Graduate Employment Headlines Can Be Misleading

Headlines going on about 25% of Graduates not being in full time work three years after finishing University could easily make you worried about your employment prospects after leaving Queen Mary.

Fortunately for you, but unfortunately for journalists, is the reality just doesn’t make good headlines. The fact is that a quarter of graduates are not sitting depressed on a sofa watching Jeremy Kyle all day, claiming unemployment benefits. In fact dipping below the headline reveals just 3.2% were “assumed to be unemployed.”

So what are the rest of them doing?*

• 6.5% of graduates are doing further study such as a PhD.
• 7.9% were working part time (this could be for any number of reasons, such as family commitments).
• 5.8% were doing a combination of work and study
• 3% were unavailable for work (some due to disability, but more commonly because they are backpacking round the world)0.5% were volunteering and working unpaid

*From the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

I admit that for the 3.2% it is not good news. But it is a much better figure then 25%.

If you are in any doubt about whether there are jobs out there for Queen Mary students and Graduates, just look at our jobs website. There are  opportunities out there.. .

Things are tough but perhaps not as bleak as the journalists would have you think.

Vinny Potter
Careers Consultant

FAQ: Is any work experience better than none?

Competition for graduate jobs is becoming increasingly stiff! Depending on the sector, employers can have many more applications than they have jobs available. They have the luxury of being picky. Employers like to see well-rounded individuals that are both work-savvy and academically capable. The gold standard would be work experience in the relevant sector for the job you are applying. However, any work experience shows that you have used your initiative and have gained some skills along the way. Working as a waiter/waitress involves dealing with the general public and working under pressure. Working in a shop helps develop commercial / buisiness awareness, as well as customer service and sales skills. Sell the skills that you have gained in a way that will be attractive to employers, even if they were acquired from a ‘less than perfect’ job. Come to Careers for some more advice on how to do this.

Disclosing disability in job applications

Deciding whether to let an employer know that you have a disability during the recruitment process can create anxiety in students and graduates but it can be important to disclose this information to access any reasonable adjustments you may need.

Some brief definitions to help

A disabled person/person with a disability – someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on his or her ability to do normal everyday activities.

Disclosure – where you inform someone – in this case, an employer – that you have a disability.

Reasonable adjustment – adjustments and support provided by an employer to ensure disabled employees are not disadvantaged in the workplace or in this case the application process.

Why should you disclose?

Legally, an employer cannot discriminate against a disabled person (see the Equality Act 2010) however there is no legal obligation for you to disclose your disability.  If you do choose to tell the employer it may help you receive the necessary support to ensure you perform your best during the application process and you will be protected by the law.

Your disclosure can also further demonstrate the transferable skills that the employer is looking for such as:

• Working around challenges – determination, creativity and resilience to complete your degree with a disability
• Confidence – disclosure shows a confident attitude making your disability a positive attribute
• Diversity – you are contributing to a diverse workforce rather than “selling” your disability

When can you disclose?

You may choose to disclose at the following stages of the application process.
CV – extenuating circumstances for example hospital visits that may have affected academic results
Application Form – requesting the form in an accessible format
Tests – reasonable adjustments such as extra time to complete the tests
Interview – reasonable adjustments such as directions to the venue in large print
Assessment Centre – reasonable adjustments such as physical access into the venue
Offer of Employment – planning reasonable adjustments to support you in your job role
Never – you may not disclose if you feel that your disability does not impact your application or working life.

Remember that employers may want advice from you about how to support you as a disabled employee.  Provide them with ready-made solutions if there are things that you are doing now that work for you such as specialist software to hear text read aloud.

For more information

On campus – the Disability and Dyslexia Service (DDS) have expertise in disability and dyslexia issues, their website was a great help for this blog.

Off campus – REACH provides information for students with barriers to employment, there are links to external support services like Shaw Trust whose information provided content for this blog, an events/application deadlines calendar and blogs.

Improve your job hunting technique

The recent UK economic growth figures announced last week fell short of the official growth target however the Chancellor insisted that more jobs are being created.  This may leave you feeling uncertain as you search for graduate vacancies.  An important way to make you feel more confident in your job search is to reflect on how you are searching for jobs.  Here are some questions to begin with.

Have you come to QM Careers for initial direction for your job search – what are your career options and a shortlist of good websites to use?

Do you know how to use these websites, for example why would you go to a professional body’s website to look for jobs besides its vacancies page?

Do you know that not every vacancy is advertised and the ways to discover these hidden jobs?

These questions are some of the prompts from a New Scientist blog about job searching however these techniques also apply to students and graduates who are not looking for a science career so do have a read.

QM Careers is open throughout the summer, if you are a current student please bring along your student ID, if you are a recent graduate you must be a GradClub member to use Careers – currently we have a promotion to sign up to GradClub for FREE.

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.

Finding Finance Jobs

We were asked via Twitter the other day about where to find openings in financial institutions. Well, at this time of year it may be difficult to find front office openings as many of the roles will have been filled by either direct applicants or through the Internship pipeline.

So, you might want to look at other alternatives within finance, and think how your skills, aspirations and experience fit those alternatives.

There is a pretty comprehensive list of roles available on the Prospects website, and if you want to rethink your career plan it would be worth writing up a CV or listing all your skills and experience and then coming to speak to one of our Careers Advisers who will be able to work with you on an action plan.

Where to look for vacancies?

Of course once you know the sort of role you are looking for you will be able to narrow down the organisations you are looking to apply to, so naturally a good place to look are on their vacancy websites. However, there are a couple of other resources out there.

First up have a look on our JobOnline website which has had about 50 vacancies in the last four weeks related to finance. Then have a look at specialist websites like eFinancialCareers, or there is a list of websites available on our website, or take a look at Careers Tagged our online library.

Still not sure?

Come into QM Careers and have a chat with one of our Information Staff. We have some directories in the library you can either take away or use on site as reference.

Download interview and assessment centre tips

A major financial company has developed a free online application  to help students with interview skills and assessment centre preparation.  Although the application is hosted by an investment bank, it is designed to help students and graduates whether they are interested in a financial career or not.

The application features interview questions, candidates’ answers and employer feedback. Download the app for free to your phone or PC.

Don’t forget that QM Careers offers handouts, DVDs, books and practice sessions for upcoming interviews so come and see us!

Merchandising and more – Exciting opportunities in Retail

Retail is a recruitment area that, somewhat ironically, struggles to market itself properly to students.

Last week I attended a conference organised by the Association of Graduate Recruiters looking at the various challenges facing retailers and highlighting some of the little know areas of recruitment within their business.

One of the key messages to come out of the event was that most of the companies present* were unable to fill all of their graduate vacancies during the 2010-11 recruitment cycle, and in many cases vacancies were scheduled to increase for the 2011-12 cycle.

This is seen as being mainly indicative of awareness of the types of roles beyond general management in the sector, which can include areas such as Buying, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, Merchandising, Product Design, Product Technology, Purchasing, Property, and Supply Chain.

Merchandising was one of the areas particularly highlighted by a number of retailers I spoke to (in particular Arcadia and John Lewis) as being a shortage area across all businesses, with a need for students with a highly numerate background who are interested in statistical analysis to fill a number of roles. This is also a highly lucrative career option in the long run, with experienced merchandisers at the top end commanding close to six figure salaries.

Here is an audio file covering some of the hidden opportunities in retail, please note it was recorded on my phone, so is not amazing quality!

Another thing that was discussed is that looking at many of the retailers present at this event the Head Office opportunities are, with a few exceptions, located outside London, and are particularly focused on the Midlands, Yorkshire and Lancashire. One Graduate, originally from London, I spoke to who had relocated to Manchester to work with The Co-Operative said that it was difficult to move, but he felt it was the right choice for him as he was convinced that the Co-Op was an organisation he wanted to work for due to their Business ethics.

The more ‘traditional’ retail management roles can also feature a lot of travel and relocation during the process of a Graduate Scheme, and in some of the more ‘leisure’ based retailers it was noted that long hours were a normal state for new starters.

The organisers recommended that anyone interested in the realities should look at the videos at Career Player for a flavour of the types of work involved http://www.careerplayer.com/careers/retailbuyingmerchandising.aspx

Here are the slides from the event

*Companies present were Arcadia, ASDA, Boots, The Co-Operative, Dunnhumby, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, HSBC Bank, John Lewis, Majestic Wine Warehouses, Marks & Spencer, Mitchells & Butlers, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose and Whitbread

IT and technology jobs in Shoreditch

Did you know that London’s top tech startups are hiring for over 100 technical roles right now? For a fast-track to finding out all about them, get down to the Silicon Milkroundabout event on Sunday 15th May at Bar Music Hall in Shoreditch.

The Silicon Milkroundabout event is hosted by the Silicon Roundabout. The Silicon Roundabout is the nickname for the Old Street Roundabout because of the concentration of British web based companies in the area. This group of 30 of London’s top technology startups are looking for computer science finalists and graduates.

Register at siliconmilkroundabout.com  and take a few hours out on a Sunday afternoon to meet the startups and hear their pitches.

Opportunities coming up related to the Olympics

Yesterday afternoon I popped over to North Greenwich to attend a launch event run by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (or LOCOG for short). The event was aimed at notifying a few key Universities of the upcoming full time roles they will be looking to fill.

So what is LOCOG?

LOCOG look after the staging of the Olympics taking place in 2012, essentially looking at the moment all the Athletes, Support Teams, Spectators and Media arrive in London, and the other host areas, and carrying out all the functional activities that run the events day to day until the close of the Paralympic Games in Late July 2012.

A lot of the people I spoke to from LOCOG were really keen to impress that many of them started their careers working in some of the junior positions at previous Olympic Games going back some years, and although these roles are fixed term positions (once the games are over LOCOG ceases to operate) there are a number of further opportunities you can pursue, and also having worked on such a large project looks great on any CV.

What Jobs are Available?

To be honest there are too many different roles to cover in a blog post like this, but to give some kind of guidance I’ll break it down into some key areas and highlighting some of the types of vacancy. The thing to keep in mind is that some of the areas might only be looking for five people, and some 100.

Accommodation

Accommodation is responsible for meeting the accommodation needs of all accredited personnel, totalling 55,000 rooms per night, during the Games acrossLondonand at the Co-Host Cities across the UK.  Ideal for someone with a desire to work in hospitality.

Protocol

This area looks after all the visiting VIP/Corporate guests at the event, and also looks after interpretation services needed through the games. There a limited number of roles in this area for people with strong language skills, and a background in International Relations.

This area also includes something called Family Services which is a high level role ideal for someone with a post graduate qualification in International Relations, and fluent French & English. Tasks here involve organising the Olympic Conference which takes place before the Games begin, and ensuring that Senior Officials are looked after.

Catering, Cleaning & Waste

These three areas have been linked together by LOCOG as Catering is seen as being the biggest producer of waste during the Games. Essentially the roles available here are to act as co-ordinators between LOCOG and their various suppliers, ensuring that suppliers meet their obligations, and any problems are picked up and dealt with straight away. Again this is an ideal place for someone with a Business & Management background who wants to work in either contract management, or hospitality management.

Venues

This covers two areas, the games venues and also the energy supply to the various locations hosting events.

Venue co-ordinators are based in admin roles until the games when they go onsite for the duration. Managing the various logistic aspects of areas of the venue from Front of House through to VIP areas, and also the actual ‘stage’ of the games, and reporting to a Venue Manager who oversees the full range of activities. For venues used for other events the Venue Co-ordinator oversees the ‘overlay’ of Olympic activities onto the space being used. This role is suitable for someone with a Facilities Management background. Roles are available now.

Venue Energy Co-ordinators, undertake a role that is pretty much self explanatory. They oversee the supply of utilities to the venues to ensure smooth running leading up to and during the events. This can include designing supply systems, and overseeing contractors and suppliers to ensure delivery. This role is suitable for Electrical Engineering Graduates.

Transport

In this division they will be looking for people who can co-ordinate the fleet of vehicles used to get people attached to the games around London, as well as liaising on the ground with local transport operators. The representatives were very clear that they were not looking for drivers, as they have plenty of those, but instead people who are interested in project management and planning.

Villages

Again looking for people with an interest in hospitality roles here focused on ensuring the various athletic accommodation is comfortable and secure for the athletes, and covers a huge range of areas during the games. From roles in retail outlets, negotiating with host buildings, co-ordinating activities for the residents, and ensuring there is a level of service provided to any visitors that is consistent across the entire range of accommodation.

Application & Timelines

Roles will be advertised primarily through Jobs at LOCOG  and LOCOG are very keen for students and graduates from Queen Mary, University of London to apply for roles with them.

When roles are advertised will really depend on the area, but as we go into the next month or two expect a huge increase of vacancies to appear on the LOCOG website, so do bookmark their page if you are looking to work for the Olympics . We’ll flag up the key roles aimed at students and graduates via our Facebook pages so keep an eye on that as well.