What do other people do for a living?

Chances are that you’re fairly blinkered when it comes to job choices. Your parents were lawyers and therefore you also wound up at law school. Alternatively, you were determined to do something different but haven’t worked out if lion taming or teaching (similar) are up your street.

One simple piece of research you can do is find out what people in your extended family and parents’ social circle actually do. Now the downside of this, is that people like people who are like them so if your parents closest friends and family are all lawyers, ask them for some different contacts/obscure relatives/the black sheep of the family. There must be a non-lawyer lurking somewhere.

1. Make a list of these people and find out their job title/role.

2. Drop them an email, explaining what you’re doing and ask for a good time to call them.

3. When you call them you need to ask them some open questions about their role and what they do on a day-to-day basis. Find out what they enjoy doing (assuming they do) as this will tell you about the skills needed. Ask about how they got into it.

Most people love to talk about themselves and will be flattered that you asked. Meanwhile you’re starting to slowly expand your horizons with ideas about what’s out there and what’s possible.

You can then move on to other people in your network and new people you meet. Show a little interest and you’ll learn a lot.

Please keep in touch with me via my newsletter here.

The 2:2 issue – Part 2

Did you set your heart on being something in the City? Or becoming an accountant or lawyer? Trouble is those big grad schemes don’t accept 2:2s.

Being something in the City

Reality check

Big name banks, law and accountancy firms use external agencies to process applications. You will be automatically rejected if they state that a 2:1 is a basic requirement.

Plan B (I love a Plan B!)
Look at the next layer down.  Research smaller organisations.

Hit a brick wall? Research smaller organisations again. Go local or provincial rather than city centre. High street rather than City.

Go in-house. Trainee solicitors and accountants can get good training working a huge variety of organisations. More career diversity. You don’t have to stay an accountant. Broader commercial experience. Less money but more time to enjoy it.

Plan C
Time for a rethink. There are (at least) a zillion things that you could do and many of these would make you happy/fulfilled/wealthy (delete as appropriate). Next step – start to research what these could be.

Keep in touch with me via my newsletter for more graduate career stuff.

Don’t get 2:2 worried about your degree classification

A Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) poll of its members this month, showed that over 71% did not insist on a 2:1.

In case you’re fretting about your results, here are some more reasons not to be too worried:

Highly rated universities and top grades open more doors but (at the moment) just having a degree improves your lifetime earnings capability.

Many leading business(wo)men don’t even have degrees.

Once you’re in a job you’ll be treated on merit. No one is going drag up your personnel file and deny you promotion because you have a 2:2.

2:1 but...

Getting a job in a tight labour market is dependent on networking and gaining professional experience. Showing what you can do is more valuable than a grade. There are plenty of numpties with 2:1s…

Moving forward

Write an excellent CV. Your university projects, extra-curricular things, work experience are all vital in making someone think “That’s interesting/relevant/don’t they sound good – I’d like to meet them.” Fundamentally that’s the purpose of this sales document!

Popular companies and schemes will select by classification because they can. Go for smaller companies and less-well-known / less sexy organisations. Just because they don’t have an expensive website with pretty graduates gushing on video, doesn’t mean that they can’t provide a decent career start. And remember you can always apply to the big companies later as an experienced hire, having proved yourself.

In Part 2, we’ll look at what you can do if you set your heart on a “2:1 barrier” career.

I write occasional newsletters with graduate career-friendly stuff in them. It would be nice to keep in touch with you. Please sign up here.

Should you let a psychic octopus determine your graduate career choice?

If you’ve just graduated and you have no idea what to do, job-hunting becomes even harder.

When you don’t know what to do, you think your options are neverending. Then you search for existing jobs for people with non-specific degrees, little experience and no direction, and suddenly your world of opportunity shrinks into something more like a tiny island as you realise you have no options apart from something called media sales or admin.

Ultimately you need a direction to job hunt, make applications and succeed at interview. Otherwise you’ll be trying to fit yourself to what’s out there and then sell yourself as something that you’re not sure you want to be.

However much you do your research, there is going to be something a bit random about your career choice and actually that’s ok!

Making a choice

You’ve got a long working life ahead of you, with lots of opportunity to do different things. The most important element is that you start with understanding more about yourself and what sort of work might suit you. Once you’ve got this, that world of opportunity starts expanding again and you don’t have to go into media sales (whatever that is). Phew!

For more graduate career stuff, please subscribe to my newsletter!

Graduate unemployment stats and a pinch of salt

There is a lot in the media about graduate unemployment at the moment and it’s all negative. Whilst the job market is extremely difficult, please don’t give up hope and don’t get battered by statistics.

Here are some good reasons to reach for the salt cellar:

It’s the summer and there are fewer stories for the media to pick up on. It’s an easy news story.

You can manipulate stats to sound worse than they are. 1 in 10 graduates unemployed sounds worse than 10% unemployment.

Good news often gets overlooked – e.g. where applications for graduate jobs have actually dropped. It’s not the same for every career or discipline.

The focus is on ‘graduate schemes’ or ‘graduate jobs’. There aren’t enough graduate schemes for all graduates. Never have been, never will be. There are lots of great jobs, often done by graduates but not ‘graduate jobs’.

***

If you go around saying there are no jobs, we’re doomed (doomed!), the only people you’ll attract are those who will reinforce your view.

Yes, a new crop of graduates will mean extra competition and yes, the public sector cuts will affect graduate jobs (especially outside of London). This means that things are challenging, but never impossible. Read the actual surveys, read between the lines or don’t read it at all.

***

Stay positive and stay in touch! Please sign up for my graduate careers newsletter here.

The Master – Friend or foe? (Staying on at uni)

So you’ve thrown your hat up in the air and said goodbye to the sweet student life. Or have you? Increasing numbers of graduates are staying on at university to do a Masters, which is perfectly understandable but is this the right choicefor you?

In general terms your chances of employment are slightly better if you have a postgraduate qualification but is that slight chance worth the extra debt?

It certainly adds more skills to your CV and keeps you out of the employment market for a year plus it’s easier to study full time rather than balancing work and study. However, it does add another year’s worth of debt, it’s not necessary for most graduate starter jobs and it is increasingly unusual for it to fast track you into a higher level of job or salary.

Want to do it again?

If it’s no financial strain – go for it and enjoy! But if it’s going to be a stretch, you need to ask yourself some realistic questions:

Is it necessary for your chosen career, i.e. do most people who have the job you want possess this qualification?

If you don’t know what you want to do, how will continuing your studies help you decide?
Would you still do it if the job market was buoyant?
Would you be better off getting some experience and then returning to further study later?

…

Do let me know what you’re thinking.

For more graduate careers  stuff, please sign up for my newsletter here.

How to exploit your internship

There has been plenty of talk recently about internships being exploitative. Putting the negatives to one side, how can you make the best of your low paid or unpaid work experience?

Keep thinking about the end game. Decide what you want to get out of it at the start and keep reviewing this.

Obviously you’re doing it to look good on your CV but you need to plan this before and during the placement rather than afterwards.

I recommend that you:

Keep a weekly work diary. Sounds daft but it’s something you can look back on at the end and summarise the best bits on your CV.  If it’s a 3-month placement, you will forget how far you’ve come from week 1. It also flags to you when you’re not getting any good stuff out of your experience. Note down new experiences and achievements (no matter how small). Also note down the names and contact details of people you meet.

Be assertive with your manager. Be inquisitive. Ask what is going on next week. Ask if you could be a part of that project, or shadow that person. Use polite language “Would it possible for me to…”, “Would it be appropriate for me to…?” and enthusiasm: “I’m really interested in x, would it be possible for me to…” Read your manager’s reactions carefully and know your boundaries.

Keep them sweet. Make the tea. Follow their conventions and be part of a team. Bring in duty free chocs if you’ve been away on holiday, cakes on your birthday and/or when you leave.

Be sociable. Accept invites to drinks after work or team lunches. People are so much more likely to do you a favour if they know you and like you. Although there may be costs involved and you may have a long commute, it really is worth making the effort.

N.B. Those of you who liked a drink or two as students (!), may like to rebrand themselves as moderate drinkers for the duration to ensure being known for the right reasons.

Keep in touch. The placement comes to an end. Ask people permission to keep in touch with them and then diarise it and do it. Just because they don’t have or know of a job now, doesn’t mean that they won’t in 3 months’ time.

Want more? Please keep in touch through The Graduate Coach newsletter. Click here.

What’s all the fuss about internships?

Up until a few years ago, only Americans had ‘internships’ and then suddenly we got them – and how!

Monica introduces us to the term "intern" amongst other things

There are internships for undergraduates with the big banks and law firms in London. These have existed for years under less sexy names like ‘Summer work placements’ or ‘Vacation Schemes’. Mainly directed towards students, the recruitment process is serious and competitive for these as many firms hire permanent staff from their intern pool. The money is respectable too.

Then there are internships for graduates looking for professional experience.  These often pay minimum wage or no wage at all. Again this isn’t necessarily new, there have been unpaid apprenticeships in          journalism and PR for a long time,
the practice is just becoming more widespread.

Pros

Valuable work experience to enhance an academic CV

Potential for a ‘real’ job to come out of it

A chance to make contacts who can help you find work

Cons

The experience may be poor and unstructured

There is a risk that you may just be low paid or free labour

It’s a short term contract with no promise of a job at the end

Cash - Not always on offer to interns

Where to look:

University careers centres – some have obtained government or European Community funding to provide internships e.g. Kingston, Plymouth

Graduate Talent Pool – www.graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk - a search engine bringing together various agencies providing internships. Over half the internships currently advertised are paid.

Private agencies – Often the internships are unpaid. Funding usually from government sources. If it’s not clear, ask them.

Follow my Twitter list creatively titled “Internships”! This is  ‘to be helpful’ rather than an endorsement of any particular provider. I personally believe that all internships should be paid (see below).

My thoughts

Avoid unpaid work if you can. There is no point perpetuating a poor and socially divisive practice. But it’s easy for me to get on my moral high horse. If you feel that there is no other way, set a time limit on it. You deserve to be paid!

The Graduate Coach newsletter. Please sign up here.

June is for job hunting

Exams over already? Just graduated? No job yet? Surgically remove yourself from the sun lounger and make the most of June for job-hunting.

Make the most of a few extra weeks

In July and August, recruitment slows down to a trickle. Managers are on holiday, HR departments are on holiday and agency recruiters are taking a break.  Even if you get an interview, the process will be long and drawn out which is never good for candidates.

There are also plenty of students whose exams go on into July, so you have a window of a few weeks to take action. This doesn’t mean that you can’t take a break but at least consider some of the following:

1. Make a plan

If you don’t have a job and you don’t have a plan, barring an almighty stroke of luck you’ll be equally jobless and plan-less in September.

What do you need to do to make yourself employable?

What strategies are you going to use? Deliberate use of the plural there…

How long is it going to take? Giving yourself a deadline, adds a bit of pressure, and makes you more likely to re-evaluate your approach if at first you don’t succeed.

June says "Go for it!"

2. Start your self-marketing. Get on Linked In. Get talking to your network.  Get some business cards and go and introduce yourself to some people who do what you would like to be doing. Sort out some work experience if your CV needs it.

3. Get a summer job

Beat the rush of graduates and college students and be first in line for a summer job. There are still fewer lower-level jobs around as a result of the recession so it’s worth getting in there now. If it takes you a while to find the right graduate -level job (or to work out what to do), at least you have an income and having a routine will keep you sane.

I know you want (and deserve a break) but a little bit of groundwork now could make all the difference.  If you get a temp job now, you can still go on holiday or travelling later, and you’ll have the cash to enjoy it. If you’re lucky enough to land a proper job, you may be able to take a holiday before you start or a little while after.  Yes you do join the ranks of the wage slaves on 25 days holiday a year, but at least you do get to join the ranks!

Keep in touch with me – The Graduate Coach newsletter. Useful stuff for graduates. Click here.

Are you a Hopper or a Lifer? Understanding yourself and your graduate career.

There are two kinds of people at work – hoppers and lifers. Actually there are probably many more but for the purposes of pop psychology, two works!

Hopping from one job to the next

Hoppers have lots of jobs, contracts, or different careers.

They get bored with working in the same place with the same people. They need variety or they go stir crazy. Naturally adaptable, they are completely committed to their present job, just not for very long!

Characteristics of Hoppers:  Clear desk, maybe a pair of trainers lurking (they might need to make a quick getaway), CV is always up-to-date, they get decent pay rises by ‘hopping’ but their pension will be worth about 2p when they retire.

Worked there for 30 years & all they got me was this lousy...

Lifers tend to stay in a job for 5-10 years. They want a steady income and a decent pension (well they can dream!). This doesn’t mean that they’re dull. They just like continuity and working their way up. They tend to have a good social life through work.

Characteristics of a lifer: Desk becomes an extension of home – photos, clothes, tennis rackets, personal tea mug; displays loyalty to the organisation. Can be ambitious but can be equally happy working to live.

***

Just a bit of fun, but seriously – when it comes to career choices your personality and preferences dictate a lot of your happiness in a role. Do you want to gain skills and move on; or do you want to work your way up from graduate trainee to senior manager? This should be a factor of influence in choosing which organisations to target.

Not enough newsletters with useful grad jobs ‘n’ career stuff coming your way??? You’d better sign up here then!