According to the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services website a recent survey of Heads of University Careers Services showed some optimistic results on graduate job prospects. The vast majority (90%) of careers bosses surveyed in the last quarter of 2012 felt that the graduate labour market was either becoming more buoyant or at least getting no worse. 80% felt that the position was better or about the same as in the same quarter of 2011.
Finance, construction and engineering were all quoted as areas that were recruiting graduates heavily. Notably some IT and engineering firms starting to have difficulty filling vacancies, and smaller businesses were finding it hard to compete with the salaries and prospects offered by larger companies.
While this all fits in with the overall reduction in unemployment reported in the papers, less good news is that opportunities for graduates in the public sector, on which many University of Cumbria students are largely dependent, have continued to decline, while full-time vacancies are being replaced by part-time jobs and internships.
Any improvement in the graduate labour market must of course be good news but the sad truth is that it probably doesn't make a great deal of difference to many graduates from Cumbria, who are basically faced with the "Shall I stay or shall I go?" question. Either they pursue attractive job adverts elsewhere, or put up with the more limited prospects available in their home area.
Wednesday 27 February 2013
Wednesday 20 February 2013
Why You Should Link Up with Linked In
Last week's post on networking made a passing mention of the importance of using social media for networking purposes, in particular Linked In. Since then I have happened on some useful slides about using Linked In (and Twitter) to develop professional contacts by a colleague at the University of Manchester, Helen Buzdugan Duly inspired, what follows is an attempt to pass on some thoughts about the ways you can use Linked In to develop your own career network. You may find it useful to open a Linked In account to follow some of the references, if you have not already done so.
While many careers advisers advocate the use of Linked In to students, repeated surveys show that student use and awareness of Linked In is at quite a low level. This is a shame as Linked In - sometimes alluded to as "Facebook for suits" - is one of the key arenas that budding professionals can use to build up influential contacts. The difference is that it lacks the frivolity and some of the less desirable aspects of Facebook as it centres on professional life. It's all about the work you, not you the party animal.
Linked In does include job adverts which are filtered to match your Linked In profile, but much more subtle is the way that you can use it to find unadvertised opportunities and befriend new contacts in particular companies or industry sectors.
Finding People
Using the Linked In advanced search facility, you can look for people who are already in careers that interest you and approach them for advice, company or sector information or to request information interviews. The Linked In Career Explorer facility allows you to check out profiles of other people who have been involved with the same colleges or companies as yourself so you have something in common straight away.
A bit more subtly still, you can look at people's past career profiles to see what route they took to get to where they are now, which can shed some useful light on the steps you could consider to get to a similar position yourself.
As per good networking practice, Linked In helps you tap in not just to your contacts but their contacts and their contacts' contacts, any of whom you can readily message on the system. An extra dimension is that people will look at your profile too, opening up at least the possibility of getting headhunted.
Searching For Companies
It's dead easy to find companies in a particular geographical area or of a particular kind. Not all companies have a Linked In page of course and a tool like the Direct Marketing tool of Keynote is a more comprehensive way of producing company listings. But where Linked In scores is on the sheer amount of information you can access by viewing companies who have built a significant profile.
For example, looking at the BBC page straight away gives you details of their current vacancies, and the Insights section tells you of people who have made recent career moves into and out of the company. What astounded me was the fact that, even though I have made no great effort at extending my use of Linked In and have no special interest in broadcasting, their Careers section showed that I have 27 first or second level contacts within the Beeb, only two of whom I have ever met!
Joining Groups
For the would-be job applicant, there are two kinds of groups that can be worth investigating - regional and professional. A very good example of the former is the Cumbrian link group, a meeting place for a large number of professionals and employers who engage in frequent discussions on local themes - a great way of finding out the key influencers and topical themes in the county.
If you are interested in finding teaching jobs in the UK, there is a Linked In professional group on exactly that theme. Observing and contributing to group discussions can be a great way of making contacts and getting yourself known.
Last of all...
Linked In isn't the only social network that is useful for developing your career. Following the 'horses for courses motto', there may be others that will be more useful for specific career directions or companies. But Linked In has a very strong presence in the Business, Finance, Commerce and Law sectors to name just a few and as the lead professional network available online, is always worth checking before you look elsewhere.
University of Cumbria students who want to know more about Linked In will find information on the Blackboard Jobs&Careers tab.
While many careers advisers advocate the use of Linked In to students, repeated surveys show that student use and awareness of Linked In is at quite a low level. This is a shame as Linked In - sometimes alluded to as "Facebook for suits" - is one of the key arenas that budding professionals can use to build up influential contacts. The difference is that it lacks the frivolity and some of the less desirable aspects of Facebook as it centres on professional life. It's all about the work you, not you the party animal.
Linked In does include job adverts which are filtered to match your Linked In profile, but much more subtle is the way that you can use it to find unadvertised opportunities and befriend new contacts in particular companies or industry sectors.
Finding People
Using the Linked In advanced search facility, you can look for people who are already in careers that interest you and approach them for advice, company or sector information or to request information interviews. The Linked In Career Explorer facility allows you to check out profiles of other people who have been involved with the same colleges or companies as yourself so you have something in common straight away.
A bit more subtly still, you can look at people's past career profiles to see what route they took to get to where they are now, which can shed some useful light on the steps you could consider to get to a similar position yourself.
As per good networking practice, Linked In helps you tap in not just to your contacts but their contacts and their contacts' contacts, any of whom you can readily message on the system. An extra dimension is that people will look at your profile too, opening up at least the possibility of getting headhunted.
Searching For Companies
It's dead easy to find companies in a particular geographical area or of a particular kind. Not all companies have a Linked In page of course and a tool like the Direct Marketing tool of Keynote is a more comprehensive way of producing company listings. But where Linked In scores is on the sheer amount of information you can access by viewing companies who have built a significant profile.
For example, looking at the BBC page straight away gives you details of their current vacancies, and the Insights section tells you of people who have made recent career moves into and out of the company. What astounded me was the fact that, even though I have made no great effort at extending my use of Linked In and have no special interest in broadcasting, their Careers section showed that I have 27 first or second level contacts within the Beeb, only two of whom I have ever met!
Joining Groups
For the would-be job applicant, there are two kinds of groups that can be worth investigating - regional and professional. A very good example of the former is the Cumbrian link group, a meeting place for a large number of professionals and employers who engage in frequent discussions on local themes - a great way of finding out the key influencers and topical themes in the county.
If you are interested in finding teaching jobs in the UK, there is a Linked In professional group on exactly that theme. Observing and contributing to group discussions can be a great way of making contacts and getting yourself known.
Last of all...
Linked In isn't the only social network that is useful for developing your career. Following the 'horses for courses motto', there may be others that will be more useful for specific career directions or companies. But Linked In has a very strong presence in the Business, Finance, Commerce and Law sectors to name just a few and as the lead professional network available online, is always worth checking before you look elsewhere.
University of Cumbria students who want to know more about Linked In will find information on the Blackboard Jobs&Careers tab.
Tuesday 12 February 2013
Networking in a Nutshell
Two weeks ago (was it so long ago?) I was delivering some sessions on networking as part of our Careers Fair in Carlisle.
The feedback we got on the sessions was pretty good, so here's a very brief summary of the key points that were covered:
The feedback we got on the sessions was pretty good, so here's a very brief summary of the key points that were covered:
- To give yourself a start, prepare a stock phrase you can use to introduce yourself - ideally something memorable.
- For formal events and one-off opportunities, consider an elevator pitch
- Prepare a list of key questions you want to get answers to.
- Think how you will end a contact and whether/how you will follow it up.
- Use a mind map to help you identify useful people you already know.
- People you meet will know other people who might be able to help.
- Arrange information interviews with experts in the field that interests you.
- Consider spontaeneous networking. Some networking gurus keep contact details and make quick notes on everyone they meet!
- Business cards are highly useful (and often free) and CVs are pretty much expected at Careers Fairs.
- Social networking is vital - particularly LinkedIn
- It's a mutual process - working out what other people want will give you big clues about what you need to do.
Initially nerves are natural when meeting new people but basically networking is something we do all the time. If you get the approach right, it becomes easy.
P.s. If you are a University of Cumbria student or graduate and would like to attend a group session on networking, please email us at careers@cumbria.ac.uk
P.s. If you are a University of Cumbria student or graduate and would like to attend a group session on networking, please email us at careers@cumbria.ac.uk
Monday 4 February 2013
Carlisle Careers Fair
The Career Ahead- Carlisle Careers Fair took place at the Fusehill Street campus on the 30th January, 2013.
On the day prior to the event the careers staff delivered workshops on creating successful CV's and networking, there was also the opportunity to attend a presentation on setting up as a sole trader. Students registered for these workshops online and attended various sessions throughout the day. Examples of student comments about the workshops are below:
"I feel more confident and more prepared for tomorrow and future networking"
"The CV exercise encouraged us to get thinking of ways to promote ourselves"
"Brought points to my attention that I've missed on my own CV"
"Concise, factual, engaging"
"Clear, concise information. Everything I wanted to know to start me off with CV writing"
The aim of the workshops was to prepare students for the Careers Fair the next day, enabling students to use their networking skills and market themselves more effectively to employers. A mix of 27 employers, agencies, professional bodies and advice and information services attended the event over 2 floors of the Learning Gateway.
As well as providing information and advice for students the representatives welcomed the opportunity to build relationships with the University of Cumbria including the Careers team, Unite with Business, the Student Enterprise Coordinator and many more, developing a greater awareness of university provision.
Students were encouraged to investigate and register for volunteering opportunities in a range of career sectors. Also many employers provided details of part-time vacancies as well as advice on their organisation and future recruitment. Many employers also committed to support Career Ahead - University of Cumbria's Employability Award, by offering opportunities for volunteer placements, mentoring schemes and mock interviews.
Overall, Carlisle Careers Fair was a success, with many representatives commenting on how well organised the event was and that they would be willing to attend similar events in the future.
Special thanks to Joanne Watson (Senior Adviser - Careers and Employability) for all her hard work in organising this event.
On the day prior to the event the careers staff delivered workshops on creating successful CV's and networking, there was also the opportunity to attend a presentation on setting up as a sole trader. Students registered for these workshops online and attended various sessions throughout the day. Examples of student comments about the workshops are below:
"I feel more confident and more prepared for tomorrow and future networking"
"The CV exercise encouraged us to get thinking of ways to promote ourselves"
"Brought points to my attention that I've missed on my own CV"
"Concise, factual, engaging"
"Clear, concise information. Everything I wanted to know to start me off with CV writing"
The aim of the workshops was to prepare students for the Careers Fair the next day, enabling students to use their networking skills and market themselves more effectively to employers. A mix of 27 employers, agencies, professional bodies and advice and information services attended the event over 2 floors of the Learning Gateway.
As well as providing information and advice for students the representatives welcomed the opportunity to build relationships with the University of Cumbria including the Careers team, Unite with Business, the Student Enterprise Coordinator and many more, developing a greater awareness of university provision.
Students were encouraged to investigate and register for volunteering opportunities in a range of career sectors. Also many employers provided details of part-time vacancies as well as advice on their organisation and future recruitment. Many employers also committed to support Career Ahead - University of Cumbria's Employability Award, by offering opportunities for volunteer placements, mentoring schemes and mock interviews.
Overall, Carlisle Careers Fair was a success, with many representatives commenting on how well organised the event was and that they would be willing to attend similar events in the future.
Special thanks to Joanne Watson (Senior Adviser - Careers and Employability) for all her hard work in organising this event.
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