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 

Careers Fair Coming Soon

It is just two weeks to the University of Cumbria 2013 Career Ahead Two Day Careers Fair at the Learning Gateway, Fusehill Street Campus.

Day 1

Join the UoC Careers Team on Tuesday 29th January for free workshops on Successful CVs and the Art of Networking. Sign up in advance at www.cumbria.ac.uk/careersfair - first come first served!

Day 2

On Wednesday 30th January between 10.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m., browse 30 stands in the Learning Gateway offering a mixture of job, paid placement and volunteering opportunities as well as advice on getting ahead in your career, setting up a business and how to impress employers.

Employers represented will include: BBC, Carlisle Youth Zone, Lake District National Park, Cumberland Building Society, Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, Eden Carers, Sainsbury's, Smith's Hotel, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Enitiative Media, Good Companions, Teach English in China, Burnetts Solicitors, Unite with Business...

All UoC students (all year groups and courses) and graduates welsome!

Careers in Marketing - Free Careers Talk at Carlisle

The Institute of Marketing is providing a free careers talk at University of Cumbria's Fusehill Street, Carlisle campus on Tuesday 4th December, 12 noon - 1.00 p.m. in the Learning Gateway (Room LG105).  Main speaker will be the Institute's Regional Director, Diane Earles.

Although recent graduate destination statistics (see recent post) suggest that Marketing graduates do well at finding relevant job opportunities, my contacts tell me that competition for graduate traineeships in marketing remains intense...  So it's advisable to be seriously clued-in if you are considering this area of work in the future.

You can get more information about the local Institute of Marketing branch from their dedicated webpage

New Postgraduate Business Courses at the University of Cumbria

The new University of Cumbria Business School is offering a series of postgraduate courses that will be starting at the University on 14th January 2013. They are:

        · MBA - full time (Lancaster)
        · MBA - part time (Fusehill St, Carlisle)*
        · MA Business Management (Lancaster)
        · Certificate of Management Studies - part time (Fusehill St, Carlisle)*
        · Diploma of Management Studies - part time (Fusehill St, Carlisle)*

Also on offer from the same date are:

        · BA (Hons) Business Management (Lancaster)
        · BA (Hons) Business Management - top up (Lancaster, Fusehill Street, Carlisle and Energus, Whitehaven)

Interested candidates can get more information at www.cumbria.ac.uk/newstart or from our course enquiry centre on 0845 606 11 44.

Alternatively you can visit one of the School's open evenings in early December.

* All on Tuesdays

New Jobs at Gretna Gateway

According to the local press, there are fifteen new shop jobs coming up as new stores move into the Gretna Gateway Retail Village.

Molton Brown (beauty products), The Perfume Shop and The Gift Company are all recruiting for new staff as they prepare to open up later this month.  This follows on from new openings by Clarks Shoes, Berghaus, The Body Shop and Pagazzi Lighting at Gretna Gateway, which already provides work for over 400 people.

More details on the opportunities are available at gretnagateway.com or by email from recruitment@moltonbrown.com, tpsrecruitment@the-perfume-shop.com or lynn933@msn.com (for The Gift Company).

Source: Dumfries and Galloway Standard.

P.s. This could be excellent news for our Carlisle students. Shop jobs were hard to find in Carlisle last autumn and Gretna Gateway is just a train ride away.

Interested in volunteering abroad?

 Interested in volunteering overseas?…then come and “Meet VSO”

Local teacher Sue Ryding will be among those sharing their experiences of volunteering with Voluntary Service Overseas at a Carlisle event organised by international development charity VSO on Saturday 20th October.  Sue volunteered in Namibia and is now back teaching in Cumbria.  She will be joined by other local returned volunteers Hilary Pickup and John Dawson. They will be sharing their experiences of working in the world’s poorest countries and providing an insight into what it's really like to volunteer.

 The  “Meet VSO” event, will be held from 1030 to 1200 on Saturday 20 October at the Old Town Hall , upstairs Assembly Room, Carlisle, CA3 8JH. Also present will be members of the local VSO Cumbria Supporter Group  (www.vso.org.uk/act/supporter-groups/cumbria.asp).

VSO is now recruiting young people from 18-25 years old to take part in the International Citizenship Programme.

VSO also needs experienced, older, skilled professionals with agriculture, healthcare, education, and business backgrounds and is currently recruiting  doctors, midwives, teachers, business advisors, managers, fundraisers, and many more. The organisation works in 34 developing countries and delivered half a million hours of volunteer work to help fight poverty last year. It focuses on health, education, HIV/AIDS, increasing political participation and helping people in poor and marginalised communities to secure a decent livelihood to work their way out of poverty.

The Meet VSO event aims to bring volunteering with VSO to life, and will cover the role of a volunteer, what volunteers can do, and how to get involved.

Anyone interested in volunteering, or finding out more about VSO, will be very welcome at the Meet VSO event in Carlisle on Saturday 20 October.

The event is free. Book your place at www.vso.org./events or just turn up on the day.

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.

Running Your Own Business: Have You Got What It Takes?

There has been a recent stream of articles encouraging Careers Advisers to promote self employment options to students and graduates.  Those who are long in the tooth will recall this is something that happens now and again at times when youth unemployment statistics are particularly shocking.  Incidentally the latest US term for the current batch of well-qualified individuals who cannot find suitable opportunities is "Generation Limbo".

Ignoring the cynical interpretation that your country needs the unemployed to start up businesses because there aren't enough jobs to apply for, there is no doubt that self-employment is a serious options for many graduates.  And there is a lot of evidence that those who acquire the necessary skills also make themselves more attractive to employers.

It is sometimes stated that entrepreneurs are mainly born rather than created. But what are the qualities that mark out the potential business tycoon?  Here is my stab at listing seven key qualities that many self-employed people possess:

1) Creativity

Essential to the process of creating a business opportunity, your ability to produce ideas, spot new ways of doing things and find undersupplied 'niche' opportunities are often the vital factors that will help you decide the direction your business needs to take. 

2) Commitment

The need to work very long hours in sometimes trying circumstances for little or initial reward is a component part of many business start-ups. Are you convinced it will be worth it?

3) Tolerance of Frustration


...resulting from the many obstacles placed in your way. Examples are legislation, tax, bureaucracy, problematic customers, suppliers and employees, banks and accountants. To even get started you will invariably have to produce detailed business and marketing plans for potential funders.

4) Acceptance of Risk

Although there are some businesses that can be run with minimal outlay, you need to be able to live with the possibility of spectacular failure and major financial loss.

5) Resilience

The stresses of being self-employed can affect your health and relationships. Are you the sort of person that sees an opportunity in every setback?

6) Networking Skills

Being self-employed can mean spending large amounts of time on your own, but you also need to be a great networker. Other people are potential customers, suppliers, partners and providers of new ideas. Can you win people over?

7) Obstinacy

If you read all this negative stuff, and still want the rewards and the freedom to determine your own destiny that self employment offers, then maybe you are the sort of person to give it a try!

For more information about self-employment, take a look at this Delicious stack put together by our Careers Advisers in Carlisle.

Note: This post was inspired by Dan Hawes' article "The Age of The Entrepreneur" in Phoenix magazine.

Polish Up Your Public Speaking Skills

Carlisle & District Speakers Club are running on public speaking in the work place, covering Presentations, Chairmanship and Impromptu Speaking.

The workshops will take place at Morton Community Centre on Saturday 21st January 2012 from 12.30-4.30 pm at a cost of £10 per head to include a light lunch.

The workshops are particularly aimed at those people that are planning to have a career change, or are looking for work, in order to increase their work/life skills. The workshops are also appropriate for anyone considering speaking in public be it in politics, local causes or dissertations.

The closing date for booking a place is 20th December 2011 and application forms are available from Fusehill Street and Penrith libraries.

Information provided by Susan Trafford of Carlisle and District Speakers Club

MINI Careers Convention in Carlisle

There will be a Mini Careers Convention at Fusehill St Campus on Thursday 8th December 12 noon - 2.00 pm, Ground Floor, Learning Gateway, to help students find out about possible career opportunities. Available at the event will be:

* Simon Norbury of Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust on the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme, which covers opportunities in General Management, Finance Management, Human Resources and Health Informatics (ICT). The scheme is open to potential gaduates (including Nursing and Health Diploma students) who are expecting a 2.2. For more information see www.nhsgraduates.co.uk

* Linda Danielis (representing the Chartered Institute of Marketing) who will cover opportunities in marketing – one of the career areas most often sought after by graduate employers.

* A selection of careers materials to take away

Note: The deadline for application for the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme is 10.00 a.m. on Friday 9th December so it would be well worth while to start planning your application before Thursday.

Volunteers Needed at Carlisle Youthzone

Carlisle Youthzone are still keen to recruit volunteers to help with sessions for young people, especially the ones that take place over the weekend:-

• Friday Gym Club (3.30 - 6.00 pm)


• Senior Club (Friday evenings for 13 -21 year olds)


• Inclusion Project (for youngsters with disabilities on Saturday mornings)


• Junior Club (8 - 12 year olds on Saturday afternoons)


• Saturday Night Session

For more info and contact details, visit www.carlisleyouthzone.org

Thanks to Julia Mullarkey of Carlisle Youthzone for this update.

Trainee Solicitor Vacancies at Cartmell Shepherd, Carlisle

We understand that Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors have decided to recruit three trainee solicitors to start in work September 2013. Enquiries about these posts should be made to Monica Hendry, Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors Viaduct House, Carlisle CA3 8EZ or email mmh@cartmells.co.uk and general information about the firm is available at www.cartmells.co.uk

Please note however that Cartmells have already filled their trainee vacancies for 2011 and 2012.

Temporary Staff in Demand

This information has been provided by Kim Reay, a consultant working for recruitment agency Hays in Carlisle.

"Almost one in four (22%) UK employers are planning to increase their use of temporary labour in the next three months, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s latest JobsOutlook.

"With many of our clients requesting temporary cover throughout the festive period and into the New Year, now is the ideal time to secure your next role.

"If you know someone looking for a job tell us about them. When we find them a new job, you’ll be rewarded with gift vouchers."

More details on current vacancies are available from www.hays.co.uk

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.