Next to Last
Special Bulletin for Junior Honours Students
2008 Edition
Dear Student,
Next to Last has been written especially for penultimate year students, with a view to drawing your attention to a range of excellent opportunities, many with early closing dates, which you should be aware of.
Final year and graduation are fast approaching and we'd like to take this opportunity to introduce the Careers Service to you and outline some ways in which we can help you at this stage in your career. So, whatever stage you are at with your career planning, there should be something of interest to you.........
JEM
For access to all vacancies and events information it is essential for students to register with our jobs and events management system, JEM.
Registration will take only a few minutes. Click on the JEM logo on the Careers Service website. www.gla.ac.uk/careers
Once registered you can:
- Create and edit saved job searches
- Be alerted by email of new vacancies matching your saved job searches
- Browse the Careers calendar
- Keep your personal online Careers Diary
- Receive email reminders for Careers Diary
- Register for useful emails from the Careers Service
The Careers Service Guide
The Guide is a free publication aimed at penultimate year students. It outlines the many resources available to you at the Careers Service to help you make the transition from student to working life, or further study, as smooth as possible.
Articles include:
- Applications, interviews and assessment centres
- Postgraduate funding and study
- Working abroad
- Job search
- Work experience
- Glasgow graduates and their career choices
- Using the Careers Service
If you have not received a copy collect one from the Careers Service now.
'I don't know what I want to do after my course finishes'
Why not visit www.prospects.ac.uk?
The Career Centre will help you explore your ideas and doing Prospects Planner online is an excellent starting point. This will ask you a number of questions about yourself, use your answers to build up your own 'self profile' and match it against suitable occupations.
You can also make an initial 20-minute appointment with a Careers Adviser, at the Careers Service Reception Desk. Either call into 3 University Gardens or phone Reception on 0141 330 4084.
'How can I find out more about a particular type of work?'
Visit www.prospects.ac.uk.
Under the section Jobs & Work click on Explore Types of Jobs and you can find out about different occupational sectors and also individual jobs. Information on the skills required, how to get into the job and whether or not you need to consider work experience or a postgraduate course to enter the profession are all explained.
'I'm interested in finding out about working for a specific employer'
Why not attend The Summer Graduate Fair in Scotland at the SECC on 28th and 29th May 2008 and take the opportunity to meet with a large number of graduate employers.
The Careers Service Information Centre has files on many graduate employers. Each employer’s website will also contain comprehensive details.
'How can I find out about job vacancies and employers visiting campus next year?'
Job vacancies can be accessed electronically from the Careers Service website, under JEM. All vacancies for 2009 graduates will be published in this. Also, during autumn term, many employers will visit campus or local venues to make presentations to final year students. Details of these visits will be outlined in the events section of our website.
Examples of organisations presenting to students in 2008 were:
- BUNAC
- PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Procter and Gamble
- British Energy
- Scottish Police Service
- Openwave
'What are some of the vacation work opportunities open to me?'
Check out our web site, under JEM, to find out about a range of opportunities - Voluntary, Paid, Internships, Full-Time, both overseas and in the UK - there should be something for everyone.
Some well-known vacation work schemes include:
UK-based
The University’s Student Representative Council (SRC) offers a variety of work experience opportunities. http://www.glasgowstudent.net
Club 21, administered from the Careers Service, is an exciting partnership between the University and prestigious companies. Its purpose is to provide you with work experience allowing you to develop skills that employers view as important.
http://www.gla.ac.uk/careers/club21
STEP (Shell Technology Enterprise Programme) - 8 weeks employment in the summer, based in small and medium sized companies throughout the UK.
http://www.step.org.uk
Graduates for Business - local, Glasgow-based, work placement scheme.
http://www.gyb.info
Summer School Opportunities are available at some universities. Details can be found on JEM under Short Courses.
International
AIESEC - Student exchange programmes in 100 countries.
http://www.uk.aiesec.org
BUNAC - Summer work experience programmes in many parts of the world.
http://www.bunac.org.uk
IAESTE - Practical, course-related, training in over 80 countries. Placements are mainly for engineering/science students.
http://www.iaeste.org.uk
ist Plus - Work and Travel opportunities in the USA, Canada and Australia, among others
http://www.istplus.com
Shell Personal Development Awards Offers varying amounts of money to help intrepid students’ personal development, for instance through travelling or taking extra courses.
http://www.shell.com. Select jobs and careers/students
'I need some help with my CV, completing application forms, interview techniques, etc'
Use the Careers Service website to help you find out the basics of CV writing. Ask in the Information Centre for take-away and reference material to help you and watch the video Looking Good on Paper. It only lasts 20 minutes and explains what employers look for on your CV and application forms.
Once you have your CV ready a Careers Adviser will be able to check it over with you for content and clarity. Just ask about the Quick Query Service at the Careers Service Information Centre.
Staff are happy to check CVs for all applications including internships, vacation and part-time employment, as well as for graduate positions
International Students may want to attend a series of workshops to help them learn job seeking skills for applying for jobs in Scotland and the UK.
These workshops are run throughout the academic session. There are five workshops in the series, each lasting for 1.5 hours. Ask in the Information Centre for more details or when the next series of workshops will be starting.
'How can I find out about some of the Postgraduate options available?'
A guide to all Postgraduate Study opportunities and funding information in the UK can be found on Prospects Web under Postgrad Study.
Further details on Postgraduate Study and Funding are also available on our website under undergraduate student/consider postgraduate study and training.
For Postgraduate Study Overseas, most scholarships have closing dates very early in the first term of your final year, so you need to act quickly if this is something you are interested in pursuing. Further details available at the Careers Service.
The Fulbright Commission web site (http://www.fulbright.co.uk) offers a guide to postgraduate study and funding opportunities in the USA. Fulbright scholarship closing dates are early and are not subject to restrictions on your choice of subject or University.
Closing dates for other Scholarships such as the Thouron (http://www.thouronaward.org/), Knox (http://www.frankknox.harvard.edu/) and Kennedy (http://www.kentrust.demon.co.uk/)
for studying in America are early, with some deadlines and interviews at the beginning of October. For further details keep your eye on our website in the first week of semester after the summer!
Japanese Embassy
Twenty 'Monbusho' scholarships
(http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/en/study/mext_postgrad.html) are available annually for British students to study in Japan. No knowledge of the Japanese language is necessary.
‘Where can I find out what previous graduates with my degree have done?’
Visit the Careers Service website and follow the route Prospective Students/Find out about career options. This will provide you with details on both Glasgow University graduates and the general UK statistics on employment and further study for recent graduates.
Finally, some early closing dates for your diary:
Teaching
Applications for a PGDE in primary teaching in Scotland have a strict closing date of 1st December. Secondary Teaching has no specific closing date but it is recommended to apply early. Teaching information booklets are available, free, in the Careers Service Information Centre.
http://www.teachinginscotland.com
Social Work
Closing dates for applications to the Master of Social Work are 15th January. Late applications will be considered. http://www.sssc.uk.com
JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) - Teaching in Japan.
Closing date is late November for this very popular scheme, allowing graduates with a first degree to teach English in Japan. No knowledge of Japanese is required. There will be a presentation by JET on campus early in your final year - details on our website. This scheme is organised through the Japanese Embassy. http://www.jet-uk.org
Accountancy
The major accountancy firms recruit students of all disciplines to train as accountants. In Scotland, their closing dates are very early - around the second week of first term of final year, with interviews in early November in some cases. Some firms start accepting applications as early as September. Check the firms' web sites for application procedures. Keep visiting the Careers Service for up-to-date information.
The Civil Service
There are 2 routes into the Civil Service for graduates, either through Departmental Graduate Recruitment, or The Fast Stream Development Programme. Those who take the Departmental path have the opportunity to transfer to the Fast Stream at a later date after gaining any necessary extra experience.
Departmental Recruitment
Departments advertise their vacancies as and when they arise throughout the year. These will be available on our website.
Fast Stream Recruitment
Honours graduates are recruited each year into the Fast Stream, including the Diplomatic Service and the European Fast Stream.
And finally....... We hope that you find the above information both useful and inspiring. Please remember to use your Careers Service regularly and frequently in your final year. We are here to help you prepare for life after graduation and to help you plan ahead in your career.
Best wishes and we look forward to your visit soon!
The Careers Team
3 University Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8QH
Tel: 0141 330 4084
Fax: 0141 330 4085
e-mail: careers@admin.gla.ac.uk
www: http://www.gla.ac.uk/careers
Hours of opening
Monday & Wednesday - Friday 9.00am-5.00pm
Tuesday 12.00pm-5.00pm
Closed: Public holidays and between Christmas and New Year
