Employability - what's in it for you?

As many students and staff know, the Careers Advisory Service has been doing a small research project this year, funded by HESCU. The focus? Employability, and how staff and students understand what this means for them. For something which on the surface seems to be a fairly straightforward concept, it is surprisingly complicated, with several different definitions. 

But rather than talk about the emerging findings, this blog is really aimed at giving a quick overview of what students could be doing to improve their ‘employability’. This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list, but a few pointers in the right direction to help!

Part time work – this is an often overlooked and ‘forgotten’ experience in how students can develop their employability. Lots of employer surveys highlight the need for experience of the world of work, and wanting students applying for graduate jobs to be ‘commercially aware’, good at problem solving and having demonstrable communication skills. What better way of doing all of these than by having a part time job/paid internship?

Making the links between what you are learning at college or university and a future career. This is a really good way to show an employer that you don’t just compartmentalise your learning, but that you can make the links between assignments you’ve done and ‘real life’ work issues. Did I mention that employers want ‘commercially aware’ students? Doing this applying of course knowledge to the work environment will help show this.

Identity – how do you view yourself? Do you see yourself purely as a student, or can you see yourself as an employee/self employed business owner? There is some research which points to students finding it tricky to move from seeing themselves as a student to a graduate employee or to being self employed. Alongside this, the Employers and Education Taskforce have done research which shows that the more good quality contacts that students have with employers, the better and easier the students find it to move from education to working life. So perhaps making good use of field trips, careers fairs, guest lectures done by employers and summer work/internships will help with this issue!

Doing a self audit on your skills – what are you really good at? What skills and experience really stand out for you? What needs to be developed and improved on? This isn’t something that just needs to happen in year 3 of a degree, as you are applying for a graduate scheme, the sooner you start doing it the better, as it gives you time to improve on what you need to! And once you’ve got a graduate job? You’ll need to carry on auditing your own skills and experience so that you can manage your career for the next 40-45 years!

As with most things, some of these pointers will be of more use than others. But what would be worth doing is giving your future employability some thought. How are you preparing for it? What else could you do, even if it takes you out of your comfort zone? And if you want to discuss any of this in more detail, come and talk to someone in the careers advisory service!

Thinking of becoming self-employed or starting your own business?

 

If you’re thinking about setting up your own company, getting your Business Plan right is crucial.

A business plan gives an outline of your business, the market in which it will operate and how it aims to make money - and should answer this question: why will your business succeed when so many others fail?

Be concise
It’s really important that potential investors can understand what your business is all about from a quick glance at your plan. Make sure you include a summary of your business, and how it will make money right from the start, and use simple language throughout.

Be specific

Being specific is just as important as being concise. The details will help you drill down into how you will actually deliver your plan.

Know your market

A big part of knowing whether your business will be successful is understanding your audience. Make sure your plan is clear about your target market – who will you be selling to and how many other companies are already selling similar products?

Know your finances

The other essential part of a business plan is the finance section. If your business isn’t going to make any money, it won’t be successful so you need to be very clear on how you will make a profit. Use it to your advantage – your plan will be incredibly useful when it comes to securing loans and investment, but that’s not its only use. It’s also a personal tool to help you understand your objectives.

Marketing is vital to business success. Think about big brands like Apple, Innocent and Burberry. They have all successfully identified their target audience and have tailored their marketing to suit them, which has helped them to develop a clear identity.

Market research is key, to help you understand your target audience. The more you do, the easier it will be in the future to make decisions about your marketing strategy, pricing, budget and sales target. There are several methods for conducting market research and you may need more than one.

Market research will help you to:

§  Work out whether there is a market for your product or service and how much demand there is

§  Who your target customers are and what your product is worth to them

§  How you will reach your target customers

§  Who your competitors will be and how they operate

Brand identity
Once you’ve done your market research, you can use your findings to help develop your brand.
Think about the impression you want to give your customers and how you can deliver that. For example, if young people are your target audience and you want to be known for being cool and creative, make sure everything from the way you dress to the language of your marketing materials shows that.

Once you’ve identified your customer base and worked out your brand identity, you can start to develop your marketing materials.

Having your own website is a really powerful marketing tool. Making sure it is professional and matches your brand is really important.

Finance & Legal considerations

Start-up costs

Once you’ve worked out your own monthly outgoings, you’ll have an idea of how much your business needs to make for you. After that you’ll need to think about the start-up costs you’ll need to get your business off the ground.

Tax

Once you’ve set up your business, you must register as self-employed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC has loads of really useful information on setting up a business, including an e-learning package called Starting in Business. For more detail on registering your business with HMRC and further information on setting up in business, visit their website. www.gov.uk

Insurance

All businesses need insurance as soon as they start trading. Some types of insurance are required by law and should be in place before you’re up and running. For example, you must have employers’ liability insurance if you employ people.

The broker or insurance company you use should be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Want a helping hand?  If you’re 18 to 30, living in the UK and have a business idea or some ideas to explore, the Prince’s Trust’s Explore  Enterprise programme could be for you.

Visit www.princes-trust.org.uk for more information

How to be CV Savvy - from Agenda Resource Management

Getting a CV up to scratch is an important part of job hunting. Not only is it the first hurdle of the process, it is also the key factor in attracting an employer’s attention. So, what should it contain?

Despite what many career websites say, there is no ’perfect’ template. Different sectors may require a different emphasis on a different aspect of the content. It is all dependent on the particular role you’re applying for. For example, a practical role would require an emphasis on career history but a candidate applying for an academic role would highlight their gained qualifications.
However, experts suggest all candidates should follow these basic rules when creating a CV:

1.       Type it up

Employers will expect you to word process your CV. This is a much neater way of presenting your work and generally looks a lot more professional.

2.       Keep it short

Preferably no more than two sides of A4. Your CV should be clear and concise, stressing both achievements and strengths.

3.        The basic format for a CV includes:

·         ­ Personal details: including name, address, phone number, and email address. If you have a relevant online blog, don’t forget to add the URL. You no longer need to include your date of birth, owing to age discrimination rules.

·         ­ Career history: record your most recent job first. Include dates and temporary or voluntary jobs if and where appropriate.

·         ­ A personal profile which sells you and your qualities, tailored towards the job you are applying for. You should also include a covering letter.

·         ­ Achievements from previous jobs that are relevant and which highlight your strengths.

·         ­ Qualifications and training from previous jobs, with the most recent first.

·         ­ Interests if they are relevant and especially if the skills or teamwork concerned are relevant for the job.

·         ­ Any extra information, such as reasons for a career change or reasons for gaps in career history, such as caring duties or long term travels.

·         References: ideally two or more and including a recent employer.

Make sure that you keep font and formatting basic. Fancy font and tables can hinder your CV by taking the attention away from your achievements and qualifications.

4.         How do you avoid making mistakes on your CV?

Most employers will agree that poor spelling is one of the quickest and sure-fire ways of getting rejected from a role. It may seem unfair, particularly if you are a bad speller, but these costly mistakes can be avoided.

Why not ask a friend or relative who is a competent speller, to check over your work for you? This way, you can be sure that you haven’t made any mistakes and you will feel a little more confident once you’ve hit ‘send’. At Agenda, we offer a free CV review service, so why not ask an expert to cast an eye over your CV. Check out our website for a free CV review: http://www.agendalifesciences.com/cv-review

5.        How do you adjust your CV to suit  that particular role?

According to career buffs, you should search the internet for inspiration. Find adverts for similar roles and work your CV around them. This doesn’t mean that you should do a ‘copy and paste job’ because the likelihood is; the employers have seen this kind of thing before and binned CVs because of it. Just doing your research is always going to stand you in good stead - be it for your CV, your interview and your general knowledge.

For advice about roles within life sciences and animal research, contact Agenda Resource Management on 08456 44 55 45, or email us at jobs@agenda-rm.co.uk.