THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BE OUT AND PROUD.

HERE’S NOTHING LIKE A BIT OF ECONOMIC TURMOIL TO GET COMPANIES AND ORGANISATIONS THINKING ABOUT WHAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO THEM. The last few years have seen a rise in the number of graduates alongside shaky economic times for everyone, meaning employers have had a wider pool of talent to choose from. More applicants and fewer roles might sound like bad news, with more competition for jobs, but in fact it’s made those who are offering the jobs even more obsessed with talent. And when ability to do the job is all that matters, discrimination goes right out the window. Since 2003, and the publishing of the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations, every employee has had the right to be openly gay in the workplace. Yet these regulations took time to have an effect on the way things are actually done. As little ago as 2009, the Treasury published figures showing that 48% of gay people didn’t feel comfortable revealing their sexuality at work. But now, things have really started to change. “Despite forecasts of doom and gloom in the job market, we’ve this year increased the number of employers featuring in Starting Out, all of whom are eager to the recruit the very best in lesbian, gay and bisexual talent,” says David Shields,

❞ director of workplace programmes at, LGBT activist and campaigning organisation, Stonewall. He adds, “Creating a fully supportive and inclusive work environment makes sound business sense because people perform better when they can be themselves.” The estimated value of the ‘pink pound’, the production and spending power of the LGBT community in the UK, is £70 billion. More and more employers are seeing sense, that hiring LGBT employees gives them access to a wider pool of talent. But even if they chose to ignore this fact and thought they could get away with discriminating, they couldn’t overlook the awesome economic power that the Britain’s LGBT population commands. “Attracting the right staff and ensuring they develop and perform at their best is key to any organisation, particularly in a harder economic climate,” says Ben Summerskill, Stonewall’s chief executive. “People perform better when they can be themselves at work and acting as an inclusive employer is a fundamental part of business strategy for British companies wanting to remain market leaders and public sector organisations striving to provide world class public services.” Talented graduates are in a position where they can take command of their own future

as the focus has shifted from employees making themselves fit a workplace to employers making their company an inviting place to work. This shift can even be seen on a bigger scale, with graduates moving to cities and areas that promote diversity, leaving those that don’t to catch up. “There’s no question about it anymore,” says Tom Jones, director of Smart City Consulting, “one of the greatest competitive advantages for any city is tolerance.” Tom recalls a conversation he had with a young gay graduate at one company, who described the gay community as ‘the canaries in the coal mine’. “If you can look at a city and see gay people actively and prominently involved, that’s a city that says to other people of that generation, ‘This is a city that’s open, where you can live a life you want to live.” Social change is motivated by lots of different things. Education and politics have laid a foundation over the last decade for the end to discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people in the workplace. With economics now pushing in the same direction, and that being the only way to get the best talent, that goal is getting closer by the day.

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disability | make it easy

Best practice

❝ The private sector has recognised there is a pool of talent in the disabled community

❞

HOW TO MAKE AN EMPLOYER’S JOB EASY SO THEY CAN MAKE YOUR JOB YOURS

→

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disability | make it easy

If you have a disability, employers have a duty to make things as easy for you as possible. Making it easy for them to do that might just make your career.

ore and more employers are turning towards the disabled community to find the best graduates. However, misunderstandings about disabilities and how they affect your work can still stand between some disabled graduates and a career they’d be great at. We spoke to Allie Makoff, freelance disabled journalist, expert on disability rights and PR executive with experience in HR & recruitment, about what graduates are entitled to and what they can do to make it easier for employers to say yes. “The private sector has recognised there is a pool of talent in the disabled community,” says Allie, “you’ll find the employer will bend over backwards to make reasonable adjustments.” The problem is that employers are rarely experts on what disabled graduates need and are often worried about trying to find out. “I think what’s really important with reasonable adjustments is the employer and employee should work together,” advises Allie. “Often the employer is frightened and if you’re being closed it’s a waste of everyone’s time. It’s very important to work with them. When you get offered a job, you should discuss with your line manager what you’re going to need.” If you’re worried about an employer’s attitude toward disabilities, you should remember they aren’t allowed to not employ you on the basis of having a disability. “What I would advise,” says Allie “is never put your disability on your CV or an application form. They’re interested in your skills.” “When you come into the interview room, if there’s a visible disability, they might be scared or concerned. If they asked you’d be able to pit their mind at rest saying what you can and can’t do and how it affects you. If you have a visible disability, be open about it. Say ‘I don’t know if you notice I have a disability, I want to reassure you, etc. etc.’ Reference the skills they’re looking for and

give them the opportunity to ask. You need to put the employer at ease about your disability.” As well as not having to disclosing you disability when applying for a job, there are some other things employers shouldn’t ask you about. “In terms of sickness, nowadays, employers aren’t allowed to ask how many days you’ve had off sick. Obviously if you’re someone like myself, if you have to have a lot of hospital appointments, they say it won’t affect your chances but obviously it will. If they do ask that they should be reported.” It isn’t just in the interview that it pays to be open about your disability. “If you’ve been offered an interview and they aren’t aware of your disability, and you have access requirements, you need to telephone them up and say this is my disability, I need these adjustments.” “You still need to be open about it and put them at ease. Normally employers are really very helpful but understandably they are very frightened to ask. It’s difficult for them,” says Allie, adding, “There’s a good comparison with young women, employers are no longer allowed to ask if they’re married and have got children because it’s none of their business.” It shouldn’t be down to you but if an employer wants to make sure they can make their workplace accessible to you, it pays to make that easy them. “If they say ‘we’d like to offer you the job, but we have a few concerns’ then that’s good,” says Allie, “because you can reassure them.” “Disabled people are naturally at a disadvantage when applying to job,” says Allie. That’s not to say they’d be worse than anyone else but they have other people’s preconceptions to deal with. “They need to hone down their technique, so their attitude is one of absolute confidence in themselves. The biggest challenge for disabled people is to make sure they put their interviewer at ease.”

❝ Normally

employers are really very helpful, but understandably they are very frightened to ask about disabilities

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disability | real life stories

❝ ore m l e e

If le in b a t r o comf eing gay b work o in some d than I r places othe

❞

Alex Blainey is an NGA customer service officer for Carillion Telent. He studied English at the University of Kent.

build job packs, upload utility maps and contact contractors and planners for BT Openreach. The NGA or Next Generation Access team that I’m a part of work on the new fibre optic connections to houses. We build the jobs for BT to go out and install cabs or DSLAMs which will connect to the current phoneline allowing to the electrical signals that travel through the fibre optic cables from the exchange to convert the electrical signals into information that can pass through and be recognised by the phone line. We also upload utility prints (gas, electric and oil) showing the locations of the current cables and pipelines so that they don’t get damaged during the work and cause damage, from injury to the onsite engineers to explosions that could level a house or a street of houses. It’s less exciting than it sounds but it’s pretty important. My work is very LGBT friendly. I’m not the only person of my sexuality to work there. I haven’t really felt any prejudice or felt uncomfortable working there because of my sexuality. I think it was more of an issue in school, and in other aspects of my day to day

life. I feel more comfortable in work being gay than I do in some other places. I’ve made some really good friends whilst working there and that’s mostly because I feel like I can be myself. That fact has also helped me to become more confident and assertive whilst at work. To be honest, at the moment getting a job isn’t easy, even with a degree. It really depends on your field and your experience. You need to get as much experience as you can and sell yourself. Also be yourself and be comfortable with it, because if you’re comfortable it shows. I’d also say do your research into a company before your interview. If you’re gay, lesbian or transgender it can be harder but you need to persevere because we deserve jobs as much as anyone else and it shouldn’t be based on our sexuality whether or not we get one. If you are good at what you do, and passionate then show it. Don’t let it get you down if you don’t get the job it just wasn’t right for you not the other way around. It’s easy to get disheartened but something will come along.

www.realworldmagazine.com/news for all the latest graduate news including: • • •

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How to make the cut for training schemes Defending the public, working for the CPS Converting to law – it’s never too late

disabilities | real life stories

Alexander van Holk did a BA in International Economics & Business and MSc in Finance at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. He’s now an associate in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley

Y JOB INVOLVES MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS, advisory work, global capital markets advisory work, including initial public offerings, and debt issues. I am part of the team that covers the Benelux markets, in particular the large cap companies. Both my bachelor and master’s degrees provided me with a good fundamental understanding of corporate finance. However, I would not say you need a degree in economics or finance to do well in investment banking. I am a wheelchair user, having suffered a spinal injury that left me paralysed from the waist down. But I would not say it has had a tangible impact on my career. Morgan Stanley have been very good at ensuring that everything is accessible. I’m lucky enough to work with incredibly good people and working on big deals is

also very exciting. No day is ever the same. Not that there aren’t some bad bits, the long hours for one. Although when you are working really late it tends to be on something big and interesting which kind of makes up for it. If you’re a graduate and you want to get into finance, you should read about financial markets, in particular mergers and acquisition activity and try to develop your own views about why things are happening. Begin developing your professional profile by doing internships and work experience programmes as early as possible but never forget that this is a people business so take time to develop your social and team building skills as well. The most important thing is that you develop a genuine passion for corporate finance; if you can convey this in an interview, you are half way there.

❝ Never forget

that that this is a people business so take time to develop your social skills

❞

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age | Experience is expertise

The prime OF your life Why your age might be the best thing about you.

family, a few more years on the clock and friends in high places, mature graduates have so much to offer that other graduates don’t. The challenge every graduate faces starting their career straight out of university is convincing an employer that they’re better than the competition. There are a few recognised hurdles; ‘is your degree relevant?’, ‘did you get at least a 2:1?’, but really it’s down to how well you can sell yourself. As a mature graduate, the same

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is true. But that’s not a bad thing. Trying to convince a future employer that you’re a committed candidate to the company before you’ve joined, that you’re passionate about a particular job or even that you’ll be the most interesting person in the office is difficult. Eventually, you have to draw on your life experiences. And if those cover a period even twice as long as that of the other graduates then you’ve got that much more chance of finding the perfect argument to support your case.

age | Experience is expertise

You’ve got mixed-age experience “Mature graduates tend to bring greater life experience with them,” says Magdalen Attwater, careers adviser at the Careers Group University of London. This life experience is going to include working alongside people of their own age, but will also take in the years recently spent studying alongside, and maybe even being taught by, people younger than yourself. This experience brings with it “a consequent ability to understand and work effectively with a wide range of people,” says Magdalen. That ability doesn’t just lend itself to good office relationships, it suggest you’ll be better at networking, more empathetic with clients and generally have the communication skills that employers want.

You’ve got obligations Having a family is often something which separates even the 30 year old graduate from the 21 year old. It’s understandable to think that the job offers are going to go to those without other responsibilities, who can work late at the office and who can put the company first. But the point here is responsibilities. Pointing out you have some, and particularly that you were able to juggle them with studying for a degree, can show an employer that you’re able to manage your time and still produce results. “The very fact that a mature graduate has chosen to go to University later in life clearly indicates their ability to be flexible when challenged by new circumstances,” says Magdalen. That flexibility hints at everything from problem solving skills to sheer hard work, so take the opportunity to tell the employer what it meant for you and how it will be useful in your work.

You’ve got more work experience

You’ve got everything you need

Even if it’s in an unrelated field, having a few solid years of work experience to draw on means you have some concrete examples to back up anything you say in an interview or on a cover letter. A lot of the skills employers are looking for are transferable. There are very few jobs where a good eye for detail, perseverance and team work won’t be seen as good things. So draw on past experiences heavily, it won’t make you sound old, it’ll make you sound experienced and that’s a good thing in an employer’s book.

The only real difference between a mature graduate and any other graduate is the age. As with anything when job hunting, this can be a powerful part of your arsenal or the lord of all let-downs, it’s all down to what you do with it. Walking into an interview with an apology is going to give the impression that you have something to apologise for. On the other hand, selling the fact that you’re a mature graduate as something that sets you aside from all over graduates is likely to make the interviewer really listen to what you’ve got to say. From then, it’s all up to you.

❛Having a

few solid years of work experience to draw on means you have some concrete examples to back up anything you say in an interview

❜

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faith | know your rights

The rights of man

When it comes to religion in the workplace, know you’re entitled to

❝ If any employer lets religion come in the way of you doing your job, they’re at fault and need to change how they do things ❞

Discrimination

The rules that prevent religious discrimination in the workplace are the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations. According to the regulations, an employer can’t treat you less favourably because of your faith. This covers everything from choosing not to employ someone to refusing to train them or making them work different hours because of what believe. As well as direct discrimination, employers can’t have rules or working conditions that would make it difficult for members of a particular religion to work somewhere. If there is a good reason for the rule, the employer might be in the right but it is always up to them to prove there is, not you to prove there isn’t.

Harassment

It might sound obvious that it’s illegal for an employer to bully or intimidate you at work. They can’t do that even if it’s not about religion. But it might be surprising to hear

they can’t do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable about your faith, even if it’s by accident. The law protects you against things like jokes and nicknames if they’re distressing in any work-related setting. That includes office parties, conferences or any other time you’re on the company clock, even if it’s not in your normal hours or usual workplace. Your employer is responsible for your colleagues as well so be vocal about anything you’re not comfortable with. As the standard punishment is a fine, they’re far more likely to have a quiet word with an insensitive colleague than risk losing a hefty wodge of cash.

Victimisation

According to the Regulations, victimisation is when anyone at work treats you badly for making a complaint, wanting to make a complaint or backing someone else up. This can include anything from giving you the silent treatment or labelling you a

‘troublemaker’ to denying you promotion. If they do, the company and any individuals involved are liable to pay you compensation.

What can they do?

For the most part, if any employer lets your religion come in the way of you doing your job, they’re at fault and need to change how they do things. There are some rare situations in which they can claim a restriction or rule is a Genuine Occupational Requirement and are allowed to keep them. GORs are situations in which an employer can say that a candidates religion can directly affect their ability to do the job. If you want to become a vicar, for example, the employer is allowed to insist you believe in God. Even in these situations, it is down to the employer to prove their case. If you’re concerned or really want a job but are told you can’t have it, don’t be afraid to ask. The law’s on your side.

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TF22

’t ‘Young people don fail in education: m e h t s il a f n io t a c u ed and that’s not acceptable’ Kafilat Agboola, taught Science. now Faculty Head of Science

change Their lives and change yours Just 16% of kids eligible for free school meals make it to university, compared to 96% from independent schools.* Take up the challenge, Teach First.

www.teachfirst.org.uk Teach First is a registered charity, no:1098294

TF2204 Real World Diversity A4.indd 1

*Sutton Trust, 2010

24/08/2011 11:06

The friendships you make on day one stay with you

Assurance Actuarial Consulting Financial Advisory Tax Technology Any degree discipline 300+ UCAS tariff (or equivalent) Diverse people make us stronger

Graduate Development Programme UK-wide » Join Spring, Summer or Autumn Collaboration makes us stronger. In fact, we wouldn’t be the best at what we do if we didn’t work so well together. That’s why, as well as plenty of drive and initiative, we look for the ability to forge really strong relationships. And if you have those skills, we’ll give you the training, support and expert mentoring to capitalise on them. You’ll soon see why we’ve been voted number one in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers survey for the last eight years. Be part of something special and meet people who’ll make a lasting impression.

www.pwc.com/uk/careers

© 2011 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. “PricewaterhouseCoopers” refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (a limited liability partnership in the United Kingdom) or, as the context requires, the PricewaterhouseCoopers global network or other member firms of the network, each of which is a separate legal entity.