What happens at a Careers Service Interview Skills event?

What happens at a Careers Service Interview Skills event?

As part of Selection Perfection fortnight we ran a variety of sessions covering the different stages of the selection process.  

One of the most popular sessions was an Interview Skills workshop run by Ed Bootle from True Clarity. This workshop covered the essential preparation for interviews that students should be doing (but are so often overlooked), and looked at how to answer the interview questions you are dreading!

What did the students think of the session?

“As a mature student at Bristol, I have already attended several daunting job and university interviews. However, I am always completely intimidated and overwhelmed at the prospect of another one! Ed Bootle’s interview skills workshop was one of the most practical and honest sessions I have attended at university. Coming directly from the interviewer’s mouth, Ed gave us a real insight into how interviews are designed to work, what the interviewer is expecting from you, and what you can do to make the best impression possible. Too often we take for granted the simple things, such as standing up when shaking hands or ensuring that you have robust questions to ask at the end of your interview. The workshop was candid and easy-going, and I feel as though everybody walked away from it feeling much more confident about themselves and their next big interview.”

Sarah Muston (2nd year BA Anthropology)

Lee gives us an insight into some of the topics that were covered in the session:

“The session was delivered by an experienced interviewer so it was great to get a feel for the interview process from an expert.  I found the section on which questions are good to ask and those that are not so good to ask in an interview interesting.  We did a group activity on how to approach awkward questions, the key thing that I took away from that activity was to be mindful of why certain questions are being asked. I didn’t quite appreciate the importance of a job specification, but as the speaker clearly pointed out – the job specification is a very useful tool to tailor your interview preparation around.  I would highly recommend this session to anyone who wants to learn how to deliver an effective interview.”

Lee Clay (2nd year BSc Childhood Studies with Quantitative Research Methods)

How to get help preparing for interview

Preparation and practice are key! If you would like help with preparing for interviews, please take a look at the interview section on our website, as well as our interview simulator on mycareer which is an online video interviewing module enabling you to practise answering questions and perfecting your technique.  We will be running more interview skills events throughout the rest of the academic year.  You can keep up to date with all our events through mycareer.

 

One final note from us:

“The key to a good interview is preparation and understanding what the interviewer is asking and why.”
Good luck!

Meeting Alumni – a Valuable Step in Career Planning

What do you think people from your degree course are doing 10, 20 even 30 years after they graduated? What questions would you ask former students that graduated from the same course as you? This is an opportunity that students from the Biomedical Sciences Faculty got when they helped set-up the first Biomedical Sciences Alumni Evening.

Definition of Alumni from thefreedictionary.com
Definition of Alumni from thefreedictionary.com

 Last November, alumni from the 1980s to the present day came back to the University to talk to current Biomedical students. They came from a huge range of specialisms: including, postdoctoral researchers, medical consultants, clinical scientists, laboratory managers, accountants, medical demonstrators, academics, medics, and strategy consultants.

Current student chatting to Tony Stanley, PolyCoversDirect Ltd.
Current student chatting to Tony Stanley, PolyCoversDirect Ltd.

Students across the year groups found that talking to alumni was a very useful exercise. As well as being inspired to think about careers they hadn’t yet considered and encouraged to explore a range of opportunities, students also had the chance to pose questions to alumni who have gone on to pursue a range of influential careers. For example, they could ask them about what employers valued most from their degree course; what different industries were like; or what advice they would give their former selves when they were back studying at Bristol. Some of the feedback from students included:

‘[The evening] allowed me to discuss the pros and cons of different job opportunities, mainly academia vs industry. It really helped give me a realistic picture of each. I also learnt a lot about pursuing a PhD, travel and MRes courses, which I hadn’t previously heard about’

 ‘Very good! Helpful advice for PhD applications and opened my mind to other career options too’

‘I was able to ask questions about careers I was interested in and get answers from someone who knows the job well’

Speaking to Alumni is an excellent way to explore career ideas, to get the inside information on different sectors and to ask advice from people who have actually been there!

The alumni who attended the event were

Richard Pither, CEO Cytox Ltd, talking to Biomedical students
Richard Pither, CEO Cytox Ltd, talking to Biomedical students

equally enthusiastic. Bronwen Burton (BSc 2007), Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Immunology, said: ‘The event was a great success. The students seemed enthusiastic and engaged, asking lots of questions during the discussion sessions. Several also approached me during the networking session with further questions. The array of different careers which we, as alumni, represented provided an inspiring illustration of what can be achieved after completing a degree in Biomedical Sciences.’

The evening was requested by students and came from feedback during the Faculty Student Staff Liaison Committee that students wanted more contact with alumni. If this sounds like something you could benefit from it’s worth finding out if you have any alumni events that take place in your school or that are run by your course society.

How can you get in touch with Alumni?

You don’t need large events like this to be able to speak to Bristol Alumni. The Careers Service host the Careers Network – an inspirational community of Alumni who are happy to answer questions over email from current students about their careers, professions or entrepreneurial activities. Search the Careers Network to look for Alumni in specific sectors or from the same course as you!

You can also use LinkedIn to connect with Bristol Alumni. Simply create a strong LinkedIn Profile and ‘Find Alumni’ under the ‘My Network’ tab.

Be sure to read the advice and further suggestions about how to connect with Alumni on the Bristol Careers Service Website.