Thursday, 29 September 2011
Friday, 23 September 2011
Careers Fairs at Manchester
Her are details of forthcoming careers fairs organised by Manchester University:
Wednesday 5 October 2011 - Ethnic Diversity Fair (graduate careers and student work experience, organised primarily for black and Asian students/graduates);
Wednesday 19 October 2011 - Engineering, Science & Technology Fair (graduate jobs and student placements);
Thursday 20 October 2011 - Finance, Business & Management Fair (graduate jobs and student placements);
Tuesday 22 November 2011 - Law Fair (law firms offering training contracts and placements, course providers offering training courses, professional bodies such as the Bar offering advice);
Wednesday 23 November 2011 - Postgraduate Study Fair (universities and training organisations promoting their postgraduate study places for 2012 - this is NOT a jobs fair for postgraduates);
Wednesday 13 & Thursday 14 June 2012 - Graduate Recruitment Fair for graduate jobs and courses commencing 2012.
All details are on the Manchester University website at: www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/fairs
Wednesday 5 October 2011 - Ethnic Diversity Fair (graduate careers and student work experience, organised primarily for black and Asian students/graduates);
Wednesday 19 October 2011 - Engineering, Science & Technology Fair (graduate jobs and student placements);
Thursday 20 October 2011 - Finance, Business & Management Fair (graduate jobs and student placements);
Tuesday 22 November 2011 - Law Fair (law firms offering training contracts and placements, course providers offering training courses, professional bodies such as the Bar offering advice);
Wednesday 23 November 2011 - Postgraduate Study Fair (universities and training organisations promoting their postgraduate study places for 2012 - this is NOT a jobs fair for postgraduates);
Wednesday 13 & Thursday 14 June 2012 - Graduate Recruitment Fair for graduate jobs and courses commencing 2012.
All details are on the Manchester University website at: www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/fairs
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Changes for International Graduates Wanting to Work in the UK
From April 2012, the legal arrangements allowing international students to work in the UK after they graduate will change when the current scheme is replaced by a new provision under the new Tier 2 Sponsored Skilled Workers programme. Full details may however not be released until as late as March 2012.
The information on the new Tier 2 scheme is that applicants must have a job offer from an employer before their student visa expires (currently the length of the course, plus 4 months), and must be paid a minimum salary that is likely to be in the region of £20,000 (or the salary specified in the Standard Occupational Code published by the UKBA). The individual also has to meet points requirements. The employer will not have to apply the Resident Labour Market Test, unlike the main scheme under Tier 2 arrangements for those looking for long term employment in the UK.
Possible sources of help for those affected by the changes are:• Tier 2 Register of Sponsors
• UKBA Employer Helpline: tel 0300 123 4699 or via email
• UKCISA advice line open from Monday to Friday, 1pm - 4pm: 020 7107 9922
Source: AGCAS
Thursday, 15 September 2011
CV Tips for Vocational Students
Here at the University of Cumbria, we have a large numbers of students on vocational courses – teachers, nurses, allied health professionals and the like, who often ask for help in compiling their CV as they apply for their first professional post.
Over time it has struck me that CVs for all the vocational students I encounter have several features in common. I would like to share them with you now, working through each of the key CV headings:
Personal Details
A key point for new entrants to a profession is, if possible to include your professional registration details with your basic contact information. This will be in the form of a registration or pin number supplied by the professional body you need to register with, such as the UK General Teaching Councils, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, etc. If you do not yet have the number at the time of application, you should say “Registration Number Awaited” or similar.
Incidentally, if you are not yet applying for professional posts but are trying to find placements half way through your course, it is a good idea to quote your CRB registration details here if you are looking for placements that involve contact with young people or vulnerable adults.
Summary Statements
A snappy summary, often written in brief phrases (rather than full sentences) below your contact details is worth considering for almost any CV but of particular value for vocational students. Include two or three adjectives that sum up your key skills as a practitioner and say something about what sort of post you are looking for. If you feel you can, you might wish to mention aspects of the career that particularly interest you, or in which you might want to specialise later.
Education
A common mistake here is simply to put the details of your vocational degree and possibly a grade forecast and leave it at that.
It is important with a vocational degree to add a bit of commentary about your degree as employers may well want to ask you about it at interview.
Angles you could consider here are:
* Listing key module titles (but keep it short!)
* Parts of the course that fascinated you or represented major leaps forward in your learning
* Aspects of the course that you know to be excellent in comparison to those offered elsewhere
You might want to have an extra entry or section to cover any additional in-service training or certificates you took as a result of doing the course.
Employment
It is vital to include some detail here on any course placements or periods of work experience you have undertaken, and some comment showing the activities you undertook and/or skills you acquired on each. If you have undertaken a large number of placements, you may want to consider a separate heading for them (e.g. “Placement Experience” as distinct from “Other Work Experience”).
If you have done a large number of short or variable duration placements with the same employer, don’t feel obliged to list them all individually. It’s OK to put the name of the organisation, the period during which you undertook placements there and the total time you were on placement there altogether (e.g. October 2008 – April 2011 : Total 14 weeks).
Interests and Achievements
There is a little ambiguity here as some employers (notably schools) want to hear details of outside interests that might have relevance in the workplace, whereas others merely want to see some evidence that you are a ‘rounded person’ who has interests outside the work arena. The only real way forward is to try and suss out what the expectations are likely to be, if possible.
This is also the ideal place to put your driving licence details, essential if the job you are applying for requires the use of a car.
References
For completing students generally and fledgling professionals in particular, the golden rule is to give one reference from the academic sphere (e.g. personal tutor or course leader) and one from the world of work. Most normally the world of work reference will come from a recent placement, but the key thing is that you pick the referee who will give you the most glowing endorsement.
Last of All
CVs are typical of virtually everything to do with careers. Advisers try to make things as ‘scientific’ as possible by formulating a set of rules for you to follow. Unfortunately the science can all break down when your CV is read by a human being rather than a robot, as there is no accounting for the unpredictability of human behaviour or the capacity of individuals to behave in an unscientific manner.
However, if you follow the tips above, you will be on the right lines – more or less.
For a series of websites on CVs bookmarked by University of Cumbria Careers Advisers, see http://delicious.com/skillzone/cv
Over time it has struck me that CVs for all the vocational students I encounter have several features in common. I would like to share them with you now, working through each of the key CV headings:
Personal Details
A key point for new entrants to a profession is, if possible to include your professional registration details with your basic contact information. This will be in the form of a registration or pin number supplied by the professional body you need to register with, such as the UK General Teaching Councils, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, etc. If you do not yet have the number at the time of application, you should say “Registration Number Awaited” or similar.
Incidentally, if you are not yet applying for professional posts but are trying to find placements half way through your course, it is a good idea to quote your CRB registration details here if you are looking for placements that involve contact with young people or vulnerable adults.
Summary Statements
A snappy summary, often written in brief phrases (rather than full sentences) below your contact details is worth considering for almost any CV but of particular value for vocational students. Include two or three adjectives that sum up your key skills as a practitioner and say something about what sort of post you are looking for. If you feel you can, you might wish to mention aspects of the career that particularly interest you, or in which you might want to specialise later.
Education
A common mistake here is simply to put the details of your vocational degree and possibly a grade forecast and leave it at that.
It is important with a vocational degree to add a bit of commentary about your degree as employers may well want to ask you about it at interview.
Angles you could consider here are:
* Listing key module titles (but keep it short!)
* Parts of the course that fascinated you or represented major leaps forward in your learning
* Aspects of the course that you know to be excellent in comparison to those offered elsewhere
You might want to have an extra entry or section to cover any additional in-service training or certificates you took as a result of doing the course.
Employment
It is vital to include some detail here on any course placements or periods of work experience you have undertaken, and some comment showing the activities you undertook and/or skills you acquired on each. If you have undertaken a large number of placements, you may want to consider a separate heading for them (e.g. “Placement Experience” as distinct from “Other Work Experience”).
If you have done a large number of short or variable duration placements with the same employer, don’t feel obliged to list them all individually. It’s OK to put the name of the organisation, the period during which you undertook placements there and the total time you were on placement there altogether (e.g. October 2008 – April 2011 : Total 14 weeks).
Interests and Achievements
There is a little ambiguity here as some employers (notably schools) want to hear details of outside interests that might have relevance in the workplace, whereas others merely want to see some evidence that you are a ‘rounded person’ who has interests outside the work arena. The only real way forward is to try and suss out what the expectations are likely to be, if possible.
This is also the ideal place to put your driving licence details, essential if the job you are applying for requires the use of a car.
References
For completing students generally and fledgling professionals in particular, the golden rule is to give one reference from the academic sphere (e.g. personal tutor or course leader) and one from the world of work. Most normally the world of work reference will come from a recent placement, but the key thing is that you pick the referee who will give you the most glowing endorsement.
Last of All
CVs are typical of virtually everything to do with careers. Advisers try to make things as ‘scientific’ as possible by formulating a set of rules for you to follow. Unfortunately the science can all break down when your CV is read by a human being rather than a robot, as there is no accounting for the unpredictability of human behaviour or the capacity of individuals to behave in an unscientific manner.
However, if you follow the tips above, you will be on the right lines – more or less.
For a series of websites on CVs bookmarked by University of Cumbria Careers Advisers, see http://delicious.com/skillzone/cv
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