A common question heard over the last few weeks as campus starts to liven up. “Busy!” is the answer you normally hear as the days of university staff relaxing with their feet up over July and August when the lecture theatres and labs are empty are long gone. So busy doing what exactly?
Business as usual
Since we moved to Tyndall Avenue last year, we have a 66.8% increase in people visiting the Careers Service with over 24,000 visits, and this summer has been no exception with it being busier than ever.
Lots of queries about CVs and applications from students and graduates starting early – and even some interview practice for people already getting through the selection process for September 2013 starts. We have also been chatting with students and grads over the phone and via e-mail when they haven’t been in Bristol.
Employer updates
We also have time to catch up with employers to make sure that the advice and information we give you is the most up to date. By the end of September we will have met with:
- Bank of America Merrill Lynch
- BT
- Unilever
- E-ON
- Jaguar Landrover
- Dyson
- Morgan Stanley
- Hogan Lovells
- Ernst & Young
- KPMG
- HW Fisher
- Freshfields
- Accenture
- Fidelity
- ACCA
- PwC
- RM
- Nationwide
- Amadeus
- Decathlon
- Alacrity
- Barclays
- Deutsche Bank
- Hitachi
- Capital
- Nair & Co
- Bloomberg
- Addleshaw Goddard.
We make sure that all this information is updated on our Careers Catalogue and employer files in the Careers Service for potential applicants.
What’s more, the Internship team has been in touch with local smaller companies to increase the amount of internships that we can offer next year after some great feedback from companies and students involved in our pilot last year:
“An invaluable foot in the door” / “It’s a scheme that works; a great avenue to get paid for relevant work experience” / “One of the best things I’ve done at University” / “Excellent interns” / “The calibre of the student we took on was extremely high”
It’s going to be a busy Autumn Term….
Whatever the media is saying about graduate jobs, employers definitely want to recruit at Bristol. They were still holding events on campus in June and they have been booking to be on campus in the Autumn earlier than ever. The Careers Fairs are mostly full now and there is even a waiting list for the 2 day Engineering and IT Fair which has been fully booked since the end of July. Over 100 employers have booked individual presentations too and they’re planning to do even more unusual things this year to grab your attention – watch this space…
We also have a full programme of employers involved in our workshops this year – including new employers like Waitrose, Bain Consulting, Coca Cola, ATOS and Thales. Keep an eye on the events programme to book your places on events such as ‘Know your strengths’,’ Introduction to corporate social responsibility’, ‘How to stand out from the crowd’, ‘Presenting with confidence’.
Bristol PLuS Awards
Jenny, the coordinator of all things PLuS , has been looking at the feedback from last year and putting together even more support for PLuSers in 2012. “New developments include induction session, and our fantastic new video which explains all about the Award. Also, for students going for the Outstanding Award there will be even more advice and tips though workshops”. Employers are keener than ever to be involved with the Award and there are 5 intensive skills days planned for the Autumn Term. You can keep updated through the Facebook page.
Information overload
When you get a delivery for 80 boxes of publications weighing 1 tonne (the delivery guy’s estimate not mine!) you know it’s the Autumn Term. The Times Top 100, TARGETjobs GET directory and the Guardian Top 300 guides have all landed and waiting to be scooped up. Alongside these, the Information Team have been making sure that all the resources are up to date from print folders and books to the website, including the latest information about what Bristol graduates have gone on to do.
Call in or check out the website to find out what else is new for 2012-2013
Sara Whittam, Careers Adviser