Bright Network Graduate Career Guide 2018/19

YOUR CAREER STARTS HERE

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CONTENTS YOUR CAREER STARTS HERE About Bright Network.................................................. 4 Why I Started Bright Network.. ................................... 6 When To Start Thinking About Your Career................ 7 Your University Timeline............................................... 8 What Employers Really Look For............................... 10 Securing an Internship or Graduate Job.................... 12 Getting Experience at University............................... 14

BRIGHT NETWORK’S LEADING GRADUATE EMPLOYERS COMMERCIAL LAW.................................................................................. 16

YOUR CAREER STARTS HERE

LEADING GRADUATE EMPLOYERS

CONSUMER, FMCG & RETAIL................................................................. 24 CONSULTING & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES......................................... 29 CHARITY & PUBLIC SECTOR................................................................... 36 INVESTMENT BANKING & ASSET MANAGEMENT............................... 40 ENGINEERING & ENERGY...................................................................... 47 FINANCIAL SERVICES............................................................................. 52 MANAGEMENT, MARKETING & ENTERPRISE....................................... 59 TEACHING, EDUCATION & FURTHER EDUCATION............................ 64 TECHNOLOGY........................................................................................ 68

SKILLS

ZONE SKILLS ZONE The Application Process.. .............................................................. 74 CV.............................................................................................. 74 Cover Letter.............................................................................. 75 Psychometric Test. . ................................................................... 76 Video Interview......................................................................... 77 Telephone Interview.................................................................. 77 Assessment Centre....................................................................... 78 Before You Sign Your Contract............................................... 81 Your Guide To Networking........................................................... 82 Commercial Awareness............................................................... 84 Essential Business Acronyms....................................................... 86 Mastering A New Workplace....................................................... 88

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

ABOUT US Bright Network was set up to help the brightest and most driven students get ahead with their careers and connect them to the top employers across the UK. Today the network has grown to 150,000 members and we partner with over 250 employers from a wide range of sectors. Here’s a little taste of everything we do.

Our team is based in London but you’ll see us on campus, at events and giving advice talks.

The Talent Team is always on hand to give members the extra support they need with their careers.

You won’t miss us on campus! Look out for our team in their bright orange polos.

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YOUR CAREER STARTS HERE

OUR PARTNERS We partner with the very best firms offering brilliant opportunities to students and recent graduates.

EVENTS

Over 5,000 of our members join us at our events each year, including Bright Network Festival and Diversity & Inclusion.

EXPERTISE Whether online or at events, members get the expertise to work out what they want to do with their career and how to get there.

CELEBRATING SUCCESS To celebrate our members’ success, we give them a bottle of bubbly when they secure a role.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

Why I Started Bright Network

by James Uffindell

I set up Bright Network to make sure bright students, like you, fulfilled their potential when it came to entering the world of work.

Since we started in 2013, we’ve come a long way. From our humble beginnings in a glorified broom cupboard and following many bumps in the road and a whole lot of learning, we now have a network of 150,000+ students and work with 250+ of the world’s leading employers.

With a brilliant team of 20+ (and growing every month) in central London, we are steadfast in our dedication to our mission – to give the brightest graduates access to the best possible career opportunities.

Every one of our 150,000+ members is unique and we strive to treat each of them that way. That’s what sets Bright Network apart. Our members are awesome. By harnessing the skills and commitment of the Bright Network team along with our unique technology and in-depth knowledge we know that we can help every Bright Network member not only discover, but also fulfil their potential.

I started Bright Network as I had a bold vision – to fix a problem that I believe is one of the biggest in British society; how the brightest graduate talent, regardless of background, connects with the best employment opportunities.

I was born into a family where both of my parents left school at 16. For students like me who go to university, I wanted to make sure that regardless of their background or parents’ education, they have access to the knowledge, the network, help and insights to discover what career route is right for them and understand how to get hired after university.

Every year in the UK, there are a staggering 70,000 unfilled graduate vacancies and 50% of leading firms fail to find the graduate talent they need to grow. I wanted to take action to redress this.

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This edition of the career handbook is designed to help you discover leading employers and the sectors you’d be perfect for, as well as giving you the essential tips to stand out through an application process. We’re here to help you make well-informed decisions and feel inspired on your way to a fulfilling and intellectually challenging career.

In five years, we’ve achieved a lot, but there’s still a long way to go. One thing we do know is that the future is bright.

We’re just getting started.

If you have any career questions or feedback on this year’s edition, please get in touch: hello@brightnetwork.co.uk @JamesUffindell

YOUR CAREER STARTS HERE

When To Start Thinking About Your Career At university, you’re trying to juggle studying, friends, extracurricular activities, a host of new experiences and your future career.

You don’t want to neglect your work or miss out on the fun. So when should career planning really become a priority?

The easy answer to this question is: now.

It doesn’t matter what stage you’re at – the sooner you put your mind to it, the easier it will be to build a career you really want. Throughout university you have a huge number of career opportunities you won’t have anywhere else. It’s completely okay to have no idea what to do or even where to start, but don’t miss the chance to explore your interests, attend events and make contacts. All the while hundreds of companies will be running around campus trying to recruit you. Here’s a few top tips to help you get started.

2 Think about your strengths and values Always be thinking about what you’re good at, what drives you and your guiding principles. Not only will this help you find a career that aligns with your values, but you’ll hopefully find out more about yourself and what you really want to do with your life.

Reflect on the things you’ve enjoyed doing in the past and think about why you enjoyed it – did you have a knack for it?

Or did you love the sense of accomplishment you got out of it?

Doing something you enjoy which plays to your strengths will not only give you more career satisfaction, but you’re likely to be more successful.

Talking to people is the best way to find out more about a particular career.

Start with who you know through your family/ friends and then widen your network at university.

3 Get experience Never underestimate how important getting experience is during university, whether it's a few days work shadowing, a part time job or a formal internship. It’s essential to understand the world of work and you’ll get an idea of which careers could be for you and which are definitely not.

Not sure where to look to find experience?

Don't worry, we're here to help you find the best events and opportunities throughout your time at university and connect you to the world’s leading employers.

1 Meet people There are so many career options out there, each one full of people who have a great understanding and knowledge of what the job entails. Talking to people is the best way to find out more about a particular career. Start with who you know through your family/friends and then widen your network at university. Start with the obvious – your university lecturers and professors. They can connect you with alumni who had similar skills and goals.

Join societies, check out careers fairs and attend networking events we run – they’re all designed to help you expand your network of people who can help you on your career journey.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

Your University Timeline

Before giving you all the application advice you need to get ahead, it’s important to understand the cyclical nature of the recruitment process for leading graduate schemes.

Stay on track and ahead of the competition with our timeline.

PRE-UNI Career path Set up your LinkedIn account When it comes to managing your contacts, LinkedIn is an essential tool for staying in touch and maintaining a professional presence.

Get ahead and set yours up before uni.

You’ve chosen your degree! Why not start thinking about which careers it could lead to.

Start building your network Even before university, you can boost your skills and meet like-minded people. Check out the Bright Network website to see how you can get involved.

FIRST YEAR

(second year for students on four year courses)

September Every year Bright Network Festival connects 2,500 students with 75+ leading employers. It's the perfect opportunity to kickstart your career just as university is about to start. For lawyers, Bright Network First Year Lawyer Top 100 is worth a look.

November – February Video interview and assessment centre invitations will be sent out for Spring Weeks and Insights Days. Prepare by reading up on the firm and make sure you're ready to answer potential competency or biographical questions.

Check out pages 77-80 for more on how to prepare.

Summer Most firms don’t offer formal summer internships for first years, but getting work experience and/or working part time are excellent ways to start building your skills.

If you’re not sure whether a company offers anything for first years, the best thing to do is ask.

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September – November Applications for Spring Weeks (week long insight programmes for the Finance, Banking and Professional Service industries) and open days for law firms will open – get your applications in early to give yourself the competitive edge. Attending networking events is the best way to start building your network and discovering different opportunities for you in first year and beyond.

March – May Spring Weeks and Insight or Open Days will take place – congratulations if you’ve managed to secure one.

YOUR CAREER STARTS HERE

SECOND YEAR Pre-uni Research firms and internships to apply to – tailor your CV and cover letter accordingly. Be sure to practice psychometric tests as you'll often be asked to complete them soon after you submit your application.

December – February Video interview and assessment centre invitations will be sent out. Prepare by reading up on the firm and learn their core values. Assessment centres will involve multiple parts and test different skills, especially teamwork, analysis and communication. Check out pages 78-80 for more on how to prepare.

April – July

August – November Internship applications open – get yours in as early as you can to give yourself the best chance to secure a role. Some Banking firms will open as early as August and others may open a bit later, so do keep checking the Bright Network website.

March – May Internship offers sent out. Don’t panic if you don’t have one – use LinkedIn and other resources to find work experience over summer.

Law firms will close their Training Contract applications, over a year before you start. If it’s the path for you, don’t get caught out by the deadlines.

THIRD YEAR Pre-uni It’s the perfect time to research the roles different sectors and firms can offer. Think not only about what tasks you'll be doing, but where the role is based, the company culture and what you want to get out of your early career. Get your CV ready and practice psychometric tests online, as well as your interview technique. See pages 74-81 for our top tips.

December – February Video interview and assessment centre invitations will be sent out. To prepare for these, do extensive research on the firm/role you’re applying to and think about how your experiences during university makes you an excellent candidate for the role.

March – May If you haven’t managed to secure a role or don’t think a graduate scheme is for you – no need to panic. Plenty of small to medium size businesses across the country are looking to hire recent graduates for immediate starts.

To access London’s hottest start-ups, join Bright Network High Growth.

September – November Graduate scheme applications open across a number of sectors, including Finance, Professional Services, Consulting, Technology and more. We recommend you start getting applications in before the new terms starts.

January – March Big firms may reopen some of their roles and businesses with smaller intakes will start opening their graduate roles. Never miss a deadline with the online Bright Network Career Calendar.

After you graduate Bright Network is here to support your early career development and prepare you for the world of work.

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Bright Network Research

What Employers Really Look For As part of our annual research report, which included survey data from over 3,000 Bright Network members, we compared crucial insights into how graduates think and what’s important to securing a graduate role.

Certainly, one of the most important outcomes from our research has been an in-depth understanding of what employers value in candidates and how this differs from what candidates think they are looking for (see table).

1. W hat do you think graduate employers value most in candidates?

STUDENT

EMPLOYER

1 ST 2:1 or above

1 ST Passion for the business

2ND Industry experience

2ND Communications skills

3 Passion for the business

3RD Problem solving

4 Communications skills

4TH Commercial awareness

5TH Commercial awareness

5TH Resilience

6 Confidence

6TH Teamwork

7 TH Problem solving

7 TH 2:1 or above

8 Organisation

8TH Confidence

9TH Teamwork

9TH Leadership skills

10 Leadership skills

10TH Industry experience

RD TH

TH

TH

TH

11 Resilience TH

11TH Organisation

Here’s our key findings and how it can help you approach impressing leading employers.

experience you’ve done and how this can be transferable to the industry you would like to work in.

Existing industry experience

2:1 or above

Existing industry experience isn't highly valued amongst leading employers. This may seem somewhat surprising for most students – on the face of it, industry experience may seem to be a deal clincher. However, simply listing your experience on your CV isn’t everything – it doesn’t tell the employer anything about you. What is valuable, on the other hand, are the skills you learnt through your work experience.

Importantly, this highlights you don’t need to have worked in the industry you’re applying to. Instead, show employers how much you have developed in all the extra-curricular activities and work

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2. W hat do you value most in graduate candidates?

One of the most misaligned preconceptions is that getting a 2:1 is essential when applying for graduate roles. Sure, academics will always be important and getting a 2:1 is a pre-requisite for some graduate roles. However, many companies don’t set this as a standard and are looking for candidates with well-rounded experience and skills. During recruitment processes, many now include contextualised screening (methods to help organisations identify candidates with the greatest potential) and CV-blind interviews, which don’t take grades into account. A good degree grade alone won’t get you into your dream graduate role. So, what else can you offer?

YOUR CAREER STARTS HERE

The more varied your hobbies and extra-curricular activities, the more varied skill-sets you’ll have and can draw upon. If you know what career you’re aiming for, find experience that you think will help you develop the relevant skills.

This doesn’t have to be directly related to the role. Even if you’re unsure about which career you want to go into, find hobbies that expand your natural skills and allow you to explore your interests. Remember, employers are buying potential. Show them you have the potential and you will get far.

Resilience A key skill in the world of work, employers need to make sure their graduate hires are capable of taking on the demands of the workplace. How quickly and easily can an individual be put under pressure, cope and bounce back to perform at a high level?

The importance of resilience cannot be understated, but the research suggests students don’t value it highly enough. Those who have higher resilience are the individuals who thrive when they face difficult challenges – these people are very valuable for employers. However, do not worry!

Building resilience is an active process which can be grown and developed and requires ongoing feedback with oneself.

Those who have higher resilience are the individuals who thrive when they face difficult challenges – these people are very valuable for employers.

Problem solving Excellent problem solving is crucial in the workplace and is highly sought after.

Yet problem solving encompasses a huge variety of skills:

1 Observational skills to build awareness of the problem 2 Analytical skills to assess the core issues at hand 3 I nnovative and creative thinking to create a new strategy and implement new ideas 4 C ommunication, team work, leadership and resilience are all needed to see your idea through to the end

How capable you are at problem solving determines how efficiently and quickly you are able to complete tasks to a very high standard.

Becoming talented at problem solving is the end product to being proficient at a number of different attributes. At work you’ll be making very important decisions throughout your day and will regularly be given hard tasks to work on. How capable you are at problem solving determines how efficiently and quickly you are able to complete tasks to a very high standard.

As with resilience, however, it is not just an ability someone has or not – it’s a mind-set and can be grown and developed.

Passion Whilst the discrepancy between candidates and employers isn’t large, it is worth pointing out how important passion is. Employers only want to hire candidates who clearly want to work for them. As mentioned earlier, employers are hiring candidates for potential – potential to learn, grow, develop and become a real asset for the company. However, where candidates really become valuable is through a clear desire to work for a company – the rest can be trained.

After all, put yourself in employer’s shoes – would you hire someone who isn’t interested in your company?

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

10 Things You Need to Know to Secure an Internship or Graduate Job You’ve worked hard and are now studying at a great university. What next?

At Bright Network we speak to hundreds of talented students every week. Not only do they have sterling academics and an array of extracurricular activities to their name, they also possess excellent communication skills to boot.

Nevertheless, despite being superb candidates, so many struggle when it comes to landing that all important internship or graduate job. To ensure you don’t miss out, here are the top ten things you need to know.

1 Don’t panic!

It’s acceptable for you to have no idea what to do or not to know what jobs exist that you may enjoy and be great at (of course, hopefully you’ll find both). The most successful careers often start that way. Don’t worry if you have no idea what you want to do with your life – it’s an evolving process and you’ll work it out in the end.

2 Start early Having said ‘don’t panic’, it is a good idea to start thinking about what you enjoy doing and developing a strong sense of self awareness. Do you love numbers?

Does a great day involve meeting lots of new people? Do you like nothing better than planning and organising something?

Do you enjoy helping others?

These self-observations could help you decide what business function may be the best fit for you. For example – if you like organising things, a career in operations may be the way forward. Or if you like meeting people, business development may be something to explore. People excel in their jobs when they’re doing things they like.

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3 There is a yearly recruiting cycle –

don’t miss out

Although it’s fine for you to take your time to find the thing you want to do, you need to be aware that the timing of the yearly graduate recruitment cycle is absolutely critical. Every year talented students miss out on opportunities as they’ve missed key application deadlines (check out pages 8 and 9 for our university timeline).

Start thinking about what you enjoy doing and develop a strong sense of self awareness.

As a quick rule of thumb – you will need to apply for an internship or graduate role in the autumn term to start work the following year.

Some will open later or re-open after Christmas, but by this time many would have closed for applications.

Most internships are for penultimate year students, so you do them in the summer of your second year if you’re on a three-year course, or the summer of your third year if you’re on a four-year course. For first year programmes that take place in the Easter holidays, again you will normally have to apply in the autumn term.

YOUR CAREER STARTS HERE

4 Firms are hiring Don’t believe the press hype. The best firms are hiring thousands of the best graduates every year and there are lots of jobs out there. If you’re good enough and better than the competition, you’ll be successful.

5 Know about the

big players

9 Get as much work experience as

you can

There is no perfect answer to your career direction and the only way to find out if you’re going to enjoy working in a particular sector, firm or role is to try it. Get as much experience as possible to see what you really love – working out what you don’t want to do is just as important as figuring out what you want to do. And work experience will always help strengthen your CV.

Firms normally recruit on a ‘rolling process’ – filling their vacancies as great applications come in.

Most graduate schemes are in five main sectors – Consulting, Commercial Law, Financial Services, Professional Services and Technology.

Within these five sectors are the major recruiters you will hear about on campus – for example, Accenture, PwC, Slaughter and May – so it’s probably worth knowing more about these sectors and what the work in those sectors involves. And remember, within each of the core sectors there are a variety of different roles. For example, you could do an operations role in Banking, or a public-sector focused role in Professional Services.

6 Small firms hire a lot of graduates If a graduate scheme in a big company isn’t for you – there’s no need to worry. SMEs (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) are significant employers of bright graduates.

Lots of high growth businesses are keen to find great entrepreneurial talent to drive them forward, so keep these on your radar.

7 Employers have a ‘talent pipeline’

For first years, Spring Weeks (internships offered by many firms in the Easter holidays) can be a great way to get some structured experience even if you’re not sure Banking is right for you.

If you’re just getting experience in a local business at home during the holidays, this is great for your CV. The worst thing you can do is leave the job hunt until your final year and have no experience under your belt. The competition will have taken all the best jobs and you could be left high and dry.

10 Always be networking and asking

for advice

You’re not the first bright mind keen to learn about the world of work and the different options available. People are always keen to help and give advice so don’t be afraid to suggest a meeting. Offer to buy someone a coffee and go armed with a list of questions about how they got to where they are today.

Most successful people are successful for a reason and are happy to share their insights to help others. Always follow up with a note of thanks, by email or LinkedIn.

Gone are the days of employers opening up vacancies solely to final year students. Most of the best jobs are now filled through internships with employers ‘trying before they buy.’

Increasingly, firms take students on for an internship (often seen as an extended job interview, normally in the summer holidays) and then make offers to the interns that excel. In some sectors, including Investment Banking, firms will start even earlier and offer one week Spring Weeks or Insight Days for students in their first year.

8 Apply early Firms normally recruit on a ‘rolling process’ – filling their vacancies as great applications come in. However, most applicants apply too late, leaving lots of applicants chasing the few unfilled vacancies. The solution is to apply as soon as the firm opens the application process – this can be as early as July for internship and graduate roles to start the following summer.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

Getting Experience at University A lot of students tell us they’re worried about a lack of experience when applying for internships and graduate jobs, believing graduate recruiters expect their applicants to have a CV full of formal work experience. If you can relate to that, there’s no need to worry! Sure, experience is important – we’re not denying that. However, there’s so many more ways to gain experience while you’re at university that will set you apart from the rest of the crowd.

1 Make the most of your holidays

How you make use of your 3-month long summer holidays will give firms a great insight into your character; it shows them what really motivates you and what you’re passionate about. So, take the time to explore the causes or activities you want to get involved in and show your charitable side.

With corporate social responsibility becoming an increasingly hot topic, graduate recruiters are on the lookout for candidates who have demonstrated a concern for the world we live in – voluntary experience under your belt will really help you stand out.

Be sure to get involved in things you really enjoy. It’s unlikely you’ll have extended periods of time off at your disposal once you’re set in your career, so use this time carefully to find out what drives you and get involved in it as much as possible.

2 Take on a part time job

There is a plethora of on-campus, part-time jobs available to students. From working at the university bar or shop to even helping out at open days, you are bound to pick up skills and experiences, especially if you’re in a customer facing role.

The excellent communication skills and an ability to work under pressure are invaluable to leading employers.

Remember – a job is a job. Taking on work throughout university, even if it’s not in the sector you want to build your career tells an employer that you’re driven and hard working. When you’re talking about it, think about how the transferable skills you’ve picked up relate to the role you’re applying for.

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3 Join societies

The best way to get involved on campus and gain invaluable experience for your career is by becoming a society committee member. University societies are run like minibusinesses and if you can be part of the committee you’ll develop financial, operational and communication know how – as well as many more key skills and experience. Simply having the role shows willingness to take up leadership positions, work with others and hone your ability to work towards a common goal; sowing the seeds of promising potential.

There’s so many societies on campus, and there will likely be business, commercial awareness or other career related societies. Being part of these connects you with like-minded individuals, as well as showing potential employers your passion to expand your knowledge.

4 Strive for academic awards

The skills you’re learning from your degree will be useful throughout your career. Let your impressive academic record shine even brighter by being selected for an award.

Most faculties offer prizes throughout the year for excellent coursework and exceptional exam results. Some awards are self-nominating – look out for opportunities to put yourself forward.

With so many students graduating with a 2:1 or 1st, a list of academic prizes on your CV will help you stand out and impress leading employers. Looking beyond academics, there are lots of opportunities to strive towards awards in your extra-curricular activity and do some really interesting things in the meantime.

5 Join a sports team

If you haven’t thought about joining a university sports team, you certainly should. Sure, the skills you get from being a society committee member or having a part-time job are invaluable. But being a part of a sports team will help you build a rounded character, which is what employers are looking for. Football, netball or rugby will bring out the team player within you; whilst tennis, running or boxing will build your confidence in achieving goals by yourself, and your mental fortitude.

You don’t have to be the first team captain of a sports team either; it truly is the taking part that counts. You can join anything from lacrosse and basketball to quidditch and still develop the key skills that will aid in your personal development.

BRIGHT NETWORK: LEADING GRADUATE EMPLOYERS

Financial Services Technology Teaching, Education & Further Educatio Investment Banking & Asset Management Commmercial Law Consulting & Professional Services

Consum

Technology

ucation & Further Education & Asset Management mmmercial Law Professional Services

LEADING Financial Ser GRADUATE Teachin Investment Ba EMPLOYERS Comm

Consul

Investment Banking & Asset Management Engineering & Energy Consumer, FMCG & Retail Commmercial Law Charity & Public Sector Consulting & Professional Services Teaching, Education & Further Education

Financial Services

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COMMERCIAL LAW Commercial Law is all about providing practical support to companies across the spectrum of contracts they enter into as they go about their day-to-day business.

At its very core, in this sector you’ll be focused on people and problem-solving.

It primarily deals with contract and/or tort law issues which arise at any stage of the commercial cycle. Almost all cases have issues grounded in English common law, though in more recent globalised times, issues concerning EU law and other international legal principles have also begun to be directly relevant.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

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COMMERCIAL LAW

BATES WELLS BRAITHWAITE Bates Wells Braithwaite is a Commercial Law firm that combines a top legal practice with services in impact measurement, outcomes-based planning and strategy, and financial services regulatory compliance.

THE LEADING EMPLOYERS IN...

COMMERCIAL LAW

ADDLESHAW GODDARD Proud to be a people business, Addleshaw Goddard dedicates itself to its clients – putting constancy, consistency and quality into every step they take. With an enjoyable and supportive culture, graduates can expect to work for exceptional clients.

ALLEN & OVERY At a time of huge change in the legal industry, Allen & Overy is determined to continue leading the market as they have throughout their 88-year history. They’ll do that by staying one step ahead and by constantly challenging themselves to bring new and original ways of thinking to the most complex legal challenges their clients face.

ASHURST Graduates can expect a progressive and professional experience in both legal and non-legal opportunities at a firm that prides itself on providing rewarding and stimulating careers.

BAKER MCKENZIE Baker McKenzie ride the crest of the pioneering law wave. They’re passionate about meeting the challenges of the global economy head on and delivering a world-class service with clients to match.

BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER It’s all about the extra mile at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. In every aspect, from client commitment to their graduate training, you can expect just a little bit more. Trainees will experience wideranging opportunities as the firm widens its global net and enters new markets.

BIRD & BIRD Collaboration is key at Bird & Bird as its global team tackles complex, crossborder projects and deals seamlessly and successfully across 27 different offices around the world. They work closely with clients to deliver a high quality service.

BROWNE JACOBSON LLP Complex problems – understood, explained and resolved by a single team, across five offices nationally, working together in long-term partnership with their clients – a genuinely different approach.

BURGES SALMON Providing the highest standards of legal and business advice to customers across the UK, Burges Salmon works with clients of every size and type. Trainees flourish in the open and collaborative working culture, with opportunities to work alongside colleagues across the firm.

CHARLES RUSSELL SPEECHLYS A law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. They have an unusually broad range of skills and experience across the full spectrum of business and personal needs.

CLEARY GOTTLIEB Since 1946 their lawyers and staff have worked across practices, industries, jurisdictions and continents to provide clients with simple, actionable approaches to their most complex legal and business challenges.

CLIFFORD CHANCE An evolving and innovative Magic Circle law firm, Clifford Chance offers an unparalleled experience to graduates wanting to forge careers in commercial law. Their awards speak for themselves.

CLYDE & CO With a particular focus on sectors such as aviation, energy and marine, Clyde & Co presents exciting opportunities to graduates who are looking for something a little more specialised.

CMS By combining top quality sector expertise with international scale and a strategy to become a progressive technology-driven firm, CMS delivers excellence for its clients and is committed to ensuring all employees achieve their full potential.

COVINGTON A distinctively collaborative culture allowing them to be truly one team globally, drawing on the diverse experience of lawyers and advisors across the firm by seamlessly sharing insight and expertise.

DENTONS A law firm that’s all about realising potential. Graduates can expect opportunities both here in the UK and in the Middle East.

DLA PIPER DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning them to help clients with their legal needs around the world.

DWF At this firm, you’ll immediately see how you contribute to the bigger picture.

With regular development opportunities and a comprehensive feedback process, go further at DWF. FARRER & CO With one of the highest lawyer retention rates in the sector, this firm invests in its people, equipping them with the latest legal knowledge, methods and technology to give their clients the best possible service.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

FIELDFISHER WATERHOUSE A Europe-based firm with an entrepreneurial essence. With lawyers working in the technology, media, healthcare and energy industries, Fieldfisher Waterhouse is an exciting and modern firm.

HOGAN LOVELLS Known for their pragmatism and proactive approach, Hogan Lovells believes in solving the problems before they appear. A broad-thinking firm with an exemplary approach to diversity in the workplace.

FOX WILLIAMS Offering clients clear, pragmatic advice with a responsive, personal approach.

Join the law firm that values great client service, integrity and professionalism, building friendly and strong relationships and having open communication.

IRWIN MITCHELL Irwin Mitchell is unlike any other law firm. Nationally-acclaimed, with a strong international capability, they offer a broad range of legal services to national and international organisations and institutions, small and medium-sized businesses and private individuals.

FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER There’s something to be said for a 275year client relationship with the Bank of England. With a strong commitment to their values combined with a drive to be exceptional, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer opens all the doors you need to start your career at a Magic Circle firm.

GOWLING WLG Businesses around the world choose Gowling WLG to help them grow and become their best. Irrespective of seniority or geography, every team member is respected and valued for their individual contributions.

HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS A firm of diversity and inclusion, with a conscience about its social, economic and environmental impact, Herbert Smith Freehills provides a modern approach to its global practice where new talent can flourish.

JONES DAY The collective drive to provide the best client care defines this firm, as well as its innovative non-rotational trainee system where you are given the reigns to direct your own development.

KENNEDYS Kennedys is a rapidly growing international law firm with expertise in litigation and dispute resolution, particularly in the insurance / reinsurance and liability industries. They have some of the most respected legal minds in their fields.

KINGSLEY NAPLEY A leading law firm in all sectors, Kingsley Napley has protected high profile clients for several decades. As a member of The Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to Work For’, graduates can be reassured that hard work does pay off.

KIRKLAND & ELLIS This US firm thrives on a reputation for exceptional service to their clients around the world. They look to hire diverse professionals who will contribute to the Kirkland & Ellis brand.

LINKLATERS Work alongside some of the most talented people in law, in a dynamic and diverse environment. Linklaters will give you the opportunity to thrive and excel in the world of Commercial Law.

MACFARLANES Being smaller than its immediate competitors, Macfarlanes prides itself on its personal commitment and attention to its clients and trainees.

You are so much more than just a trainee at Macfarlanes.

MAYER BROWN Serving many of the world’s largest companies, including a significant proportion of the Fortune 100 and FTSE 100, they assist clients with their most complex and demanding legal and business challenges worldwide.

MICHELMORES Providing the environment, encouragement and opportunities for you to flourish. Become ‘more than just a lawyer’ to their clients.

MISHCON DE REYA Famous for their involvement with high-profile individuals and businesses, Mishcon de Reya has carved out a reputation of looking after their clients with expert and professional legal guidance.

OSBORNE CLARKE A future focused law firm that are approachable, knowledgeable and straightforward. Known to deliver on client services and sector knowledge, helping clients succeed tomorrow.

NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT Doors are opening and opportunities abound across the Norton Rose Fulbright global platform. Alongside strong strategy and inspiring sophistication in all things, expect international exposure as part of your training and beyond.

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COMMERCIAL LAW

PINSENT MASONS Ranked among the ten most innovative firms in APAC, Pinsent Masons makes a fantastic option for any graduate interested in building a bright future in Commercial Law. PWC LEGAL The legal experts for PwC’s global network. While they boast over 2,000 lawyers in over 80 countries – the world’s most extensive legal network – PwC Legal is never impersonal. Opportunity is at the heart of careers at PwC Legal and graduate lawyers will experience daily exposure to wider business skills.

REED SMITH Reed Smith is an extensive global platform where graduates are challenged and stimulated. A client-focused ethos and famously friendly office culture make it an attractive graduate choice.

RPC Leading lawyers. Great clients. And an unrivalled commercial approach to business. At RPC they offer a depth of knowledge and creativity that few firms can rival and combine this with high quality training programmes that are consistently lauded in the leading directories.

SHEARMAN & STERLING Shearman & Sterling has been involved with a range of ground-breaking deals.

From complex industrial mergers to international politics, this firm has been at the front of some of the most challenging and exciting legal issues across the world.

SIMMONS & SIMMONS A leading international law firm in tune with the business world. With a strong collective drive coupled with their sights set to the horizon, Simmons & Simmons can provide ambitious graduates the opportunity to excel in the world of business law.

SLAUGHTER AND MAY A Magic Circle firm with a multispecialist approach. Not only does Slaughter and May offer trainees exceptional training, but they are also afforded the rare chance to specialise in multiple areas of law. Variety and flexibility at one of the UK’s premier Commercial Law firms.

STEPHENSON HARWOOD A law firm with over 1,000 people worldwide, including more than 170 partners. Their people are committed to achieving the goals of their clients – listed and private companies, institutions and individuals.

SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS Whatever is needed, Squire Patton Boggs is able to deliver the seamless crosspractice, cross-border and industryspecific support their client requires, whether they’re a big business, individual or national government.

TAYLOR WESSING Taylor Wessing is an instinctively forwardthinking firm with an international flair.

Its culture and standard of work attracts graduates looking for high-quality work among like-minded people.

TRAVERS SMITH Smaller in size but mighty in quality.

With an emphasis on a challenging yet enjoyable experience, it is no wonder they have an outstanding employee retention rate.

TROWERS & HAMLINS Independently recognised as the leading firm in the social housing sector in the UK. Trowers & Hamlins, with over 700 lawyers working around the globe, is a rapidly growing law firm full of possibilities.

WATSON FARLEY & WILLIAMS A relatively young firm with roots in shipping, they are currently expanding across the globe with vigour. Watson Farley & Williams is respected for its expertise across many sectors, namely maritime, energy and infrastructure, and natural resources.

WEIL, GOTSHAL & MANGES Established in 1996, the London branch has grown into Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ second largest office worldwide. With a recruiting strategy focused on obtaining exceptional talent at all levels, it makes for a fantastic starting block from which to build a career.

WHITE & CASE Known as its ‘centre of gravity’ by employees, the London office is a fundamental part of the White & Case network. Creative graduates with an interest in international commercial issues will really excel here.

WINCKWORTH SHERWOOD From charities to churches, Winckworth Sherwood’s expertise and advice knows no limits. Named the leading law firm for female and ethnic diversity fully demonstrates the firm’s commitment to a fair workplace for all.

WOMBLE BOND DICKINSON Womble Bond Dickinson is a transatlantic law firm providing highquality legal capability and outstanding personal service, to a wide range of regional, national and international clients.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS...

Member Success Stories

EMILY University of Exeter Training Contract Macfarlanes

We caught up with Bright Network member Emily who recently secured a role at top City Law firm Macfarlanes. Read on for her top tips and insider insights into the application process.

What inspired you to pursue a career in Law and why do you feel that other members should do the same?

I studied economics at A-Level and wanted to combine my passion for law and business, making Commercial Law the obvious choice for my career. It’s also such an exciting area that is constantly changing, meaning that no two days are the same.

The need to constantly solve problems also really attracted me to this particular area of the legal profession – and I am really looking forward to building relationships with clients.

Why did you choose to apply to the Macfarlanes Training Contract?

Having done lots of open days at City Law firms in my first year, Macfarlanes stood out. I really loved the people and the culture and that was what motivated me to apply for the Vacation Scheme initially. I attended their first year insight day where I really got to get under the skin of the firm, with work shadowing and talks. The day also gave me another opportunity to network within the firm. I then undertook the training contract assessment process whilst on the vacation scheme.

What was the toughest part of the application process? And your favourite part?

I originally applied online for the Vacation Scheme which involved 4 questions and a cover letter. I then attended an

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How I did it: Securing a Training Contract at

assessment day which involved a written exercise, an interview and a negotiation exercise. During the two-week scheme we were measured through a competency-based interview with a partner, an in-tray exercise followed by an interview with another partner, a written exercise and a mock negotiation transaction with other vacation scheme participants.

The toughest part was probably the competency-based interview as the partner grills you and challenges your answers, although this does give you the opportunity to demonstrate your attributes. My favourite part was the Vacation Scheme overall – yes, it is not part of the application process but I loved it! I had so much fun with all the other students and trainees, whilst learning a great deal about Commercial Law in practice.

How do you think that other members can best prepare for the application process?

I used the Bright Network website and also the commercial awareness updates, which were a great way to keep on top of breaking stories. I also made sure I had had a lot of interaction with the firm before applying, by attending the first year insight day, interacting with them over social media and sitting with the firm at my university careers dinner. This not only meant that I had more to talk about in my application but that the graduate recruitment team recognised me at the assessment day.

What three top tips would you give your fellow Bright Network members looking to secure a role at Macfarlanes?

1 Preparation is key!

2 Try to enjoy yourself – any interview is a chance to get to know the firm better!

3 Do your research – otherwise the firm will be able to see straight through you.

COMMERCIAL LAW

ELLA University of Sussex Training Contract RPC

What inspired you to work at RPC? I did a Vacation Scheme at a different firm, spent 3 months as a paralegal at a city firm and 6 months at a start-up providing online legal services to small businesses, as well as working in hospitality.

When it came to applications a year later, I had a better picture of the kind of Training Contract I was interested in. I was drawn to mid-size, full service city firms and focused my attention on those who championed client service and individuality, as I felt this fitted well with the experience I had. One of these firms was RPC, and when I visited for an assessment day I was impressed by how welcoming everybody was and the interesting conversations I had with lawyers of all different levels during the day.

Why do you think a graduate should choose to start their career at RPC? The quality of the training at RPC makes it a great place to start off – we have two supervisors, one associate and one partner, who oversee progress reviews every 3 months and are always on hand to help with any issues or questions. We’re also matched with a mentor and have the choice to request a lawyer from a particular team in the firm. Aside from training, RPC has an impressive client list and an excellent reputation across multiple departments. Our traditional notoriety as a big player in insurance law is matched by top level litigation work elsewhere as well as non-contentious work for various household names. The firm’s focus on client service (and the awards which back this up) means that our client relationships are longstanding and lawyers are often viewed as an extension of the client’s own business.

What is your favourite thing you have done while working there?

I’m currently sitting in Corporate and have recently worked on a financing deal for a company which has developed blockchain technology with a view to launching a cryptocurrency. Getting acquainted with such a dynamic new area of technology and law was exciting and I was given a huge amount of responsibility to prepare the suite of ancillary documents for the deal and to attend meetings with the client by myself. Completing on the investment (my first completion!) and receiving the money for the client was a great moment.

How I did it: Landing a Training Contract at

How would you describe the RPC company culture?

The RPC culture is very relaxed – our open plan offices mean it’s never too daunting to approach anyone and there’s a greater sense of community within each team. RPC prides itself on its client service and so lawyers at the firm are always friendly and tend to have interests outside of work which makes it easy to get on with people as friends, rather than colleagues.

What three top tips would you give applicants to the Summer Scheme or Training Contracts?

1 It’s great if you have an excellent academic record and legal

work experience but RPC likes to see that applicants have other interests and experience, which provide soft skills over and above other equally intelligent candidates. Hospitality experience or a role on a sports team, for example, can be just as relevant as the legal background you provide.

2 Do your research on the firm and choose a couple of things

about RPC which you are enthusiastic about. In applications and interviews you should highlight these and be prepared to explain why they appeal to you.

3 Try to come up with at least one past experience you can use to

evidence each different competency you might be asked about.

For example, you should be prepared to talk about instances when you displayed problem-solving abilities, teamwork and good communication skills.

What can students do while at university to make sure they’re a stand out applicant?

Gaining legal work experience is a really invaluable addition to an application, even if it’s just a few days or at a high street firm.

If you’re not able to do this, most Law firms will run a number of open days and workshops which will provide a great opportunity to network and give some substance to your application or interview.

If all else fails, get involved with clubs and societies at university which will help to develop non-academic skills.

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COMMERCIAL LAW

What Makes a Successful Application SPONSORED BY

We spoke to Seán Lavin (Training Principal) and Catherine Morgan-Guest (Graduate Recruitment Manager) at Macfarlanes to gain some key insights and top tips on how you can stand out to leading Law firm Macfarlanes.

What makes Macfarlanes stand out and why do you think members should launch their career at the firm?

Macfarlanes is a unique, independent major city firm and a fantastic place to launch a long-term, successful career.

Our single office approach enables us to work, without conflict of interest, with the biggest and best firms across the world.

For our trainees, this means you’ll be building your skills on the highest quality international work.

As both a top rated Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) practice and a private client practice Macfarlanes offers trainees a fascinating mix of work. The team based structure and the small trainee intake also ensures that you will take on significant responsibility early on. You will be working closely with a partner and associate and, from the start, will access the same work as a final seat trainee or even a junior lawyer. Our culture is one that places an emphasis on kindness and respect – making Macfarlanes a really rewarding place to work.

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What core qualities do you look for in a stand out applicant?

We look for candidates who want to build a long-term career at the firm and who have the skills to thrive under the responsibility we will give them. While we don’t have a set list, we look for candidates who have the core skills below, which are tested through the assessment day and interview stages:

• Well rounded candidates who will make the most of

our really varied seat rotations • Great teamwork skills, which include being kind and considerate • Leadership skills • Strong academics • Commercial awareness • Resilience – that is a grit and ambition to take on real responsibility • Brain power – clever people who can think on their feet

We really see our trainees as the future of our firm and are proud to have a 91% retention rate.

COMMERCIAL LAW

What can members do while at university to build essential skills?

Do you have any top tips for the application process?

There is a great deal that students can be doing while at university to position themselves as candidates that are serious about a career in Law:

For the online form it’s essential that you have really researched our firm – consider why you want to build your long-term career at Macfarlanes specifically. It’s really important that your application isn’t just generic if you want to make it through to the interview stage.

Joining the Law societies – These societies have access to all the top city firms and will often host events that enable you to meet the firms in person and gain essential insights into the sector.

Attend in-house events – We have a real range of events

that will allow you to meet our team, gain key insights into our work and build essential skills. These include two talks by our senior partner discussing our current biggest deals, dinners with two of our partners for 12 -15 carefully chosen candidates and a Practice Area Fair in which each area is represented by trainees.

Our open days also offer you the chance to take on mock negotiation exercises; a really great way to demonstrate that you have exactly what it takes to make a great trainee.

Call the graduate recruitment team – That’s what our

team is there for, we can answer your questions and give you guidance with your application.

Join Bright Network – Make sure you are aware of our

opportunities and on-top of all the deadlines by joining these careers service organisations. Make the most of their events and skills building workshops.

Read the Financial Times and The Economist –

An excellent way to develop your commercial awareness – be sure to consider how these major events may have a practical, commercial impact in the legal sector.

The interview stage is comprised of two interviews (one with a partner who knows your CV and a second CV blind interview that includes a scenario to test your problem solving skills) as well as a group task and a written exercise (both CV blind).

Ask around for advice and support and practice for the interview stages as much as possible. When discussing your CV do not just repeat your experience but really consider what you have learnt and the skills you have developed. Do not feel pressured to respond too quickly, but take time to give considered answers.

For the online form it’s essential that you have really researched a firm – consider why you want to build your long-term career there.

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CONSUMER, FMCG & RETAIL There are hundreds of famous consumer retail brands in the UK and globally, contributing ÂŁ152 billion to the UK economy. Their importance to the global economy means that this sector has a lot to offer graduates that want to play their part on this stage.

FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) applies to products which are sold quickly, often for a low profit margin. They look for graduates to innovate with the products they create and distribute.

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CONSUMER, FMCG & RETAIL

ASOS Evolution has epitomised the ASOS story and still continues to be a core value. The brand shows what technology and retail can accomplish when they work together. If you’re looking for an exciting role as fast paced as the fashion business, this is the place to be.

BREWDOG Started in Scotland by two friends, the craft beer brewer have always aimed to shorten the distance between themselves and the people who enjoy the beers.

They’ve been on the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 for six consecutive years.

THE LEADING EMPLOYERS IN...

CONSUMER, FMCG & RETAIL

ALDI A supermarket that’s getting it right – one of the fastest-growing grocery retailers in the UK and regular contenders for the top spot in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers.

AMAZON From a garage in Seattle to redefining e-commerce internationally, Amazon has grown to become the stand-out business of the internet age. From retail to technology, the opportunities are abundant and highly sought after.

ADIDAS Employing more than 60,000 people in over 160 countries, they produce more than 840 million product units every year and generate sales of € 19 billion (figures from 2016). They keep things simple, lean and fast.

ARCADIA GROUP The UK’s largest fashion retailer.

Graduates can choose from four main areas of the business: Buying, Merchandising, Finance or Digital.

With tailored on-the-job training to be expected, Arcadia Group is the perfect place to start a career in retail.

COCA-COLA The largest beverage company in the world. Supplying over 200 countries with more than 500 brands, and selling a record of more than 1.9 billion servings in one day, Coca-Cola provides the ultimate experience for those interested in global retail opportunities.

DANONE Danone offers opportunities across the board, from marketing and finance, to research posts in early life nutrition.

See what you could bring to the brand.

DIAGEO Diageo supply top quality alcoholic beverages on a global scale. Their threeyear graduate programme takes those who thrive on fast pace and challenges, and want to make their brands the best they can be.

EBAY Working as a partner to retailers of all sizes, eBay enables commerce on a scale many sellers could only dream of. Internships and entry level roles are on offer for those who want to test the boundaries of what they can achieve.

FEVER TREE Since launching in 2005, Fever Tree established itself as the mixer drink specialists, crafting a range of thirteen products with a similarly intrepid attitude: going to the ends of the earth, sourcing the highest quality natural ingredients for the best tasting mixers.

HEINEKEN The UK’s leading cider, beer and pub business. Heineken offers excellent opportunities for people with talent and drive. There’s much more to this business than you might imagine.

HOUSE OF FRASER A retailer with big ambitions for the future. They’re looking for self-motivated graduates who think differently and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment.

INNOCENT Started in 1999 after selling their smoothies at a music festival with a simple mission: to make drinks that make it easy to do yourself some good.

Innocent has great ambitions to show the world that you can build a successful business that cares.

JOHN LEWIS The John Lewis Partnership is all about its people. Employees are partners but it means so much more than just sharing the profits. Be part of a business that has redefined the retail model and contribute to its unique careers experience.

LIDL Having been around since the 1930’s, and opening our first UK store in the early 90’s, they have expanded rapidly and now have over 640 stores and nearly 20,000 employees in the UK alone. Lidl was crowned Best Supermarket at the 2016 Good Housekeeping awards.

L’ORÉAL Experts in the beauty sector and devoted to expanding its reach, L’Oreal is an ambitious, fast-growing firm.

Opportunities are available across the business including in marketing, digital, legal and finance.

MARS Since 1932 Mars has been producing much loved brands in the UK, including Mars, Snickers, Galaxy, Malteser, Extra, Whiskas, Uncle Ben’s and Dolmio. It’s a family owned company and one of the world’s leading branded manufacturers.

MARKS & SPENCER (M&S) Whether you want to become a food technologist or work in logistics, there is something for every graduate here.

MONDELEZ Curators of a range of iconic brands, including Cadbury and Milka. Those with a sweet tooth can find excellent development opportunities at the world’s top chocolate company, where big brands and big ideas mix.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

MUNTONS Malt and malted ingredient producer for over 90 years. Muntons has grown into a major contributor to their market and continues to build on that success.

NESTLÉ It’s the world’s leading nutrition, Health and Wellness company, and exports £346 million of products to over 70 countries from UK. Their recently launched YOUth initiative goes to show Nestlé is committed to young and brilliant talent.

NEW LOOK Things are always changing for the better at New Look, as they work on their simple mission: to help people look good and feel great. They give graduates the freedom to create a career they love.

OCADO An online supermarket powered by research and technology. Ocado built its fulfilment business from scratch into an award-winning, innovative, customercentric hub. Now they want to help you build your career into something just as impressive.

P&G The conglomerate behind supplying products to nearly five billion people every day. From Febreze to Max Factor you could be a part of creating, manufacturing, promoting or selling any one of their 50 billion-dollar brands.

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PENTLAND BRANDS Bringing you the best sport, outdoor and fashion brands. Three generations after its foundation, this family-run business has gone from strength to strength. Pentland Brands aims to build on this success with graduates who have the ambition to achieve and excel.

PEPSICO Be a part of the firm behind Walkers, Tropicana and of course Pepsi, with a global reach across 200 countries.

They also have an award-winning female advancement scheme and are consistently listed in The Times ‘Top 50 Employers for Women’.

PVH Since its inception over 130 years ago, PVH has become one of the largest apparel companies in the world, owning and marketing brands including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Speedo.

UNILEVER Unilever is committed to their brands and their consumers. From internships and apprenticeships to undergraduate programmes, Unilever provides unrivalled experience to those looking to work in the retail and consumer sector.

PHARMACEUTICALS COMPANIES ASTRAZENECA AstraZeneca is working to make the most of the opportunities that advances in science and technology bring to the search for new medicines.

Their UK presence is at the forefront of their research – see where you could make a difference.

GLAXOSMITHKLINE A multinational, science-led healthcare company, providing everything from pharmaceuticals to vaccines. Focusing on global health, it’s the perfect company for those who want to make a difference to the lives of millions.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON One of the biggest names in health and pharmaceuticals. The Johnson & Johnson family of companies has over 120 years of experience, with a focus on business morality that is the key to their continued success.

PFIZER The world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company. Working to improve the lives of people all over the world through service and science, Pfizer offers opportunities to make a difference in a diverse range of departments, all focused on helping to create world-changing products.

CONSUMER, FMCG & RETAIL

FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS...

Member Success Stories

KIMBERLEY

How I did it: Securing an Internship at Nestlé

Durham University Internship, 2017 Nestlé

Durham undergraduate Kimberley recently completed an internship at Nestlé. We caught up with her to hear about why she chose Nestlé, what the application process involved and her top three tips for other Bright Network members.

Why did you choose Nestlé for your internship?

Nestlé is a highly regarded name and, whilst I received a number of offers, Nestlé was the one that stood out the most and therefore had the biggest impact on my C.V. I also looked at the ratings, along with what previous interns had said about the role and knew that the culture and exposure would be the right fit for me. You are able to wear jeans and it is an open plan office, which meant I sat next to a senior leader within the sales team almost on a daily basis. Having that exposure to someone so successful was invaluable for my personal progression. My project involved recommending improvements for Nestlé to augment growth on Amazon. It took me a while to get my head around, but once I did I was able to suggest some key improvements which were subsequently implemented!

Could you talk us through the application process – what was your favourite and least favourite part?

In the assessment centre there is a group exercise, case study and interview. In the group exercise, we got asked the question “who performed the best?”, which was initially unnerving. My favourite part was the interview, as the interviewer was very impressed by my experience to date.

Were you surprised by anything in the process?

The process was very collaborative. They are just trying to assess whether you and your personality would fit in the firm, as opposed to directly testing you. I spent a lot of time revising Nestlé as a company, but at the assessment centre they weren’t really interested in this and mainly focused on who I was and what experience I had instead of what I knew.

What three top tips would you give your fellow Bright Network members?

1

Always make sure to practice psychometric tests before hand to ensure getting through to the next round.

Ask people who have worked at the firm about their 2

experiences – it shows how motivated you are and you can bring up what you have learnt when asked.

Be confident and show your personality, especially in the 3

group exercise. Two girls barely spoke at my assessment centre, even though we tried to bring them in – you need to be confident in expressing your opinion.

Once you have answered various motivational questions, along with a numerical and verbal psychometric test, you get to the video interview. This is then followed by an assessment centre.

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CONSUMER, FMCG & RETAIL

An Inside Look In The Sector

By Joe Mackley

Consumer, FMCG and Retail covers an incredibly diverse and dynamic set of careers and options. Companies within this sector work at huge scales, with global supply chains, and thousands of employees. As such you could go into a broad range of careers including finance, supply chain, commercial functions, strategy and operations, technology and more. This sector is incredibly popular for graduates to go into, and there’s scope to build successful careers within these firms and be fast-tracked to success.

What’s it like to work in the sector?

Working within Consumer, FMCG and Retail offers lots of opportunity. Graduate schemes within this sector aim to give you a fast track to leadership positions, and as such you will be exposed to a number of projects and roles outside of your day job.

You’ll also get the opportunity to rotate around departments to get to know the business, and ultimately, better develop your skills. Due to the breadth of roles you get to experience, graduate schemes within these firms can be perfect for people who aren’t 100% sure of what they’d like to do.

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The whole sector is built around delivering quality products to customers. As a result, the customer’s needs are key to the decisions you make, and you have to constantly innovate what you’re offering, through promotions, marketing, or product development.

The sheer scale the Consumer, FMCG and Retail sector moves at is seriously impressive. The sector specialises in bringing products in tens of thousands of units from suppliers, to customers all over the world. Not only this, but you have to ensure the quantities and condition of the product are right for the stores they will be going to, and ultimately the consumer at the end of the line.

Managing this process requires a huge amount of organisation.

With product development and shipping times, chances are you’ll start sourcing and developing a product over 12 months before it arrives in stores. You could be working on delivering products for next Christmas when you haven’t even had this one! You’ll also need to work with a large team to help achieve this; coordinating with teams such as commercial, supply chain, marketing and retail.

As a consequence, roles within this sector really develop your stakeholder management and teamwork skills. These are crucial to your success within this sector and you have to be comfortable working with a large team.

Getting into the sector If you’re interested in moving into the sector the first thing you should look to do is understand what interests you most. If you’re passionate about product, then product development or buying functions could be perfect for you. If you like the thought of being at the heart of decision-making for the direction of the business, then strategy and operations could be the one for you. Look at the different sectors offered by these companies and the roles which cover your interests. Some of the larger companies will cover multiple sectors and product lines, whilst smaller companies will be more specialist in the products they source.

Once you know what is right for you, go ahead and start applying.

Most application processes follow a similar format, involving psychometric tests, telephone interviews and final assessment centres.

CONSULTING & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Consulting is a prestigious profession which offers a wealth of opportunities to bright graduates. Consequently, expectations are high, but if you’re intellectual, ambitious and work well under pressure this could be the sector for you.

Professional Services involves a range of different occupations that provide support to businesses in the form of advice or performing tertiary roles.

Graduates help clients manage, support and grow their businesses in an effective and efficient way.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

A.T. KEARNEY Drive excellence in this collaborative, authentic and forward-thinking culture.

With a passion for doing innovative work for clients, you’ll go far at this firm.

BAIN & COMPANY One of the world’s premier firms, Bain & Company has been providing pragmatic, tailored Management Consulting services for over 40 years. Passionate about helping their clients reach the best results, they also boast a distinctly social atmosphere.

THE LEADING EMPLOYERS IN...

CONSULTING & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ACCENTURE Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in Strategy, Consulting, Digital, Technology and Operations.

ALFA Alfa Systems is the leading software platform in the world for asset finance and leasing businesses. It has received the Best Companies Accreditation since 2007.

BCG A global Management Consulting firm and a world leading advisor on business strategy. BCG partners work with clients from the private, public, and not-forprofit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities and address their most critical challenges.

BOW & ARROW Bow & Arrow brings together the core practices of a Management Consultancy, a market research business, an ideation company and a design agency into one end-to-end offering.

CAPITA As the largest business process outsourcing and integrated professional support service solutions firm in the UK, Capita is an enticing prospect for graduates and a key partner to many top global businesses.

ALPHA FMC Even though some of the world’s top Wealth and Asset Management firms rely on Alpha FMC for expert consultancy services, the firm retains a friendly, collegiate atmosphere where you can really stand out.

CIL MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS Hard work and clever thinking are at the centre of everything CIL Management Consultants does. Graduates get stuck in from day one and receive a world-class business education to mould them into exceptional consultants.

ALPHASIGHTS This young business has established itself as the go-to knowledge partner for global investors, top-tier consultants and corporate decision-makers, helping them access the specific industry expertise they need to succeed.

COGNIZANT Cognizant enable global enterprises to address a dual mandate: to make their current operations as efficient and cost-effective as possible and to invest in innovation to unleash new potential across their organisations.

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DELOITTE This ambitious Big Four firm has always pushed boundaries in their work. The desire to innovate, support and succeed for their clients underlies every day at Deloitte. Join them for a range of excellent graduate opportunities.

ELIXIRR An evolving and fast-growing firm.

Elixirr is proud to challenge convention and create a real impact. With good career prospects and a world-class work environment, this makes for an attractive package to graduates.

EY Increasing trust in business and creating collaboration are key factors at this Big Four firm. EY is devoted to the idea that if business works better, the world does too, and they exist to make that happen. Be a part of a firm helping shape the landscape of tomorrow.

IBM One of the world’s largest IT and Consulting services companies, IBM recruits from a range of backgrounds, prizing skills, creativity and passion.

JAVELIN GROUP Javelin Group looks to provide expert strategy consulting and digital transformation services to the biggest retailers worldwide. Graduates receive excellent all-round and thorough training.

KPMG One of the UK’s leading provider of professional services. KPMG believes in turning knowledge into value. Long-term thinking, mobility and responsibility are guaranteed aspects to careers at KPMG, where striving truly makes a difference.

L.E.K. CONSULTING Using in-depth expertise to produce high impact results, L.E.K. Consulting is a global firm that helps its clients move forward with confidence and precision.

CONSULTING & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

MCKINSEY & CO The world’s largest Management Consultancy. They recruit the best minds from diverse disciplines, who have the opportunity to advise some of the world’s most prominent organisations.

MERCER Mercer is an international Consultancy firm specialising in talent, health, retirement and investments. Become part of a diverse and inclusive culture and prepare for a first-class education in the world of Consulting.

NEWTON EUROPE From healthcare to private equity, Newton’s financial and operational advice speaks for itself with a promise to improve financial performance.

Their team works in partnership with clients to deliver unbeatable improvements.

OC&C STRATEGY OC&C Strategy prides itself on tackling the most complex issues facing ambitious management. Their culture is based on individual thinking and united effort, providing the momentum to meet any challenge.

OLIVER WYMAN Valuing people with energy, passion and a commitment to excellence means Oliver Wyman hires only the most exceptional.

Be a part of an environment based on respect, teamwork and opportunity.

PEEL HUNT An independent brokering and advisory service for small to mid-size firms.

Delivering outstanding results to clients, Peel Hunt is proud of its outstanding company commitment to putting the interests of clients before their own.

PWC An iconic professional services firm renowned for its rigour and reach. This rapidly expanding firm offers opportunities at all levels and in a range of departments, for a career built on ambition and results.

STEER Through planning, designing, advising and analysing, Steer delivers commercial insights and practical solutions to all their clients. The firm behind London’s first underground cycle vault and the award-winning Bus Rapid Transit System, Transmilenio, in Bogotá.

STRATEGY& PwC’s global team of strategy experts.

Strategy& helps businesses seize the advantage and capture their greatest opportunities. Their strategy-throughexecution approach has secured the firm’s name as one of the best in the business.

SOPRA STERIA Sopra Steria is one of the leading European players in Digital Transformation, helping their clients to address their most critical and complex business challenges.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

GET AHEAD IN...

CONSULTING

The Eleven Key Skills Consulting Firms Look For

By Bright Network

The Consulting sector attracts bright graduates looking for varied and intellectually challenging work. It’s a brilliant starting point for a career, but graduate scheme places are highly competitive. If you’re thinking about a career in Consulting, here are the core skills you’ll need to demonstrate.

1 Academic success Academic success throughout school and university is essential for a job in Consulting. Your academic history reveals both your ability to learn and your ability to graft – two key attributes in a consultant. Therefore, a strong history of school results (including A levels, or equivalent, and any school awards) as well as a good performance to date at university (including detailed module results & predicted grades) will show you to be a candidate worth considering.

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2 Work experience Consulting firms are looking for candidates who have already tried out their skills in a relevant work experience placement. Ideally this would be an internship which will demonstrate your interest in the world of Consulting, as well as arming you with some ideas around what you are looking for in a Consulting firm. Other professional work experience with well-known brands is great too – especially if you can talk about the Your academic transferable skills learned, such as data analysis, presentation skills, history reveals team work etc. Whatever the both your ability experience make sure you are able to learn and your to talk about instances where you took initiative and the impact of ability to graft. your contribution.

3 Leadership and initiative Consulting firms are looking for individuals who thrive in positions of responsibility and have intuition for leading a team and stepping up to a challenge. If you have led a team or society on campus, organised an event or founded a group – all of these are great examples of your leadership potential.

CONSULTING & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

4 Perfect presentation Presentation is critical success criteria for any Consulting applicant. If you are successful in becoming a consultant you can expect to be charged out to clients for several hundred pounds an hour, and so demonstrating your attention to detail and high standards from an early stage is imperative. The firm need to be able to trust you to develop documents for FTSE 100 companies and to attend meetings with their CxOs, so you need to show you are up to the task. This includes everything from a typo-free, clear and well-articulated application form, a well-structured CV with consistent formatting, readable font and good grammar and a well dressed, shoe-polished, clean and confident interview attendee.

– these shouldn’t be deal-breakingly bad but ‘I’m a perfectionist’ is unlikely to fly either. You can also demonstrate self-awareness by reflecting on what you learned in some of the anecdotes you share. If you are talking about your experience in leading a team, end your description with a view of what you would do differently next time, or what you learned from the experience.

9 Team work

Consulting is a team based career, and so your ability to work well in teams is of real importance to your recruiters. They are looking for someone who can both work autonomously, under their own guidance, as well as someone who thrives on the rewards that come from being part of a high performing team.

5 Consulting fit Make sure you have a few examples of Make sure you have a team experiences to hand – be it a sports Once you’re through to interview stage, a few examples of team team, a society or a project team on your Consulting firm is looking for someone who is course. Be clear on the role you played and experiences to hand absolutely cut out for Consulting, rather than how you contributed. It can also be useful just any other corporate role. Your CV will have – be it a sports team, to have a couple of model teams in mind, given them confidence in your academics, now so that you can refer to a team that you a society or a project it’s your chance to show them your aptitude think works well and why. Is it Ferguson’s for cracking tough problems, developing strong team on your course.

United where no player is bigger than the relationships and being a part of high performing team? Or perhaps it’s the 2012 Olympics teams. Make sure you have a few success Squad where each individual is responsible stories to hand – across your academics, extrafor both their own success as well as the curricular and work experience. You need to be able to talk

collective success of the team. about situations where you have faced a challenge and how you have diagnosed and then solved the problem, in a methodical and measured way.

6 Commercial awareness Typically, consultants spend their careers working in a variety of different sectors and industries. As such, your ability to quickly understand the fundamentals of an industry and how it works is key. You can practice this by making sure you have a good understanding of hot topics across a variety of industries – not just those you are interested in. Your interviewer may reveal that they are a big fan of green energy, providing you with a fantastic opportunity to reference the latest news in that industry – even with the caveat that you’re not an expert, as it will show you are interested and up to date on major topics.

7 A natural communicator Communication is central to a consultant’s day job and all Consulting firms will be looking for evidence of both your written and verbal communication skills. This means being clear and concise on your application, and nailing your interview. As well as communicating well in the interview itself, try to refer to instances where you have used your communication skills to good effect – to diffuse a heated situation, communicate a challenging idea, or to enthuse your sports team.

10 Personality Consultants at the top firms typically work 60 hour weeks and, sadly, spend more time with their colleagues than their friends and family. Therefore, Consulting firms are looking for candidates who can get on with the rest of the team, who have the ability to build relationships across all levels of an organisation and who are fundamentally good at meeting new people. Having a few interests is a great way to get conversations started, so Consulting firms will be looking for evidence of interests outside of your work – this is the chance you have to show you are a fun, interesting individual, and not just a set of academic and work experience records. Remember though, don’t overstate yourself – if you say you love golf, chances are you’ll be invited to play at some point, so keep it honest.

11 Do something entrepreneurial Understanding the complexities of business and the importance of client and customer relations is very much part of this industry. Starting your own business is a great way to learn about these aspects from a first-hand perspective, which will help you on real Consulting projects in the future.

8 Self-awareness Self-awareness is important to Consulting firms because it shows an ability to self-reflect and to develop in order to address areas of weakness. You are likely to be asked about your weaknesses so have some good, appropriate examples to hand. Remember

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS...

Member Success Stories

HIZZER

University of York Summer Intern 2018 EY

Why did you choose this firm and this role?

It’s important to me to begin my career with a firm who share my core values. EY champion diversity, encourage inclusion and work together towards a strategic goal: Vision 2020. Having visited four of their offices it was a delight to see the same environment in both London and regional offices. I applied for an internship in Financial Services Transactions because it would enable me to put to use the understanding of economics and finance I’ve gained through my degree, as well as help me to continue to build my commercial awareness. The service line work with the largest financial services firms in the world, meaning your decisions have a real impact on the world.

What is Financial Services Transactions?

And why did you choose it?

Transactions is the line of work at EY that works on optimising, managing, preserving and creating capital for companies.

Be it through helping with M&A, restructuring or VBM (Valuations and Business Modelling). FS stands for Financial Services therefore FS Transactions teams only serve FS clients.

This covers Banking/Capital Markets, Insurance and Asset Management firms.

I chose this line of work because as an Economics student I have an initial understanding of balance sheets, P&L’s as well as a firm's capital structure. This service line would help build on the knowledge I have in a more practical, hands on way. Transactions to me is arguably the most dynamic of the service lines, as deals you are working on are highly responsive to the market, meaning you have to try and be one step ahead.

What are you most looking forward to?

I am most looking forward to working with a whole host of people - graduates, managers, partners as well as interesting

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How I did it: Securing a Summer Internship at

clients all with different needs. As a student it is rare to be given the opportunity to display your skill set as well as being able to build on it, so it’s an opportunity that I’m really looking forward to learning from.

Having already been brand ambassador for EY for the last year I know exactly what they want their firm to be, so being able to see all the little processes that are in place that help them be such an inclusive, leading Professional Services firm will be interesting.

What three top tips would you give your fellow Bright Network members?

1

Try to network as much with the company you want to apply for – this could be by applying to be

a brand ambassador, by going to networking events at offices or by visiting the stand at graduate fairs. Building that relationship with people who already work there could help you massively in terms of understand the business better and having people vouch for you during the application process.

Be yourself – the same way a company accepts or 2

rejects you during the process, you have every right to do the same! Work out your core values and find a workplace that embodies those values in the way they work.

Practice – having to exit the process because you 3

haven’t got through the online tests can be upsetting, especially when you’re the kind of person who thrives at the later stage interviews. Practice using resources online and brush up on your GCSE Maths knowledge!

CONSULTING & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

CHRIS University of Oxford Consultancy Intern, 2017 McKinsey & Company

Chris has completed a summer consultancy internship with McKinsey & Company.

He was kind enough to answer some of the questions we had about his experiences and any advice he might pass on to other Bright Network members.

What attracted you initially to the internship with McKinsey?

Initially, the world of Consulting drew me to apply for an internship at McKinsey. The opportunity to work in a wide range of industries on short fast-paced projects with massive impact was a big plus. The possibility of travel and the multitude of exit opportunities after a few years in the field was what got me sold.

McKinsey is one of the top players in the field, which is why I applied for the internship.

Can you explain a bit more about what your role entailed?

As no two consulting projects are the same, my project was much more implementation-focused. My role entailed liaising directly with the client to hear their wants and needs, to communicate that to my team, to problem solve solutions, and to coordinate the firm’s resources to deliver the solution.

The client wanted to save $2-3bn in the next 3-5 years and my team and I were brought on to help them achieve that goal.

That meant providing strategic guidance, offering expertise from our global network of experts, changing their mindset and the way they work, and offering and implementing technological solutions to help them unlock that value.

What did you learn from it?

I learnt how to communicate effectively and persuasively, to manage my own time and that of others, and how best to use tools such as Excel and PowerPoint to synthesise and present insight from data.

How I did it: Securing a Consultancy Internship at McKinsey & Company

I also learnt a great deal about the client’s industry: where its pain points are, what the trends are, what technological developments are in the pipeline to revolutionise completely the way work is done, what the competitive landscape is like, how market trends are going to affect the industry’s future, and, critically, what the client should do in light of all of this.

Has it influenced your thinking on what career path you might want to pursue in the future?

Yes, it definitely has. The prospect of staying and progressing through the firm is now a possibility and one that I had not properly considered before I started my internship.

Have you got some top tips for members?

I would engage in extracurriculars at university and start preparing for the case study interviews early.

The recruiters that will screen your CV and the consultants that will interview you are looking for individuals that have shown that they can work in teams, use their initiative, take leadership positions, and communicate eloquently and persuasively. All of these attributes can be honed and displayed by getting involved in student societies, sports teams, music and drama ensembles, etc. outside of your academic work at university.

However, that is not all that they are looking for. Having the right personality for the job is crucial but showing that you have the right brain is critical. The case interviews will test whether you are able to tackle business problems in a structured manner and practice is definitely required to do well in this aspect of the interviews. I would read “Case In Point” by Marc Consentino and/ or “Case Interview Secrets” by Victor Cheng to get started and then practice case interviews with friends and family until you are confident you are able to approach case problems effectively.

We’re delighted to announce that since writing this Success Story, Chris has been offered a return offer – to start when he finishes his university education. Well done!

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CHARITY & PUBLIC SECTOR Finding a job within a Charity or the Public Sector is the dream of a lot of graduates, especially for those looking for a socially-conscious career where you make a real difference and have a more flexible work-life balance.

There are boundless opportunities for bright graduates in these sectors with fantastic benefits on offer, but you’ll need to equip yourself with suitable work experience and extracurricular activities to give yourself the edge. You’ll also need to start developing a network of key contacts to help you get ahead.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

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CHARITY & PUBLIC SECTOR

THE LEADING EMPLOYERS IN...

CHARITY & PUBLIC SECTOR CABINET OFFICE The Cabinet Office supports the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to ensure government runs effectively.

They’re also the corporate headquarters for government, in partnership with HM Treasury, and they take the lead in critical policy areas.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION If you want to get involved with the politics of Europe, the European Commission is for you. Primarily concerned with drafting legislation, trade negotiations and overseeing the implementation of policy, you can play your part in uniting Europe.

MI5 Our national security organisation, MI5 is primarily concerned with intercepting and stopping threats to the UK. Main areas include anti-terrorism, intelligence, cyber crime and espionage, with plenty of opportunities for you to make a difference.

FOREIGN & COMMONWEALTH OFFICE The FCO is a government body supported by ten other organisations, designed to protect and develop the UK’s international relationships. Graduates can expect a fastpaced and challenging experience dealing with the country’s affairs overseas.

NHS You don’t have to be a doctor to make a difference with a career in health. The NHS is looking for bright graduates like you to join teams across their organisation.

FRONTLINE Frontline works to help graduates make a difference through social work, helping the children of this country find their potential.

Highly rewarding work awaits those who want to develop their leadership skills and change lives.

HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS (HMRC) HMRC makes sure that everyone plays CANCER RESEARCH UK their part in funding the country, while ensuring measures are enforced fairly.

Cancer Research UK is passionate about support, advice, inspiration and research – They offer graduates the chance to keep the country solvent and secure. all geared towards defeating this illness.

Award-winning internships and graduates schemes are on offer to those who want HARRIS FEDERATION to make a difference in this fight.

Could you make a difference to the life of one of the 32,000 students they educate CIVIL SERVICE FAST STREAM in London? The Harris Federation is a top performing Multi Academy Trust with a The Government’s flagship graduate focus on transforming education in London programme. Designed to help give and creating exceptional places of learning. graduates the skills they need to play their part in the running of the country, they recruit the brightest graduates HM TREASURY into the Civil Service and help them HM Treasury is part of the Civil Service become the best leaders. but runs a graduate programme separate to the Civil Service Fast Stream. Revel in your responsibility and the contribution CRCC ASIA you can make at the centre of government.

The leading graduate internship provider in China. Based in London, CRCC Asia HOME OFFICE aims to open doors to China for bright graduates. Specialising in the finance, The Home Office’s key areas of action legal, consulting and hospitality sectors, include immigration, drug control, crime there is something for everyone. and counter-terrorism. An interesting option for graduates looking for a career in a very present and complex organisation.

DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (DFID) MACMILLIAN By unlocking others’ potential, DFID Macmillian’s reputation is based on seeks to combat poverty and humanitarian constantly improving their skills and disaster by creating jobs and limiting the involving people affected by cancer – the need for aid. Apply for opportunities real experts – in all areas of their work. through the Civil Service to see where You’ll find talented people working together you can make a difference. to improve the lives of everyone living with cancer.

OFCOM Regulating the communications sector across TV, direct phone lines and other mediums, Ofcom provides an essential service. With the advent of new media landscapes, it’s an exciting time to work at the heart of the technology sector.

POLICE NOW Aiming to break the intergenerational cycle of crime in the most challenged areas, Police Now helps create safe, confident communities in which people can thrive.

REACH OUT A mentoring charity working with children in disadvantaged communities to raise aspirations and help them grow in character and competence. They help improve selfconfidence and develop numeracy, literacy and communication skills.

SCHOOL OF LIFE The School of Life is a place to step back and think intelligently about central emotional concerns. They don’t believe in dogma, instead directing people towards ideas that will exercise, stimulate and expand the mind.

UNLOCKED Unlocked Graduates is aiming to change the way society’s future leaders are developed, as well as thinking about prisons and prisoners by focusing on rehabilitation, and addressing the terrible damage and cost of reoffending.

WORTHWHILE Worthwile offers the opportunities to shape a sustainable career in the not-for-profit sector through their graduate scheme, training and network of inspiring, likeminded organisations.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

GET INTO...

THE CHARITY SECTOR

Looking for a Career That Makes a Real Difference?

By Milly Mulcahey

A role in the non-profit or third sector can offer you this and so much more, but getting your foot in the door can be difficult.

That’s why we’ve asked a senior director at a leading charity to share some top tips and essential insights.

Experience

The importance of having relevant and useful experience cannot be overstated. Experience is all about gaining core skills, including:

of established charities are looking for top undergraduates like you to promote their cause. These opportunities are perfect for deciding which organisation you would like to work for and getting noticed by key decision makers.

• Join a social change society or start your own – There

are plenty of ways you can develop your leadership and organisation skills in a university society – perhaps you could arrange a fundraiser or an educational campaign.

• Volunteer at smaller local charities – Plenty of charities

need support with their social media, fundraising or IT – just give them a ring and offer some of your skills and free time.

It’s a great way to demonstrate that you’re proactive as well as giving you a foothold in the sector.

Doing a Masters

If you want to move into the top spots in the charity sector you’ve got to be able to strategise, think analytically and work off the latest research – these are skills that a Masters can provide you. Which Masters programme to choose really depends on where you want your career to go – International Relations or Development and Public Affairs programmes are common choices. Other options include Law or Medicine, which allow you to take on specialised roles in the sector.

Your own brand

Make sure you are using LinkedIn – and that doesn’t just mean having a profile – post content and build your network. Also make sure your other social media channels look professional. You can expect recruiters to do a quick Google, so consider if you want to keep those Freshers photos on your timeline.

The importance of commercial awareness

It’s all about entering the conversation that the industry is having – one of the best ways to do that is to learn from the same sources the charities are. You can sign up today for the mailing lists of charity networks, for example Bond and Business Fights Poverty.

Keep an eye on cutting edge trends and make the most of their events to build your network. Saying you read and engage with their content regularly can really give your CV a boost.

• Research • Organisation and project management • Strong data skills and a proficiency on Excel • Fundraising and grant writing experience • Languages – particularly important if you want to

Starting in the private sector

Overall, if you can develop the skills to raise funds, write proposals or manage grants, you’ll really have a competitive edge in future applications.

With thanks to Camilla Symes, Senior Director of Ministry Strategy and Policy at World Vision International for her contribution to this article.

launch an international career

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Start building core skills while still at university • Brand Ambassador and Internship opportunities – Lots

Don’t be afraid to launch your career in business before moving into the charity sector – there’s plenty of transferable skills and knowledge. The Sustainable Development Goals has carved out a shared platform between the Public and Private sector, while the increasing emphasis on social impact and “doing well by doing good” means you don’t always have to leave the corporate sector to have a meaningful impact.

CHARITY & PUBLIC SECTOR

FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS...

Member Success Stories

RAHIM

How I did it: Securing a Graduate Programme at Frontline

Queen Mary, University of London Graduate Programme 2018 Frontline

Whilst studying History at QMUL, Rahim has done fantastically to secure himself a graduate role at Frontline. Rahim was kind enough to answer our questions and offer his insight into the application process.

Why did you choose Frontline and this role in particular?

I have always had a passion for aiding those in need, and doing my bit whether through charity or community work to make a difference in society. I spent a lot of time searching for a career or sector to go into after completing my degree. However, I had no luck until I came across Frontline. It was their mission statement ‘to transform the lives of vulnerable children’ that captivated me, and I knew Frontline was for me.

Frontline is a non-profit organisation who are committed to transforming the lives of vulnerable children and families through recruiting outstanding individuals into child protection social work. Although going into a profession such as teaching is equally rewarding and allows you to make a difference, social work will enable one to go beyond the school gates and tackle the issues facing individuals outside of the education sphere.

What was the hardest part of the application process? And your favourite part?

Ironically the hardest part of the application process was equally my favourite. The final stage of the application process was to attend an assessment centre where you would take part in various activities and would be assessed against Frontline’s competencies.

From booking the assessment centre date to arriving, I was overwhelmingly anxious. However, after the first task, everything felt much smoother and I could not wait for the next! One of the tasks that I anticipated to be the most challenging was the roleplay. This involved role-playing as a social worker having a one-to-

one conversation with a family member, played by a professional actor. I had never done anything like this before, and did not know what to expect! Nonetheless, it was the highlight of my day and really put me in the shoes of a social worker.

Were you surprised by anything in the process?

I was very encouraged by the level of support the Frontline recruitment team provided throughout the application process.

For instance, before attending the assessment centre, I was given a coaching call. This was extremely helpful and gives you a chance to ask any questions about the day.

What three top tips would you give to fellow Bright Network members looking to follow in your footsteps?

1

Always remain curious – be willing to go home after a

jobs fair or learning about a vacancy on Bright Network and research it in more depth.

2 Be resilient – if I was asked this time last year “what are

your plans after university?” I would not have had a clue.

I remember being rejected for a couple of applications in different fields, and having the feeling that I would not get into any programmes or find a career that I genuinely wanted to thrive in. In spite of this, I did not give up, and I am very fortunate to have come across Frontline.

3 Follow your passion – perhaps one of my regrets is that I

spent a lot of time looking for graduate schemes or vacancies in an area that I knew I would not enjoy. Finance and Banking, for example, are not sectors that I could see myself in but I continued to apply because that’s the mainstream industry a significant amount of graduates go into. Be brave and willing to challenge the norm, and more importantly look into a sector that you could picture yourself a part of.

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INVESTMENT BANKING & ASSET MANAGEMENT The principal role of an investment bank or manager is to channel money from savers to borrowers, from those who have surplus capital to those who require it to finance trade or expand their businesses. In short, Investment Banking is all about the buying, selling, dividing and combining of companies or entities.

Asset Management – also known as Investment Management or Wealth Management – is about helping individuals and companies grow their wealth through smart investments. If you want to make it in this sector, you need to start as soon as you can, often as early as your first year at university.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

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INVESTMENT BANKING & ASSET MANAGEMENT

BLACKROCK Whether managing collapsed Wall Street firms or the central banks in Greece, BlackRock has established itself as a leader in Asset Management. Graduates can be assured of a dynamic and thrilling career.

THE LEADING EMPLOYERS IN...

INVESTMENT BANKING & ASSET MANAGEMENT BAILLIE GIFFORD Independent and partner-owned, it is not unusual for graduate employees to stay for over a decade, fully demonstrating Baillie Gifford’s ability to provide a challenging and rewarding work environment.

BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH One of the world’s largest financial institutions, Bank of America Merrill Lynch offers the full range of Banking, Investing, Asset Management and other Financial and Risk Management products and services, as well as global opportunities to graduates.

BARCLAYS The first bank to launch contactless debit cards, Barclays works to make customers’ lives easier. Graduate roles at the company are diverse across retail, corporate and wealth business areas, and their Future Leaders Programme fasttracks leadership development.

BERENBERG Berenberg is one of the oldest private banks in the world, and with this heritage comes fantastic opportunities for bright graduates. Berenberg offers its clients tailored and individual services across Private Banking, Investment Banking, Asset Management and Corporate Banking.

BLACKSTONE From securing pension benefits to advancing the goals of charitable organisations, Blackstone provides outstanding results to clients. They’re also known for their varied philanthropic ventures, ensuring graduates a rewarding place to start their career.

BLUEBAY ASSET MANAGEMENT Investing for clients across the fixed income credit spectrum, BlueBay employs inventive investment and sophisticated tools to ensure high returns. A company culture of talent and innovation ensures their people are highly rewarded.

BLUECREST CAPITAL MANAGEMENT The global success of BlueCrest has netted them multiple awards. Using advanced technology and operations, they also rely on top talent to ensure the best results.

BMO Based in North America, BMO now has a presence in 30 countries around the world, including their well-regarded London office specialising in expert advice to the Metals & Mining and Energy sectors.

BNP PARIBAS Specialising in corporate & institutional banking and retail banking and services, BNP Paribas maintains a major presence in the UK market. Their one-year graduate programme is non-rotational, ensuring early responsibility and development opportunities.

BNY MELLON Processing more than one trillion dollars of transactions every day, BNY Mellon serves exceptional clients including many of the world’s leading investors. Make your mark in the Finance industry on their Emerging Leaders Programme.

CITADEL Citadel tackles some of the toughest problems in the industry and seeks to excel in all strategies. The work is demanding even for the brightest minds, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

CITI Innovating in Commercial and Corporate Banking and always finding new ways to improve their clients’ experience, Citi offers powerful solutions to pressing problems.

CLOSE BROTHERS A leading independent merchant bank, Close Brothers works to help businesses grow and evolve, with tailored funding solutions. Graduates join specific business departments for bespoke training from business experts.

COMMERZBANK AG Commerzbank is a leading international Commercial Bank offering talented students and graduates the chance to take their first step towards their career within a team who want to stand up for the goals of their clients.

CREDIT SUISSE A global leader in Private Banking & Wealth Management and Investment Banking, this multinational bank believes in growing and developing the future careers of graduates who want to put their knowledge to work.

DC ADVISORY DC Advisory works with a wide range of organisations, from corporates, private equity houses and entrepreneurs, to financial institutions and Hedge Funds.

Highly motivated graduates have the opportunity to grow into successful bankers of the future.

DEUTSCHE BANK Building a diverse, dynamic workforce to mirror their wide range of operations, Deutsche Bank is a leader in Investment Banking in the City. Become part of their mission to be the premier clientcentric global bank.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

EVERCORE A prestigious global Investment Bank, Evercore is defined by its people working in collaboration to deliver superior client service and industry-leading results.

Built on the core values of excellence, experience, integrity and independence, they seek the best.

GAM ASSET MANAGEMENT With over three decades of experience and headquarters in Switzerland, GAM encourages an independent and progressive approach to business. A global company with a unique, intimate culture.

EXANE BNP PARIBAS The cash equities arm of BNP Paribas with headquarters in Paris, they maintain independence while using their partnership to build potential. A leader in eurozone banking, they specialise in cash equities, derivatives and asset management.

GLEACHER SHACKLOCK An independent corporate financial advisory firm, Gleacher Shacklock specialises in top quality advice and solutions. This firm offers tremendous opportunities for junior professionals, supporting and developing them in a collaborative and stimulating environment.

F&C ASSET MANAGEMENT F&C has a broad client base, working in specialist sectors such as Public Authorities and Charities, as well as traditional asset areas. Combining a wide range of services with focused expertise, F&C thrive on community and teamwork.

GOLDMAN SACHS Goldman Sachs provides an array of investment banking, investment management and securities services for their clients. This bank seeks people from a range of academic backgrounds to help them meet and go beyond the expectations of clients and communities.

FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL An independent investment company that provides outstanding investment solutions and retirement expertise.

Fidelity offers a world of opportunity where you could become their next investment.

GREENHILL A unique Investment Banking firm focused on providing financial advice globally. Greenhill is looking for academic individuals with an independent spirit to work in a dynamic and entrepreneurial environment.

JANUS HENDERSON A leading global Asset Management firm, this results driven company is always thinking ahead. They aim to build a strong future generation of financial experts.

HOULIHAN LOKEY This advisory-focused, international Investment Bank is committed to helping its clients achieve superior success.

Graduates join a team-orientated company with an entrepreneurial culture, built on a passion for excellence.

HSBC A household name but far more than just a household bank, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. Graduates can choose from several graduate programmes to build a bright future.

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INSIGHT INVESTMENT A top Investment Management company. Insight is a global asset manager, distinguishing itself by tailoring solutions to each client. Graduates are offered first-hand experience with flexible training to allow new arrivals to find their place in the firm.

INVESTEC Providing everything from offshore banking to equity trading to its esteemed client base. Investec, an international banking and asset management group, can promise graduates an exciting career in a dynamic environment.

J.P. MORGAN The US’s largest bank. J.P. Morgan has fully earned its credentials, operating in nearly every sector. With a wide range of graduate programmes available, new starters can be assured they will receive tailored training and worldwide opportunities.

JEFFERIES Jefferies distinguishes itself through its entrepreneurial environment, giving all employees the chance to make an impact. The Analyst & Associate Programme acts as a valuable springboard to propel graduates into the role most suited to them.

LAZARD With a global network reflected in their diverse workforce, offering investment and asset management advice, Lazard distinguishes itself with an open, collaborative environment where new starters learn directly from senior management.

M&G INVESTMENTS M&G Investments is an international, award-winning investment management service. With a focus on long-term gains, M&G fully appreciate the value of investing in its graduate employees through a fully developed graduate programme.

MACQUARIE Macquarie is a global financial services provider with a breadth of expertise.

They believe the best investment you can make is in yourself – develop your skills and build your career with them.

INVESTMENT BANKING & ASSET MANAGEMENT

MOELIS & COMPANY Teamwork and passion for the business are what set Moelis & Company apart from other Investment Banks. Graduates of a similar bearing will do well on the bespoke analyst programme.

NANOOK ASSOCIATES A commodity markets advisor since 2008, currently managing assets of approx. $350m. The team is comprised of experienced traders, analysts and business support professionals who have previously held a variety of senior positions.

NOMURA A Japanese Investment Bank with expertise in building financial markets across the globe, they are looking for the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders to join them in their dexterous and diverse workforce.

PERELLA WEINBERG The trust of a client is the most important thing at Perella Weinberg, who maintain an excellent reputation. Their analyst programme immerses graduates in the company’s entrepreneurial culture while helping them learn from the firm’s senior members.

PIPER JAFFRAY Committed to global capital markets, Piper Jaffray is building a diverse, curious team who can offer superior solutions worldwide, based on their expertise and communication skills.

RBC RBC is a premier Investment Bank that provides a focused set of products and services to corporations, institutional investors and governments around the world.

RAMPART An independent investment office based in London. Owned by key personnel, they provide Investment Management and Advisory services to wealthy individuals and their families worldwide.

ROTHSCHILD One of the world’s largest independent financial advisory groups. Rothschild provides strategic, M&A, wealth management and fundraising advice and services to governments, companies and individuals worldwide, building on their 200-year history and independence. Be a bright mind in their global network.

SCHRODERS Aligning their goals to their clients has ensured Schroders’ high achievement.

Graduate training is in-depth, including the undertaking of the Investment Management Certificate which gives graduates all the skills they need to achieve.

SILICON VALLEY BANK A high-tech Commercial Bank which provides exclusive and flexible financial solutions to the most innovative and entrepreneurial companies worldwide, where optimistic graduates with big dreams are welcome.

SOCIETE GENERALE Embracing the values of teamwork, trust and talent has allowed Societe Generale to go from strength to strength, and the role graduates play in this is not underestimated. Graduates can expect both responsibility and reward from early on.

STANDARD CHARTERED The International Graduate Programme is comprised of six business streams, one for each of the business’s banking areas, allowing graduates to fully immerse themselves in the global culture of Standard Chartered.

STATE STREET As a leading provider of financial services and the second oldest financial institution in the US, State Street attributes its success to its employees. Its own university allows employees to further their skills on a range of programmes.

T. ROWE PRICE T. Rowe Price is an Asset Management firm focused on delivering global investment management excellence that investors can rely on – now and over the long term.

TERRA FIRMA Experts in creating value for their shareholders, Terra Firma seeks those who think strategically. Their Graduate Analyst Training programme ensures graduates are well prepared for success.

UBS Involved in nearly all major financial activities, UBS has long been regarded as a market leader. Their tailored graduate programme gives graduates the skills to make their mark in international finance.

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INVESTMENT BANKING & ASSET MANAGEMENT

Top Tips for Acing a Spring Week

By Tolu Akinboboye

A number of Banking and Finance organisations offer a Spring Week or Insight Programme for students in their first year (or second year of a four year course) to explore their business over a week. This is an excellent opportunity for you to find out more about the industry and be fast-tracked for their summer programme. It’s important to impress, so here are my top tips on doing so: 1 Differentiate yourself Really think about what makes you different from all of the other students who want to work in Investment Banking.

What’s your story? What are your outside interests? What motivates you? The majority of the other candidates will have excellent academic grades, so this isn’t enough. It’s essential that you have additional hobbies, charity work, achievements and/or involvement in projects, to distinguish yourself. These differentials will be important when networking with key

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individuals in the business or for your ‘elevator pitch’. By having unique conversations, you’re much more likely to be front of mind when they make student recommendations for conversion into a summer internship.

2 Research Before starting your Spring Week, Insight Day or any work experience opportunity, make sure you do your research on the firm. Find out their core values, key people in your division of interest and what the firm/your division specialises in or does to set themselves apart. They will expect you to know how the firm does business and what deals the firm has been working on recently. Being able to talk about them will impress them and show that you are passionate • Google news about working in • Newspapers the firm.

WHERE TO LOOK

• The firm’s website • LinkedIn • Ask previous interns from the firm

INVESTMENT BANKING & ASSET MANAGEMENT

3 Network The individual who said that ‘your network is your net worth’ was not exaggerating! Networking is simply meeting others and maintaining that relationship, which could be beneficial to advancing your career. Through your network, you’ll be able to learn about things that cannot be found on their website or easily searched. Therefore grow this whilst on your Spring Week and get to know the other interns and employees. The company wants to see how you interact with those around you. Aim to network with a purpose – you may only get five minutes with the Managing Director or head of your division, so make it count.

HOW TO FOLLOW UP AFTER NETWORKING • Take their business card in order to connect with them on LinkedIn • Connect with them on LinkedIn and make sure that you add a personalised note so they remember you • Ask politely any follow up questions you may have or if they’d be able to go for coffee/a drink

4 Commercial awareness Commercial awareness is essential if you want to work in Banking as you need to understand the potential impact that financial, political and global events can have on the business, their strategies and clients. This is why you’ll need to stay up to date with what is going on in the world through channels like the Bright Network weekly updates, Financial Times, and The Market Mogul to name a few. Commercial awareness is one of the most sought-after skills for employers but most students lack this. Don’t be one of those students – commercial awareness can help to frame your conversations and aid you in asking intelligent questions when making small talk with employees. So, read articles that interest you and form an opinion on them.

UNSPOKEN ADVICE • Be aware of how you introduce yourself. A firm

handshake, good posture and eye contact are key.

If appropriate, state your university and course.

• When in doubt about what to wear – be formal;

a suit for the males and office wear for women – gauge the dress code of the employees when you get there. Ladies – if you can’t walk in heels, its okay to wear flat shoes.

Your success is not limited to these tips but keep them in mind when attending a Spring Week, Insight Programme or work experience placement. For more insights on the Banking industry, head to our career path hub on the Bright Network website.

• The other interns are not your enemies or competition, be friendly.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

From Physics to Finance

How have you found building up your network with your cohort and others?

Even though in my experience everyone is really open here, it can be quite tricky approaching people out of the blue. Thankfully, the employee resource groups are really great for getting people who care about the same things in the same room. I’m involved in “DB Toastmasters”, a group dedicated to developing its members’ public speaking skills. I’m also currently running a pilot project with our global junior network, matching together people who want to learn different languages.

Are you encouraged to try new things out?

Class of 2017 – Mark Storm

Mark studied Physics before starting his career at Deutsche Bank last year. He tells us about why he made the switch and how the bank’s culture helped him pilot his new idea to help colleagues.

What’s your current role at Deutsche Bank?

I’m on the rotation scheme in Global Transaction Banking in London, so my role changes every three months at the moment.

As a division, we offer transactional services like funding, trade finance, cash management as well as coming up with strategic solutions for global corporations to help them build their business and keep doing what they do best. Coming from a Physics background, it’s definitely nice doing work that has an immediate impact!

So you studied Physics at university?

Yes, I graduated from Imperial College London last year with a Master’s in Physics. The problem-solving skills come in useful every day. Everyone always asks why I went from Physics into Banking and the impact you can have working on deals was definitely a factor. For example, my team are currently working on financing the longest suspension bridge in the world! But, it’s also the range of people you meet here. My graduate cohort alone includes a singer, tennis player and a former Navy Seal. It’s a real benefit working somewhere that hires the brightest people; it feels exciting.

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Definitely! It’s a key part of the culture here, it’s really entrepreneurial. You’re encouraged and supported to find your own way, organising new activities or pursuing opportunities outside of work. I often take language lessons in the evenings so sometimes come in and leave a little early on certain days to do so. I can do that because managers respect that you have a life outside work; it’s a culture of respect across the organisation. I’m also hoping to pursue a part time Master’s degree in History at Oxford in the near future, something I wouldn’t have considered doing before I joined and realised how supportive my division is.

How have you found rotating through different departments?

I’m about to start my final of four rotations before I choose a team to join at the end of the year. It’s a great scheme because you get to see different areas of the bank and I think that means you can make a much more informed decision about where you want to start building your career. It also helps you build an extensive network which will prove invaluable wherever you choose to go.

What’s been the highlight for you since joining?

The highlight has been recognising our impact and realising the products and services we offer really do help businesses perform their everyday function. I was speaking to a friend recently who is really into racing cars and in my day-to-day role I was helping a car manufacturer secure better financing, so as to enable them to spend more money on R&D. It’s incredibly motivating to see what we do touch every part of society.

And finally, what advice do you have for graduates joining the bank this year?

If you say you’re going to do something, do it! Whether it’s extra work for someone, making an appointment or going for coffee, if you’ve implicitly promised you’ll do something then you have to follow through. In some ways building a reputation is more important than building a network, and it’s definitely a faster way to create real connections with people.

ENGINEERING & ENERGY Engineering firms can oversee housing and commercial projects, operate chemical plants, piece together planes and vehicles, monitor fuel production and perform a great swathe of other tasks that help society run smoothly with the resources available to us. There’s a huge range of different graduate roles for engineering students and some for non-engineers.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

THE LEADING EMPLOYERS IN...

ENGINEERING & ENERGY

AMEC FOSTER WHEELER A global engineering, consultancy and project management company.

Amec Foster Wheeler offers a diverse range of opportunities in business, science, environment and engineering for bright minds.

ARCADIS This firm works in partnership with clients to deliver exceptional and sustainable outcomes throughout the lifecycle of their natural and built assets. Improve lives with Arcadis.

ARUP Consulting engineers with an unconventional approach to design.

The minds behind the structural design of the Sydney Opera House, Arup’s planners and engineers continue to deliver innovative and sustainable designs that reinvent the built environment.

ATKINS Atkins has been involved in some of the UK’s most transformational projects – your work could range from helping clients switch to sustainable energy, through to assessing and mitigating flood risk.

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BABCOCK INTERNATIONAL Operating in the UK and overseas, Babcock is trusted to deliver complex and critical support to the Defence, Energy, Emergency Services, Transport and Education sectors. At Babcock, there’s a world of opportunity ahead of you.

CENTRICA Supplying electricity and gas to businesses and consumers in the UK, Centrica is looking for self-driven, highcalibre graduates who can grasp complex commercial issues and deliver solutions in the Energy sector.

BAE SYSTEMS BAE Systems offers graduate opportunities for engineers, architects, project managers, planners, surveyors and consultants on a variety of engineering projects from the design of the Oxford Circus diagonal crossing to passport security systems.

E.ON With the goal of being a trusted energy partner for consumers, E.ON is looking for innovators in Technology, Finance, Marketing and more to help keep the lights on for their clients, as well as the planet.

BALFOUR BEATTY Principally working in the UK and US, Balfour Beatty does everything from financing, to building and maintaining vital infrastructure projects including the Olympic Stadium and Heathrow Airport T2.

EDF ENERGY The UK’s largest producer of low-carbon energy. Whether you are an engineer, have a mind for digital technology or just want to help the business run smoothly, you can be part of building a more sustainable future with this awardwinning energy producer.

BMW The special fascination of the BMW Group not only lies in its products and technology, but also in the company’s history, written by inventors, pioneers and brilliant designers. Today, the BMW Group has 31 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries.

BP One of the world’s six ‘supermajor’ oil and gas companies. Working for BP in both upstream and downstream development will put you on some of the most technically and commercially-challenging projects within the Energy sector.

BRITISH AIRWAYS One of the leading global premium airlines and the largest international carrier in the UK serving almost 40 million customers a year, travelling to over 170 destinations in more than 70 different countries worldwide.

BULB A startup energy supplier that provides renewable electricity and gas to homes across the UK. Bulb is building a passionate team of people that want to do energy differently.

EXXONMOBIL ExxonMobil is one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies. They seek those who want to use science to find better, cleaner ways to deliver the energy the world needs.

GE In labs and factories, innovating into a new industrial era. Even after over 100 years of invention and imagination, GE is still focused on the future, bringing bright minds to facilitate the next generation of great ideas.

JAGUAR LAND ROVER The largest automotive manufacturer in Britain, accounting for more than 30% of all domestic car production. Jaguar Land Rover’s three vehicle manufacturing plants in Liverpool and the West Midlands have increased production in the last decade.

LEONARDO Leonardo’s growth in the UK has resulted from the skills, energy and dedication of its people. They are passionate about nurturing the talent of tomorrow to help guarantee the continued success of their business.

ENGINEERING & ENERGY

LOCKHEED MARTIN UK A leader in systems integration, working on major programmes spanning the aerospace, defence and civil sectors.

Headquartered in Central London, LMUK operates 16 sites across the UK. MCLAREN AUTOMOTIVE An iconic British-based, globally revered manufacturer of luxury, high-performance sports cars. They harness and develop technology taken from over five decades of race-winning competition and success to create the ultimate drivers’ cars, setting new benchmarks for performance and efficiency in the process.

MITIE Working across multiple industries and with businesses of all kinds, Mitie provides facilities, property and energy management services via their unparalleled network of professionals to make sure clients can focus on what matters to them.

MOTT MACDONALD Their network of experts, active in 150 countries, finds opportunities in complexity, turning obstacles into elegant, sustainable solutions. By looking at problems from a fresh angle, their aim is to add value at every stage.

NATIONAL GRID National Grid ensures efficient transmission of electricity and gas all around the UK. With graduate opportunities in all areas, this is a chance to do vital work that affects millions and keeps the country moving.

NPOWER One of Britain’s leading energy companies, serving around 6.5 million residential and business accounts with electricity and gas. They offer a range of career opportunities from graduate schemes and jobs in customer services, to engineering roles at their power stations.

ROLLS-ROYCE One of the world’s leading producers of aero-engines for civil aircraft and jets, as well as keeping everything from submarines to nuclear plants performing properly, Rolls-Royce seeks the people behind the power.

RWE With its two operational business fields, Conventional Power Generation and Energy Trading, RWE is indispensable for the functioning of the entire energy system and for security of supply in Europe.

SHELL Domestically and commercially, Shell is the UK’s largest energy provider, with 80 years of experience. A groundbreaking force in this vital sector.

SMITHS GROUP A global technology company listed on the London Stock Exchange, they apply cutting edge tech to design, manufacture and deliver innovative solutions that meet their customers’ needs.

THALES International specialists in safety innovation, Thales offers you the chance to do work that matters on the cutting edge of engineering, science and technology.

TRANSPORT FOR LONDON Charged with providing public transport to over eight million residents of London, TfL’s purview ranges from managing cyclists, to running one of the busiest underground transit systems in the world. Graduates can choose from a broad range of different schemes and programmes.

WOOD GROUP A multinational oil and gas services company headquartered in Scotland, that has businesses providing a range of engineering, production support and maintenance management services to the oil & gas and power generation industries worldwide. At Wood Group, their people are their power.

WSP They are one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consulting firms, with technical experts and strategic advisors including engineering, technicians, scientists, architects, planners, surveyors and environmental specialists.

NETWORK RAIL The company that owns and operates the railway infrastructure in England, Wales and Scotland on behalf of the nation.

That’s 20,000 miles of track, 40,000 bridges and viaducts and thousands of tunnels, signals, level crossings and points.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS...

Member Success Stories

RAFSAN UCL 1-year Internship, 2016

Design Engineer, Rolls-Royce

We recently caught up with Bright Network member Rafsan. After initially studying Mechanical Engineering at UCL for 3 years, Rafsan completed a 1-year internship at Rolls-Royce and an MSc at Imperial College London. Now, he’s back at Rolls-Royce doing a Graduate Placement.

meetings and visiting manufacturing workshops. Other times, I am at my desk working with a Computer Aided Design (CAD) or Stress Analysis software, working with Excel, reading and writing technical documents, having international phone conferences or even doing a course online! Ultimately, you are given a task and it is up to you how you tackle it and solve the problem. We are given the flexibility and accountability for our tasks.

He tells us about his career so far and what tips he has for students looking to follow in his footsteps.

The challenging moment has been organising a one-day workshop with senior engineers. I had to persuade around 10 people to support the one-day workshop, where I organised a live engine Borescope demonstration and led the discussions using Systems Engineering tools. It took a lot of planning but the outcome was great and everyone was very supportive.

What initially attracted you to your role at Rolls-Royce as a Design Engineer?

The highlight has been the opportunity to network with really senior people in Rolls-Royce PLC. I am fortunate to undertake a short placement at our headquarters and on my very first day I got an opportunity to talk to the CEO and CFO!

The most interesting aspect of design engineering is you have the ability to describe a complicated 3D object with three or four 2D drawings. It is a way of expressing yourself and your ideas and I love that! Also it is very challenging, because there are many constraints in a design and you are always trying to find the right balance between conflicting requirements; finding the solution to such problems is extremely rewarding.

What does your role entail – could you tell us about what a typical day looks like for you?

As the cliché goes there really isn’t a typical day for me. I might spend one day going around the whole Derby site having

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How I did it: Securing a 1-year Internship at

What’s been your highlight and most challenging moment so far?

What are your top tips for Bright Network members looking to follow in your footsteps?

You are at a critical stage in your career. If you put in the extra effort now, life will become much easier in the near future. Apply to all the graduate schemes you are genuinely interested in, learn about the company and the role before making the application.

Practice the online tests and learn about interview techniques. In group assessment centres, do not be that person who dominates for the sake of dominating; be a team player and respect everyone.

Finally, just enjoy what you do!

ENGINEERING & ENERGY

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ENGINEERING

Application Tips for Graduate Schemes in the Engineering Sector

By Bright Network

Graduate schemes have become the go-to step on the first rung of the career ladder for engineers. They allow you to gain practical industry experience as you hone your skills and knowledge of the sector over the course of a year, 18 months or even two years.

How does an engineering graduate scheme work?

The natural progression for engineering grads – although some welcome graduates from other backgrounds such as science, technology and mathematics too – these schemes outline a programme that allows you to develop your expertise in this fascinating field.

Graduate schemes can vary immensely from employer to employer, depending largely on the nature of the role and the type of scheme you are accepted onto. However, they all have a clear structure that allows you to know from the offset what to expect during your time with the company.

A graduate engineer at an international firm like Rolls-Royce for example, might be given the opportunity to work overseas. On the other hand, an engineer for a nationwide firm would probably travel across the UK, working in different departments and on several projects.

What type of graduate scheme suits you?

To find a structure that works for you, it’s important to figure out what type of role you’d like to apply for. Do you like the thrill of travelling on business around the world, in a role such as marine or defence engineering? Or do you find greater satisfaction in solving complex problems from your desk, with an IT or technology graduate scheme?

Take the time to understand what you want to get out of the scheme – both in terms of your day-to-day job satisfaction and the doors it will open long term. You need to figure this out before you start applying for jobs.

Skills and attributes employers look for Graduate employers don’t expect you to know it all. But they do look for transferable skills, key attributes and experience that goes beyond your degree - so make sure your application showcases these:

• Quick learner – You absorb new information quickly and show initiative putting it into practice

• Team worker – You’re comfortable working in a team and can present your ideas confidently to others

• Analytical mind – You constantly question the status quo, looking for solutions to problems

• Time management – You work well under pressure, managing priorities to meet deadlines

• Communicator – You’re able to explain complex subject matter in a way that’s easy for others to understand

Summing up Becoming an engineer isn’t rocket science, but an interest in the subject will certainly help! If you’ve got a passion for science and technology, a sound grasp of mathematics and engineering principles, and a good grounding in the industry through university or work experience, you’re on the right track to a career in engineering.

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FINANCIAL SERVICES Financial Services is anything that involves providing a service to the Finance industry. Mostly, that means providing the data, insight and news that financiers need to make investment and commercial decisions.

Financial Services roles aren’t limited to business and mathematics graduates.

There’s a huge range of roles for bright graduates in the UK, if you possess good analytical and numeracy skills.

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FINANCIAL SERVICES

AXA AXA has been helping people to protect the things they hold dearest for many years. Today they are transforming their business and want graduates to help them challenge everything for the better.

THE LEADING EMPLOYERS IN...

FINANCIAL SERVICES ADMIRAL The only company to have been voted as one of the best to work for every year since 2001, Admiral’s award-winning service is based on exceptional people and their unique company culture.

AIG Innovation doesn’t grow in a box, but it does thrive in safe places. At AIG, they provide the safety that gives companies and individuals the freedom to grow.

They work to pinpoint risks and prevent them.

ALLIANZ Allianz is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and puts their customers at the heart of everything they do. Committed to creating a great working environment, help them deliver products and services every client can recommend.

AMERICAN EXPRESS The world’s largest credit card issuer, American Express has earned its reputation for quality. It seeks graduates with a range of skills to continue its mission to better serve its customers.

AON The UK’s largest insurance broker.

Combining in-depth knowledge with a global perspective has enabled Aon to become the leader in their field.

BANK OF ENGLAND Bank of England is dedicated to maintaining the monetary and financial stability of the UK. They offer bright minds the chance to work on high-profile and high-impact projects while learning from world-leading professionals.

BDO A firm committed to helping you show your true colours. Whether you’re interested in Audit, Tax, Advisory or Financial Services, BDO wants its employees to excel and deliver meaningful change for their clients.

BGC PARTNERS BGC Partners is a pioneering global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets. Their employees are central to their business strategy and they know the importance of recruiting and retaining top-tier talent.

CAPITAL ONE From day one, their business has been about helping people succeed with credit.

Capital One use innovative tools like their QuickCheck eligibility checker, to help drive positive change across the finance industry.

FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY The FCA is crucial in ensuring consumers are provided with appropriate products and that the financial industry is run with integrity. Graduates can expect the opportunity to make a difference while learning from industry experts.

GRANT THORNTON Dynamic organisations know they need to apply both reason and instinct to decision making. At Grant Thornton UK LLP, they use their award-winning technical expertise to advise their clients every day.

GREENSILL With a team comprised of experienced finance professionals operating on three continents, learn from the best and build an excellent career specialising in structured trade finance, working capital optimisation, specialty financing and contract monetisation.

GUERNSEY FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSION Their Graduate Development Programme ensures employees receive all the skills they need to supervise and develop the Guernsey finance industry with integrity and efficiency.

HYMANS ROBERTSON Clients can be assured of unbiased advice and quality with Hymans Robertson.

Graduates are encouraged to think freely in the unconstrained yet supportive environment of the Trainee Actuarial Consultant programme.

ING ING serves a broad range of customers and it seeks graduates with an ethos of honesty and a desire to build a sustainable future. Always striving for better, they focus on innovation, transparency and empowerment.

LLOYD’S OF LONDON With expertise earned over centuries, Lloyd’s is the foundation of the insurance industry and the future of it. Launch your career in insurance on their two-year graduate programme.

LLOYDS BANKING GROUP Focused on retail and commercial financial services, they look for passionate individuals with the drive to innovate. Help customers achieve their goals and dreams, in their home lives and their businesses.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE Operating a broad range of international equity, bond and derivatives markets alongside post trade and risk management services means that talented and motivated graduates will never be bored at this global finance hub.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

MAREX SPECTRON Independent broker for a range of commodities, clearing nearly 1.25 million contracts per day for clients. With over 600 employees, Marex Spectron is seeking talented graduates to continue its expansion.

MARSH Designing effective, bespoke solutions to manage risk, Marsh serves clients in more than 130 countries. The perfect environment for individuals committed to delivering the best results for customers and the company.

MAZARS Not only one of the largest Accounting firms in Europe, Mazars is recognised internationally as an accounting expert.

Totally integrated and completely transparent, it is their values and people that set it apart.

MOODY’S Moody’s is recognised for the important role it plays in shaping the thinking of participants in credit-risk sensitive markets. Its employees provide products and services that make a difference in global and local markets.

MORGAN STANLEY A household name with unbeatable opportunities for graduates. Morgan Stanley offers a variety of programmes, ensuring graduates are fully aware of the depth and variety of Morgan Stanley’s work.

MUFG One of the largest financial institutions in the world. A career here offers you the chance to make an impact in a specialised environment, while enjoying the high-profile benefits of a major business.

NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE (NAO) The NAO both oversees governmental spending and evaluates its value for money. The NAO graduate scheme enables you to become a fully qualified chartered accountant, effectively auditing the country.

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NATIONWIDE BUILDING SOCIETY A British mutual financial institution and building society that runs for the benefit of its customers. At Nationwide, they believe it is important to help motivated graduates with good communication skills kickstart a meaningful career.

SMITH & WILLIAMSON Helping clients achieve their financial ambitions has earned Smith & Williamson their reputation, but it’s their people that makes the firm thrive. Graduates can expect to work on real accounts as well as working towards professional qualifications.

NUMIS An independent stockbroker and corporate advisor, raising capital for successful businesses. They’re looking for candidates with drive and ambition to continue Numis’s strength and success in all areas.

STANDARD LIFE ABERDEEN Working with clients to maximise savings and build pensions, Standard Life works to guide clients towards a bright future with a range of financial tools. A perfect opportunity for long-term thinkers.

RBS RBS puts its customers at the heart of everything it does. With the aim of becoming the number one bank for customer service by 2020, they seek fresh-minded graduates to shape their future success.

REDBURN Tailored exclusively for institutional investors, their independence allows complete client focus and superior customer service. Combining innovative research and industry expertise, there’s no better place to specialise.

RSM Cohesion and excellence are the key to RSM’s success. An independent firm of chartered accountants and business advisors, they are committed to providing quality business solutions.

S&P GLOBAL The world looks to S&P Global for essential intelligence. Their data and insights provide clarity to complex systems so customers can make decisions with conviction. Join them and help make the financial world a better, more understandable place.

SANTANDER A leading financial services provider in the UK, Santander’s winning combination is down to its focus on retail and commercial banking for clients of all sizes. Their graduate schemes provide a gateway into retail banking.

THOMSON REUTERS Offering not one but two graduate programmes in business and finance displays the importance of graduates to Thomson Reuters, who remains at the top of its game in providing intelligence to leading companies and individuals.

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON A leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. The perfect fit for intellectuallycurious graduates looking to unlock their potential.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

A Quick Guide To The Financial Markets What about central banks?

By Christopher Stoakes

Purpose The financial markets channel savers’ money to businesses (that need money to expand) and governments (whose only other source of money is taxing voters).

Central banks – like the Bank of England – aren’t really banks.

They don’t lend (except to banks they regulate to stop them going bust). Instead central banks control the supply of money in the economy. One way they do this is through controlling interest rates.

Why are interest rates likely to rise?

After the financial crisis in 2008 central banks flooded the markets with money (‘liquidity’) to stop a depression. They did this by buying bonds (in an operation called ‘quantitative easing’).

Where does this money come from?

But too much liquidity is inflationary. Too much Us – people like you and me. When we pay money increases demand. This increases prices. for insurance, the premiums are invested by Inflation erodes the real value of money (what a Increasing interest insurance companies in the markets. When pound actually buys you). This disadvantageous rates reduces we save for retirement through pensions, sections of society with no or little money (the that money goes into the markets. If we have borrowing by making poor, the elderly and those on benefit) who will surplus cash, that can go into the financial look to government for help. So government it more expensive, markets. doesn’t like too much inflation since it becomes which reduces the a cost (however, a little inflation increases house money supply and prices which makes home owners feel good so How does this money enter government likes that). Increasing interest rates reins in inflation. the financial markets? reduces borrowing by making it more expensive, It’s used generally to buy shares in companies which reduces the money supply and reins in (shares are called ‘equity’) and debt (‘bonds’) inflation. issued by governments and companies. The biggest bond issuer is the US government which issues ‘Treasuries’ (from the US How will Brexit affect the City?

Treasury). The UK government’s bonds are called ‘gilts’ from when they were printed on paper with a silver edge.

Not as much as people fear. Brexit will affect the ability to sell retail

Who buys the bonds and shares?

Investment managers. They work for insurance companies, pension funds and fund management businesses, all of which are known collectively as ‘institutional investors’. They are also called the ‘buy side’ because they buy these bonds and shares (known together as ‘securities’ from when they were security printed to prevent counterfeiting).

products like insurance and funds from the UK into the EU. But the City is a business-to-business market which big EU companies will still need to access for money. It is global (which is why the real threat is from New York and Asia) and it has a 200-year history of extraordinary expertise and innovation – clever people go to the City to work alongside clever people – which is why the City is constantly developing new financial products and finding new ways to do things.

What about banks?

Banks take in money (from you and me) and lend it to businesses and governments. These banks are called ‘commercial banks’.

Other banks called ‘investment banks’ don’t lend – or invest.

They advise issuers on how to raise money and they then trade the securities that are issued (investment banks originally advised private investors on what securities to buy, hence the term ‘investment’). In this way banks help issuers sell their securities to the buy side. So issuers and banks are known collectively as the ‘sell side’.

Christopher Stoakes is the author of the best-selling guide ‘All You Need To Know About The City’, available from Amazon.co.uk 55

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FINANCIAL SECTOR

Essential Skills for the Financial Sector

By Seyon Indran

1 Analysis Most financial firms seeking out interns and graduates for jobs that deal with reams of information, therefore will look for evidence of analytical skills in all of their applications. Fortunately, almost all degrees will invariably help you with this, whether you’ve studied mathematics, science, a humanities degree, or anything else. These skills will be of paramount importance to a role in financial analysis, as they require employees to sift through huge amounts of data to spot patterns, discrepancies and trends in their clients’ accounts.

The financial sector incorporates a huge range of careers requiring a diverse set of skills. As an intern or graduate, you’ll be required to perform a multitude of different tasks. It is therefore vital to If you have done exceptionally well in a piece of coursework sharpen the skills that are essential for or project based around research and analysis, do not be afraid your role whilst at to discuss it in the interview. It will stand testament to your ability to think analytically university to ensure you and present your findings in a coherent stand out throughout manner.

Analytical skills are the recruitment process crucial for a role in financial analysis – so and in the role itself.

2 Persuasiveness at interview, ensure you Here’s six skills you need Persuasiveness is a highly sought after and discuss any research rewarded skill by employers. It is integral to a to be developing. or analysis based career in consultancy or finance where you will coursework you’ve done have to use your oral dexterity to bring your exceptionally well in. client, or your team, around to your way of 56

thinking.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

You’ll be given the chance to exhibit your persuasiveness in both the recruitment process and in your role. Whilst you’ll have to persuade them that you are right for the job in the interview, you may even have to exercise your knack for persuasion if asked to present a stock pitch. Although it may be more difficult to find activities that encourage you to be persuasive at university, a great way to start would be by joining a society committee. You will have to get used to bringing individuals, and even whole teams, around to your particular way of thinking, which can be a great challenge.

3 Interpersonal & communication skills

5 Adaptability Adaptability to a changing work environment is a necessary skill to be successful as an intern or employee at a financial firm. It is no secret that the financial industry is continuously evolving and the skills needed to be successful are rapidly changing. Employees, both old and new, must therefore be able to work towards a firm's modernising efforts across a wide range of divisions. Thus willingness to immerse yourself in multiple divisions and complete a diverse range of tasks will help you stand out. Plus, with this modernisation, graduates and interns have an excellent opportunity to contribute new ideas which can move the company forward.

Useful in any profession, good interpersonal skills will make This can be nurtured by engaging in a diverse range of you highly agreeable to work with and instill a feeling of trust activities whilst at university; getting involved in societies, both and support from your clients and colleagues. Any finance academic and sport related, taking on voluntary work or any role in which you are working with other experience the university offers. clients will benefit from communication Not only does it give you some great skills, as you’ll likely have to explain experience to talk about in interviews, it quite complex transactions, investment It’s a good idea to get also shows you perform well in a variety decisions and data into information of environments. involved in debating or that your client can understand and respond to. sales whilst at university You’ll be given your chance to exhibit these skills during the interview and assessment centre, especially during the group tasks. It's a good idea to get involved in debating or sales whilst at university as this will develop your interpersonal and communication skills.

as this will develop your interpersonal and communication skills.

4 Mathematical expertise Maths skills are integral to anyone working in financial analysis, in which number crunchers need to combine statistics and contextual information to give a company a clear picture of their finances. Therefore, it’s no surprise that employers are keen to assess a candidate’s numerical aptitude throughout the recruitment process. From the numerical reasoning test to assessment centre, thorough numerical skills are crucial to impress during the process.

Make sure your aptitude for maths comes across well in your CV or application; whether it is through the degree you study or extra-curricular activity. If you don’t study a numerical degree, there’s no need to worry.

You can sharpen your maths skills by completing numerical reasoning tests available online – once you get used to them, they become much easier to pass.

6 Initiative

Taking initiative is an incredibly valuable and well-respected trait to have within the Finance industry. Employees and interns who are able to take initiative and seek out new challenges are often rewarded with greater responsibility and opportunities for personal and professional development.

Your time at university is a great opportunity to showcase your passion for engaging in new opportunities; you could start a new society, seek out a position of responsibility within an existing one or even set up a business. Not only will these push you outside your comfort zone, but will be a great addition to your CV and make for great talking points in interviews.

If you don’t study a numerical degree, there’s no need to worry. You can sharpen your maths skills by completing numerical reasoning tests available online.

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Member Success Stories

HARRIET University of Bath Finance Intern, 2017 Lloyds Banking Group

We recently caught up with Harriet to hear more about her experience as a Finance intern with Lloyds Banking Group – including what her role entailed, what she learnt from the internship and her top tips for those who want to follow in her footsteps.

Can you explain a bit more about exactly what your role at Lloyds entailed?

My role was to support the Finance Director (FD) by working within the Finance Operations Business Management team.

The work was more creative than I had expected which luckily suited me, and involved writing communications on behalf of the FD, organising events and publishing campaigns to help meet departmental targets for the second half of the year. I was given more responsibility than I thought I would, which meant I got the chance to have hands on experience throughout the whole ten weeks. Various colleagues set projects for me so I felt like a very valued member of the team, for example running community calls from start to finish and analysing risk data – putting my findings into a published report.

What attracted you initially to the internship?

I wanted experience working within a Financial organisation and so I applied to the Lloyds Scholars scheme prior to my first year of university. The scholars programme offers two ten-week internships throughout your degree and so I applied for Finance as my first.

I thought a Finance internship would provide me with the basic understanding of how such an organisation is run behind the scenes, as in the future I would like a role working with clients and I think it is important to have good background knowledge prior to this.

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How I did it: Securing an Internship on the Lloyds Scholars Programme

What did you learn working at Lloyds Banking Group?

The phrase ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get’ was something I needed to follow in order to gain the most from my internship. I was given lots of work and projects in the first few weeks but after a while as projects finished I had less to do. Initially I thought that if I was needed then one of the team would ask me to help them, but I soon learnt that colleagues would be unaware of my workload unless I told them. During any quieter times, I would ask for more work from my managers and they easily found things for me to get involved with. This meant I was consistently busy throughout my internship and I could reduce some of their workload too which they were grateful for!

Has it influenced your thinking on what career path you might want to pursue in the future?

My managers were very willing in helping me spend time with other teams and put me in contact with colleagues from other departments so that I could gain insight into their work. The risk work that the Audit teams do appealed to me, so I am going to look further into that as a career path.

Have you got some top tips for members looking to follow in your footsteps?

Apply early. Even if a summer or holiday break seems ages away always look at what opportunities for internships, scholarships or placements were available at an organisation over the past few years so you can be aware of what to look out for in the future.

Spend time looking at the options available and keep your eye open for application dates and deadlines so you don’t miss out. Also, I would recommend talking to as many people and teams as possible on an internship as this may open doors for you and you’ll learn things you may not have gone looking for.

MANAGEMENT, MARKETING & ENTERPRISE Business management offers an exciting career path for commercially switched-on graduates who want to experience every part of a business from day one. Whether it’s a small start-up or a multinational corporation, companies need leaders and direction. Graduates will be trained up to lead teams and deliver projects that help the business grow.

Marketing is an incredibly popular destination for bright graduates. With a mixture of creative and analytical skills required to carve out a successful career, there are many varied roles in the sector – some popular careers include PR, Advertising and Digital Marketing.

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BRAKES GROUP With over 10,000 staff in over 80 locations, Brakes is a leading European catering supplier. Combined with their philanthropic endeavours, working for Brakes Group offers a highly-rewarding career with excellent training for bright graduates.

PAGEGROUP A highly respected firm, PageGroup provides recruitment services for qualified, professional and executive roles. Consultants are trained and developed to the highest standards and rewarded within a results-driven culture.

BT GROUP With customers ranging from corporations to families, BT has been helping people stay in touch since 1980, with global opportunities in services big and small.

POST OFFICE Already the UK’s largest financial services chain and retail network, Post Office aim to become the most trusted of essential services nationally. Help them build on this already impressive legacy.

CHANNEL 4 High-quality content created across many genres has made Channel 4 into the TV channel it is today. An excellent first step for graduates looking to break into the broadcasting world.

THE LEADING EMPLOYERS IN...

MANAGEMENT, MARKETING & ENTERPRISE AMV BBDO The AMV Academy ensures graduates are well prepared for the fast-paced and fascinating world of AMV. Recruiting in the sectors of account management, project management and planning, they offer opportunities in all disciplines.

BAY MEDIA Over the last 15 years Bay Media has become a preferred partner for the world’s biggest events, regional authorities and leading brands. They deliver the kind of reach and results that cannot be achieved via any other outdoor media.

BBC Ground-breaking news reporting and award-winning music radio stations are a fraction of the picture at today’s BBC. From technology to production, there’s a wealth of choice here for the talented and ambitious.

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MERKLE PERISCOPIX A digital marketing agency, priding themselves on being innovative industryleaders and specialists in biddable media – their teams cover Paid Search, Programmatic Display and Google Analytics.

M&C SAATCHI Composed of specialists from all areas of the media spectrum, M&C Saatchi offers focused advertising solutions that get results. Their graduate scheme is focused on building the future of the company and making you the best in the business.

NEW ENTREPRENEURS FOUNDATION (NEF) Helping outstanding entrepreneurs to drive future prosperity. From changemaking programmes and business experience to intensive training and coaching, NEF wants to support and build a network of market-changing, entrepreneurial leaders of the future.

NFL UK The National Football League is the number one professional sports league in the US. Made up of 32 teams, its season culminates in one of the biggest events in the world, the Super Bowl. They look for talented individuals to grow its presence in the UK. NEXT JUMP Next Jump believes everyone has the potential to be better and more effective in what they do. Help the world’s top companies improve productivity through meaningful employee engagement.

ROYAL MAIL GROUP As the UK’s designated Universal Postage Service, Royal Mail supplies 29 million addresses with their letters and parcels. There are opportunities across the business, from the Operations Programme to the Technology Programme.

THE UP GROUP Started in 2007, The Up Group aims to deliver digitally-minded talent above and beyond expectation. Help put people in the right place for them to make the most impact.

WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE The first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. Its purpose is to help people across the world lead healthier and happier lives WPP The world’s largest communication services group. From marketing strategy to advertising and every other form of communications, WPP and their companies help their clients to excel in the marketplace. Outstanding opportunities for graduates looking for a head-start in the marketing and advertising industry.

ZÜHLKE Helping companies transform their vision from a smart idea into a resounding market success. In doing so, Zühlke covers every phase of the business innovation process – from the initial idea through to implementation.

MANAGEMENT, MARKETING & ENTERPRISE

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Member Success Stories

MOHAMMED Queen Mary, University of London Graduate Scheme, 2017 Post Office

Now a few months into his graduate programme at Post Office, we caught up with Mohammed to see how he’s finding it.

What does your role entail – could you tell us about what a typical day looks like for you?

How I did it: Securing a Graduate Scheme at

Having taken over the matchmaking operation, my peer and I (along with help from numerous other people) have successfully automated the matchmaking system turning hours of matchmaking into a simple click of F9. Great challenge and very rewarding.

What are you most looking forward to doing in the next few months?

For my first six month industry rotation (of three), I’m working in Post Office’s insurance team, Post Office Management Services (POMS). Given the fast-paced nature of POMS, I’m continuously being exposed to different business areas where I’m able to engage with work both concerning and unrelated to insurance. I’m very fortunate to have a line manager who understands that I’m not going to crack insurance in six months, so instead would prefer I engage in a wide variety of tasks, alongside my primary role of improving POMS customer experience performance.

My current placement ends early April and I’ll be moving into my second placement. So far, I’m viewing my three placements as uni years, i.e. my first placement is like my first year of uni – I was clueless, lost and wasn’t aware of how to utilise the resources I was surrounded by, be it either my graduate peers or colleagues. So, as my first placement slowly comes to an end, I’m looking forward to my next placement where I’ll be a little wiser and be able to really utilise all the resources Post Office has to offer so that I can effectively deliver business solutions wherever I may be.

This essentially gives me the freedom to explore and engage with work which interests me. For example, I really enjoy the fact that Post Office has a social purpose, so when I accidentally walked into a meeting regarding a customer vulnerability policy, I was asked if I wanted to sit in and essentially contributed to the policy. So, really, my day to day is about getting involved in different work that is happening all around me – whether that be intentional or not!

If you could give a new graduate/intern any advice for their first few months, what would it be?

What’s been your highlight and most challenging moment so far?

The most challenging task I’ve found so far was trying to figure out how to automate an internal initiative called the Hive. The Hive is a matchmaking system whereby two individuals across the business are once a month randomly matched to meet for coffee and can spend an hour just simply getting to know one another and learn about another business area. The purpose of the Hive was to improve communication across the business and essentially breakdown silos – which it is achieving.

However, there was a lot of manual labour involved when matching individuals i.e. choosing two names from a list as a match, send them an email confirming their match, repeat 100+ and pray you haven’t mismatched somebody who already has a match.

Quite a stressful and, more importantly, time consuming task.

The advice I’m sure you’d expect to hear is “to be courageous, be outgoing, talk to everyone and interact with everything!” which, to some degree, has benefits i.e. exposure and such. However, one piece of advice I am grateful for (and still learning to apply) is having patience. Be patient. When you first arrive in any new business you will feel highly motivated and eager to make a lasting impression – don’t lose that nor neglect that drive, but channel it, so that you don’t overstate your abilities just to impress your colleagues.

When I arrived in my placement I was so excited to show off what I could do and handle tasks of large responsibility. But, in reality, I should have been focusing on building trust between my line manager and I by acing those small tasks. Consistency in my opinion trumps superstar one-off performances. Be prepared to take a step back and learn again, similar to how you would have in uni. But, above all else, let your actions and performances speak for you.

Head into each task you undertake wholeheartedly so that your line manager can begin to see what you’re capable of.

Give this entire process time. It will take time, but you will be surprised by how much you benefit from taking pressure off yourself and allowing yourself to learn.

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MARKETING

How To Impress Employers in the Sector After working with talented marketers and hiring graduates into marketing roles, themes have definitely emerged into what makes a really good candidate.

Unlike Law or Engineering, very few UK undergraduates do a marketing degree, so often it’s the transferable skills employers look for when hiring.

By Ben Triggs, Head of Marketing

Understanding of the target market and competitors In any marketing application, the employer will expect the candidate to understand the market or the types of markets (if an agency) they work in. You will be asked about competitors and the competitive advantage the firm holds as well as new ideas for engaging the target market. Do your research and understand how the company is currently interacting with their customers and the type of messaging on their emails and the website. The Calls to Action (CTA) on the homepage is often the best place to look to get a feel for what the brand is trying to achieve. Have a think about ideas to improve it and other parts of the website; if you’re part of their target market, don’t be afraid to talk about your personal experiences with the brand and how you’d like to be marketed to.

Before we look at the skills required to impress employers, it’s important to briefly understand what a career in Marketing looks like. There’s such a wide range of opportunities, from digital marketing to brand management, or in related areas such as public relations and advertising.

They all require creative and analytical skills to deliver a message to a target market. As the world becomes more If you’re part of their technologically dependant, there target market, don’t are increasing opportunities in digital be afraid to talk advertising and social media, which are proving evermore popular with about your personal graduates. Whether you’re looking for experiences with the a role in-house with a leading employer brand and how you’d or an agency role, here are the skills you like to be marketed to. need to be demonstrating.

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For competitors, Google is your best bet – type in related searches and make a note of the companies that keep coming up. If you really want to impress, there are lots of tools online which can tell you the levels of website traffic of the company you’re applying to and their competitors, as well as other key comparison metrics.

MANAGEMENT, MARKETING & ENTERPRISE

Analytical skills

Excellent communication

Marketing isn’t just putting up a poster or It may seem obvious, but being able to Passionate people commissioning a TV ad and hoping for an communicate well is absolutely essential in will be the best at increase in sales any more. Everything in the marketing. You’ll be required to convey a digital world can be tested, improved and message across multiple platforms in the role, communicating re-tested; relying heavily on the use of data so having an adaptable communication style the right message. insights. Good marketers should always be which suits your audience is imperative. For tracking what’s happening on a website, with instance, how you write a post on Instagram digital advertising campaigns and on social for young people is likely to be very different media, and then look to optimise at every to an editorial piece aimed at corporate clients. opportunity. You’ll be able to find patterns in In your interview, be engaging and get to the the data and this can inform your future campaigns or decisions. point – you need to be able to show you can sell yourself and For instance, should a fashion brand have a red or blue “buy communicate an idea succinctly. now” button across the website? Instead of asking a couple of people from the operations team, you should be setting up a My final point is about passion. If you’re genuinely excited about test where half of the website users see a red button and the what the company does and the opportunities available, let this others see a blue one – soon enough you’ll able to work out shine through. The marketing team is trusted with the brand and which button a customer is more likely to click on. how it’s communicated. Passionate people will not only ensure it’s at the highest standard, but will also be the best at communicating Showing you’re an analytical person and demonstrating the right messaging. you understand how data analysis can be utilised to make better decisions will impress employers. Also, getting a basic understanding of how tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Ads and AdWords work will put you ahead of many graduates.

However, there is a balance. Marketing doesn’t just rely on stats; you have to understand the human side of your target market too.

Ideas for improvements In a marketing interview the employer will give you the opportunity to be creative and contribute ideas. This could be talking about brands you like and how they interact with their customers, but it is most likely to involve suggesting new ideas or improvements for the company you’re interviewing for. Make sure you’re receiving emails from the company, looking at their social media and have been to all parts of their website. You also don’t have to rely on your opinion. Ask others what they think, especially if they are in the target market for the company.

You may be set a task or presentation as part of the assessment process, which will often involve how you would run a marketing campaign or promote a product. For this, think about all angles of the project. How are you going to launch the campaign?

What channels are you going to use? What resources do you need? What is the budget for the campaign? It’s impressive if you can create the Facebook posts or example landing pages to add to your presentation.

7 QUESTIONS TO EXPECT IN A MARKETING JOB INTERVIEW What types of marketing campaigns 1 have caught your eye recently?

How effectively do you think you can 2 work within budgetary constraints?

What do you think about how we market 3 our current products?

Digital marketing is key in our organisation.

4 What makes content successful and what do you think are the best ways to get people to link to our content?

What blogs, marketing periodicals and 5 media do you regularly use or read?

What skills and attributes would you look 6 for if you were to hire someone for a marketing role?

Why do you love marketing?

7

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TEACHING, EDUCATION & FURTHER EDUCATION Teaching is a popular destination for bright graduates from the widest range of degree backgrounds. If you’re an excellent communicator, love learning and want to do something fulfilling this could be the career for you. However, the Education sector is much broader than teaching, offering a wide range of opportunities.

Whereas, if you’re looking to build expertise and expand your horizons, Further Education could be you. Look out for our selection of top business schools in the section.

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TEACHING, EDUCATION & FURTHER EDUCATION

THE LEADING EMPLOYERS IN...

TEACHING, EDUCATION & FURTHER EDUCATION ACCA The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) offers unrivalled training and flexible study to suit any career path. The world is your oyster as an ACCA chartered certified accountant.

ARK TEACHER TRAINING Part of the international charity, Ark aims to give every young person a great education and real choices in life. They want inspiring graduates to ensure every child, regardless of their background, has access to a high-quality education.

CASS BUSINESS SCHOOL An integral part of City, University of London, Cass Business School is among the global elite. Consistently ranked amongst the best business schools and programmes in the world.

KEYSTONE TUTORS Keystone Tutors offers a competitive full-time salary, regular training and professional development, while maintaining a significant amount of autonomy and flexibility for its tutors.

CIMA With more than 229,000 members and students across 176 countries, CIMA works across industry, commerce and not-for-profit organisations to maintain best practice in accountancy.

LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL (LBS) One of the world’s elite business schools, LBS goes from academic strength to strength, promoting provocative business thinking. They offer a vibrant and connected environment for graduates interested in areas as varied as IT, business development and marketing.

HEC PARIS HEC Paris’ mission is twofold: training the global leaders of tomorrow and taking an active part in the production of knowledge on management.

HENLEY BUSINESS SCHOOL Founded in 1945, Henley was the first business school to be established in the UK and is one of the oldest and most respected schools in Europe. They are consistently ranked among the world’s top 50 business schools by the Financial Times and The Economist.

HULT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL Hult is not just a business school. It’s a global network that educates, inspires, and connects some of the most forwardthinking business talent from around the world. In today’s world, the most relevant business education is a global one.

BPP PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION Dedicated to being the leading specialist in business education, BPP Professional Education is recognised as providing quality training across industries.

Particular areas of focus include accountancy, tax, insolvency and banking and finance.

ICAEW From professional qualifications and development, to sharing insights and technical expertise, ICAEW constantly seeks new ways to deliver their services to the highest standards. Become part of a company changing the way business is done.

CAMBRIDGE JUDGE BUSINESS SCHOOL Proud to be an institution of highimpact, proactive thinking – an experience at Cambridge Judge Business School is unlike any other. Graduates are encouraged to devise creative solutions to real-world problems from the outset.

IMPERIAL COLLEGE BUSINESS SCHOOL As part of Imperial College London, consistently rated among the world’s best universities, Imperial College Business School drives business advantage through the fusion of business, technology and an entrepreneurial mindset.

MANCHESTER BUSINESS SCHOOL (MBS) A full-service business school and the largest campus-based one of its kind in the UK. MBS put originality at the heart of everything they do, from their courses and training to the opportunities available.

SAID BUSINESS SCHOOL By combining the best of old and new, Said Business School at the University of Oxford delivers a vibrant and young business-learning environment. Be a part of a global network of cutting edge education.

TEACH FIRST Teach First seeks to make sure no child is limited in education by their background.

With the help of bright graduates bringing their talents to teaching, they hope to inspire and elevate younger generations to believe in more.

UNIVERSITY OF LAW Having trained more lawyers in the UK than any other institution, the University of Law has a strong reputation and powerful connections that continue to draw the most ambitious future lawyers.

WARWICK BUSINESS SCHOOL Excelling at research. Excelling at teaching. Excelling at recruiting the brightest students. This is what attracts the best graduates to Warwick Business School. With academic theory and practical skills, their alumni hit the ground running in any company.

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GETTING INTO...

TEACHING

A Day in the Life of a Trainee Teacher With

against precise and measurable standards at every stage of their career) and seeing where I want to target my efforts in the coming week.

This week I’m going to focus on communicating with teaching assistants, to make sure that we’re hitting the learning objectives for students who need a bit of extra support. It’s so handy to get small, achievable targets that I can work on and review the next week – it really helps me to progress.

Some mornings we’ll also do co-planning together. My lessons usually involve an interactive task and some independent practice.

They can be quite tricky to design as a trainee, so it’s really useful to work on it with a history specialist who can help me come up with a solution or give me some advice.

10:15 – 11:30am: Studying the British Empire with my year 8 students This morning I’ve got one of my year 8 classes. At the moment we’re studying the British Empire. My students at Ark Helenswood are great, they’re really engaged and they’ve always got their own opinions – they love debates!

One of my favourite things about teaching history is seeing the students make a link to modern day. For example, when studying the causes of WWI, they started making links to the fighting in Syria at the moment. It’s great teaching history in Hastings, because so much of what shaped the identity of our country happened on our doorsteps. It’s exciting to be able to share that with my students.

Afternoon

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a trainee teacher? Bryony, a trainee history teacher at Ark Helenswood Academy in Hastings, talks us through her typical school day.

My morning routine I usually get up at 5:45am. It is early, but it means I have time to exercise, I like to walk down to the old town and back, get ready for work and plan some lessons – all before 8am. My commute is so easy now, it’s just a 10-minute drive to school. That’s one of the great things about living in Hastings, as well as going from having a tiny bedroom in a shared flat, to having my own onebed flat with a garden!

9:00 – 10:15am: A coaching session with my line manager I teach between 11 and 13 hours a week, so not a full timetable, which gives me time for coaching, training and co-planning.

I’ve got a free period this morning and I’m having a coaching session with my line manager. We’re going through the great teacher rubric (a teacher development framework designed to allow teachers to measure their own professional development

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Travelling to London for my weekly training One afternoon per week I head up to London with the other trainees for a session with Ark Teacher Training. It’s a fairly quick journey, less than two hours door-to-door and I can always catch up on some marking on the train.

The sessions vary from week to week. Sometimes we’ll have whole cohort training, but it also can be subject specific where we’ll focus on the history curriculum. And at other times we’ll be in our tutor groups. My tutor, Michael, is brilliant; he’s incredibly supportive and has got so much experience.

This week we’re having a whole cohort training session. We’re looking at the most effective assessment methods to gauge whether students have learnt something or not. It’s particularly helpful for me, because it has resolved a problem I’d been having with teaching my year 7s about source analysis.

The sessions are always very practical. We’ll have a group discussion so we can share our own experiences and then we’ll usually practice a technique in pairs. It’s one of the most useful tools for improving my teaching. I can actually practice a new concept, maybe a behaviour management technique or a way of introducing a new skill, see what problems may occur and fix them before I even get in the classroom. It means that I’m having a greater impact on the students and making my teaching the best that it can be.

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FURTHER EDUCATION

Top 6 Reasons to Pursue Further Education 1 Follow your passion and lead the

conversation

Further Education gives you the chance to delve deep into the field you’re most interested in and help lead its cutting-edge developments. You’ll develop your practical and theoretical skills as you learn from the academics and business leaders that are reshaping the sector.

Several careers require you to have secured further qualifications at entry level, such as, Engineering, Accountancy and Law. Some firms will sponsor this kind of training or provide it in-house, so it’s worth doing some research into what training you need and the most effective ways to secure it. In other sectors such as Charity, a masters can be essential to progressing your career to the highest level.

Remember, you don’t have to pursue a masters programme directly connected to your current degree – further education is your chance to take your career direction into your own hands with the highest quality training.

2 Accelerate your professional

development

The benefits of a masters not only include the subject specific training you receive but the essential transferable skills. The determination and resilience that independent study at the highest level requires is well recognised. While each university might focus on developing different skillsets, with entrepreneurial skills at the center of Imperial Business School’s programmes for instance, through further education you can expect to develop the communication skills, confidence and leadership skills you need to stand out.

3 Increase your pay cheque A masters can increase your salary by putting you into contact with the most competitive employers and giving you the skills for rapid career progression. This is particularly the case for programmes that focus on building practical, industry skills – these are recognised by employers as giving you the experience to really add value from day one. This perception can equate to a significant salary increase with the Association of MBA’s stating that MBA graduates on average are earning over £80,000.

4 Build your network It’s not just about building your CV but also a network of contacts that will support you throughout your career. Leading universities have strong relationships with influential employers across the globe and provide plenty of opportunities for their students to add key decision makers to their network. These connections have a clear impact on student job prospects, with 96% of London Business Schools’ Masters in Financial Analysis class accepting job offers within three months of graduating.

Joining a university for further study, you’ll enter a diverse community of like-minded, driven students who, like you, have the potential to become future leaders. Feel supported and make friends for life, while building a network that will help you throughout your professional career.

5 Launch an international career Gaining international experience during a masters can dramatically expand your career prospects. Whether you study abroad or take an overseas elective, you will expand your network, be immersed in a different culture, and build invaluable insights into different academic and business approaches. It’s therefore really important to make the most of these opportunities – Cass Business School teaches their Masters in Financial Analysis students to become global business leaders with optional electives in New York, Singapore and Dubai.

6 Don’t miss the student life Course trips, mid-week socials and a huge range of activities – there’s a lot you miss when you enter full time work. University is a hub of opportunities that extend far beyond your course; whether you want to learn a language, continue working on your sporting prowess, or try something very niche – there will most likely be a society for you. You’ll also keep those long holidays, giving you the chance to start working in your dream sector through an internship.

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TECHNOLOGY A career in Computing, Software Development or Technology Consulting will open a massive range of doors in today’s world – there’s no limit to what a tech grad scheme can do for you, shaping a talent that’s much in demand.

Whether you’ve emerged with a solid grade in an IT, programming or digital engineering course, or simply harbour a talent for analytics and mathematics, a graduate training scheme will launch your technical ambitions like no other.

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TECHNOLOGY

CAPGEMINI A firm built on trust and boldness, Capgemini is a consulting company committed to putting its employees and clients first. No two days are the same and international opportunities are available.

THE LEADING EMPLOYERS IN...

TECHNOLOGY 3M 3M is an industry-leader in everything from homes and healthcare, to electronics and transportation. Whatever the challenge, its people collaborate across disciplines and around the world to take it on.

APPLE Almost everyone owns something from Apple. Revolutionising technology, one must-have gadget at a time, Apple offers exciting and constantly innovative work on the global stage. Whether in the retail or corporate side of the business, you will have a chance to create wonder.

ATOS A global leader in digital services, Atos powers progress across the world.

Their business technologists deliver on an extraordinary scale and help clients fulfil their potential.

BRITISH AIRWAYS A career with British Airways isn’t all about being in the air. Offering a range of roles across diverse business areas, this complex company is always evolving, with huge scope and a wide range of possibilities for you to explore.

BLOOMBERG Delivering critical information to the world’s key decision-makers sees that Bloomberg’s role in world affairs is never underestimated. Minds looking for a fastpaced environment are always in demand.

CISCO Cisco is the worldwide leader in networking technology and is looking for transformative ideas to propel innovation and fuel disruptive collaboration. Help them turn a bright idea into reality.

CITRIX Citrix innovate and succeed through the use of technology. Intense, challenging and exhilarating – working there can be a life-changing experience, and a whole lot of fun.

COLT Their vision is to be the most customeroriented business in the industry. Only hiring the very best talent, help them provide the best experience for their clients.

DYSON Driven by innovation and personality, Dyson thrives on bright minds looking to challenge convention and build the future of vacuum cleaners, fans, motors and more.

EE The biggest and fastest network in the UK (and the Sunday Times Best Big Company to Work For). They offer you great perks, great support and great opportunities.

FACEBOOK The social network that redefined friendship. We all know Facebook, but that isn’t their only goal. Aiming for a more connected, open world, they invite you to join them to move fast and innovate.

FDM GROUP FDM’s unique business model provides high quality training to university graduates, ex-forces personnel and returners to work, transforming them into professional IT and business consultants.

FUJITSU Fujitsu’s products and services touch 99% of the UK population every day. From high street shopping and online banking through to transport bookings and driving licences – make a real difference to people’s lives.

GE GE is one of the world’s leading Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive.

GOOGLE Unceasingly unconventional, Google is transforming technology online as well as offering open, interactive workspaces to encourage original thought and interaction.

HP To invent, and to reinvent. To engineer experiences that amaze. HP won’t stop pushing ahead and they’ll help you take your career further than you thought possible.

IBM IBM is one of the world’s largest technology and consulting companies.

If you love working with people and you thrive in a collaborative culture then you’ll fit right in. Your future in consulting starts here.

KING The creators behind Candy Crush Saga, Farm Heroes Saga, Pet Rescue Saga and many more, at King you’ll reach millions of players in every corner of the globe.

LA FOSSE ASSOCIATES Operating at all levels, from executive to contract, La Fosse Associates is the bestequipped consultants when it comes to the technological sector.

METASWITCH Specialising in networking technology and employed by some of the world’s foremost companies – a computing background isn’t essential, just a passion for communication.

MICROSOFT Microsoft is committed to developing new computing solutions to enable people to interact with technology at work and at home better than before. They offer a range of internships and graduate opportunities for those looking to empower their future.

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O2 O2 is about far more than just technology. Whether a graduate’s strength lies in marketing, finance or HR, O2 offers opportunities in all sectors. A vibrant and dynamic culture encourages graduates to make the most of their talents.

ORACLE Oracle believes in innovation without complication, taking the complexity out of data and cloud solutions. One of the world’s biggest software suppliers, for those who favour sophisticated simplicity.

QINETIQ One of the world’s leading security companies, QinetiQ builds solutions to global problems with their technology turning up in phones, cars, trains and even clothes tags.

QUBE A worldwide trusted provider of real estate management software, Qube Global is passionate about efficiency and solutions. A fantastic option for those looking to take their first steps towards a career in IT. SALESFORCE Salesforce is powering innovation in sales, service, marketing, community, analytics, apps and more.

SIEMENS Creating the key technology found in staples such as traffic lights, wind turbines and medical scanners, Siemens has been keeping the world running for over 170 years, which also means developing top talent and innovators.

SKY Sky’s ever growing brand includes television, internet and communications.

They’re looking for bright minds to develop their award-winning service and provide innovative entertainment for everyone.

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SKYSCANNER A leading global travel search site enjoying phenomenal growth through driving innovation and transformation in online travel search. This company calls for more bright graduates to continue making its mark in the industry.

TPP TPP is a UK-based IT company, dedicated to delivering world-class healthcare software through innovative products. Named ‘Top Company For Graduates To Work For 2016/17’

by TheJobCrowd.

SOFTWIRE A bespoke Software Development company delivering software solutions, apps and websites to some of the UK’s leading brands.

TURING TALENT Their mission is to unlock the next generation of diverse, resilient and impact led leaders in the field of technology by propelling their careers with their tech talent accelerator programme in Silicon Valley and other tech capitals of the world.

SPOTIFY These are exciting times for Spotify, and they’re always on the lookout for talented people to join their unique brand. This is the place for graduates looking for a fun and dynamic environment.

SUNGARD SunGard provides critical software to the financial industry, from automating the processes of trading, to accounting for investment assets. Graduates are promised responsibility from day one on their bespoke graduate programme.

TESSIAN Through advanced AI / Machine Learning, Tessian has the ambitious goal of protecting enterprise networks against new and intelligent cyber threats, making it impossible for sensitive information to end up in the wrong hands.

VISA The leading payments system in Europe, constantly working at the forefront of technology to introduce new, easier and more secure payment options. Visa has exciting careers in tech and non-tech roles.

VODAFONE Communication relies on more than just technology. At Vodafone you can play your part in connecting customers; whether in software, finance, marketing or any of the many vibrant Vodafone departments.

YAHOO The original guide to the internet, connecting users with their passions and helping them discover the mystery and promise of the world wide web.

TECHNOLOGY

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TECHNLOGY

Getting into Tech Without a STEM Degree

By Josh Triggs

Interested in starting your career in tech, but not sure whether it’s right for you?

We spoke to Bright Network’s Josh Triggs – who started his career completing a graduate scheme at a world leading Tech Consultancy – to discover his insights. After studying Geography at university, he tells us about working in the industry without a technical background.

There are so many opportunities for graduates in a large tech consulting firm, whether you’re into technology or not. Even if you’re not working directly on building the IT infrastructure for a client, you’ll still need to build up a basic understanding of the IT systems, but this doesn’t mean you need a background in tech.

You’re likely to be given some structured training, but most of the knowledge is picked up while you’re on the job. For me, there were always more experienced colleagues on hand to give you a crash course in areas when needed – they understand that graduates may not have the expertise straight away.

In the first three to six months you may feel lost with all the acronyms and terms people around you are using. This doesn’t last long, and after 12 months in, you find yourself using terms freely, which you didn't have a clue about when you started.

In terms of graduate roles, big consultancies have roles in finance, HR and business management. It’s the client facing roles in business management where there are lots of opportunities for students without the conventional tech background, utilising communication, customer service and problem-solving skills. Two of the main roles that non-technical grads tend to go into are:

Project Management Project managers liaise with the clients during the development and implementation stage of a new product or service. They’ll work out the requirements of the client and take responsibility for the delivery. For example, if we were implementing a new online banking system for a client in the Financial sector, the project management team would run this project from start to finish, all the way from planning, through to developing and then delivery.

They will liaise with the technical teams to ensure that the project delivers on time and on budget to requirements specified by the client. Once the project is implemented successfully, it will be handed on to another function and the project manager will be assigned to a new project.

Service Management When the project managers have successfully delivered and implemented, the service has ‘gone live’ and it will be passed to a service manager to take it on and have ownership of the service going forward. Their job is to respond to client requests and ensure the systems are working at the best they possibly can, as well as being the customer contact when things go wrong or a system goes down. As you’re acting as the connection between the client and the internal tech teams, communication and people skills are vitally important.

Working in the less technical, management side of Consulting means you have a lot of customer interaction – the part of the graduate scheme I enjoyed most. Some roles will be exclusively in the client office, but most are split between our head office and the client’s. This is the best mix, as you have a good social life in your own company, but you also get to know the client teams you’re servicing really well, understanding their requirements and business goals.

Overall, the transferable skills you pick up in the role, combined with the technological knowledge, give you a great starting point in your career.

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FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS...

Member Success Stories

ARMAN University of Warwick Internship, 2018 Google

A massive congratulations to Arman who, after hearing about the opportunity through Bright Network, has done brilliantly to be offered an Internship at tech giant Google this summer.

Why did you choose this firm and this role?

Not many firms have blockbuster movies made about their internships and here lies the appeal to work at Google – the so called ‘Google’ experience. As the world’s pre-eminent tech firm, Google has revolutionised most aspects of daily life and continues to make true its promise of connecting the user and technology to solve the world’s problems.

For me, I wanted to choose somewhere that could cater for the creative aspects of my skill-set and Google’s Business Internships offered this in abundance. The opportunity to work in an environment where innovation and entrepreneurship is so valued was too good to miss. Another crucial part was the chance to understand where digital trends and tech are going; I’m a great believer in the notion that tech will undoubtedly be the future of all business and I wanted to grasp this first-hand.

Through an internship at Google, I hope to develop skills pivotal to tomorrow’s workplaces as well as gaining a new perspective on online trends, an area I continue to believe will have strong growth in the near future.

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How I did it: Securing an Internship at Google

Video

What was the toughest part of the application process? And your favourite part?

The toughest part for me was how abstract some of the interview questions were. From my perspective there was no clear-cut answer for a lot of what was asked and this became difficult when trying to give a structured answer to some of the behavioural questions. I think to some extent this is the beauty of the recruitment process – candidates aren’t assessed necessarily all for what they know but how good a fit they are for the company.

My favourite part was how informal the process was and how responsive the recruiters were. I honestly felt this was testament to a firm that invests a lot in hiring and nurturing talent.

What three top tips would you give your fellow Bright Network members?

Convey your interest strongly in the areas where 1 Google makes its revenue.

Be as structured as possible. Where there are questions 2 asking for times where certain traits were demonstrated make sure to focus exactly on what actions you took and the impact you had.

Get involved with as much as possible outside of your 3

degree and try to take on leadership roles. I feel this is key for a company like Google where free-thinking is key and a lot of the questions involve drawing on past experiences to demonstrate how you can have an impact on Google’s business areas.

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CV

The Application Process Cover Letters Group Exercise Psychometric Test The Telephone Interview The Video Interview Presenting

The Application Process CV Group Exercises o Interview Assessment Centre The Telepho Presenting Signing Psychome Cover L Converting an Internship

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CV The Application Process Converting an Internship Cover Letters Psychometric Test The Video Interview Presenting The Telephone Interview Assessment Centre Networking Commercial Awareness Group Exercises 73

BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

The Application

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CV To increase space, reduce the margins on your document.

Some CVs have a personal statement, but does this really add to your CV? Especially if you’re submitting a cover letter.

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS UNIVERSITY, DEGREE TITLE • Predicted grade (if applicable) • Modules (if relevant to your career path)

DATES

SCHOOL NAME, LOCATION • A Levels: A Level 1 (Grade), A level 2 (Grade), A Level 3 (Grade), etc.

• GCSEs: No. of GCSEs (Grade range), including Maths (Grade) & English (Grade)

DATES

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY (RELEVANT EMPLOYMENT HISTORY FIRST THEN ADD A SECTION FOR OTHER EMPLOYMENT) JOB TITLE, COMPANY (LOCATION) (One line summary of what company does if not well-known) • Key achievement/responsibility 1 - include skills you’ve developed & use specific examples • Key achievement/responsibility 2 - include skills you’ve developed & use specific examples • Key achievement/responsibility 3 - include skills you’ve developed & use specific examples

DATES

JOB TITLE, COMPANY (LOCATION)

DATES

JOB TITLE, COMPANY (LOCATION)

DATES

• • •

Positions of responsibility: This is a great place to show what you’re passionate about and how you’ve had an impact in leadership positions.

Have you organised events, volunteered or managed sports teams? Here’s where you should be talking about it.

• • •

Key achievement/responsibility 1 - include skills you’ve developed & use specific examples Key achievement/responsibility 2 - include skills you’ve developed & use specific examples Key achievement/responsibility 3 - include skills you’ve developed & use specific examples Key achievement/responsibility 1 – include skills you’ve developed & use specific examples Key achievement/responsibility 2 - include skills you’ve developed & use specific examples Key achievement/responsibility 3 - include skills you’ve developed & use specific examples

POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY (OR EXTRA-CURRICULAR) ORGANISATION/SOCIETY NAME, POSITION • Key achievement/responsibility 1 • Key achievement/responsibility 2

DATES

ORGANISATION/SOCIETY NAME, POSITION • Key achievement/responsibility 1 • Key achievement/responsibility 2

DATES

AWARDS OR SKILLS OR EXTRA QUALIFICATIONS (DEPENDENT ON WHAT YOU’VE DONE) AWARD EXTRA QUALIFICATION IT SKILLS LANGUAGES

Brief explanation Brief explanation List major programmes that can use proficiently – most employers expect Word, Excel, Powerpoint Language (level) – only list if fluent or native tongue;

INTERESTS

Interests: This doesn’t have to be the longest section, but it’s definitely worth including.

Remember you’ve got to build a rapport with the interviewer in later stages of the process – interests are a good starting point.

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Adding a link to your LinkedIn can help employers find you online.

NAME MOBILE NUMBER; EMAIL ADDRESS; ADDRESS, (LINKEDIN PROFILE)

• •

INTEREST 1 INTEREST 2

REFEREES References are available upon request.

University degree: It’s important to let the employer know your start year and the date you’re expected to graduate.

Employment history: Think about how you developed and how you had an impact – did you work in the shop during it’s busiest sales month? Did you present to senior members of staff?

Things like this show you excelled.

Awards: Awards show you’re a high achiever.

Definitely worth including.

IT Skills: Most employers expect you’ll have a good understanding of Microsoft programmes, but will be impressed by coding skills and advanced knowledge of other programmes.

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Process Cover Letters Cover letters are often the first impression you give a prospective employer – don’t underestimate their impact and importance. The key to a great cover letter is a strong foundation. Use this three-part structure and remember your cover letter shouldn’t be more than a page long.

Step 1: Introduction Immediately tell the employer why your cover letter is relevant to them. State which role you’re applying for and where you saw it advertised. It’s good to mention your degree and university here too.

Step 2: Why them?

Your second paragraph should outline why you’re applying to this particular firm. Be enthusiastic, knowledgeable and highlight their unique qualities.

Step 3: Why you?

Use the third paragraph to impress with your professional experience to date and explain why you’re a perfect fit for the job and the company.

TOP TIP If you’re worried about your cover letters looking too generic across your applications, take out any references to the firm name and see if you can still tell which company it is. If you can, it should be unique enough to send.

Now that we have the structure, let’s take a look at how you can make sure your cover letter captures the attention of the employer.

These top tips will help you convey a sense of originality, imagination and professionalism.

1 Make it personal

Generic cover letters are easy to spot and will certainly put people off – companies want to see that you’re interested in working for them specifically, so the extra effort is worthwhile.

Research the company and demonstrate in your letter what you know about them and their clients – perhaps you could comment on one of their recent marketing campaigns or a deal they were involved in.

Check the company’s social media profiles as they may have released something new or commented on a recent trend – if relevant you could allude to this in your cover letter as it shows commitment and interest. Add some personality to your letter but make sure it always relates back to the company in question.

2 Tell a story

Treat your cover letter like a story – you need to sell yourself.

Open with a strap-line that grabs the reader’s attention. Think about what brings you to this company. How can you help the company achieve its aims? How can your progress be in line with company aims? Be careful not to oversell but make sure you get your point across.

Whatever story you decide to tell, just make sure it’s relevant so that it flows and connects with the role being advertised – random musings will just look odd.

3 Match the tone

Companies will be looking for employees who can reflect their culture. A really formal, corporate letter isn’t always the best way to stand out, particularly for more creative roles. A more informal, chattier approach can be more effective – look at the language used in the job advert, the copy used on the company’s website, etc. to get a better measure of this and look to complement it.

Employers need to find that you not only have the right skill set, but that you also have the right personality to fit into their environment.

4 Be accurate and be you

Always check for errors. Run a spelling and grammar check and read it aloud to family and friends. Do they feel it’s ‘you’ and is it interesting? The employer isn’t going to believe you’re an effective and creative communicator if your letter is bland and full of mistakes.

Honest, genuine writing always goes much, much further than sticking to an out-dated formulaic letter.

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Psychometric Test Psychometric tests have become a common part of graduate recruitment in recent years with many employers sending tests to candidates before they offer interviews. There’s no time to waste in disliking them – they are here to stay for the foreseeable future. The good news.

You can learn to handle them. Not only that, but you can learn to master them.

The tests When you are asked to take a test as part of a recruitment process the first thing you should do is figure out what type of test it is.

There are typically three types of tests you will encounter.

1 Numerical: This test tends to present you with tables

containing sets of data or graphs followed by questions relating to the numerical data – you'll be asked to pick the answer from a series of multiple choice options. Whilst the mathematical operations you’ll have to carry out will be fairly basic (often comparable to GCSE Maths), there will be a lot of numerical data in front of you. It’s up to you therefore to carefully decide which pieces of data are relevant to answering the questions.

2 Verbal: This test assesses your comprehension and evaluation

skills, with some also testing your spelling and grammar. You’ll usually face a passage and then maybe 3 or 4 questions, which will test your understanding of what you’ve read. We recommend taking your time and reading the passage slowly to ensure you understand what’s going on – sure it may take some time, but with a solid initial understanding, you should be able to breeze through the questions.

3 Situational Judgement: These are less technical and

consist of a series of responses to a specific workplace scenario, which you will be asked to rank in order from most preferred to least preferred. Whilst you might want to respond in the way that you think the firm wants you to, it’s crucial you respond honestly. This test will give you a good indication of whether you fit into their workplace – so don’t lie!

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Practice Now you know what types of tests to expect, it’s time to practice. Make sure to map out the appropriate amount of time to prepare for it – many people fail at this hurdle because they don’t dedicate enough time to prepare. Perhaps do one type of test in the morning and another type in the evening, and repeat this cycle until you are confident that you can ace any type of test that comes your way. The more you do, the easier it will get.

Don’t be surprised if you don’t pass first time – they are designed to be hard and the pass mark is often set at a high level if you are applying for particularly competitive roles.

We’d recommend trying to find out which test provider they are using, and whether there are any practice tests available with the provider. It’s also worth checking the firm’s website, as they often provide practice examples. This will give you a great insight into what you can expect when you take the real test.

Online If you are taking the test online at home, don’t leave it until the last minute. Check the deadline and ensure you are planning to take it at least a day in advance. You never know what can go wrong at the last minute – you’ll be surprised by the number of recruiters that won’t accept excuses for late submission. Also, check beforehand what you’ll need (e.g. a calculator, spare paper, pen) so that you’re ready to begin as soon as the test starts.

A word of warning – don’t get your friends to help you take the test, or even worse, do it for you. It may be tempting given it is online, but should you get to the assessment centre stage, firms will often give you another set of psychometrics tests to do, to weed out those that may have passed the tests with help of friends. Your friends won’t be there to help you at the assessment centre, so there’s no point in getting them to help with the initial tests. Passing them by yourself will also be a great motivation booster, and you’ll have more confidence in yourself when you have to do the next one.

Overall Regardless of where, when and how – try to relax. Take a deep breath and do the best you can. Work quickly but methodically.

If you are finding one question to be challenging, move on if you can. You can rest assured that no one else is finding the test ‘easy’ and by taking it you are one step closer to mastering them.

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The Video Interview

By John Rushton

From my time working in recruitment, it is safe to say that video interviews are one of the trickiest, and most disliked parts of any recruitment process – however, they are becoming increasingly important as more firms big and small are using them. Video interviews, whether pre-recorded or live, offer companies a chance to see you and learn more about you.

Here's how you can impress on the day: Dress to impress This might seem obvious, but it’s surprising how often I’ll open a video to see a candidate sporting a t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms.

The video interview is the first impression you will make on your interviewer and your potential employer – make sure it's a good one. You want to look smart, professional and as though you have made an effort – plus being dressed in the right way will help you get into the right mentality for an interview. In addition to the way you dress, think also about your body language – nobody wants to hire a candidate who is slouched in their chair, or who is looking distractedly off screen. Sit up straight, don’t fidget or gesticulate wildly, and keep your focus on the camera. Which leads into…

Spike the lens ‘Spiking the lens’ means to look directly into the camera. Don’t look at notes, don’t look into the centre of your laptop – look at the camera as it is the best way for you to look engaged, and as though you are making eye contact. It’s also important to think about the recording set-up you have. Nobody is expecting you to be Steven Spielberg, but make sure your face is well-lit (try using household lamps), the background is not distracting (white surfaces and clothes can be quite difficult for a camera screen to manage) and be in the centre of the video. Avoid framing things so that the shot cuts the top of your head off, or you only occupy a small amount of the screen – ideally you want your eyes to be about one third down from the top of the frame.

Mind your surroundings Turn off your phone, close the windows, and don’t record the video somewhere noisy. You don’t want any interruptions – tell anyone in the same location as you that you are recording an interview and ask for them to help by keeping quiet. If the video interview is pre-recorded a friend or family member could even help by sitting on the other side of the camera – having an actual person to talk to may put you at ease, making you seem more natural.

Additionally, if you have any pets don’t let them into the room

where you’re recording – a cat leaping onto you while your giving an answer will be more than a little distracting – and has happened to people in the past!

Prepare This should go without saying – do your research. Look into the company and the role and be prepared to answer questions about your interest in both. Being able to give a unique and compelling reason as to why you want the job might be the difference between you getting and not getting the job. You can take notes and consult them in between questions if need be – but try avoid using the notes while recording an answer, it is distracting and off-putting to see people leafing through papers or actually googling things while recording an answer. Be yourself and be confident – if you are through to the video stage you have already made it further than a lot of other candidates, which means you have something that the employer wants – take confidence from that.

The Telephone Interview 8 top tips:

1 Dress for the occasion: this might seem odd, as your

interviewer can’t see you, but dressing professionally will help put you in the right mindset

2 Ensure you are ready: go somewhere quiet as background noise will distract both you and your interviewer, and be ready to answer the phone

3 Engage your interviewer: be professional, polite and

courteous, don’t interrupt but do ask questions – telephone interviews work best when they are a flowing conversation

4 Prepare: research the role and the company – you can

have notes to hand but try avoid reading from them, keep the conversation organic

5 Answer the question you are asked: be concise with

your answers, don’t try cram in extra information that isn’t relevant – the interviewer has your CV and knows what questions they want to ask

6 Don’t panic: if you don’t know the answer to a question

or something else goes wrong, don’t get flustered – just be open and honest with the interviewer about what you are thinking

7 Use the STAR format: when you’re asked to give an example of something try keep to a clear structure, I recommend situation, task, action, result (STAR)

8 Be yourself: the best piece of advice – be natural and be

confident, you’ll have come through a competitive process to reach this stage

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Assessment Centre You’ve submitted a good application, got through the tests and aced the telephone or video interview – now it’s the big one, the assessment centre. Often a full day (or at least a half day) made up of different parts, testing a broad range of a candidate’s skills.

All assessment centres are slightly different, but most involve some or all of the below. It’s worth knowing about them and understanding what the firm is trying to assess with each.

In a technical interview, make sure you fully understand what the role entails and the broader technical activities of the firm. For technology roles, if you know what systems they use, the best thing to do is practice as much as you can. Regardless of sector, technical interview questions are meant to be challenging, so if you’re unsure about something, don't make things up, but do show your willingness to learn.

Psychometric tests Many leading graduate employers require you to take psychometric tests during the day, even if you’ve already completed some online earlier in the recruitment process.

This is often to ensure you actually did them yourself the first time around, but to also assess your ability to deliver under pressure. You can find all the top tips for psychometric tests on page 76.

E-tray exercise

Many firms require their candidates to complete an E-tray exercise, also known as an email simulation task. You will be set Interviews up with an inbox and receive emails from different members During an assessment centre you’re almost certain to have a faceof the organisation and/or clients. You’ll then be assessed on to-face interview, but there could also be panel interviews and how you respond to the emails, but more importantly how you for some roles (in Investment Banking organise and prioritise the requests or Technology for example) a technical within the emails. Employers are testing interview. For the biographical interview, your attention to detail as well as your make sure you’ve thought about what’s on commercial awareness – they want your CV, why you would be suited to the to know you understand what is most Have examples to role and have lots of practical examples important to the business and the support what you say in to support what you say in the interview. stakeholders who’ve emailed you.

Never just say you’re hard working for The test is timed, so your ability to the interview – never instance and leave it at that – have the work logically under pressure is critical just say you’re hard example ready to prove all of your core to do well. competencies. The interview may be working for instance with more than one assessor; don’t let and leave it at that. this throw you off and make an effort to engage with everyone in the room.

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Case study

If the role is client facing or involves research, you’re likely to be given a presentation during the assessment process. Some firms will give it to you beforehand and allow you a few days to prepare, but often it will be on the day and test your ability to perform under pressure.

This can be an individual or group task assessing candidates on how they deal with large volumes of information and come to a logical conclusion. It’s a staple for Consulting assessment centres but is being increasingly used by other sectors to find stand out candidates. The case study you’ll be given will be a scenario that closely mirrors what you may have to do in the role, and Group Exercises are you'll be asked to give your opinion on next steps and potentially a best course used to test how you of action. There’s unlikely to be a right work together with answer, so it’s up to you to think logically and have sound reasoning as to why others to see if you have you’re making the decision. If there are the necessary teamfigures or stats, make sure you utilise them when presenting your argument. work and leadership skills

Lunch & breaks

If you’re there for a full day assessment centre, you’ll have down time between tasks and probably a break for lunch.

It may seem odd to you to include this here, but these breaks are vitally important. In fact, as soon as you step into the office you should be acting like you’re being assessed. A lunch break is an excellent time to socialise with other candidates and possibly graduates they are looking for. from the firm, but keep your game Group exercises face on. These interactions can count A group exercise can take the form of a against you if you come across as rude, case study (see above) but they can also disinterested or unprofessional. The way you communicate with be completely non-business related. They are used to test how those around you will tell a firm a lot about who you are as a you work together with others to see if you have the necessary person and whether you’ll fit in at the firm. team-work and leadership skills they are looking for.

For example, you may be asked to build something out of supplied materials, face a hypothetical survival situation, or be given a business question unrelated to the industry you're applying to. It’s something that many students tell us they worry about before an assessment centre, but follow our top tips on page 80 and you’ll be on your way to impressing the assessor.

Negotiation task A negotiation task is a type of group exercise which is worth knowing about, especially if you’re thinking about Law or other city careers. Rather than working together to come up with the best solution, you’ll be in a situation where you have to put across your point-of-view and communicate why it’s the best one. For example, each member of the group could be given something that needs budget allocation, but you’ll only have the budget for a certain number of tasks/activities. Your ability to persuade others and put together good arguments is being tested, but that doesn’t mean you need yours to be selected by the group at all costs. Get your points across, judge the situation and guide the team to the right outcome to give yourself the best chance to impress.

Presentation Many firms will ask you to prepare and give a presentation on the day. This could be part of a group exercise or a case study, but be ready for anything; business or non-business related. In most cases, you’ll be given some information and they’ll want you to present your ideas on the chosen topic. You’re likely to be given the chance to create some visual aids (usually Powerpoint), but this shouldn’t be your main focus. Keep them simple – your ideas and how you articulate them is going to be essential.

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Types of Questions in a Face-to-Face Interview Strengths and Weaknesses

The whole interview is about your strengths, but the specific strengths and weakness questions are designed for you to self-reflect and highlight where you think you have a lot to offer and where you’ll need to hone your skills. If they ask you about weaknesses, a good idea is to mention something you weren’t particularly great at before, but expand by explaining what action you’ve taken so far to improve and how you’ve progressed. You want to be honest, but maybe not too honest!

To prepare for: What are your three greatest strengths? What do you

need to improve on? How would your friends describe you?

Motivational questions

As the name suggests, they are a common way for employers to assess a candidate’s motivation for applying to a role. In essence, they are all asking the same question: “Why do you want to work with us?”

To prepare for: Where do you see yourself in five years? What drives

you? Why do you want to work in this [role/sector/firm]?

Competency questions

Core competencies are the qualities that employers look for in a successful candidate, judged to be especially useful for the job in question.

These are becoming increasingly popular as a way to distinguish between multiple candidates who all have top grades.

To prepare for: Tell me about a time when you worked successfully with a team to achieve a result you wouldn’t have been able to by yourself?

When’s a time you’ve had to show real resilience to get through something?

Commercial awareness questions

Commercial awareness is a skill all employers value. They will test your knowledge of how the firm operates and the wider business world, as well as your awareness of current affairs.

To prepare for: Can you tell me about a story you’re following in the news – how does it impact on this [firm/sector]? Is the FTSE 100 going up or down at the moment and what impact is that having on the economy?

Brainteaser questions

Questions you can't really prepare for, that require you to think on your feet. How you approach the question is the most important part. Take a moment, find a logical starting point and work it through – it’s important to explain your method of thinking to the assessor as you go along.

To prepare for: How many petrol stations are there in the UK? How

many footballs can you fit in this room? How would you explain supply and demand to a six-year-old? How would you paint London purple?

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5 Quick Tips for a Group Exercise 1

Effective communication

It’s crucial to demonstrate that you are able to listen to the opinions of others. That means responding to what others say rather than just waiting for them to finish so you can make your point. When you’re expressing your ideas be clear, concise and confident. Make your point but don’t dominate the discussion.

2 Develop on the ideas of others

Being able to listen to the ideas of others and build on them suggests you’re an active listener. It’s also a way of showing support and encouragement for others and their suggestions. Look to recognise the merit in ideas and promote these using positive language, such as: ‘I really like that idea, and it would allow us to.....’ or ‘that definitely makes sense, and if we combine it with....’.

3 Engage and include everyone

Assessors will always be looking for your ability to manage and improve a team dynamic. Performance of a team depends largely on the effectiveness of all members, so do what you can to get everyone involved. Ask the quieter members of the group for their input; address them directly using their name – ‘John, what do you think about that idea?’ Encourage everyone to suggest their opinions, and give them the time to get their point across.

4 Understand the brief ...And ensure others do too. It’s really important that you understand the brief so that you’re able to contribute effectively. If you don’t understand after initially reading it through but others in the group seem to be getting it, make sure you don’t get left behind.

Before the team picks up speed, suggest that each person quickly summarises his or her understanding of the brief, so you’re all on the same page. By suggesting this, you can listen to what others think first and use their understanding to support your own opinions.

5 Motivation and timekeeping Keeping up motivation/morale within the team is important. Remember to use positive language in support of others’ ideas. When you have successes within a team activity you should congratulate people; ‘well done everyone, that was brilliant, we’re halfway through’. Be the one to manage timekeeping or ask someone if they would be happy to keep track. There may be multiple parts, so allocate time to the tasks depending on how important they are to the overall objective.

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3 Working nine to five…

Before You Sign Your Contract Receiving the contract for your new job is often the moment it starts to feel real – all your hard work during the application process has paid off and you’re about to begin an excellent new chapter in your career.

But before you sign on the dotted line, make sure you understand what you’re getting into. Take the time to read through your contract – much of it will be standard but you need to be clear on what’s expected of you and what you can expect of your new employer.

1 What’s in a name?

First things first - are you signing up for the role you applied for?

This may seem like a silly question but many companies call the same job different things internally and externally. If the title has changed since your interview, ensure the job description is familiar.

Equally your new job title should reflect the role you’re taking on.

If it’s vague, ask your employer to clarify your responsibilities and how you’ll work within your team. You don’t want to inadvertently take on a much bigger, or much smaller role than expected.

Dolly Parton knows exactly how many hours she’s working – do you? Although many firms operate on a basic eight hour day with at least a half hour for lunch, many now offer flexible working.

This could be an opportunity to negotiate your daily start/end time as well as your preferred location if your company has a number of different offices. Most importantly, ensure you’re clear on the number of hours you’re expected to work each day and week.

Your contract might also lay out over time compensation.

It’s normal to take on a few extra hours at your discretion but on the whole you shouldn’t be working much more than what you’re contractually obliged to. And if you do, you need to know you’ll be compensated for your effort.

4 Holidays As with studying, it’s important to take regular breaks once you start your new job. Before you go booking your next trip, check how many days of holiday you’ve been allocated. Look out for any restrictions on usage such as particular times in the year you can’t take time off or limitations on the length of your holiday.

Most companies ask that you use up your allowance by a certain date. Read through your contract to see if there’s the option to rollover holiday or if you can buy or sell days.

5 When it’s time to move on I don’t want to rain on your parade but do be aware of your notice period. Standard length is one month but it may be longer or shorter depending on your employer. A very short notice period can be problematic in the unlikely scenario you’re let go – you’ll only have a couple of weeks to find a new job. However a very long notice period can be troublesome if you’re looking to change company and your new employer is expecting you to start quickly.

Find out exactly how long your notice period is and if it varies depending on the circumstance of your departure – have a plan of action for any eventuality.

2 Salary, benefits and bonus Many companies provide comprehensive benefits packages for their employees – the most common of which include a pension, private healthcare, cycle to work scheme, travelcard loan and discounted gym membership. Check the renumeration package in your contract matches the one in your offer letter and it might be worth finding out how you can can claim your benefits.

If you are eligible for a bonus as part of your new role, ask your employer how it’s calculated. Is it based on your performance as well as the company’s? What targets do you need to work towards?

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Selling Yourself How to Perfect Your Elevator Pitch An elevator pitch is essentially a 30 second sales pitch — in the time it takes to go to the top floor of a building in a lift, you can sell yourself or a concept to a someone standing next to you.

There are entire books dedicated to the elevator pitch, however for now here are six tips to help you sell yourself more effectively.

1 Be passionate

It doesn’t actually matter what you’re currently doing – Whatever career you plan to go into, it’s talk about it passionately and people will respond. They may vital to be able to sell yourself quickly and not share your interest but they will respect your drive and enthusiasm. When you deliver your elevator pitch focus on confidently. Impressing at interviews or what makes you tick – not what you think the other person meeting people at career events are prime wants to hear. examples of when you’ll need your pitch, but it's not 2 Adapt your pitch limited to an application Your elevator pitch is going to be When you deliver process. You'll need this skill different depending on who you’re your elevator pitch throughout your life as you meeting and where you’re meeting them. Selling yourself in an interesting focus on what makes have fleeting exchanges and engaging way is very different if with people. you tick – not what you’re introducing yourself to a firm at a

you think the other person wants to hear.

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networking event, compared to meeting a friend of a friend in the pub.

In both cases, it’s important to be natural and think about what the other person will respond to in that setting.

Discussing your passion for high yield bonds may not be the best topic for post work drinks for instance.

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3 Don’t oversell yourself It’s absolutely fine to sound a little salesy during your elevator pitch – it’s going to be difficult not to as you are essentially selling yourself. However, becoming the pushy salesman is unlikely to hit the right note. Demonstrating confidence in your abilities is excellent but don’t let arrogance take over. Be polite, charming and try to have a normal conversation.

4 But don’t sell yourself short Don’t be embarrassed about what you have or haven’t achieved at this point in your life. At the beginning of your career it’s sometimes difficult not to be intimidated when talking to someone more senior. Just remember – all your experience is valuable.

If you’ve learnt from doing something, it Demonstrating was worthwhile. And if you really don’t confidence in have much experience your abilities is under your belt, don’t worry – people excellent but don’t will respond to your let arrogance take passions and interests if communicated over. effectively.

5 Practice You don’t want your elevator pitch to sound like a prerecorded message, but do think through what you’re doing in your life, what you’ve achieved and what makes you stand out. It feels self-indulgent to talk about yourself over and over again, but it’s worth practicing your introduction with family and friends. Practicing in front of the mirror is also a great way to perfect your pitch – you may feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but you’ll be thankful you did when you impress someone important.

Good Networking Etiquette Whether you’re at a formal dinner or a meeting someone on campus, there are a few very simple things you can do to make that first impression count.

Practice your handshake. Grip firmly, make direct eye contact and try to make sure your palms are dry.

Introduce yourself with confidence.

The “fake it ’til you make it” technique really does work. Don't be arrogant, but believe you're meant to be there.

Remember their name. With so much to think about while you introduce yourself, it can be easy to forget their name immediately after they say it. Try to say it back to them – “nice to meet you Dave” – to give you a better chance to remember it.

Get the conversation going. After the introductions, a simple next step is to tell the person why you decided to talk to them – for instance, you may be interested to find out more about the firm they work at.

Be interested. When they are talking,

6 Leave them wanting more Your elevator pitch should last no more than a minute – there isn’t time to cover your whole life story. What you do say should leave them wanting to meet you again to find out more and it’ll make it easier to suggest connecting online or even organising a follow up meeting.

don’t be distracted by the TV screen in the corner and don’t just be focusing on your next question. Really focus on what they’re saying and engage with them.

Think before you speak. A couple of seconds’ pause will barely register with your listener, even if it feels awkward to you.

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Commercial Awareness

By Ben Triggs

Commercial awareness is a core trait graduate employers from all sectors look for in their graduates; it shows an eagerness to understand the industry you aspire to join. We know it’s not the easiest skill to feel confident in. So to help you demystify it all, here are my top tips and things to think about to become more commercially aware.

have a clear understanding of how the changes in the industry will impact the firm. Plus, fully understanding their challenges and the marketplace they operate in isn’t just useful during the recruitment process – it will give you the upper hand when starting at the firm.

How can you improve?

There’s no silver bullet when it comes to commercial awareness and I strongly recommend you focus on what interests you.

To help you get started, here are some top tips to improve your skills.

Stay up-to-date

It’s easy to get into the university bubble and lose track of the outside world. Staying up-to-date doesn’t have to be a long and arduous task, nor does it mean reading What is commercial awareness? through the newspapers cover to cover every day. A good place to start is daily Commercial awareness is an understanding of or weekly summaries of the key stories – Firms are likely to how industries and businesses work. It’s about LinkedIn, BBC and us at Bright Network knowing what’s going on in the world and test your knowledge summarise the key stories into bitesize analysing the way it might impact your chosen of the sector chunks. For a more in-depth view, the sector and company.

FT digital subscription is definitely a good and the market investment, plus your university may environment the already have signed up, so be sure to Why is commercial awareness check first. If you prefer listening while company works in. important? you’re on the go, BBC Radio 4’s The Leading graduate employers expect you to Bottom Line (available on iPlayer Radio) have a strong commercial awareness. On is a good bet. If you’re looking for roles application forms and at interviews, firms in London, definitely take a look at are likely to test your knowledge of the sector and the market City AM – it’s the London business paper (also online), so is very environment the company works in. The strongest candidates will focused on the capital and a fairly easy read.

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When you’re set on applying for a company, it’s important to know when they’ve been in the news recently. Keep checking their social media accounts, which will give you an idea of the stories they want to share. Also, a top tip is to set up a Google Alert, so you’re notified every time the firm appears in the news.

Common Commercial Awareness Questions

Know the lingo

Firm / Industry Specific 1 Tell me about a recent business (or financial)

Every industry has a set of major players, commentators, industry experts and business jargon. Do your research and get familiar with these so that you recognise key names and influencers.

Whatever the sector, you won’t be able to avoid acronyms and other sector specific terms. Reading will help you pick this up, but one of the best ways in which you can get to grips with a particular sector is to join sector-focused university societies and/or commercial awareness clubs. Take advantage of having like-minded people around you at university to get used to talking about what’s going on in a sector and analysing its impact.

Think about the connections Commercial awareness isn’t a case of learning lots of information and then regurgitating it during an interview – this isn’t a GCSE Biology exam. It’s about understanding what’s happening and working out how it will impact on different sectors/firms. If the oil price goes up, what is the impact on the leisure industry? If consumer confidence declines, what effect does it have on banks?

These are the types of things you should be thinking about.

Never look at something in isolation – within the globalised world, everything is so interconnected; it’s about getting to the bottom of what is having a causal effect on the changes within an industry.

This leads on to having a point of view, which firms really want to see in candidates. As long as it’s logical and has reason to back it up, have confidence when discussing the topic. Put yourself in the CEOs shoes and think about what you would do next.

story you’ve been following? How will it impact the firm/industry?

2 What are the biggest challenges facing

the firm/industry in the next 10 years?

3 Who are our competitors and what is our USP?

4 How do we generate revenue as a business?

General 1 How will a rise in interest rates or inflation affect the UK economy?

2 Is the FTSE 100 going up or down at the moment?

What impact is that having on the economy?

Questions to make you think Some firms will test your commercial awareness with more obscure questions, which might require quick thinking.

It’s difficult to prepare for something like this, but here are a few questions which have come up in recent years:

1 How would you define terrorism?

2 How would you improve the iPhone?

3 Who’s the most powerful person in the world and why?

Understand the money Having a strong understanding of how businesses are structured and how they make money is vitally important, especially when you’re applying to a firm. Working out the different divisions within an organisation can be tricky from the outside, so go to talks/ networking events with employees who will be able to give you the insight. From there, it should be a lot easier to fully understand how the business makes money and what the biggest threats are to their profitability. It’s something which could definitely come up in interview, so do stay on top of it –some financial firms even ask interview candidates what their share price was that morning.

GET YOUR COMMERCIAL AWARENESS UPDATES Sent to your inbox every Monday, giving you key insights on the essential stories of the week. Bright Network members just need to tailor their profiles to start receiving them.

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Essential Business Acronyms Whatever graduate role you go into, you’ll be confronted with some weird and wonderful acronyms and abbreviations.

There’s no need to panic, just make sure you ask if you don’t know and make a note of the key ones. Many will be sector specific, but some are used across the business world and it’s best to start getting a grasp of them.

They could even crop up in interviews – don’t get caught out.

B2B – Business to Business

A commercial transaction between two businesses. As opposed to B2C (business to consumer) where a business will provide a service or product directly to the consumer (e.g. a supermarket).

BD – Business Development

The process of developing growth opportunities in a business.

Usually a company will have teams or individuals with the goal of generating new business.

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CEO – Chief Executive Officer (or Chief Exec.)

The most senior corporate officer, in charge of managing an organisation. The CEO will report directly to the board of directors.

Other managerial positions:

CTO – Chief Technology Officer CFO – Chief Finance Officer COO – Chief Operations Officer COB – Close of Business

A term usually used when referring to a deadline for finishing a task or sending a document to someone.

Sometimes referred to as COP (Close of Play).

CPA – Cost per Action

A calculation of how much each instance of something costs. Often used in online marketing to work out how much lead generation or click throughs cost.

EBITDA – Earning Before Interests, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation

An indicator of a firm’s financial performance in a specific period, similar to operating profit. Usually calculated by adding Depreciation Expense and Amortisation Expense to operating profit.

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FTSE – Financial Times Stock Exchange

The FTSE is the British stock index, gauging the performance of publicly listed corporations. The FTSE 100 tracks the top 100 companies active in the UK in terms of market capitalisation.

FY – Financial Year

A 12-month accounting period. Traditionally the Financial Year will start at the beginning of April and be split into quarters.

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

GDP is a monetary measure of a nations’ economic activity, taking into account investment, government spending, consumer spending – amongst other factors.

It’s calculated by measuring the value of all finished goods and services within a country.

IPO – Initial Public Offering

The first time a company offers stocks to the public by floating on a stock exchange. An IPO is often used by smaller organisations to raise significant capital.

KPI – Key Performance Index

A KPI is a measure set by a business, which will be used to benchmark the success of a certain project or activity.

M&A – Mergers and Acquisitions

The practice of bringing together separate firms to form one larger company. It can either be combining two companies or one firm buying the other. Many financial and banking firms will have an M&A division.

NDA – Non-Disclosure Agreement

A Non-Disclosure Agreement is a legal document between two organisations or an individual and organisation that outlines confidential information and knowledge which they are required to keep restricted to other parties.

NPS – Net Promoter Score

A metric to measure customer satisfaction and how likely they are to recommend a service or product, usually calculated out of 10.

P&L – Profit and Loss

A financial statement that summarises revenues, costs and expenses during a specified time period.

PR – Public Relations

The management of communication and interaction with the public and media, with the aim of presenting an organisation or person in a certain light.

R&D – Research and Development

Innovative activity carried out by a business to develop or improve services or products.

ROI – Return on Investment

A measure of the effectiveness of an investment.

Calculated as a percentage, it will indicate the potential return relative to how much the activity cost.

SEO – Search Engine Optimisation

SEO is how a website improves it's search engine rankings, with the aim of increasing organic traffic to key landing pages. There are a number of techniques to show as high as possible in search engines for relevant search terms.

SME – Small and Medium-size Enterprise

According to the EU, this is a company which has less than 250 employees and a turnover that doesn’t exceed €50 million. These are often start-ups and high growth businesses.

UX – User Experience

UX refers to the usability of a product or service.

Businesses aim to improve this to enhance customer satisfaction.

VAT – Value Added Tax

The tax added to the value of goods and service.

Unless there an exemption (e.g. on food), companies collect VAT on behalf of HMRC. At the time of publishing, the standard rate for VAT is 20%.

YTD – Year to Date

The Year to Date refers to the period from the first day of the financial calendar to the present date. It gauges current performance against the beginning of the year.

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Negotiating Your First Day Ten Ways To Master Your New Workplace

By Eloise Skinner

1 Set your ambitions

Starting something new can be terrifying.

And starting a new job is one of the more intimidating experiences out there. Not only are you expected to memorise names, job titles and details of the company strategy, but you also have to figure out office dynamics, what to wear, and know how to fix the photocopier – all during the course of your first day.

To save you the stress, we’ve gathered together ten top tips on perfecting those crucial first impressions.

Let’s get right to it.

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Before you start the day, remind yourself of what you want from the experience. Perhaps you’re beginning an internship, and looking to get yourself a job; perhaps you’ve already nailed the job, but you’re looking to get your new career off to a great start. In any case, set yourself some small goals for your first day – who do you want to meet? What do you want people to be saying about you? It’s worth thinking about your personal brand (the image you want to project to others) – first impressions count, especially if you’re looking to have a long-term relationship with your new workplace.

The day before is a great time to catch up on commercial awareness.

2 Stay relevant The day before is a great time to catch up on commercial awareness – take a look at the financial press (or Bright Network website) to get up to speed. The aim isn’t to prepare interviewstyle answers, but just to have interesting/ relevant business content ready for the inevitable small talk that comes your way during the first day.

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3 Think ahead A couple of practical points for your first day:

• Figure out what to wear – play it safe; go for over-formal

rather than not-formal-enough, at least until you’ve worked out what everyone else does.

• Plan how you’ll travel there – allow time for those predictable transport delays.

8 The first assignment If you do get landed with work, don’t panic – listen carefully to instructions, take notes, ask clarifying questions and check deadlines. See if you can identify a junior team member who might be able to field any basic questions if you get stuck.

9 Nail the networking

It won’t be long before you’ve made it through the day – but there’s no chance of escaping home to Netflix yet. Your final – you’ll most likely need to ask for them at reception. hurdle is often the networking event that tends to follow an induction. You’ve come a long way, so now is not the time to throw inhibition to the wind 4 and kick off the tequila shots. Instead, make See if you can an effort to talk to as many people as possible.

Don’t assume breaks will be scheduled Ask them what they do; look them in the eye; identify a junior team into your induction timetable – best sound interested (and try to mean it). to eat breakfast ahead of arrival. Also, member who might remember to take your own notebook be able to field any and pen (and actually use them 10 basic questions if you whenever anyone is delivering important information).

Take a couple of notes on your way home to get stuck.

• Double check the names of the people you’re meeting Start off strong

Keep it going

5 The induction Most workplaces will kick things off with an office tour, some kind of photo ID procedure (another reason to think a little harder about what to wear) and introductions to the people you’ll be working alongside. Be prepared to smile, a lot. Ask people their names and make an effort to remember them (top tip: use their name in conversation whenever you can – it helps it stick in your mind). Make a mental map of the office layout as you’re being taken on your initial tour. Befriend anyone who looks like they could be an ally when you forget your mental map and end up lost in the stationery cupboard.

remind yourself who you met on your first day, and a few details about the conversation you had with them. Then, the next time you see that person, ask a relevant follow-up question. If you start out with passion, engagement and genuine curiosity, you’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll settle in.

6 Make friends Think about how you’re planning to introduce yourself to your new colleagues – using your full name is a good start, as well as a line about who you are and what you’re doing there. And, again, ask questions. This is a rare moment when you’re not expected to know anything, so make the most of it.

7 Using your down-time First days are usually quiet on the work front – most employers will give you a chance to get settled before the first assignment comes your way. Take the opportunity to get yourself organised – set up email folders, get to know the printer, make sure you can operate your phone/laptop.

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Insights From The Bright Network Team It’s always important to get personal advice. At Bright Network, that’s what we do.

We want to provide you with useful guidance and advice that will have an impact on your early career. That’s why the team have drawn on their personal experiences and share something they wish someone had told them back when they were in your shoes.

Get some work experience lined up. It’ll look good on your CV, it could be something you want to go into and it'll help you find what you like/don’t like. You’ll spend 100,000 hours of your life working, so it’s worth putting in a bit of effort to find a job you’ll enjoy.

James – CEO & Founder

Make something yourself. Run a social change programme through a blog, video content or just talking to students. This will put you in contact with people in your dream industry and help you build technical, networking and marketing skills.

Milly – Digital Account Manager

Join societies and don’t just be a passive member – get involved with something you believe in. Have fun, go out etc but break up your week so you can see how much time you are spending working, doing a part time job and doing charity work/campus society work.

Anu – Head of Business Development

Make sure you set your work life balance out for final year. You can feel an obligation to constantly be working, and any time spent doing anything else is wasted. Don’t feel guilty about taking time to relax, set your hours that you work in, and set some hours that you can relax in and stick to them.

Joe – Account Manager

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THE BRIGHT NETWORK TEAM

It’s all in the planning – you have more than enough time to study, revise, do your dissertation etc if you develop a clear plan and then execute on it. If you leave everything until the last term you’ll struggle to fulfil your true potential.

Tom – RPO Director

Don’t let the thought of your future career stress you out - just take time to think about your skills and what you enjoy. It’s easier to figure out what you don’t like and then make plans after that. Begin to get a sense of what would make you feel fulfilled in a career.

Helen – Senior Commercial Manager

It doesn’t matter if your work experience isn’t in a large corporate. Don’t underestimate the value of doing work experience for an SME, you’ll have more responsibilities and exposure. And if you don’t secure a role, then the company isn’t right for you.

The decision would’ve been made for the right reasons.

Hanna – Senior Digital Account Manager

Get the balance right. Definitely focus on your academics and building your work experience but don’t neglect what university has to offer. Get involved in the sports, social activities and societies – these build your experiences, help you get a balance and can often lead to opportunities.

Tom – CTO

Enjoy every minute of your time at university. While it's important to focus on exams and what you will be doing after, remember to live in the moment. Pursue your passions and discover new interests – once you enter the working world, you won't have as much flexibility in your time, spend it wisely now!

Vivian – Head of Events

What’s great and exciting about gaining experience and receiving advice is that you never stop learning. Through both career achievements and the mistakes, you’ll be shaped into the person you’re supposed to be. We’re always here to help guide you along the way, but you’re the only one who can decide where you’ll go next. It’s going to be an exciting journey – remember to enjoy it.

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BRIGHT NETWORK: GRADUATE CAREER GUIDE 2018/19

A Word From Our Campus Ambassadors Our Campus Ambassadors are a key part of our mission to connect the brightest students with top firms across a range of industries.

They help members access our services, organise fantastic career events and offer their personal insights. Here’s what some of our 2017 Ambassadors had to say about their experiences, and what a few of our 2018 Campus Ambassadors are looking forward to achieving in the coming year.

I’ve really enjoyed being a Bright Network ambassador this year!

My favourite part was how I got to meet so many inspiring students across the country. I also really enjoyed the training (nice sense of being part of a team) and it was great to get behind-the-scenes at Bright Network.

Isabel, UCL I found it extremely rewarding helping students overcome their challenges, whilst growing both professionally and personally myself. I wish to continue hosting useful workshops that may encompass personal-branding, CV shining, and even public speaking.

Chris, KCL Through being a Campus Ambassador I hope to help other students further their career path in the same way I have been able to do with the help of Bright Network.

I would love to see more first year students being proactive about their careers and gaining internships with Bright Network’s partner firms.

Rosie, Bristol Having been a Bright Network member for nearly 2 years, I’ve experienced how useful their advice and support is. I want to use my position as Campus Ambassador to make sure all Southampton students make use of Bright Network’s invaluable resources.

Seyon, Southampton

With a fantastic group of 2018/19 Campus Ambassadors, who are always on-hand to offer personal advice to help you on your career journey, we hope you’re just as excited as we are.

If you’re interested in getting more involved with Bright Network, get in touch with our Community Manager Beth at hello@brightnetwork.co.uk.

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Talk to the Bright Network Talent Team Bright Network is really all about you – talented, young individuals. Our key aim is to help you fulfil your potential and secure roles with the best employers out there, as such it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the biggest team within Bright Network is devoted to you. So, what can the Talent Team do to help you?

Keep you informed

Application support

Above all else it’s our job to make sure you are aware of all the exciting opportunities coming up. Balancing your studies, interests and advancing your career can be tricky – so we’re here to help lift some of that stress. We’ll get in touch, via emails and phone calls, to let you know about roles open in sectors that interest you. Additionally, if you ever see a role you want to know more about, feel free to get in touch for more information either by giving us a call or emailing us.

When you have found a position that you feel suits you, the next hurdle is securing the role. During the application process we offer a variety of ways to help you. We offer free CV checks and advice on the different stages of the process, including tips on how to ace interviews. We will also direct you to useful (and free!) resources that will help you prepare for testing stages and assessment centres.

Career advice

Essentially, we want to help you in any way we can – so if you have anything you think we can help with then don’t hesitate to contact us. Whether you see us in person at Bright Network Events, catch up via email, or give us a call – we’re looking forward to speaking with you and helping you toward a bright future!

Not everyone knows exactly what they want to do, and sometimes you just need to have a chat about where you see your future – we’re here for that too. Our expert team can talk you through different employment sectors, what working in each one would look like and offer big-picture guidance. We can also have a more detailed chat for those of you who have a better idea of what you want to do, but can't quite work out how to get there.

Here for you

Get in touch with the Bright Network Talent Team:

0207 197 9902

talent.team@brightnetwork.co.uk

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Start creating your personal

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From internships to graduate jobs, work experience to events on campus, find opportunities with 250+ leading employers.

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Get reminders sent straight to your inbox – 2 weeks, 1 week & 72 hours before every deadline. Receive exclusive advice to help you gain that competitive edge.

EVERY IMPORTANT DATE AT YOUR FINGER TIPS

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Hi Emma, here's your

Career Calendar October 2018

1 Oct

Hogan Lovells Vacation Scheme

24 Oct

Bright Network High Growth Innovators Event

Law Vacation Scheme Deadline: 1st October

Exclusive Event, London Deadline: 24th October

November 2018

1 Nov

Citrix Graduate Programme Technology Graduate Job Deadline: 1st November

Start creatingNovyour free career calendar today Sign up at www.brightnetwork.co.uk 4

Goldman Sachs Internship Investment Banking Internship Deadline: 4th November

December 2016

Deloitte Summer Vacation Scheme Rolling Accounting, Audit & Tax Internship Deadline Rolling deadline

11 Dec

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HSBC Summer Internship Investment Banking Internship Deadline: 11th December

0203 011 1612 help@brightnetwork.co.uk www.brightnetwork.co.uk