Making yourself attractive to employers

Yasmina Mallam-Hassam Careers Adviser

Learning objectives
Help you understand what it means to be employable Learn how to evaluate yourself Learn about employer requirements Build a strategy for developing your employability

Understand employer needs Review your activities and interests

Learn to articulate

ATTITUDE/ MOTIVATION

Network

Identify the gaps

Get involved

Understanding employer needs

1. What is a graduate scheme? 2. In the UK 66% of graduate jobs will take students from any degree True/False 3. Postgraduates have separate graduate schemes from undergraduates True/False 4. Experience gained outside the UK does not count when looking for jobs in the UK? True/False

Understanding employer needs

5. You can get a graduate job in the UK with a first class degree and no work experience. True/False 6. Volunteering/ unpaid experience is not valued by employers. True/False 7. You have to wait until you graduate to apply for a graduate job. True/False 8. Employers who come to campus will recruit on campus?

Think about what you are interested in

What modules do I enjoy? Finance.. but which area? What jobs am I attracted to?

What skills do I like to use?

What environment do I like to work in?

What industry do I want to do marketing?

Time to review
Competency Communication Teamwork Problem solving Organisation Creativity/innovation Adaptability Commercial awareness Example Speaking to customers in part time work a group coursework Analysing a fault in a robot you designed Helping create the international day stand Creating a new marketing to recruit members for the Malaysian society Succeeding in the UK education system Coming up with a new idea for managing stock in the shop where you work

Identifying the gaps

Videos on website www.prospects.ac.uk Alumni careers contacts LinkedIn

2:1 or above from undergraduate (60%)

A good degree

Careers fairs Presentations Skills sessions Drop In sessions

Skills examples

MOTIVATION

Part-time work Volunteering Internship Placements

Work experience

Attitude and motivation

Why do you want to work in this role?
Do you understand the role? What research have you done? How does the role match your drivers?

Why do you want to work for this company?

What do you know about the company? How does this link to your interests? What have you done to research it?

Why do you want to work in this industry? (e.g. Marketing roles which could be done anywhere)

Finding work experience opportunities

On campus roles and job sources. Speculative Approach

Volunteering

Recruitment Agencies

Academic projects

Direct approach

Targeting employers
UKBA register of sponsors Where can you make a difference?
Skills e.g. Web design, Arabic language Knowledge e.g. Indian manufacturing market

Sources of employers could include

www.yell.com Yellow Pages Online Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce http://www.chamberofcommerce.co.uk/, China Britain Business Council http://www.cbbc.org/directory/search.asp?dir=3, Federation of Small Businesses Directory http://www.fsbonline.co.uk/

Give yourself something extra

Student clubs and societies e.g. ISA, finance society Student representative Student mentor or buddy Student outreach and recruitment (28-10-11 closing date for applications) Careers and Employability Centre programmes
Careers management skills Work shadowing Insight into management (2nd yr UG)

Employability award
Enables you to evaluate your skills Allows planning to undertake activities to meet skills gaps Appears on academic transcript 100 points to achieve the award

Networking

The art of the information interview

Enables you to: Find out about the activities in a job Learn about a company Build a network of contacts Establish your motivation for a job area Demonstrate motivation for a job role Make new contacts with the company Organise work experience/shadowing opportunities

Your plan
Write three activities that you need to do to make yourself attractive to employers. Make it SMART 1. ............................................................... 2. .............................................................. 3. ..............................................................