Fact! Reality! Your academic grades alone are no guarantee for the best jobs!
Every employer will look at the WORK EXPERIENCE section on your CV!
Top Tips to Stay Ahead of your Competitors
Use the Careers Service- get down to your Careers Office asap and hunt out opportunities
Get online- know your Careers Office's website inside out and get your portfolio/ CV online
Target relevant employers- contact specific individuals; ask for an interview/ job talk; send a speculative letter
Ensure you have transferable skills- team work; communication; initiative; self-motivation; IT; problem-solving; language ability
Volunteer- play the tactics right; any voluntary work gives a CV depth
Think small employer first- more responsibility; more skills; more impact; then aim to move higher
Be firm- don't lose your ideals or ethics
Get fully involved- seize any opportunity and get stuck in
Sell yourself- don't play down extra-curricular experience like planning/ finance committees, marketing meetings...
Network- use 'ex alumni/alumnae', professional institutions, family contacts ruthlessly; why stand back for others to go past!?
Look for assistance- remain alive to opportunities, presentations, clinics etc as few other students will!
Think European/ International- why not pick a company with opportunities abroad?
Use your Summer Vacation wisely- 53% of students are working full or part-time in Uni holidays- in fact, only 21% are not working at some point in the year
Remember you have the right to refuse to undertake any task with an 'imminent or serious danger' and should be paid at least the national minimum legal wage: If 18-21= £4.45 per hour; 22+= £5.35
Supermarkets- our 24 hour culture has created opportunities
Call centres- selling, info provision, enquiry fielding; high staff turnover
TEFL- language school students abound; teaching/ organisational roles
Work placements/ Internships- fantastic CV enhancers available for Law, Business, Engineering, Industry, IT, Management etc; often voluntary (initially); 1/2 weeks or whole vacation
And why stay in the UK for these placements?! Summer camps, call centres etc offer similar opportunities though you need to plan and investigate these carefully. You have all the gap schemes available too.
