Work Experience 2011 NEW by Real World

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

» Tax ticks All you need to know P.34

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2011/12

» Get experienced Home and away P.15

living Make a life, not just a

INTERVIEW: MATT LACEY

GAP YAH Poncing about or cunning career gambit?

WORK EXPERIENCE SPECIAL

Photo Credit: Spring Project working at the D&AD Graduate Academy

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CURRENT STUDENTS: To bring the Spring Project to your uni speak to your careers service RECENT GRADUATES: Sign up for a free event at www.springproject.co.uk CAREERS SERVICES: If you are interested in bringing the Spring Project to your uni contact Andrew Armes at Andrew@springproject.co.uk EMPLOYERS: If you’re interested in sponsoring training contact Darius Norell at Darius@springproject.co.uk

The Spring Project is not for profit, set up by Real World to provide world class training to unemployed graduates.

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CONTENTS | WHAT’S INSIDE

CONTENTS Editorial

News

The Interview Matt Lacey talks ‘gap yahs’

Case Studies Young entrepreneurs Spring Training Tapping into your potential

11 14

Don’t fancy a gap year? Avoiding those cliches

The truth about internships Be in the know

Home or Away? Where is the perfect job?

How will a gap year effect your career Hard partying or hard work

Gap year guide books What’s hot and what is not in the literature world

Becoming an entrepreneur Where is the help when you need it?

Careers fair calendar

The definitive guide to this autumn’s careers fairs Beat the Taxman How to make sure that your money stays yours

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 Sub-editor: Jen Clark Writer-Researchers: Jenny Collins, Terri Sturman, Sabrina Wimalasuriya

Sales Nafeesa Shamsuddin

Marketing and Distribution Manager Diana Maggiore

GRAPHIC DESIGN Luke Merryweather

IT’S ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE THAT EMPLOYERS HAVE WANTED THE MOST ROUNDED GRADUATES ON OFFER. If the choice is between someone with a great degree and some with a great degree and six months experience, then the second one is the obvious choice. With the number of graduates rising each year and the number of jobs not yet catching it up, the impact of work experience is stronger than it’s ever been. In fact, in a recent poll by Ambition AXA, more than 10% of employers said relevant work experience was vital to getting a job. If that sounds like bad news, it doesn’t have to be. The work experience employers want isn’t two months of tea making and envelope-licking. What they’re looking for is something that’s helped direct the skills a graduate already has into something they can use immediately. Even under that heading, there are options. For what’s on offer just look at p.11, and for where you can do it p.21. That experience doesn’t even have to be in an office. A gap year, properly planned and targeted at your future career, can be just as attractive to employers, as our interview with Matt Lacey explains. Work experience doesn’t have to be a hurdle between graduation and employment. It can be a springboard to a great career.

ILLUSTRATION Henry Boon

Client Services Manager

Jon, Editor editor@realworldmagazine.com

Marie Tasle

Make a life, not just a living

FOUNDER 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.

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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.

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, 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 Gap year travel wins greater recognition from potential employers AN INDEPENDENT REPORT has shown that 60% of business managers believe that a gap year is as important as a degree when looking for new recruits. The report, commissioned by international volunteering company Projects Abroad and conducted by independent research group Opinion Matters, interviewed 253 managers

across several industries and found that the majority of them considered a gap year to be of equal or greater value to a degree. Perhaps unsurprisingly, managers working in HR, healthcare and travel & transport are most likely to prize gap years, while those in the engineering sector value degrees more highly.

Dr. Peter Slowe, founder and director of Projects Abroad, said “To learn that gap year experiences hold an equal footing with employers alongside a degree really shows how far this once ‘off-the-wall’ concept has come, both in terms of its general credibility and an increased awareness across many professions and industries.”

New research shows advantages of international volunteer programmes

UK graduates consider foreign shores

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ACCORDING TO DEMOS, a think-tank, participating in international volunteering programmes can help young people’s personal development and employment prospects and opportunities. Demos published a report in July which shows that volunteering overseas has an “extremely significant positive impact” on participants’ perception of their own social and personal development. These schemes are beneficial for improving young people’s self-confidence, self-reliance and sense of motivation, as well helping them to develop

team work and leadership skills. Volunteer programmes can also help to improve young people’s employment prospects. Interviews with 2,000 recent overseas volunteers showed that 70% had found work since taking part in a volunteer programme, 25% were in education and only 4% were still seeking work. Jonathon Birdwell, the author of the report, concludes that international volunteer programmes have a positive influence on graduates’ employment prospects.

A RECENT STUDY CONDUCTED by talent management firm SHL shows that nearly three quarters of graduates would consider moving abroad in order to find work. SHL found that 73% of the 1,000 graduates questioned would consider working abroad, with the main incentive being cited as an opportunity to earn a better salary. Sean Howard, Vice President for Business Solutions at SHL, said “Understandably our graduates are open to the idea of seeking their career abroad

and the UK industry is faced with a potential brain drain.” Howard also commented on the intensity of competition in getting a foothold on the career ladder, and the fact that many graduates have to do unpaid internships in order to improve their career prospects. However, it’s not only working abroad that is attracting young graduates. The report suggests the high level of UK graduates not yet entered into suitably skilled employment could lead to an increase in the number of graduates who decide to take gap years.

NEWS | WHAT’S HAPPENING

Gap year or ‘snap’ year? YOUNG PEOPLE IN BRITAIN are ditching the traditional gap year in favour of a shorter alternative, or ‘snap’ year, due to fears over finances and employability. According to cheapflights.co.uk, the number of travellers still opting for the traditional year long trip has fallen by 69% over the last 5 years. Fewer than 8% of travellers now plan to be away for more than four months, and the average ‘snap’ year usually lasts just five weeks. These statistics are attributed to concerns by young people over their ability to fund a long trip and their ability to secure a job on

their return. Managing Director of travel insurance company LV=, John O’Roarke, said that these findings show that “long periods of overseas travel are no longer a feasible option for many people.” These shorter trips have resulted in the rising popularity of budget destinations such as India and Thailand, as well as countries like Australia, New Zealand and the USA where travellers can take advantage of the current strength of the sterling.

Intern scheme helps grads to land jobs AN INTERNSHIP SCHEME funded by the Higher Education Council of England has managed to place around 1 in 3 graduates in permanent or long-term jobs according to a new report. The report shows that 28% of graduates who participated in the HEFCE-funded internships have been offered a long-term or permanent job by the employer, while 18% reported that the scheme had helped them to find other long term employment. Encouragingly, the report also indicates that 55% of participating employers said that as a result of the scheme they would be more likely to offer work experience in the future.

David Sweeney, HEFCE Director of Research, Innovation and Skills said, “These schemes, along with the recent Economic Challenge Investment Fund, show that higher education is making its contribution to recession recovery. The challenge now is to work with partners to take internship and work placement activity forward into the new fees and funding environment.” The report stresses the importance of internships for improving graduate employability and advises that more could be done to inform universities, students and employers about the benefits of participating in internships.

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

The advantages of a gap year Work experience in the UK

Placements on the rise Research shows that a work experience placement is more vital than ever to long term employment prospects. The good news is that it seems that the number of these placements available is on the rise. High Fliers Research published a report estimating that 32% of this year’s graduate vacancies will be filled by applicants who have already worked for the employer, while in the Investment Banking and Law sectors this figure rises to over 50%. Martin Birchall, Managing Director of High Fliers Research said, “In this highly competitive graduate jobs market, new graduates who’ve not had any work experience during their time at university have little or no chance of landing a well-paid job with a leading employer.” However, for those graduates who haven’t done any work experience, it’s still possible to get a placement. The survey also shows that the number of employers offering work experience has risen by over 10% since the 2009-2010 academic year. It also showed that 60% of employers are providing industry placements for undergraduates or vacation work lasting more than three weeks.

60%

of employers provide placements lasting more than 3 weeks for undergraduates

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THE INTERVIEW | MATT LACEY

The BIG INTERVIEW: matt lacey

GAP WISE HOW TO WASTE A GAP YEAR OR MAKE A CAREER

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THE INTERVIEW | MATT LACEY

MATT LACEY’S ‘GAP YAH’ SPOOF WAS THE MOST YOUTUBED VIDEO OF THE LAST YEAR. Now he’s written a book on how not to gap year. The actor and comedian’s Gap Yah Plannah looks at the clichés of ‘spiritual, cultural, political’ year abroad. But, as he reveals here, there can be much more to it. A well-planned gap year can be the foundation of a great career to come.

I WENT TO OXFORD AND STUDIED MODERN HISTORY,” says Matt. “I liked it a lot, you can kind of pick and choose what you want to study, so I now have a great knowledge about very obscure 14th and 15th century history.” Unsurprisingly, given his recent rise to fame, he followed his time at university with a gap year. What is perhaps surprising is what he spent it doing. “I spent most of it living in Ireland working at a Chinese restaurant run by Romainians. That was a life experience.” For Matt, as for an increasing number of graduates, it wasn’t the typical year abroad, not least because Thailand and Burma weren’t on the itinerary. “My parents are Irish and I had a lot of family over there so I thought I’d go over there and see what happened. The money was better because this was when the Irish economy was in overheat mode, it was the height of the Celtic tiger.” It was alright, it was good fun. I used the money that I made there to go travelling in Tanzania and I went there for three months. It was a project thing in Singida in the back end of nowhere in north west Tanzania and we were building houses for teachers.” Like a lot of graduate gappers, Matt felt he went into his gap year without any real

“People taking gap years this year will want to justify it financially and it will be very tough” planning. “It was basically just something that I found on the internet. We had speakeasy lessons out there and stuff and that was nice to learn.” So how did that experience lead to his famous video? “I suppose it was based on a few people specifically. I think it’s just quite a recognisable social type: the over-privileged and expectant posh person who goes off to the third world and treats it as an extension of Fulham.” “I think that one of the reasons that that sketch proved so popular was because everyone had at some point encountered someone like that, it was something that everyone was very aware of. I guess you could say that the impression isn’t based on a specific person but rather a specific type of person and the kind of generic and

obnoxious stuff they would come up with whenever they talked about their gap years.” “The sketch is certainly at the extreme end of the spectrum,” explains Matt. But he feels that a lot of people taking gap years this year might do so for the wrong reasons and waste the opportunity of a lifetime. “People taking gap years this year will want to justify it financially and it will be very tough to finance. So the sketch might be about to become very inaccurate. But then again, for people like Orlando (his character in the sketch) it wouldn’t make any difference because their parents are paying for everything anyway. So the sketch is probably about to become both more and less just.” He is keen to add that, whilst the travelling might be easier for the Orlandos of the world, the after effects of a gap year will be judged on their merits. “I think, to be honest, employers will look at what you did. I think that things like the video have probably made people more keenly aware that they have to do something rather than walking around vomiting on the developing world, and justify why they’re taking a gap year and what they can gain from it, which probably isn’t bad.” >>

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THE INTERVIEW | MATT LACEY

O IS A GAP YEAR WORTH IT AT ALL? “A gap year can accelerate the process of maturing that young people are going through by taking them outside of their frame of reference,” offers Matt. “It does help in terms of increasing independence. But also, if you can do something useful or just kind of enlightening in terms of your future career it can be very useful.” That’s speaking from personal experience as Matt’s gap year helped him redirect his career, “I went to university a bit more mature and keen to get involved in a lot of things”. This new found enthusiasm saw Matt join the prestigious Oxford Revue comedy group, where he developed his comedic talents. “I would have liked to take a gap year after uni but unfortunately because of acting and stuff I have to be in London. I would have liked to learn a language and to have lived in another country for six months. My flatmate went and lived in Madrid and then went to South America, and as a result he learnt a lot of Spanish, and now he’s a lawyer, and he could work internationally because of his Spanish. Something like that can be really helpful for your career. And it’s fun.”

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“ I think that the video probably made people more aware that they have to do something rather than walk around vomiting on the developing world.” Hoping, in some small way, to discourage those gappers who devalue the experience Matt has produced a book about gap years. Although, being written from the perspective of his character, he’s keen to point out it’s not a reliable guide to what to do on a year abroad. “So it’s called the ‘Gap Yah Plannah’, and it’s as if, Orlando, the character from the sketches has created a kind of scrap book from his gap year. It has pages torn out from a real guide book, like from lonely planet, and it’s got bits stuck to the book-beer labels and so forthand then emails from mum and dad and diary entries from Orlando.” His time spent around gappers has undoubtedly changed Matt’s career, although perhaps not in the most conventional way. What has he been up to since? “I did Edinburgh with a sketch group I’m in called Unexpected Items. I did two shows

there, one with the group and the other was a two man show called mythbunking. It’s not about de-bunking but bunking myths, so actually coming up with them. They both went well and I spent the month doing that. Then I spent time in London, I did a few festivals and then writing the book, that’s taken up my year.” THE GAP YAH PLANNAH by Orlando is out now, published by Fourth Estate, price £12.99

JOBS | STARTING A BUSINESS

The Age of the

ENTREPRENEUR If you can’t find the job you want, why not make your own?

“The number of self-employed university leavers has risen by a whopping 46% in the last six years”

CCORDING TO DAVID CAMERON, the coming decade is “the age of the entrepreneur.” It can certainly seem like a good option – encouraged by the government, inspired by television programmes and incentivised by hefty cash prizes from competition sponsors – it’s no wonder that being an entrepreneur is on the radar of more than a few young graduates. With unemployment figures reaching almost 2.5million in Britain, more young graduates than ever before are creating their own jobs. A survey conducted by Hiscox Insurance found that 4 in 10 undergraduates were either managing their own business or setting up companies while still at university, and the latest government figures show that the number of self-employed university leavers has risen by a whopping 46% in the last six years. Fortunately, it seems that universities are responding to the rising interest from young people in entrepreneurship. The National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs, for example, represents 70 student enterprise societies. There are other programmes too - the recent StartUp Summer programme,

sponsored by YouGov is a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style competition organised in collaboration with UCL and Imperial Business School. In this programme, teams of students (with the aid of skills workshops run by the two universities and masterclasses by experienced entrepreneurs) had six weeks to develop a business idea before pitching it to a panel of judges and venture capitalists in the hope of winning a £10,000 prize. YouGov founder and StartUp Summer sponsor Stephan Shakespeare said “We developed StartUp Summer to inspire and encourage a new wave of entrepreneurial talent. I have been thrilled to see the projects develop throughout the scheme and inspired by the enthusiasm and energy of the students involved.” However Mark Bright, who co-authored the report ‘Make a Job, Don’t Take a Job’, pointed out that part of the growing interest in starting businesses is simply the product of necessity. Bright has warned that “there just aren’t old-style jobs any more. If you’re coming out of university, you need to create a job.” So while being an entrepreneur is obviously an increasingly popular career choice among graduates, the question remains about how much ‘choice’ they really have.

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CASE STUDIES | ENTREPRENEURS

Poppy Hope studied Classics at University College London. DO I PLAN TO START A CAREER AS AN ENTREPRENEUR? OH ABSOLUTELY I’VE NEVER REALLY DONE ANYTHING ENTREPRENEURIAL apart from having a bit of an authority complex, but when I got an email about StartUp summer I just wanted to give it a go. The business idea I worked on is called 10pc.org (that’s the website) and we sell bamboo clothing. We’re trying to get

enough money for a big branding exercise or marketing strategy generally, big new brands have at least £80,000 to spend on marketing. The other concern was that other people might do the same thing. It’s true that there are other people using bamboo, but there is no one branding it specifically, so we felt that we had a unique brand idea. We had some very helpful lectures, explaining how to approach investors, how to negotiate... the nuts and bolts of running a business. At the moment we’ve got lots of stock and a license to sell at Brick Lane. People have been really interested in our business, so we’re going to harness that interest and excitement by selling online. Do I plan start a career as an entrepreneur? Oh absolutely. The majority of people in the StartUp programme want to be entrepreneurs at some level and for around 50% it’s an absolute must. It’s all a question of timing and resources. I’m young still and I’ve just graduated so I can afford to give a couple of things a go. Before StartUp Summer I was on the phone to all my contacts in recruitment - I’d already been to interviews and was being set up for the next round. Having done the StartUp Summer I’ve completely changed course. I think that this has just given me a completely different

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bamboo fabric to replace cotton, as you can grow and manufacture bamboo using just 10 percent of the land space and water needed to make cotton. So we brought out a range of bamboo T-shirts and shorts which we will hopefully add to. The judges gave us good feedback. The main reservations were that we didn’t have

Arash Khosravi is at UCL studying Economics. THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS THE INITIAL RISK I FOUND OUT ABOUT THE STARTUP SUMMER PROGRAMME THROUGH A CHANCE EMAIL. It sounded good, so I applied and got a place. Back in secondary school I did business challenges and charity work, and when I came to UCL I was interested in it but I had never done entrepreneurial stuff. My business idea is called ‘I Witness.’ Basically, it’s an app that helps users to record and report crime using their iPhone. It has features to record videos, take pictures, and add witness statements and audio text. We identified a problem that the app might help to fix: namely, that witnesses do not come forward to report crime because they don’t believe that people will do anything about it. The app could help improve this situation. We wanted to re-skin ‘I Witness’ for use in universities, to help identify crime on campus, and got really good feedback from the judges on the programme. We didn’t actually win, but they said our idea was good and that they thought we’d get funding elsewhere. They liked the app, so all our hard work seemed to pay off! On top of the masterclass we had lectures about business finance, intellectual property, presentation skills how to write a business plan and how to value a business.

These valuable lessons were reinforced with practical examples in the masterclass. Since the StartUp summer programme, my team have been developing the business a bit more. UCL have agreed to pilot it next year, which would be a really good trial period and perfect advertising for other universities who might be interested in buying the app. I think the biggest challenge an entrepreneur has to take is the initial risk that you have to take, which can be a real jump if you’re coming from a well-paid job. However, you get to work for yourself, which can be very rewarding. The main thing about working for yourself though is accomplishing all this and knowing that you did it.

CASE STUDIES | ENTREPRENEURS

Jonathon Webster is studying Information Systems Engineering at Imperial College London. IN THE FUTURE I SEE MYSELF TRYING TO CREATE MY OWN JOB

Steve Robinette is studying Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London. HAVING SEEN WHAT AN ENTREPRENEUR IS HAS REALLY HELPED TO CHANGE MY PERSPECTIVE WHEN YOU DO RESEARCH FOR A LIVING, you work on stuff that’s years from making it out of the lab or into day-to-day life. What excited me about my business idea was the opportunity to use scientific skill in a way that could be more useful in the short term. My business idea is called ‘Spotless’ and it’s a web-based software which grades skin health for people with acne. You take a photo of yourself in the morning, it uploads to our server, we quantify how the skin is doing, and then over time you can see how you are improving. Acne is about management, not cure, and it’s a long drawn out process. Helping people to see the improvement their skin is making can help them take charge of their treatment and feel like part of the process instead of blindly following a course. When I thought about entrepreneurship six months or a year ago it was a terrifying prospect. The programme helped take away some of the risk for me. Having seen what

I CHOSE TO DO STARTUP SUMMER because I already had an idea that I’d spent some time on, and I wanted to take it further. The programme just seemed like an attractive prospect as they provided £2,000 start-up cash, and the scheme itself provided an official wrapper around what we were doing. When I was younger I was always making websites. I had a little business helping people who didn’t know much about the internet to get on the web. This spawned from a family friend asking me for help, and then suddenly I had an awful lot of clients paying me to look after their websites. My business idea is called ‘Buildr.’ It’s an online social photo book creator, where you can build albums with friends who can contribute their own messages and pictures. Once the photo album is created, you can preview it before it gets printed into a physical book. We feel that what we’ve got is a platform where you don’t have to spend time laboriously making the book; it’s fun to

being an entrepreneur is about and met people who’ve been successful in that industry has really helped to change my perspective. ‘Spotless’ got great feedback, especially from the final pitch, and we’re going to use the £10,000 investment to launch the product. We’re still trying to build a great product, and now we have a chance to do that.

create the content. The judges gave us good feedback and we came second overall. The main criticism was that it wasn’t fully understood how people make a photo book online. We got a lot of offers for future help from the judges though. The programme acted a lot like market research for our product, which was very valuable, and we have since run a pilot project. We also have a show website, which we’ve been using for a year to gauge interest, which we know is there because we’re already getting emails and demands! We’ve decided to release Buildr to colleges and universities soon. These institutions often have yearbooks, so why not offer them an online version? In the future I see myself trying to create my own job. I plan to spend my remaining time at university developing Buildr in a comfortable and organic way so that I can take it on fully later.

For young entrepreneurs, I believe there’s a perception that it is really difficult – for example that you have to register, do all the legal things, quit your job.... But these are fixable problems. I feel like one possible solution is to have more schemes like StartUp summer, another is to create situations in university courses which can be applied to the real world.

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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

GAP YEARS | THE OTHER OPTIONS

Don’t fancy a

Gap Year™? AVOID THE CLICHÉS AND PLAN YOUR OWN PATH ACROSS THE WORLD

HE GAP YEAR INDUSTRY IS BOOMING, with more and more people paying their share and heading off to...what? To see the world? To make a difference? To find themselves? While these are popular reasons, you’re unlikely to get a meaningful experience by signing up with a gap year company, tour group or an internship agency. At worst, doing so might actually be damaging to the places you visit. A recent survey by ThinkTank Demos warned that the new wave of British going over to developing countries and helping them build schools and dig wells is just promoting a new kind of colonialism through charity. But for those who think building schools and teaching English should be left to people who know how to build and teach, meaningful travel isn’t necessarily off the itinerary. Independent travel is still very much a viable option, giving you the chance to see and do things others won’t, to have a really personal experience, and to find out what a culture really has to offer when it’s not putting on a show for the westerners. Even better, there are still opportunities for you to wander round the world and still be useful. My favourite example is through stuffyourrucksack.com. This simple concept does still rely on charity and gifts from developed to undeveloped countries, but it’s small scale and makes sure people are getting what they need. Charity and grassroots NGOs around the world put up a wish list of items they need and can’t get hold of, either through supply issues or lack of finance, and if you can get hold of them, you can take them out. Just have a browse who wants what in the neighbourhood of your next holiday – whether that’s gloves for Latvia, blue tack for Vanuatu or weather monitoring equipment for Brazil. And if you do stumble across a worthy cause on your travels, you can share the details on the website when you get back. By stuffing your

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rucksack, not only is the right help going to the right people, but you can go and meet the people running these charities and the people benefiting from them. You can always offer to help out while you’re there. In a similar vein, but without even the help of a unifying website, is the simple idea of approaching a small charity, school or business directly. Many organisations now have some form of contact details around on the internet, however isolated they are, which is a good method if you want to plan ahead. Bear in mind, even those with email addresses probably can’t check them often - a call or even an old fashioned letter is probably better. However, the real joy of travel often comes from the unexpected. Plan a route or destination, head off and then explore. There will be plenty of organisations you can approach once there, and while you may get rebuffed, you might start a great new adventure. A final word to the wise – if you’re travelling independently, to remote and often overlooked areas, you may not like what you find. You might be uncomfortable in a hotel no one ever visits, get stared at by people suspicious of foreigners, hate the food which is always a million miles from the national cuisine exported abroad and feel very lonely and isolated if your language skills aren’t up to scratch. However, it’s in these circumstances that your perseverance, ingenuity and problem solving skills really come to the fore. Travelling without a safety net, and without taking your own bit of Britain with you in the form of companions and mentors, is a daunting task and not all those who do it manage to thrive on it. Those who can are those who can really show they have something worth

GAP YEARS | THE OTHER OPTIONS

“You’re unlikely to get a meaningful experience by signing up with a gap year company, tour group or agency”

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: s p i h s n r e t n I Section | TOPIC

? d e t i o l p x e g n tti e g r o d a e h a g n Getti

54%

of organisations that pay their interns national minimum wage or more

With competition for jobs tougher tha more and more graduates are taking i ship roles just to get their foot in the But aside from a few extra lines on th what do graduates get out of this? An are employers so keen to hire interns RealWorld has all the answers

ESTIMATED JOBS AVAILABLE IN THE UK AMOUNT OF YOUNG PEOPLE UNEMPLOYED AND NOT IN FULL TIME EDUCATION

28% HOW INTERNS GET PAID

of organisations pay interns less than the national minimum wage

13%

of organisations pay interns their exspenses

HOURLY WAGE RECOMMENDED BY THE CIPD* FOR INTERNS OR ANYONE ON WORK EXPERIENCE WWW.REALWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

ÂŁ2.50

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*Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

5 6

of organisations pay interns nothing

ugher than ever, e taking internoot in the door. nes on the cv, f this? And why re interns? wers

Section | topic

AMOUNT CURRENT GOVERNMENT IS COMMITING TO GETTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO WORK

ÂŁ60m

500,000 670,000

e age

52%

of managers said the main reason their company took on interns was to identify potential new talent for the organisation

31% of managers said that the main reason they took on interns was because they are a good, reliable source for temporary labour

17% of managers said the main reason their company took on interns was to get work done more cheaply

REASONS TO TAKE ON AN INTERN Statiscs based on: >Why interns deserve a fair wage / Going for broke (published by think tank Internocracy) WWW.REALWORLDMAGAZINE.COM RW 19 > Supporting youth employment (published by www.number10.gov.uk

QUIZ | WORK EXPERIENCE

Are you making the most of your work experience? IZ U Q

It can seem a bit unfair that, even with degree in hand, you still have to get work experience. But with an increasing number of students and graduates having to take work experience placements to land that ideal job, it’s important to make them work for you. Take our quiz to find out if you’re making the most out of your work experience:

At your work experience placement do you turn up…

How do you react when asked to do something?

A B

More or less on time in a suit borrowed off one of your mates.

A B C

On time, in appropriate attire, feeling fresh and ready to tackle the day’s business.

Whenever you feel like, still wearing yesterday’s clothes and babbling about how last night was ‘mental.’

Once your hangover has subsided enough for you to form coherent sentences and wearing your pyjamas on the basis that ‘you work better in them.’

C D

Do you talk to people in the office?

With a big sigh and the suggestion that perhaps there’s someone else who could do it.

With a curt nod of the head to indicate that you’ll do it before then spending the next hour floundering around the office to try and hide the fact that you don’t really know what you’re doing.

With a mixture of confidence and enthusiasm. You do the task to the best of your ability, but always remember that you’re new to this and so aren’t embarrassed to ask for help Do you feel that you could use the company for a reference?

A B

Only when absolutely necessary, grunts and physical gestures are the preferred method of communication.

Purely to find out the answers to important questions such as where the toilet is, how long your lunch is, and what time you can leave.

You don’t mind asking for help when you have a problem with the work that’s been assigned to you, but otherwise you tend to keep to yourself.

Frequently, because it makes your work experience more enjoyable, it helps you perform your tasks better, and allows you to network with other people in the industry.

Your results

By laughing.

A B C D

Absolutely not. They didn’t like you, and more importantly, you didn’t like them. Only if your next job involves making vast amounts of tea and/or coffee.

Possibly. They will at least confirm to your next potential employer that you have indeed done some work experience.

Definitely. They will inform any potential employers that you are an outstanding candidate for their company while lamenting the fact that they couldn’t hire you themselves.

MOSTLY As: You are definitely not making the most of your work experience, and with this level of effort you might as well have stayed at home all day watching TV. Unemployment beckons…

most out of your work experience. Remember that even though it’s only a temporary placement, you shouldn’t be doing the minimum amount of work available to you if you want to make the most of this opportunity.

MOSTLY Bs: You really need to improve your attitude if you’re going to make the most out of your work experience. It might not be your idea of fun, but doing work experience will enable you to learn lots about the industry you want to pursue a career in, as well as improving your employability in the future.

MOSTLY Ds: Congratulations. You’re treating your work experience like it’s a real job and as a result, you’ll get the most out of it. You are a pleasure to have in the office; you work hard, you’re enthusiastic about the position and confident enough to benefit from the experienced people around you. For you, this experience has expanded your skill set and improved your employability.

MOSTLY Cs: You’re doing ok, but you’re not really getting the

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Home or Away? FIND A JOB ON YOUR DOORSTEP OR THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD

GETTING A GRADUATE JOB SHOULD BE ALL ABOUT FINDING THE ONE THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU. Just like the right university could be on the side of the country, the right job might be on the other side of the world. Then again it might be just outside your front door. Over the next four pages, we take a look at jobs at home and abroad.

• PAGE 22 – REWARDING CAREERS ON YOUR DOORSTEP • PAGE 24 – CAREERS, CASH AND CULTURE SHOCK, WORKING ABROAD

JOBS | IN THE UK

Home A REWARDING, WELL-PAYING CAREER MIGHT BE RIGHT ON YOUR DOORSTEP

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JOBS | IN THE UK

“The appetite amongst local businesses is growing as many look to recruit from top academic institutions” Since the summer, the Government has launched a number of initiatives to try to ‘retain talent’, or in layman’s terms, to make jobs in this country more attractive. This means that there’s no time like the present to look local for that first step on the careers ladder.

HOW DO I FIND A JOB NEARBY?

ITH CHEAP AIR TRAVEL, high speed broadband and phone reception everywhere but the top of the tallest mountains, it can be easy to forget that there are things happening down your street. Britain leads the world in everything from internet business to building wind farms, which means there’s no need to go to Silicon Valley or Dubai to start a career in e-commerce or large scale engineering projects.

Finding a career locally isn’t the same thing as walking down the local high street handing out CVs. It should be the same process as looking for a job anywhere but recognising that fact that you’re local is often a real advantage. For many industries, local knowledge is hardly top of the list of desirable skills. However, for others, particularly those that interact closely with the community, local knowledge could come in very handy, whether your field is law, architecture, finance or even web design. Some areas have employment schemes targeted at local graduates, with access to positions your competitors from further afield wouldn’t know about. Stephen Smith is a job broker for InMidtown, the Business Improvement District (BID) for Holborn, Bloomsbury and St Giles. InMidtown’s employment brokerage service aims to match up graduates from the area with employers that want them. “The appetite amongst local businesses is growing as many look to recruit from top academic institutions within the district,” says Stephen. “The offering to graduates will range from summer jobs to professional and senior positions with some of the UK’s top firms, and all within a short walking distance. Ultimately, we hope to nurture

the talents of many local graduates, whilst ensuring that the needs of local businesses are not only met but exceeded.” Ask not what you can do for your area, ask what your area can do for you? InMidtown’s employment brokerage scheme was the first of its kind in the country, but since its success a load more have sprung up. The scheme doesn’t just post job adverts, it actively matches up graduates and businesses with the right skills and jobs on offer. As Tass Mavrogordato, CEO of InMidtown puts is, “This is a win-win scheme for hundreds of Central London businesses looking to source and retain top talent and for students who are looking for jobs in a competitive market.”

SO WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? There are a few obvious advantages to working locally. Less time spent travelling is one of them, and besides the extra hour in bed you’ll save the money that would otherwise have gone on petrol or a train ticket. Aside from time and money, one of the great advantages of working locally is that it allows you to become part of the community. As old fashioned as it sounds, communities are all about having a network of connections close to where you live, and being well-known by the people there. Networks and relationships are two of the most important things you need to succeed in almost any career too. Local jobs have a bunch of benefits. And you can enjoy then without having to sacrifice a high-flying job, good career prospects or a decent wage.

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jobs | abroad

“In an age of globalisation, having foreign experience will undoubtedly give you the edge over your colleagues”

HEY SAY THE WORLD’S GETTING SMALLER. In the job market that’s definitely true, and it’s easier than ever to get a graduate job in another country. China and Singapore for example, which were hardly damaged by the recession, are actively trying to recruit UK graduates. The pedigree of having graduated from a UK university makes graduates from this country in demand abroad. For the ones who decide to go, a UK degree can often lead to higher wages, all of the perks of living abroad and a very impressive new chunk of CV if they decide to return home later.

WHY STAY AT HOME? “Whilst many graduates might choose to take time out to see different parts of the world for a holiday or break, the smart and ambitious ones are combining this with their career development,” says Marcus Dass, Regional Director for Americas & Europe at Contact Singapore, the government agency that provides information and assistance for individuals who are interested in relocating to Singapore. “By taking the leap and pursuing a role abroad, they are reaping a range of benefits that their counterparts can only dream of.” Ranking quite high on any list of those benefits is the effect going abroad will have on your career. “In an age of globalisation and an increasingly competitive workforce, having foreign experience will undoubtedly give you the edge over your colleagues” explains Marcus. Getting a serious job abroad shows commitment, resourcefulness and ability to adapt to new situations.

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“One of the key benefits to working in a new country is the independence it offers,” says Marcus. “Living and working in a new environment will help you to build confidence as well as improve cultural awareness, self-reliance and all-important communication skills. These are all traits that employers in any part of the world look for. You might also have the opportunity to learn and develop a new language.” But taking a job overseas doesn’t have to be about building up your future prospects. Many of the countries that want UK graduates are leading the world in their particular field. Moving there to work is a chance to get to the very forefront of your desired profession. High on the must-visit list is Singapore, says Marcus. “If you are considering your options after graduation, this should certainly be on the list, given the possibilities to both work hard and play hard. The strong economy means its many sectors are growing quickly and firms are constantly looking for talented people to join them. From law to animation, there is a range of opportunities in a number of industries, giving graduates the chance to really propel their careers from an early stage.”

WONT I GET PAID LESS? Singapore is a typical example of the countries which are now looking to recruit graduates from the UK. Often their relatively booming economies mean they can offer much more attractive financial packages than the same jobs in the UK. For example, it’s not uncommon to get a one-month fixed bonus at the end of the year, plus extras

depending on performance. Tax and inflation rates are lower than the UK too, which means more disposable income and cheaper living costs than many other international and Asian cities.

ANYTHING ELSE? Of course, money isn’t everything. Working in another country has a lot of the advantages that going on holiday abroad does: you can go surfing or skiing

jobs | abroad

Away WORKING ABROAD COULD MEAN HIGHER PAY, CHUNKIER BENEFITS AND ALL THE FUN OF A HOLIDAY

(depending on where you go) and there’s a whole new culture to explore. There is, of course, a flip-side - moving abroad means moving away from family and friends, but leaving university after graduation can often be a similar feeling to get used to. It’s also possible that the change will be a big shock, you won’t like the food and can’t speak the language. But if that list sounds like a few minor technicalities then working abroad could well be the right next step for you.

WHAT CAN YOU DO IN SINGAPORE? Here’s a quick look at what’s on offer in the city-state. • Interactive and Digital Media – LucasFilm opened its first studio outside of the US in Singapore, and other leading studios such as Double Negative have also established Asian headquarters. • Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Research – GlaxoSmithKline

•

Biologicals, AstraZeneca and FORMA Therapeutics have all recently established major research partnerships with Singaporean organisations. Engineering Services - Singapore is home to several global engineering firms including Arup, Jacobs Engineering, KBR, Fluor, WorleyParsons, and Emerson Process Management. Their services range from front-end engineering design,

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Section | TOPIC

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gap years | good or bad?

“Employers look for evidence of the sort of work and life experiences that a gap year can give you, and these can be worth more than a degree” THE GAP YEAR

Eyes opening, ...or eyes closing HOW THAT YEAR OUT CAN WRECK OR REINFORCE YOUR CAREER

AP YEARS are good for the CV. With more and more people having degrees, they’re a great way to show you’ve gone that extra mile and to get ahead of the competition. A recent survey by gap year providers Real Gap showed employers look for evidence of the sort of work and life experience a gap year can give you more than a degree when choosing between candidates. But before you grab the next slow boat to Thailand, it’s worth thinking about what it is employers value in a gap year. We’ve all heard the clichés: all-night parties on the beach and building orphanages in suspiciously child-free African villages. The idea that all you picked up on your trip was a tropical disease might not fill your future boss with confidence. So how can you be sure your gap year is going to help your career? “A gap year is a great way to see different parts of the world and meet new people, whilst learning new skills that can make a great addition to your CV,” advises Gillian Prichard, Endsleigh Product Manager.

“However, a lot of planning needs to go into a successful trip; it’s important to be fully prepared before you head to the airport.” Gillian adds, “Try to make a budget. It’s difficult to gauge what you’ll be doing throughout the year, but working approximately out how much you will spend per day will help keep costs low.” It’s also the sort of organisational skill that employers like. Most importantly, it’s something you can demonstrate on a cover letter or in an interview. Claire Mulligan is head of the travel law department at Plexus Law. She stresses the importance of being prepared for everything to be different, “The very nature of gap year travel means that often students will be exposed to infrastructures and lifestyles which they have never previously experienced.” Employers like this. Telling them you’ve been halfway around the world to have the same lifestyle you’d have at home might suggest you’re not the best person to trust with their time and money. If, however, you’ve researched your trip, reduced all the risks as much as possible and experienced something new and

exciting, then they’ll be interested. “By asking sensible questions one can ensure that the risks of experiencing injury or an incident whilst abroad are reduced to the lowest level possible,” says Claire, that way you and your future career are safe. So what makes for a really good gap year? “Planning,” says Matt Fletcher, STA Travel Marketing Manager, “it’s as simple as that. Having a well-structured itinerary of the key things you want to do and see is really important. Have a real think about what you want to achieve from your gap year. Are there any skills you’d like to learn? Brush up on languages? Work with animals or on a conservation project?” It’s that kind of structure that will look great on your CV and will help you stand apart from anyone who just worked in an Australian bar for six months. Quite often the difference between a gap year and holiday is that you come out of a gap year with something more than a tan. Knowing what that something is, how to go about getting it and what you’ll have to show for it afterwards will make it a lot easier to get.

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reviews | gap year books

Holiday reading WE ROAD-TEST THIS YEAR’S GAP YEAR GUIDEBOOKS A GAP YEAR IS MORE THAN JUST AN EXTENDED HOLIDAY. It’s a chance to see new places, learn new skills. Whatever you want to do, carting a small library around in your backpack is unlikely to be top of the list. To avoid the need, we’ve sorted and sifted the gap year guidebooks on offer to see which are dead weights and which are worth the baggage allowance.

The Gap-Year Guidebook 2012 Alex Sharratt THE GAP-YEAR GUIDEBOOK IS LIKE A GAP YEAR YELLOW PAGES. The bulk of it is made up of profiles for companies, tour operators and volunteering organisations. Each one is the size of a classified ad, with a phone number, address and a short description. Occasionally these are punctuated with full page colour adverts for the organisations

with more money to throw around. Unlike a lot of gap year guides, the gap-year guidebook covers things like studying abroad, working in the UK and even learning opportunities in this country (think sailing or photography, not just head back to uni.) This isn’t a book for whipping out of the bag on some foreign coast line and working out what to do next. If, on the other hand, you know what you want to do but you’re not sure how to do it, you’ll probably find the answer inside.

Work your way around the world Susan Griffith IT CAN BE TRICKY FINDING A JOB IN YOUR HOME TOWN, never mind halfway around the world. If getting paid in pesos is big on your to do list, however, this book is pretty much invaluable. Straying far from the usual gap year job list (ski instructor, work in a hostel, that’s it), Work Your Way Around The World covers everything from teaching to grape-picking to social work. It’s a reference book and knows it. Those familiar with Lonely Planet or Rough Guide might lament a lack of humour but it makes up for that with a banana-boat load of practical information. Wherever possible, phone numbers, addresses and average wages are given, turning interesting possibilities into practical job prospects. There are also frequent stories illustrating real people’s experiences of the various jobs on offer. Turning up in a new country and hoping to earn some money, you could do a lot worse than having this book in your bag.

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reviews | gap year books

The Rough Guide to First Time Around the World Doug Lanksy BILLED AS A ‘TRIP PLANNER FOR THE ULTIMATE JOURNEY’, this book tries to point out the pitfalls so you can avoid them before you wake up without your passport in a South African prison. OK, so maybe most gap year mishaps aren’t that drastic but with everything from hiking blisters to fake police scams potentially on the cards this Rough Guide should come in pretty handy. It’s rather logically set out with ‘initial planning’ at the beginning, followed by a lovely section on what to do whilst you’re travelling and ending with a guide to coming home again. There are also a few pages on major gap year destinations, with route maps, visa requirements and recommended vaccinations. It’s by no means a comprehensive guide to any one destination but for first time gappers it can smooth the planning process and calm a few fears.

Gap Years for Grown Ups Susan Griffith GAP YEARS, LIKE YOUTH, ARE APPARENTLY WASTED ON THE YOUNG. Working from this premise, Susan Griffith has looked at how to take a gap year if you’re settled down or, as the title says, a proper grown up. But even if you’re a free living student with a tie-dye sarong, it’s full of useful info. Alongside the usual information on

how to stay safe and where you can volunteer, there’s advice tailored to older readers like how to get consular assistance and how to make the most of travelling with children. Firsthand accounts of other travellers’ experiences add a touch of humaninterest to what sometimes feels like a gap year textbook. Everything in this book works at a slightly slower pace than other gap year guides. It’s more methodical and can pretty much be used as a checklist for most gap year activities.

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Want to be an entrepreneur?

HELP IS AT HAND

jobs | starting a business

BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR IS ONE WAY TO AVOID JOINING THE GROWING MASS OF UNEMPLOYED GRADUATES. But while there are many advantages to working for yourself, it can be a risky business. The good news for enterprising graduates across the UK is that help is at hand, as both the government and the private sector have responded to need for more entrepreneurs to help boost the struggling economy. Certainly the coalition government is keen to encourage would-be entrepreneurs to start their own business. David Cameron’s attitude is “Now is the time to do it” and he claims that “There are thousands of people out there who are entrepreneurs but they just don’t know it yet.”

“Becoming an entrepreneur can be a risky business, but the good news for enterprising graduates in the UK is that help is at hand”

If starting your own business sounds like it’s for you, here are some of the perks involved: •

You get to be your own boss. This means that the only person you have to answer to is you, and there’s a huge amount of freedom in being able to run you business exactly as you see fit.

•

You get to be creative. Starting up your own business means you get the freedom to express yourself and develop your concept as you want.

•

It’s easy to do. The amount of red tape that small businesses face has been dramatically reduced in recent years, as has the amount of tax that these business are expected to pay. There are numerous schemes that can be found online that offer advice and support to budding entrepreneurs.

•

It can be very profitable. Although starting up your own business isn’t easy, the rewards could potentially

be huge. If you identify a gap in the market and then come up with a great product then you could make a lot of money. And what’s more, most of the profit that you make will be yours to keep! •

You get to do what you’re interested in. It’s your idea and your business so the chances are that you’re going to be interested in whatever you’re doing. Not only can this be a source of personal satisfaction but it can also motivate you to work harder and better which in turn can help your business succeed.

•

You can have a second career. Although it may reduce your free time somewhat, running a business in your spare time allows you to have the adventure and possible reward of starting a business without all the risk of having to quit your job.

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jobs | starting a business

F COURSE STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS IS NEVER AN EASY TASK. In a report entitled ‘Make a Job, Don’t Take a Job: Building the Creative Society’, Barbara Gunnell and Mark Bright highlighted the challenges facing graduates who want to do just that. Gunnell and Bright identify three main things that up-and-coming entrepreneurs need to get their business off the ground: sufficient financial support, the right physical space in which to develop their business, and finally appropriate business support and skills training.

“The StartUp Britain initiative means that graduates wanting to start their own business will be entitled to claim a support package worth £1,500”

“Starting your own business is a high risk, high reward strategy to beat graduate unemployment.” Fortunately for those graduates interested in becoming entrepreneurs, help is available. The private sector has responded to the government’s desire to encourage people to start their own businesses with the creation of the StartUp Britain initiative, created by some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs. StartUp Britain has seen established businesses provide millions of pounds worth of support to Britain’s entrepreneurs and small businesses, with companies such as Microsoft, Barclays and Virgin Media backing the programme. What this means for graduates wanting to start their own business is that they will be entitled to claim a support package worth £1,500. The StartUp Britain website at www. startupbritain.org has advice about how to start a business. Sir Richard Branson, one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs, has said of the initiative that “Now thanks to Start-Up Britain, thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs will have a big helping hand with their communication, travel and finance to kick start businesses and try to create Britain’s great companies of the future.”

Find out more about entrepreneurship and being your own boss at: • tinyurl.com/3zw7fzq • tinyurl.com/3rlftss

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eanwhile, the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship runs two start-up programmes: Flying Start, which focuses more on helping enterprising young students before they graduate, and Make It Happen, which helps graduates get start-up support. The Make It Happen Programme, which launched in 2009, includes face-toface training days, online training seminars and mentor support, plus the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs. And the best news about the programme is that it’s free! To find out more, visit their website at www.mihmentoring.com.

T SEEMS THAT THERE ARE PLENTY OF GOOD REASONS WHY YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD CONSIDER STARTING UP THEIR OWN BUSINESSES. However, not all ventures are successful. Toby Reid, an entrepreneur who almost went bankrupt in his first business, has set up a website (www.inafishbowl.com) to give potential entrepreneurs a brutally honest look at what it takes to start a business from scratch. Reid claims that in the UK “We’re very good at encouraging entrepreneurship but we do it without considering the consequences” and warns that “Of four graduate start-ups featured on our website, two no longer exist.” According to Reid an unrealistic outlook about starting a business is one of the main problems among young entrepreneurs, and he says that graduates should consider gaining a few years experience in a job or internship before they launch their own business. Starting your own business is a high risk, high reward strategy to beat graduate unemployment. But any budding entrepreneurs out there can know that if they take the chance, the support they need to make it a success is certainly out there.

calendar | careers fairs

Caree rs Fair Calendar OCTOBER 11 University of Edinburgh Careers Fair Edinburgh Bank & Financial Services Fair London School of Economics and Political Science 12 Engineering and Technology Fair City University, London 13 UCL Engineering Fair London

S D A R G York Finance And Management Fair University of York Advertising, Marketing & PR Fair London School Of Economics and Political Science 21 University Of St Andrews Science and Technology Fair St Andrews

NOVEMBER 01 Engineering, Science and I.T Graduate Recruitment fair University of Sheffield 02 Science, engineering and IT fair University of Sussex, Brighton Job Fair 2011 Canterbury Christ Church University Law Fair University of York

Graduate Fair University of Warwick

24 I.T and Technology Fair Queen Mary University, London

03 University of Brighton Careers Fair Brighton

14 University of St Andrews Graduate Management and Finance Fair

25 Finance and Economics Fair UCL, London

Business and Management Fair London School of economics and political science

17 The University of Leeds Autumn Fair Leeds

CCCU Teacher Recruitment Fair Canterbury Christ Church University

Careers and Recruitment Fair University of Kent, Canterbury

26 Careers Fair Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen

04 Teeside University Careers Fair Middlesbrough

Working in The West Midlands Fair Aston University

07 Brunel Autumn Placement and Careers Fair Uxbridge

UCL Investment Banking Fair London 19 University of East Anglia Fair East Anglia 20 UCL IT and Technology Fair London Swansea University Careers Fair University of Swansea

27 Graduate recruitment Fair Hull

POST S GRAD

OCTOBER

08 -10 Law fair London School of Economics and Political Science 08 Sussex Business, Finance and Law Fair University Of Sussex, Brighton

10 – 11 University of Ulster Jordanstown 25 Teacher Recruitment Fair Canterbury Christ Church University 25 Careers Fair Kings College, London 26 Teacher Recruitment and Education Fair University of Plymouth

09 Property Design and Construction Fair City Campus Nottingham

NOVEMBER

Graduate Recruitment and Placement Fair University of Portsmouth

9 Business Placements and Graduate Recruitment Fair University of Plymouth 9 Graduate Recruitment and Placement fair University of Portsmouth 16 Meet Your Future 2011 University College Falmouth 23 The Postgraduate Study Fair University of Manchester

14 –15 UCL Law Fair UCL, London

tax | keeping your money

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AX. It’s not exciting. It’s not sexy. However, it turns out that knowing just a little bit about it can save you a lot of money. Many students take summer jobs to help them earn a little extra cash so that they can go on holiday with their friends, go to that festival where their favourite band is playing, or simply save up to cover their living expenses at university. But as a student in your last year, or preparing for a postgraduate degree, the last thing you want is to lose a chunk of your hard earned cash to the taxman, so it’s important to be aware of your tax obligations. The good news is that you may not have to pay any tax at all. According to a press release by HM Revenue & Customs in July, many students don’t know that they needn’t be paying tax on their holiday earnings. To ensure that students across the country are not paying unnecessary tax, HM Revenue & Customs have issued a reminder to students, universities and employers about the current tax laws. Stephen Banyard, the Director General of Personal Tax at HMRC, said “We don’t want students to pay tax when they don’t owe any, so we’re encouraging them to fill in a P38(S) and send it back to us. That way they can keep all the money they’re earning for student life’s essentials.”

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How to tell how much tax you need to pay

Who is eligible for tax exemption?

Here’s the important bit. If your total earnings for the tax year (remember that the tax year starts on the 6th April) are less than the personal allowance of £7,475 then you don’t have to pay any tax on the money that you make.

You’ll qualify for tax exemption as long as you will be returning to full time education at least until the end of this tax year (5th April 2012). It’s also worth remembering that this exemption relates to PAYE (Pay As You Earn) Income Tax only and does not cover National Insurance contributions, which you’ll need to pay if you earn more than £139 per week. If you have a job during term time, you can’t use the P38(S) form just for your holiday job – you’ll need to take into account your earnings for the whole tax year.

How do you make sure you don’t pay unnecessary tax? Fortunately, HM Revenue & Customs have made this easy for you. All you have to do is fill out a P38(S) form which can be downloaded from the HMRC website at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/p38s.pdf For those of you who didn’t manage to fill in the form, there’s no need to panic. You can claim back any tax you’ve already paid by sending HM Revenue & Customs a P50 form which is available online at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/p50.pdf

For more information on student tax obligations go to: www.studenttaxadvice.direct.gov.uk/ index.html You can use their Student tax Calculator to see if you are entitled to claim a tax refund on work already done.

“As a student the last thing you want is to lose a chunk of your hard earned cash to the taxman”

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’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

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*Sutton Trust, 2010

24/08/2011 11:07

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