FAQ: How can I get a National Insurance Number?

What is a National Insurance number?  Do I need one?  And how do I get one? To find out the answers to these common questions  read on…

A National Insurance Number is your own personal account number. It is unique to you and you keep the same one all your life. It makes sure that the National Insurance contributions and tax you pay are properly recorded against your name.

You need a National Insurance number (NI number) if you work in the UK.  You are able to start work before you have your NI number, as you can be given a temporary number by your employer.

You should have been sent a NI number automatically just before your 16th birthday if :

• you live in the UK
• your parents or guardians are getting Child Benefit for you.

If you do not meet both conditions, for example if you are an International student, you will need to apply for a national insurance number.

How to apply

You will need to make an appointment to have an Evidence of Identity interview, where you will be asked to bring along documents such as your passport and driving license. Make an appointment through your local Jobcentre Plus (telephone 0845 600 0643).  The local office for Queen Mary is  at 60 Commercial Road Whitechapel.

Find out more from the HM Revenue and Customs website.

UKCISA has useful informaiton for International students, including working during your studies.

Graduated and feeling stuck?

Friends and family asking ‘So what are you going to do now…?’?
Relief and celebration that you’ve passed your degree turning to concerns about what to do next?
Feeling demoralised that your job applications are getting nowhere?

Graduating and moving into employment is a big deal. It’s an exciting, and yet tricky stage for many people. Challenging as your time at Queen Mary probably was, the employment market may seem unclear and daunting by comparison. So here are 3 tips to help you successfully take steps into work you’ll enjoy.

One Start with YOU. Take stock of your qualifications, skills and personality. Employers will value your degree, but they’ll also be interested in what you offer them as a person. On-line tools such as Sort _it will help you. Vacation jobs and travel may seem a long way from the type of career you are looking for, but actually through them you are likely to be building your communication skills, problem solving and commercial and cultural awareness to name but a few.

Two Stay Positive. Looking for work involves lots of rejection and no-one enjoys that. Try not to compare yourself to any friends who seem to have it all sorted at the first attempt. That’s very rare. Come and talk to a Careers Adviser (or Skype with us) to renew your focus and confidence.

Three Take Action. Do at least one thing each day to move your carer forward. Research potential employers, contact a friend with similar aims to share ideas, make an application, do some interview preparation…. Job searching is definitely more about effort than luck. And an action we’d suggest for today is to join Gradclub  as this offers a great value way to continue to access careers support over the coming months. For a limited time only QM is subsiding membership so it is free to join – but make sure you join now to avoid missing out on the special offer.

FAQ: What types of job can I do with my degree?

Approximately 60% of graduate jobs are open to graduates from any discipline so try to think broadly. It is useful to think about the skills that you gained during your degree as well as the academic work that you did. Many employers may not be interested in your detailed knowledge of the Crusades, for example,  but they will be interested in the skills that you acquired as a result of studying this area e.g. critical thinking skills that were required to complete the literature review for your dissertation.

Having trouble getting to QM Careers this summer?

Are you an EU/international student or GradClub member who has gone home for the summer?
Or are you a student or GradClub member who lives outside of London?

We realise that it may be hard for some of you to visit Careers for face-to-face appointments over the summer.  So for the next few weeks we will be trialling short appointments with Careers Advisers using Skype.  Short appointments last for 20 minutes and are available Monday to Thursday.

Skype is a free service to make internet calls.  You can create an account online. You will need to have webcam, microphone and audio facilities.

Telephone +44 (0)20 7882 8533 or email us at careers@qmul.ac.uk to book an appointment, with the following information:

• Student ID or GradClub number
• First name
• Last name
• Department
• Course
• Year
• Email address
• Contact phone number
• International status
• Details of how you would like Careers to help you.

It’s that simple!  We look forward to Skyping with you soon.

FAQ: Do I include a personal profile on my CV?

Leaving out a personal profile at the top of a CV is better than having an average, generic one that could have been written by anyone! If you are going to use a personal profile make it unique and state the skills/experiences/awards that make you the perfect applicant for the job. If you have a first class degree and relevant work experience in the sector you are applying to then put this in your personal profile. This will get the employer’s attention and make you stand out from the crowd. A bland personal profile with a list of skills that could apply to anyone may turn the employer off. Come to Careers (WG3, Queens’ building) for more help with your CV.

One In Three Financial Recruiters Check Candidates’ Online ‘Footprints’

A new figure has been put on the number of bosses going online to scout out the backgrounds of potential new recruits, with one in three employers in the accounting and finance sector admitting to checking people’s social media footprint.

The survey by staffing expert Robert Half found that employers, while not yet carrying out all of their recruitment process online, certainly used the internet as an important tool to check out people’s history and credentials.

Robert Half director, Andrew Brushfield, said that no one could afford to underestimate the modern power of the internet – whether they are recruiters or ‘recruitees’.

“Given this reality, candidates need to be aware of their social media ‘footprint’ when applying for jobs,” he said.

“As a general rule of thumb, if there is anything online that employees don’t want their colleagues or bosses to see, they should remove it.”

Geoff Newman from flat-fee recruitment agency Recruitment Genius questions the legality of this activity but also admits there is little that can be done.

“To take a candidate’s online reputation into consideration the employer should first get consent of the candidate. However it is almost impossible to prove this activity has been done and all employers have to do is delete their cookies. Hence all candidates should ensure their ‘netrep’ is honest and professional.”

Read the full article here

Urban Water Challenge: student competition

Calling students of urban planning and design, architecture, landscape architecture and engineering.  You are invited to enter the Urban SOS 2011 student competition.

Urban SOS is an annual student competition created to engage students with the issues confronting modern cities and to find solutions to the complex challenges facing today’s built and natural environments. The theme of this year’s competition is water.

Water is the world’s most vital resource and needs creative design, planning and engineering responses to tackle water-based challenges facing urban sites. If you or a team of yourself and some friends have any buzzing ideas you are encouraged to submit them as a project plan by Friday 29 July 2011.

In November, three finalists (individuals or teams) will travel to the centre for London’s built environment, New London Architecture (NLA), to present their submissions to a panel of judges.  The finalists will be competing for a cash prize of £9,500 and a further award of up to £15,600 in value for a charitable/relief organisation to help make your project possible. For more information please see the website.

Entering this competition is a great opportunity to build skills like problem-solving and project management for the workplace.  It shows a strong interest in the industry which employers look for in applications. It offers the chance to progress your ideas into reality, which is a great achievement in itself and also a good way to learn about the sort of job you would like to do in the future.

Exploring Careers in International Development

There are many ways to get into your desired career but some sectors seem trickier than others.  Students often find it hard to navigate the different routes into careers in international development.

The annual International Development Careers Event Evening hosts speakers from the industry discussing how to break into the sector and what it is like when you get there.

International Development Careers Event
Tuesday 26 July 2011 6pm-9pm
London School of Economics

This event could be a networking opportunity, come to Careers find out more about this, read more about how to get into international development careers and keep an eye on The Careers Group University of London blog Getting into International Development.

Job Search in the US

Working here in the USA this summer I am gleaning a number of pearls of wisdom about the US job search, so here are a few…

Firstly, if you are thinking about working in the US then the first thing that you need to find out about is visas.  There are strict rules on who can work here, but the good news is that you can get visa sponsorship through a US company or come over as a short term intern.  The US embassy provides full information about this and these websites allow you to search for companies who sponsor work visas (note that this isn’t exhaustive but provides a starting point):  http://www.immihelp.com/h1b-sponsoring-companies-database/  and http://www.myvisajobs.com/Top_Visa_Sponsors.aspx

Secondly, only 10-15% of jobs are gained via the typical UK process of application to an advert. In the US 75% of people get their jobs by referral, where someone within a company put’s forward a candidate’s CV to the recruiter and as a result the candidate gets prioritised for interview.  This means that you need to connect to people in the USA to increase your chances, and you can do that via LinkedIn the networking site for professionals.  You want to look for people working in the same role as you and preferably in companies you’d like to apply to.  You can do this by running a search for people in 3 main ways:

1) search members of the company you are applying to
2) members of the QM Alumni network who may now work in the USA
3) members of the US professional association for your field of interest.

Once you have found individuals to approach write them an email, asking them if you could find out a bit about their job over email (or maybe even skype). This way you can start to build a relationship with them.  You never know what useful tips you may get and if you develop a good relationship over a few emails you could ask them to review your CV before you apply. If they like it, it may end in them offering you a referral.

Finally, here are some top websites for the job hunter: www.indeed.com, www.simplyhired.com/newgrad, www.dice.com, Jobsinthemoney.blogspot.com and www.wetfeet.com

Visiting Careers Advisor
Northeastern University Boston

Update on medical student finance for 2012-2013 intake

The current NHS bursary system will remain the same for next year’s intake of medical students. Support will also be provided to students taking the graduate entry route.

What does this mean?

All medical students starting their course in 2012 will continue to have their tuition fees paid through the NHS Bursary from their fifth year onwards.

The government has also pledged support for graduate entry medical students studying the four year accelerated course. These applicants will continue to pay £3,375 for their first year, but any fee charge above this level will be covered by a tuition fee loan provided by the Student Loans Company.

This will mean that graduate students will not face any extra upfront charges as a result of any increases in tuition fees. In subsequent years graduate students will be covered up to £3,375 and will then have the option of taking out a tuition fee loan from the Student Loans Company to cover any further fee costs over this level. This arrangement will only apply to the 2012-2013 intake for now.

To read the full BMA article click here.