Application Howlers

The last few posts on graduate prospects, etc. seem so serious, perhaps it's time for something a little more light-hearted!

This was taken from a circulation that went round UK careers advisers a few years ago, but is still worth its weight in gold.  It's a series of 'howlers' that candidates have, so we are led to believe, put on their job application forms:

"I am someone who knows my own destiny, but I have no definite long term plans." 

"I was closely involved in every aspect of my former company, right up to its bankruptcy." (would-be Trainee Accountant)

"Excellent memory skills, good analytical skills, memory skills..."

On an application for a position requiring considerable people skills - "My hobbies include watching television, computer chess, philately (especially first day covers) and walking my 2 spaniels."

"I have a criminal record but I am not in jail at the moment." 

"I have a desire to work with commuters." 

"At secondary school I was a prefix." 

"Hi, I want 2 get a job with U." 

"I have a 100% attendance at work, except for the seven days I have taken off sick." 

"Size of employer: about 5’ 10” " 

"Here are my qualifications for you to overlook." 

"Suspected to graduate early next year..." 

"My health good, that of my parents not so good."

"Like one of your coffees, I am designed to be opened, savoured and enjoyed." 

"Finished eighth in my class of ten."

"I enclose a tea-bag so you can enjoy a cuppa while perusing my form." 

"I loathe filling in application forms so much that I'll give you details at the interview." 

"If called to interview I would like to discuss the salary, pensions and sickness benefits." 

"Place of birth - A London hospital." 

"Being a Virgoan, my sense of assertiveness and resilience has prompted me to continue with my ambitions to be a solicitor in a major city law firm…I am also a seventh generation descendant of a Chinese princess and a Sulawesian warrior, which makes me…both an amiable and energetic person." 

"I do not have any major achievements that I would consider to be of interest to this application."

"...dealing with fear and being able to follow orders under terrifying conditions." (from a student member of a sky diving club) 

"I believe in helping other people and so I am a blood and organ donor."

"Up until a little while ago I used to compete in British-Eventing competitions on my horse, from which I got a real kick." 

"Working on a farm has...improved my communication skills which are especially important when working with large livestock." 

"My life-long love of chocolate biscuits, is the main reason for his interest in the company." (United Biscuits)

 And the morale of this cautionary tale is of course: proof read your application carefully before you send it off!

If you have any other application howlers you would like to tell us about, please send them in to careers@cumbria.ac.uk (ref: UOC Careers Blog).  All submissions that are decent and legal WILL be published. Look forward to hearing from you shorty...

Are These The Jobs of The Future?

Some careers advisers have a distinct penchant for digging out obscure pieces of careers information and labour market trends.  However, I doubt if many will have perused the full 260 odd pages of the "Skill Shortage Sensible" report produced by the Migration Advisory Committee of the Home Office.  It does however contain a handy (if still considerable) list of the occupations the Committee recommend for retention in the shortage occupation list for the UK and Scotland.

In other words, it is a good guide to job areas in which UK citizens as well as immigrants to the country may themselves find opportunities in the future and may repay some further study.  Of course some of the
jobs are very high level occupations that would not be immediately within the grasp of the average graduate - but we would hope that least some of those who have sought careers advice at the University of Cumbria will harbour longer-term ambitions.

It might come as little surprise that many of the items on the list contain the word engineering at some point and some of the key disciplines that get several mentions are:

• nuclear decommissioning and waste management (so good news here for the sons and daughters of West Cumbria)
• electricity distribution and transmission
• tunnelling and landfill
• 'all chemical engineers'
• aerospace manufacture
• oil and gas

The continuing need for oil and gas extraction also accounts for a further sub-family of anticipated shortage applications incuding geologists, hydrogeologists, geochemists, geophysicists and pipe welders as well as a wide number of engineering technical specialisms.

If you've spotted that you can't study many of these areas at the University of Cumbria, there is better news coming.  The shortage recommendation list includes a number of occupations relating to 2D/3D computer animation for film, televison and video games, including artists, modellers and production specialists as well as dancers and musicians.  

Health occupations are also well represented, notably:

• hospital doctors in haeomotology, emergency medicine, paediatrics, old age psychiatry, anaesthetics, intensive care, internal medicine and accident and emergency
• diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers
• operating theatre nurses
• social workers in children's and family services (interestingly in the light of current vacancy shortages locally)
• nuclear medicine and radiotherapy phycisists

Lastly, secondary teachers of biology, chemistry and physics as well as chefs also receive a mention.

Currently the shortage occupation list is reviewed every two years - the so-called sunset clause.

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:

• 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 

What Use Is (Made of) the University Careers Service?

Somewhat contrary to the views expressed by certain journalists, some recent research findings suggest that users of Higher Education Careers Services are increasingly happy with what they are offered.

Recently graduate research project Futuretrack found that, although 44.4% of final year students never visited their careers office, 84% of those that did said it was very or quite helpful (36.7% very; 47.3% quite) and only 3.1%  said it was not at all helpful.

Meanwhile GTI Media, looking at the networking efforts of students and graduates, found that 54% of those surveyed had networked with employers or professionals working in their area of career interest. Of these, 46% said that the contact had been arranged by their careers service.  This represents a rise of 23% of over the last six years.*

An Underused Resource?

The question would seem to be why less than half of final year students use the service in the first place. While Paul Redmond, current AGCAS President has justifiably pointed out that many students simply do not need to seek out detailed careers advice, there is still a feeling amongst Advisers that their services are underused.

Many graduates who received careers advice after completing their course wished they had done so earlier. But careers advice needs you to make a positive step to engage with it, and one that is surrounded by some uncertainty and not obviously enjoyable. Hence another great truism that the average person spends more time planning their annual holiday than their future career!

Misunderstandings also abound.  Some students are reportedly not aware that they can ask for careers advice.  Advisers note that some believed that they could not ask for help unless they had decided what job they wanted to do, whereas others said they thought the careers service could only help those who had not yet made a careers decision.

At this point, the debate clearly becomes absurd as all University Careers Services will work with both groupings.

Or is that terms like 'careers service', 'careers office', 'careers advice' are just too boring to catch the imagination? At the University of Cumbria we have found that our new Career Ahead Award - which talks more directly about the skills you can gain from engaging with careers has had a very enthusiastic reception from students and staff alike.

*Incidentally an interesting insight from the GTI survey, was that although 97% of respondents realised the importance of increasing their employability, they mainly looked to the internet and email as their main way of communicating with employers - suggesting that students still underestimate the value of social media as a source of employer contacts.

How We Can Help New Students

Following last week's Freshers' Fayre, it seems like a good time to highlight some of the things we can provide for students joining the University of Cumbria for the first time.

It would probably fair to say that most students are not likely to be making major career decisions in the first week of term.  Apart from having fun, any serious thoughts they have are likely to be on the lines of:-

• How will I manage for money?
• Can I cope with the course?
• Will I make friends?
• Will I be homesick?

Most students will be on the look out for a part-time job to ease money problems and you can find some useful guides on how to find casual jobs in Carlisle, Lancaster and elsewhere by following the links from our jobs and vacancies page on the University website.

Many part-time applications will be by CV, and you can find some more help with compiling a CV via the Get a Job section of the Jobs&Careers tab on Blackboard (best viewed in Internet Explorer).  You can also ask us to check your CV by requesting an appointment through LiSS staff or via email 

We wish all new students a happy and successful time with us but if you decide you may have made the wrong choice of course, we can help you look at what the alternatives might be.

For more information about us see www.cumbria.ac.uk/careers

Wetherspoons Careers Recruitment Day - Carlisle

Hot Press news is that Pub Chain J. D. Wetherspoon are holding a Careers Recruitment Day at Lloyds No 1 Bar Carlisle on Wednesday 29th February between 10.00 am and 4. 00 pm.

A poster on the bar in Lloyds invites applicants for posts as bar and kitchen staff as well as Trainee Managers.  Simply turn up on the day or apply via the Wetherspoon Jobs website if you can't make it.

It's not clear from the site if, as with their various festivals, other branches of 'Spoons are running a similar event on the same date.

Is An Academic Career For You? http://ow.ly/8SeJY careers research teaching

New NHS Nursing Careers Website

NHS Careers have just launched a new website on Nursing careers - www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/nursing

NHS Careers say they wish to promote the wide range of nursing careers available as nurse training shifts from a mixture of diploma and degree courses to an all-graduate entry profession by 2013. In the next three years, they think the nursing profession needs to attract enough applicants to fill thousands more degree places.

The new website includes an interactive personality quiz to help people explore their suitability to different areas of nursing, real life stories and video interviews with nurses talking about their jobs.

Without having had the time to take more than a superficial look, it does appear to be a very impressive resource. Whether there will be a major increase in nursing opportunities in the Cumbria area by 2013 is a different matter altogether.

Health Visitors - Changes in Role as well as Increase in Numbers

Further to a previous post, here is some background on the initiative to recruit more health visitors.

It appears that Heath Visitors are to have a key role as a result of the “Liberating The NHS” document, which plans to devolve the budget for public health onto Local Authorities, some of whom have already taken over responsibility for Health Visiting.

There is a government commitment to recruit 2,400 new Health Visitors (including return to practice initiatives) but many are leaving the profession because the expansion is tied to a responsibility for safeguarding vulnerable children.

Interestingly the numbers studying for the Health Visitor specialism at one university in the North are falling because of lack of available placements.

To some extent Public Health specialisms overlap, notably school nursing, sexual health nursing, and Health Visitor.

However it looks as if the lead professional for the 0 – 19 age range will be the Health Visitor. Notably, school nurse training places are not being commissioned in the same numbers as previously.

The Future of Careers Information

My discovery of Career Player (see today's ealier post) via Twitter has set me thinking a bit.

Although Career Player concentrates on a few main popular careers for graduates - Marketing, Banking, Advertising and Finance - could we be starting to see the introduction of whole careers libraries based on well-produced and informative videos?

There is already a similar product aimed at non-graduates called Careers Box. And, as a writer I'm noticing that Prospects are no longer commissioning many freelance careers updates and reducing the scope of the articles they offer, while jobs4U have currently suspended updates to the careers database for six months.

I wonder if everyone is taking breath before the next generation of careers information - databases of video information heavily sponsored by participating companies?

Is the old-style, publicly funded careers handout, even in its web format, about to die off completely?

University of Cumbria - Mini Careers Convention at Fusehill Street Campus

This event will take place on Thursday 14 October 12 noon—2.30 pm in the Gateway Building

We will be joined by the representatives from:

CEVA Logistics

The logistics industry is increasingly reliant on graduate management trainees and covers a wide variety of opportunities in supply chain logistics, transportation and warehousing. CEVA Logistics are a growing company with graduate traineeships in operational management at many UK locations.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Enterprise Rent-A-Car run a large, award-winning Management Training Programme and vacancy levels with the company have remained high in spite of the recession. Vacancies across the UK.

Good Companions

Good Companions are actively looking for full and part-time carers to work in the Carlisle, Longtown and Brampton areas. They may also have occasional opportunities in residential and live-in care.

There will also be a display of free careers information to take away on the day.

jobs4u about to disappear

News has reached my ears that DCSF have decided to cease support for the jobs4u careers information site from 30th June this year.

Could this mean the end for www.connexions-direct.com/jobs4u? If so it will be a blow to young people, connexions advisers and people like myself who use it as a fallback when working with students who are looking at non-graduate occupations.

Can anyone confirm if this news is correct? Or is some other mechanism proposed for jobs4u in future?