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On the doorstep to the real world – guest blog

January 23rd, 2012

Written by guest blogger and English language student at the University of York, Laura Reynolds.

Like many final year undergraduates the length and breadth of the country, I am now in my final term of teaching at university before the endless partying, lengthy lie-ins and automatically replenished bank account give way to the real world. Now that we have leapt across the border into 2012, graduation seems so much closer, and so I fear it is time to start preparing for the world of work.

Here are a few tips to help prepare yourself for the scary world of full-time employment, to help anyone else who finds themselves in the same (rapidly sinking) boat:

  • Get into a proper routine. This means getting up at 7.30am on weekdays, no excuses, and being ready to face the world. Start getting into this painful routine now, and in a few months time, you’ll be able to walk into your graduate internship or job bright eyed and bushy tailed, rather than struggling to hold your eyes open because you’ve never seen 9am before. You may think that you don’t have a reason to get up at this time, but it’s a good time to get the mundane chores out of the way before the day begins.
  • Focusing on work 9-5 every week day. No more sneaky trips into town to reward yourself in Topshop or Game when the reading gets tough,  it’s all hard graft in the library during normal working hours. This will get you into the regular habit of enduring 9-5 hours so that they aren’t such a shock when they arrive, plus you will be able to enjoy your evenings guilt-free, knowing how much work you’ve put into your degree during the day.
  • Forget fancy frock, redirect your (limited) clothing budget towards items that are work-appropriate. A bit tough when you don’t know where (or even if) you’ll be working in 7 months time, so go for generic smart trousers and shirts that are appropriate for all office jobs, working under the mantra that it’s better to be overdressed than underdressed (at least your employer knows that you are taking your job seriously, and you can alter your wardrobe accordingly once you’ve got a feel for the office-and your first paycheck!).
  • Start saving! If you’ve already got a job lined up, you’re sorted. If you haven’t, you won’t need to be told how hard it is to get a job-any job- in this day and age. It’s a harsh truth that you may be unemployed for months before landing a job, and it won’t be fun not being able to join your friends on nights out celebrating when they land a job, just because of your lack of funds.
  • Start researching-not only potential dream jobs, but anything else you may be interested in doing as a stop-gap until your dream job becomes available/your application is successful. If you have considered other options, you will be more prepared to adapt your CV accordingly if a relevant job is advertised.

Follow Laura on Twitter @scribbling_lau or read her personal blog here: http://scribblinglau.blogspot.com/

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Don’t be disheartened by unemployment figures

January 19th, 2012

The recent unemployment figures may make grim reading for job hunters and those poised to leave university but the view from Inspiring Interns is that there are innovative solutions to these disheartening statistics.

The latest survey by the Office for National Statistics revealed unemployment figures have risen to 2.68 million in the three months to November 2011.  The unemployment rate for young people was 22.3%, up 1% from the three months to August 2011 with a total of 1.04 million 16 to 24 year olds out of work.

The UK’s jobless are losing hope for the future with the number of people unemployed for over one year reaching 857,000 in the three months to November 2011. Research conducted by The Prince’s Trust found that unemployed young people are feeling less confident about the future than they did this time last year.

With job losses in the public sector likely to continue, the Government must make every effort to help the private sector and SMEs to create more jobs. The key to reviving the job market is to focus on enhancing the right skills and considering roles in growing sectors and newer industries.

In our experience most success has been found in newer industries which often complement many graduates’ personal interests. Areas such as mobile technology and digital marketing offer potential for swift progression when compared to more traditional professions and also allow university leavers to draw on familiar skills, such as knowledge of social media.

Inspiring Interns are championing graduate internships as a new and successful approach to encouraging small business to hire university leavers and getting graduates into work. Their model – a three month placement with minimum lunch and travel expenses, with a view to permanent graduate job – has seen over 1,300 graduates complete internships in the London area in the last three years, with 65% of them going on to secure full-time work with their host company. Inspiring Interns CEO and founder Ben Rosen believes that internships are the perfect model to get graduates into meaningful work.

“An internship provides that stepping stone between student life and the working world – it is a vocational learning experience that more often than not will lead to a job.”

Rosen also explains the benefit for employers;

“Internships offer employers the chance to hire someone on potential rather than experience. A three month internship period allows them to offer the intern training and the chance to observe them in the workplace before committing to taking them on permanently. This limits their risk and allows them to take a candidate on who they would not have otherwise.”

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Our 10 most popular blog posts of 2011

December 29th, 2011

As the end of the year fast approaches, we would like to give you a quick run down of our best blog posts of 2011.

Take a look below for our most viewed blogs of this year combining a variety of topics including; graduate and student news, current affairs, careers advice, case studies and all topped off with some Inspiring office antics.

1. The weirdest job interview questions

Do you have an interview coming up and have no clue what they are going to ask you? Find out the oddest interview questions that have been used by some of the biggest multi-national companies. Read more

2. Why National Minimum Wage does not mean a fair deal for interns

Nick Clegg launched his social mobility strategy this year and announced that the Government would be doing more to ensure internships are open for all.  We give our opinions on the importance of raising the standards of internships for all but why enforcing NMW for every single internship is neither appropriate nor necessarily beneficial for interns themselves. Read more

3. 9 ways to beat those ‘graduate blues’

Are you at the stage between leaving university and finding out what you want to do next and feeling slightly lost? Here are 9 tips on how to deal with this normal reaction to graduating from university. Read more

4. What is a Digital Marketing Executive?

Companies are increasingly realising the importance of digital marketing in enhancing their business thus creating many new career paths and job titles. We catch up with a digital marketing intern Joe Kiddle to find out what the role entails. Read more

5. A graduate guide to LinkedIn

LinkedIn serves as an online CV and allows you to connect with friends, colleagues and companies in professional capacity.  The value of LinkedIn is immeasurable however it is not being used effectively enough by graduates during the job hunt. This blog post offers advice on how to set up your own LinkedIn account and how to actively update it. Read more

6. Graduate unemployment figures highest in over a decade

It was reported back in January that one in five of those who have left university in the past year are unable to find work within six months. The report from the Office for National Statistics suggests graduates have been hit hardest by the economic downturn. Read more

7. The big office move!

This year we said a sad farewell to our old office and moved down the road to our new headquarters. We documented the move in pictures from the emptying of the old office to the building of the new. Have a nose through the final office pictures here.

8. The alternative to graduate schemes 2011

Graduate schemes are highly desirable for many university leavers and there are plenty of benefits if you are accepted onto one. However, with record numbers of students graduating this year, competition for these schemes is high. We have put together some alternative ways to land a graduate job that can be an equally, if not more, rewarding step onto the career ladder. Read more

9. Graduates are working in low skilled jobs

It was reported earlier this year that university leavers are increasingly taking menial jobs that do not require a degree.  New statistics published by the Association of Accounting Technicians reveals that 40% of last year’s graduates are ‘underemployed’ in lower-skilled jobs six months after leaving university. Read More

10. Cheap and cheerful Christmas presents – guest blog

One of our guest bloggers, Sara Royle offers her tips on how to buy Christmas presents on a minimal budget ensuring your nearest and dearest get lovely gifts, and that you can still afford to pay that dreaded winter heating bill. Useful if you need a late present! Read More

Happy New Year from the Inspiring Team!

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How to move on from rejection – guest blog

December 14th, 2011

Written by guest blogger, Jenna Birks who blogs at Decent Online Presence and tweets @jenloubee

It’s a funny thing, rejection. It can set you back a long way. After spending many weeks in my final year of university, pointlessly applying to jobs that I was not qualified for and didn’t want to do, I finally came to realise that it is about the quality of your applications not the quantity. Each job application should be tailored, aimed specifically for that job role and emphasising exactly how you meet the person specification. I only apply to jobs now that I absolutely 100% want to be doing.

I know all the rules. I’ve applied to enough jobs by now to know exactly how it’s done. So when I applied for an internship at The Guardian I was incredibly hopeful that I would at least get an interview. Having received the generic rejection email a few days ago, it’s clear that I did not. The email states that I am unable to reply, and unable to ask for feedback – leaving me with no idea where I went wrong. Obviously, as we all keep hearing, the jobs are very competitive, but you have to wonder what it is that is making other people stand out when you get overlooked?

During an assessment day at an advertising agency last year, us interviewees were waiting to go in for our second interview when the conversation got round to what other interviews everyone had coming up. It was graduate scheme season in advertising, and we were all comparing applications and stand-out tricks. I remember this one girl telling me that she had got an interview by sending her application by courier, in a shoe box with an old shoe so that – and I quote – she could at least get her foot in the door. Now, if I were a recruiter, that would scream cliché, desperation as well as the fact that the girl is obviously rich enough to send every job application hand-delivered by courier. But hey, it’s not my advertising agency.

But, not every recruiter would have given shoe-girl (as I so fondly call her) an interview, and not every interviewer will want to see a job application that perfectly presents and ticks every box of the job description. Maybe in a bid to show off my skills and make them obvious and clear to potential employers, I have made applying for jobs a science, stupidly believing that I have found the formula that will get me interviews. But it’s not that simple, really, or we’d all be doing it.

In the end, I guess that’s the point. The graduate job market is tough, and as much as we don’t want to face this reality, there really are tens of people going for every job advertised. If everyone applied in the same precise and organised way that I did then it becomes much harder to distinguish between them. Job applications aren’t a science, they aren’t even an art or a talent. Ultimately, they are down to luck.

You need to be lucky to have figured out exactly what skills the job really requires. Lucky to have that little bit of previous experience that you happened to mention to tick that invisible extra box. Lucky to have the recruiter read your application just after their morning coffee, and just before reading all the others the same as yours. Lucky to have someone who finds you readable, who relates to your experience, who can follow and be drawn into your narrative. Or just lucky to have found someone that finds your old shoe-in-a-box routine original and enjoyable.

But if job hunting is just about luck, then shouldn’t we be trying to increase our odds? Surely we should play as many hands as possible, on the off-chance we might just get lucky. Logically, it makes a lot of sense, but I don’t think it’s the way to go. Better to play the hands we know, the ones we have faith in to do well and can follow through on even when the house raises the stakes. Gambling analogy-aside, it’s important that we keep focused and channel this passion and self-belief into our job search so that when we finally reach our goal, and finally find ourselves in a graduate job, that it is still absolutely the job we always wanted.

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Is it really worth doing a master’s?

October 18th, 2011

When considering continuing your education beyond bachelor’s degree level, it is very important to stop, take a moment and…think.

Daunting as it may sound, it is essential to plan your future a few years down the line.  You wouldn’t impulsively buy something for thousands of pounds, so why dive head first into a master’s course?  Take the time to map out what doors your master’s will open.  If you have your heart set on a career in academia then clearly a master’s is the logical step but unless you have spent time considering how your master’s will further your career, is it really worth it?  There are plenty of graduates who view a master’s as a way to put off looking for a job while trying to improve their chances of getting a job. It is not wise to fall into this trap.

After all, undertaking a master’s is a very expensive affair. Professor Vincent Emery, vice-head of the graduate school at University College London, advises that prospective postgraduate students “need to be more focused on the advantages for them in terms of career and employment of going on to do a master’s.” A career-orientated master’s degree might be the way forward; but consider contacting people working in the relevant industry to garner their opinions before committing to one. If they suggest a further qualification will not add much to your employability then it might be time to reconsider staying in education.

Moreover, in the majority of industries Inspiring Interns works with (such as marketing, business development, advertising and digital media) our experience is that a master’s degree will not necessarily make your application stand out.  Of the graduates that began graduate internships through Inspiring Interns in the last three months, only 19.9% completed a master’s.  We have found that many employers tend to value work experience that you have garnered throughout and after university, and they are willing to take on an eager graduate ready to enter the world of work. That is not to say that a master’s will damage your application, just that it does not guarantee a place at the head of the queue of candidates.

So if you have considered all of the above, and can’t decide whether to take a master’s or not; what is the solution? We read in the business section of the Times on Sunday (16th October) of executives completing part-time MBAs in the hope of a promotion, pay rise or career move.  And although only 12% of mature students are funded by their employer, many are in a financial position that enables them to be able to afford this further education.  Studying for a master’s or business qualification may be more useful to you in later life than currently.

Clearly not everyone will find themselves in a position to be able to afford higher education in later life but our advice is do not do a master’s if it is your last resort. Consider all your options, including doing a graduate internship, before you commit to paying so much for what could be a redundant line on your CV.

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Income protection for graduates – guest blog

October 7th, 2011

This post was written by Sian Walker, one of this year’s interns taken on by Endsleigh. Sian, after studying Marketing, Advertising and Communications at the University of Gloucestershire, joined Endsleigh on a 12 month paid graduate internship within their Financial Team.

If you have been able to bag yourself a job, congratulations. 28% of graduates are still unable to find full time work even three years after they finished their degree.

Once you have made the leap into full time employment from university your priorities change and one of the next things on your list is likely to be moving away from home (if you haven’t already) and taking on fresh responsibilities. Something which is unlikely to be high on your list of concerns when starting a new job is what happens if you loose it.

No-one likes to think they will be unable to work, whether it’s redundancy, ill health or other reasons. If you are unable to continue working due to ill health, it’s unlikely you will be able to work else where either.

If you had to leave your job due to a serious illness or injury would you be able to support yourself financially? Many people will turn to savings to keep them afloat for a while. As a graduate it’s unlikely you would have amassed a great deal. Perhaps you could turn to family or friends. Would you move back home to live with your parents and face loosing your hard earned independence?

You might not be able to work from stress or even a broken leg but that doesn’t mean you need to be looked after by Mum and Dad. It might just mean you can’t afford to support yourself financially. It is always worth having a plan in place so you know what your options are should you be unable to work for whatever reason.

There are insurance policies available, such as income protection which is designed to offer you that much needed financial support should you fall ill or injure yourself. An income protection policy will pay you a percentage of your current earnings to help you meet your monthly bills and avoiding having to move back to live with Mum and Dad.

It’s always best to speak to an independent financial adviser who can search the market on your behalf. They look for the most competitive policy for your circumstances.

Endsleigh Independent Financial Services is a subsidiary of student insurers Endsleigh who more than likely provided your student possessions insurance when you were at university.

Endsleigh’s Financial Advice Team are not tied to any one provider and advise their clients based on their individual circumstances. They offer all the financial products you are likely to need at some point or another during your changing lifestyle after university. Whether you are saving for a mortgage, buying your first house, protecting your income or planning your retirement, their financial advisers can give you advice, over the telephone at a time to suit you.

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New graduates have a lot to offer

October 5th, 2011

As a graduate going into an oversubscribed job market it is hard to see how you will compete with people who have far more industry experience than you. Obviously, don’t overlook the importance of gaining that experience but also think of what qualities you can offer a company that an industry veteran cannot. Just consider what sets you apart from someone who has 10+ years of experience and you will actually find that you are extremely marketable.

You need to be confident in yourself and your application and not overlook the qualities you have that can set you apart from the competition. So here are some points to remember:

You have ambition and eagerness to learn.

As a graduate you are energetic, motivated and eager to learn. A lot graduates are looking to “climb up the ladder” in a company, rather than working simply as a means to an end. This is extremely attractive to potential employers.

You are more at home with the latest technology trends.

Technology is crucial to any business and every employee has to have a certain extent of technical know-how. However, we are the first generation who have grown up with technology and practiced it just about every day. With the growing digital sector and importance of social media; employers understand the importance of technology in developing business and take it very seriously. Don’t take for granted your ability to use and keep up with the latest technology trends, it isn’t easy for everyone.

You are a quick learner with fresh knowledge from university.

Any prior education is very important in the workplace and as a recent graduate all of the latest business practices and theories will be fresh in your mind, which is something not everyone can say. This will allow you to pick things up very quickly in industry, something highly valued by employers.

You have innovative new ideas.

As a young graduate you will bring a new outlook and fresh ideas to improve the efficiency or success of a company – employers value that!

It is not easy leaving university and facing the current graduate job market but being young does bring its advantages in the business world.  If you have confidence in your own ability and qualities that set you apart then you will be sure to impress potential employers.

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Off into the world – guest blog

September 28th, 2011

Guest post written by MA Literary Studies graduate, Laura Blake.

So I’ve just completed my MA dissertation. A long, hard year spent buried in the library and forgoing Saturday nights have (hopefully) paid off, and in less than a weeks’ time I’ll be leaving university for good and taking my first steps out into the big wide world, armed with nothing more than my degree and my CV. Oh help.

Of course, I’ve also got the knowledge that I’d do a really, really good job in my chosen field. The trouble now is convincing other people of that fact! I’d love to work in magazine publication or book publishing, so my task is to figure out how I am going to stand out, get my foot in the door and get my hands on a job. But where to start?

Experience is one of the most important tools you can have. As I’ve known that this is what I’ve wanted to do for awhile now, I tried to be crafty and joined my university’s student magazine way back in my first freshers’ week. Unfortunately I got slightly distracted (for the entire year) and didn’t attend a single meeting, let alone write anything. In second year though, I really made it a commitment to it, and eventually ran for, and won the position of Features Editor. So at least I knew, albeit on a small scale, what I was getting myself in for (picture many late nights in the editing room trying to get to grips with Quark software;it wasn’t pretty) and could decide if it was something I was committed to as a career. It was.

Since then, I’ve been trying to grab any kind of experience possible to boost my CV, because after all, every little helps. I blog, I’ve joined LinkedIn; why, I even joined Twitter, because if it’s going to help me network, then I’d be stupid not to. You’ve got to put yourself out there as much as possible; head hunters won’t find you if you’re invisible.

Everybody says there aren’t enough jobs to go around, and I know that job hunting can be stressful, but luckily there is a God out there and someone decided to put together a site such as this one.I discovered Inspiring Interns a few weeks ago and I already feel better knowing that these guys are rooting for me and offering as much help as they can. They understand that many companies nowadays want candidates who have a good bank of work experience under their belts and you can never have too much experience. And what’s better than having an internship on your CV? A graduate internship is perfect opportunity to show case your talents, learn new skills, and hopefully, impress the right people, as well as giving you a realistic taste of the working world. I’ve already got a list of their vacancies that I’m going to apply for, all that’s left do now is wait and see… it’s a tricky business, but I’m sure that if I’m persistent, it’ll pay off.

Have a look at Laura’s blog here http://laurathegraduate.blogspot.com/

If you are interested in writing for Inspiring Interns then please email us at marketing@inspiringinterns.com

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It’s not all doom and gloom for grads

June 29th, 2011

The average number of graduates applying to each vacancy has risen to 83 – up from 31 just three years ago, it was reported yesterday.

The headline figure from the bi-annual Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) report makes grim reading for those poised to leave university. The number of CVs sent in for each vacancy is now the highest on record so job prospects look slim for the class of 2011. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for university leavers.

The AGR report gives a skewed picture of the graduate job market with too great an emphasis on big business. The statistics do not reflect the positive developments within SME recruitment and small firms which often have far less competition for positions and graduates are far more likely to succeed with speculative applications.  Although they may not provide a marquee name for your CV, often these roles provide far greater responsibility and better prospects for young jobseekers.

Students are often drawn to the ‘big boys’ on the milkround, who advertise heavily with university careers services and can offer eye-catching starting salaries. For many graduates, however, starting with a smaller company is often a more rewarding move. Better work-life balance, improved job satisfaction and swift progression up the career ladder are the sorts of benefits many employees find working within small business can bring.

So don’t let negative media dishearten you and stay positive about your job hunt. There are plenty of opportunities out there if you look in the right places, graduate schemes do not start and end with the big multi-nationals. Focusing on smaller companies and completing a graduate internship could be the key to unlocking your career.

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Itchy feet, itchy feet! – guest blog

June 14th, 2011

I graduated a while back now…in fact I can hardly believe that it will have been two years this summer which is already more than half the time I spent studying in the first place! So what have I been doing during all of this intervening period of no ‘real job’ and ‘no studying’?  Well I spent six months doing something which I would recommend to anyone and everyone who is about to graduate; go travelling.

In the summer of 2009, we were in the height of recession and the future really was looking bleak for those of us about to enter the big, scary, real world.  For me, it presented the perfect opportunity; the chance to travel the world and see something outside my own horizons.  In the months leading up to graduation, it was becoming more and more apparent that things weren’t going to get better anytime soon and so the plan to take off was borne.

It took a while to get there and a great deal of work but by May 2010 I was ready to set off on my big adventure.  In order to get there I slaved away in retail working full time in a management team for a clothes shop and also in a supermarket.  On top of this, I took on two GCSE English students to help bring in some cash to live off of.  On an average week, I’d clock up 65 hours of working (plus at least another 8 travelling) but at the end of the tunnel, the brightest light was shining and I had no doubt that it would be worth it.

In hindsight, this hard work was part of the joy of the experience and has also added greatly to my CV; at least I show I’ve got stamina and dedication to achieve!  I am a bit of a workaholic but that is rather another story.

So finally, with enough money in the savings and flights all paid for, I was off on my trip of a lifetime.  My route went like this:

London – Los Angeles – Las Vegas – Fiji – New Zealand – Sydney – Singapore – Malaysia – Malaysian Borneo – Thailand – Cambodia – Vietnam – Hong Kong – Japan – Korea – China – India

Phew!  Writing it all down like that makes me feel tired just thinking about it.  So perhaps it is time that I got to the point of this post.

I could sit here and go on for hours about why I think that everyone should travel when they finish university.  But here is the general gist of why if you are umming and ahhing about what to do next, then this could be an option.

If you aren’t sure what you want to do with your life, travelling can buy you some time.  It gives you the opportunity to be free and to get to know yourself better and hopefully along that way you will discover something that you will love and want to turn into a career.

If you are scared about joining the ‘real world’, then again travelling will buy you some time and allow you to gain some different experiences.

Working beforehand in order to save up to go away, feels really good!  When you’ve got that little nest egg in the bank, you genuinely feel proud.  Personally, I think it was one of the best things I have ever managed to achieve and yeah I could have put a down-payment on a house…but this way I had much more fun!

If you choose to work while you travel, you will grow as a person as you have to experience everything from way beyond your natural comfort zone.  Especially if you choose to work in a country where English is not the main language…

…which leads me onto another point.  If you were to go out and volunteer (and I am not necessarily saying pay to go on one of those overpriced volunteering trip things…organise it yourself through a charity) then that will look great on your CV.

You will learn so much more than you ever thought possible.  You will learn about yourself, about other cultures, languages, people…I learnt more in six months travelling than I did in three years studying my degree.

It will change you…more than likely for the better.

And my advice not to do?

Don’t just go away and get drunk for your whole trip.  There is so much more to do than that.  If you are going to travel, ensure you have something worthwhile to discuss with a future employer.  Make the trip work towards your employability and don’t make it work against you.

As for me…I’ve well and truly got itchy feet.  Bring on the Euro Road Trip this summer!

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