Category Archives: Graduates

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, Friday Snippet, Graduates, Transferable Skills

Graduates- what you can be doing now for the future!

1 Comment

Following on from our guest blog on Wednesday which addresses managing your workload at Uni – today I wanted to delve into some areas university students will find useful once you have graduated, as securing that all important first role is more difficult than you think.

When I was at Uni, I was promised that once I graduated with a good degree that I could practically walk into any job – in fact they also fed me with other unrealistic expectations such as large salary levels for starting out and going straight into middle management etc. Having spoken to a number of recent graduates and students recently it would seem that the same expectation levels are still being set by the universities – I can see from their perspective that they need to “sell” the places but it is also unfair to set people up for a big disappointment. Taking positive steps forward I would like to address some things you could be doing now to enhance your chances of securing your first role post graduation:

  1. Take on a part time role – this can be done during holiday times but also as easily done during term time too, I seem to remember a great deal of courses only actually requiring you in the classroom for a few hours a week. Therefore you could structure your timetable to complete your Uni work in the day time and take an evening / weekend / late afternoon job – not only will you enhance your student loan for the all important socials, you will be gaining work experience which you can later rely on for references and to put on your CV. Even jobs you don’t think will be any use to secure a professional role usually are, think about customer facing, time management, cash handling, problem solving, dealing with complaints / conflicts – all good stuff to demonstrate to your potential boss that you haven’t just fallen out of bed and into their office hoping for a professional job.
  2. Voluntary work – Ask your tutors if they know any organisations or have any contacts who would be willing to let you volunteer your services to, ideally you will then gain some experience specific to the role you wish to pursue when you graduate and you may make an impression which could lead on to being offered a contract post-uni.
  3. Use your contacts – ask your parents to put the feelers out within their offices and with their friends to see if they can secure you some work experience they always say; “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”

It is important to start working on your CV now – start adding pieces of information as it comes to you or as you experience it and ask your tutors to review it for you, make sure you ask for honest feedback and listen to those who can help you most.

Graduates, Planning, Training

How To Manage Your Work Load At Uni – guest blog

1 Comment

University students have to do a lot of coursework. In your first year, it may seem overwhelming to make the change from A Level student to undergrad. Many students have jobs, a social life and possibly a family to take care of as well. How do you manage to get your work done without completely burning out?

Plan Out Each Day

Make a timetable that you can stick with each day. If you have work right after a lecture, make sure that you plan time for homework after work. If you have breaks during the day, it may be a good idea to get your homework done before you even leave campus for the day. Some days may require you to use your breaks to meet with groups or finish homework for your next lecture or seminar. Whatever you decide to do, you need to make sure that you are using your time wisely.

Get Plenty Of Exercise

Working out will relieve stress, burn nervous energy and clear your mind. When you are stressed, you are going to have a harder time thinking and focusing. Stress also causes you to eat more during the day. The foods that you choose are going to have a lot of fat or sugar in them because your body wants comfort food. Working out will keep your in shape and focused for the majority of your day.

Have A Regular Studying Spot

Dedicate a spot where you will study each day. It can be the library, a desk in your room or the kitchen table at home. What you want to do is establish a routine that you will be able to follow. If you have a routine, you will be able to do the work without thinking about how much time it takes up each day.

Provide Yourself With Distractions

Listening to music while you are writing an essay can make the time go by a little quicker. Music can also get you pumped up for when you have to tackle that large and boring assignment. Try to befriend someone with a pet. Playing with a cat or a dog for even a few minutes can relieve stress and provide for a legitimate break from the steady stream of work.

Take Breaks

Don’t be afraid to take breaks every so often. Each hour should have a five minute break pencilled in for yourself. This will keep you from overloading and giving up on your work for the night. You can even schedule your work in blocks as a way to keep everything manageable.

Uni can be a great experience for many reasons. However, you are going to have a lot of work that you will be expected to do. Time management will be critical to your success in University. Following these tips can make your time much easier to manage.

Sally writes for Richmond, the American Uni in London. Richmond’s specialist courses range from their international relations masters to their unique art history degree program. Richmond offer low student numbers and a great student experience.

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, Event Management, Graduates, Project Management, Project management CV, project management resume, Q&A

Q&A: Graduate CV

Leave a comment

This week we have a question form a recent graduate who is looking to forge their career in event management.

Hi Nicola, I have been looking for a new role recently as the current position I am in is temporary – I have got some good experience in managing events as part of a placement at University and my current role. However I don’t seem to be attracting hiring managers with my CV and wondered if a functional format CV is the right format for me? Without this format my CV looks limited and listing my recent assignments as suggested by recruiters doesn’t seem to be effective either.

Wendy – Project Executive; Derby

Hi Wendy, Many thanks for your question. I am often asked if a functional CV (one which highlights out core competencies at the top of the CV) works for project management roles as effectively skills are the same throughout each role. I have to disagree with this statement as every role is different and I have yet to meet an organisation which runs its projects the same as another business. Therefore it is important to use a chronological format where you can drill down into what the projects were and how you delivered them in each role. Now I understand that you have a limited number of roles on your CV being a recent graduate but this is where you can list your part time positions and responsibilities too, as all experience is good experience. You have been fortunate enough to get some solid industry experience on your placement and in your current role which I would suggest you place most emphasis on and also draw out some key achievements. Your CV will soon be rich with information about your abilities and experience to date; by taking a professional approach to contextualising your experience and where you have used your skills you will be demonstrating excellent communication skills to your potential employer and should start to attract attention from hiring personnel. Here’s some further information about Functional Vs Chronological CV formats.

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, Graduates, News

Professions being open to all backgrounds – we need to do more!

2 Comments

Interesting news article on the BBC news website this morning headlined; “Professions must be open to all backgrounds, Alan Milburn will say”. Reading through the article explaining that those from less privileged backgrounds are missing out on professions such as law, journalism and medicine – it states education plays a big part in who will succeed but mainly an issue surrounding the actual schools and universities the current professionals attended being exclusive to the wider audience. It makes an interesting read and food for thought when making decisions about your career path.

I was very interested to read that internships are a key area for job seekers to be able to enter their chosen fields in such areas and how you would present yourself in an attractive way to potential sponsors. In my experience as a recruiter I have seen many a good candidate discarded due to their poorly written CVs – so maybe it doesn’t just come down to where you studied but also how you sell yourself?

I have spoken to a lot of recent graduates who have sort advice through their education establishments to write CVs – the results; some good, some not so good. Being a graduate myself and having been in the same position as others I found the assistance I received to be rather poor – basically I was pointed in the direction of a rather small area in the library with a few outdated books and told to “get on with it”. I am sure, not all, education establishments are the same and times have changed with the internet but I would hardly call this support. Could it be said that the government are missing a major point here – with the rise of recent graduates and fall of graduate level jobs and internships, surely a major starting point would be to address the overall guidance graduates and school leavers are presented with?

Workshops for graduates and school leavers would be a great start to ensuring everyone has a fair chance at securing work experience – such as professional 1 to 1 CV writing guidance and feedback, leads to follow in sourcing potential employers, effective researching skills for making a tailored approach for roles, interview techniques and basics on presentation skills would be ideal. As we now have to pay substantial tuition fees, part of the selling point from Universities could be the dedicated career service and for those who choose not to take degrees, a more robust system in school. As the government is urged to tackle the issue of opening up opportunities, they could put pressure on establishments and even offer funding to ensure targets are set and met.

At The CV Righter we offer a graduate package which addresses areas such as CV writing, effective job searching and interview techniques. Get in touch with your CV and have a free CV review:www.thecvrighter.co.uk