Careers newsletter Autumn

Autumn Edition 2014

In this edition of the Careers Newsletter we will cover:

Sixth Form Careers Fair

Covering Letters

Sixth Form Careers Fair A reminder to all students to follow up on material you may have gathered from the Sixth Form Careers Fair in October. It may be information you collected from one of the several talks on careers in Journalism, Events Management, Nursing, Midwifery, the Police Service, Teaching or the Business of Football.

It could also be leaflets or brochures regarding apprenticeships (Liverpool Chamber Training), Engineering (Peel Ports), Health Care, Medicine, Theology, Psychology, Philosophy, Law, Media, the Armed Services or a host of other areas which may have caught your interest.

It is never too early to examine more closely areas of interest. You could do this by reading through the literature from the careers event, then making contact with the institutions promoting the particular career path which appealed to you.

If you require further help or support contact John Doherty, Rowena Lovett or Keith Hughes.

Graduate Job Vacancies

Most Popular Degree Courses

Covering Letters It’s a common mistake to spend a long time perfecting your CV, only to remember you’ve got to write a covering letter, and then end up rushing the letter. But it’s important to realise that your covering letter is probably the first thing the employer will read. If it’s not up to scratch the employer might not even get to your perfectly crafted CV.

Tailor the letter. If you send out the same covering letter to lots of different employers it doesn’t show the employer that you really want to work for them. They might lead them to think you’ve sent out hundreds to lots of employers without much thought about why you’d be a good fit with their organisation. This can create the same problem as the unclear job goal above – it can make you look unfocussed.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that a covering letter is there simply to introduce your CV. If an employer receives a lot of CVs and covering letters, a bland opening won’t help to you to stand out.

A covering letter should say more than ‘here is my CV’ – it should expand on your most relevant skills on your CV, explain clearly what you can do for the employer, and persuade them that you are the right person for their organisation. Think of the letter as the equivalent of a firm handshake at the start of an interview – it gets things off on the right foot and shows that you are confident.

Make your covering letter clear about your goals. If you send out a CV saying you are looking for any openings within an organisation, it can give employers the impression that you’re not focussed.

It can suggest that you’re not sure what your strengths are and how you can help their organisation.

It’s much better to be clear about your job goal and how your skills and strengths feed into this. This shows self-awareness, confidence, clear thinking and drive.

One ‘I’ too many. If you use lots of sentences that start with ‘I’ it can give the impression that you’re thinking only of yourself. Sure, your job application is about you and what you can do, but try to word it in a way that shows you’ve thought about how your skills and experience can benefit them.

Put yourself in the employer’s shoes – reading about how an applicant can improve your organisation is going to make you take notice far more than reading a description of somebody.

The employer wants to see that you’ve done some research about them and given some thought to how you would fit in. And say nice things about their organisation – a bit of flattery can go a long way...

Poor presentation of your covering letter can make the employer think you’ve rushed it, which can create the impression you don’t think their organisation is worth spending time on. In turn, they may then think that if they employ you, you won’t spend time getting the details right, which could end up affecting their reputation.

Finally make sure you re-read your covering letter many times, use the spell checker on your word processor, and get someone else to check it too.

Written English isn’t everyone’s strong point – if this is the case for you, it’s doubly important you get it checked over.

Graduate Job Vacancies Predicted To Rise Graduate job vacancies are predicted to 'rise by 10%'. Big growth sectors include IT and telecommunications, energy and banking.

"A rise in graduate jobs does not mean that the wider and more pressing issue of youth unemployment will just disappear."

Employers are expected to recruit many more graduates this year, according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters.

Universities Minister David Willetts said the "substantial rise" showed that "confidence in the UK economy is growing and businesses really value the skills the UK's first-rate graduates can bring to their companies".

Numbers of vacancies rose by more than 4% last year, with the AGR predicting a rise of 10.2% in 2014.

The rise reflects growing business confidence and economic growth, the association says.

Big growth sectors include IT and telecommunications, energy and banking, but a rise in public sector recruitment is also predicted.

Stephen Isherwood, the AGR's chief executive, said the results were "welcome news".

"A degree is still one of the best routes to a good job and a rewarding career," he said.

"The increased number of graduates has been met by increased demand from employers which is why we have made the historic commitment to remove the cap on the number of people who could go to university by 2015-16."

The AGR surveyed 202 of its members in the UK across 19 sectors, and found they expected to provide over 23,000 graduate vacancies in 2014.

"There are some sectors looking at double digit growth for 2014," he said.

However, he warned that graduates still needed to "think carefully" about their job applications, and make sure they understood "what an employer is looking for".

"What this doesn't mean is that graduates should be any less focused on their career search," he said.

"We know that, even through the darkest days of the recession, our members reported unfilled vacancies because they couldn't find graduates with the right mix of skills and attributes."

The National Union of Students (NUS) welcomed the figures, but the union's president, Toni Pearce, said.

"The lack of graduate jobs is in fact one issue under the more catastrophic umbrella of youth unemployment," she said.

"Graduates will always survive better than non-graduates, who are in fact twice as likely to be unemployed, according to NUS research," she added.

The survey was conducted online between December 2013 and 10 January 2014.

The Top 10 Most Popular Degree Courses Nursing degree courses have grown in

English is a popular degree choice and offers of

popularity since the health minister's policy announcement in 2009 that all new nurses should have degrees from 2013.

three As are not uncommon at the older universities.

Social work degree courses will develop Business and management courses prepare students, at best, to become strategic leaders and, at worst, for the realities of life in the world of business.

A degree course in design involves the

practical social work skills alongside theoretical study. Students studying for a sports science degree will examine the application of scientific principles and techniques in order to improve sporting performance.

study of design for everyday objects, taking into account technology and commerce, as well as appearance and current art thinking. It may involve the use of computers as design tools.

A law degree develops a student's analytical and communications skills and with it comes attractive career prospects and long hours.

A psychology degree course engenders in the student a greater understanding of why human beings are wonderful, cruel, kind, creative and sometimes broken.

During the seven years of a medicine degree course, students will see smiling babies, grateful families, terminally ill patients and plenty of broken bones. It is a long, gruelling but ultimately rewarding course.

As computers continue their imperious march into our everyday lives, computer science degrees are ever more vital to organisations and the graduates, therefore, exceptionally employable.

Reference: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tulanesally/3619788342/sizes/m/in/photolist-6vSmXQ-6vSneS-6wKb3V-6xP1Ah-6Cs3mH-6CHRCc-7iSyK1-7vFcRJ-7wFCjt-7wKhwm-7wKwnW-9YUF7a-kHrkrx-9N g7Qr-9oRyg5-mz3HXv-e7LRr6-9NiRzA-88tW1W-mR5xVW-oBwRzF-eVHg43-9NiQWj-9oX4Tu-ko1TVc-dsKWwN-dsKUV3-dsKQh3-i72yuE-8B5N4X-a4Q9pi-pa5fvv-erpRbG-8LMFPd-eqtAXP-eqtzix8jxsKs-erqjaQ-8nSFKb-9Ng8rH-dwWCgE-9NiSeC-ayEL2z-ayHmv5-ayHshY-ayHzUL-ayHghY-ayHpeW-ayHkP1-ayEPda-ayEyXe/

Sources of information https://nationalcareersservice.direct .gov.uk/Pages/Home.aspx http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education26016453 http://www.alec.co.uk/freecareerassessment/top-10-most-popular-careers.htm

Discover more online: www.facebook.com/birkenhead sixthformcollege

BSFC : Career News Letter : Compiled by Keith Hughes

@BSFC