Using Social Media To Find Jobs - Start Now!

Recent articles in "Graduate Recruiter" magazine emphasise that it's never to early for students to start sussing out possible employers using social networks.

Employers are actively seeking to meet potential employees through the likes of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn in increasing numbers and increasingly early in your academic career.  There is even a new buzzword for this trend - Recruitment 4.0.

Statistics quoted in "Graduate Recruiter" show that:

• 89% of employers surveyed plan to recruit staff via social media - up massively from the current 8.2% who already do.
• 55% will increase spending on social recruiting while a third will cut back spending on more traditional methods (jobs boards, agencies, etc).

Fascinatingly, a separate survey indicates that 25% of employers using social media to find employees want to make contact with first year students and 14% even look to contact students who are still at school.

It's not quite a case of apply as soon as you start your studies, but clearly digging for employers on Facebook and elsewhere and following their tweets is a strategy that could pay off later on down the line.

TV Training in Edinburgh with The Network

The Network offer free TV skills training and their next course will be held in Edinburgh on 22nd – 25th August 2012.

· NO qualifications are needed!

· Successful candidates will work with top producers who make shows for BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel 4 and get the opportunity to question TV execs who have the power to give them a job.

· Previous trainees have gone on to successful careers in TV, including jobs on QI, Big Brother, Newsround and The X Factor.

If you would like more information contact The Network on 0207 278 9515 or thenetwork@mgeitf.co.uk

Preparing for Band 5 Nursing Interviews

The NHS is currently placing a big stress on patient safety issues and it was suggested that applicants for Band 5 Nursing posts would do well to familiarise themselves with a number of resulting national initiatives.  These are:

• Safety Express - concerning the reduction of possible "occurrences of harm" (e.g. falls, embolisms, bedsores, urinary tract infections) as audited through the monthly "Safety Thermometer"
• Productive Services - about improving efficiency to find time for caring, e.g. by standardising ward layouts and equipment locations
• Leading Improvements in Patient Safety - reviewing case notes to check for possible risks of harm.
• Energising for Excellence (E4E) - reviewing appropriateness of staffing levels related to patients' levels of dependency

If you are being interviewed for a Band 5 vacancy shortly, it might also be worth familiarising yourself with any additional local initiatives on patient safety and avoidance of harm.

Help for Student Nurses From the RCN

The RCN  - aka the Royal College of Nursing - offers extensive help to RCN student members as follows:

• Support for students who are in danger of failing modules  (contact Student Adviser Gill Robertson) or are faced with difficulties over placements (via RCN helpline 0345 408 4391).
  
• The Betty Kershaw Bursary for newly-qualified nurses active in RCN offers financial support towards a top-up degree or other forms of further learning.
  
• This year's RCN Congress (Harrogate, 13 - 17 May offers a careers exhibition and (between 14th and 16th May) a series of student focus events.

Also of interest for non-RCN members and prospective nurses, the RCN website now offers open access to a series of careers articles and case studies covering a variety of specialist Nursing roles, including several not generally found within the NHS.

Teacher Training Bursaries for FE Teachers

We have been informed that a system of bursaries of £1,000 has been introduced from 2012 for trainees to take accredited Diploma courses in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS), or a level 6 PGCE qualification.

Bursaries of £1,500 will also be introduced for trainees who are taking accredited initial courses in teacher training and who are intending to teach basic Maths and English in the FE and Skills sector.