Consultancy at Deloitte

If you’re interested in becoming a consultant, Deloitte are running a case study event at the Careers Service to give you an insight into how they work with their clients. You’ll work alongside consultants from different areas of Deloitte’s work (eg. Technology Integration, Enterprise Applications, Strategy etc) on a realistic business scenario.

• Date : Thursday 19th November
• Time : 12.00-14.00
• Where : Careers Service, Crawford House (5th floor)

You’ll need to sign up in advance, and do some preparation by reading their website describing the range of consultancy work at Deloitte. I’d also get to the event in good time, as I suspect it will be very popular (and the first to get there get the seats).

Public Policy Competition

While you’re on the Deloitte website, you might also want to have a look at their Public Policy Competition. This is an essay competition, open to all UK students (it explicitly mentions Masters and PhDs) where you’re asked to tackle a great big complicated problem facing the Government (of whichever flavour) over the next 10 years:

“The current economic climate and an ageing population present significant challenges to Britain’s public services. If you were in charge of a government department dealing with these issues, what key changes would you implement over the next ten years?”

Come up with an answer in under 2000 words and you might be in with a chance (and no, I don’t think “I’d stop paying consultants” is going to get you very far…). You need to register by 15th January at the latest and the closing date for entries is 29th January. Prizes allow you to choose between work experience at Deloitte – or holiday vouchers.

UK and International Applications

Deloitte, like many other consultancies, are open to applications from UK and international students, subject to work permit restrictions. They are happy to consider those who can work in the UK through the Tier 1 (Post Study) scheme, so that could apply to most of our current postgrads. Their website clearly states their stance on work permits and it looks like the only area where they explicitly state you need a UK passport is for their “Enterprise Risk Services Technology (Security & Privacy)” roles.

UK and International Equivalent Qualifications

They also have clear requirements of the level of qualifications needed, including undergraduate degree level, and A levels or the equivalent qualifications which got you to university. Unusually, their website also clearly lays out the international equivalents – worth a look if you’re confused about how your non-UK school qualifications compare to UK equivalents, even if you’re not planning to apply to Deloitte. Just be aware that they do set the bar pretty high (especially for their consultancy roles) so other employers may not be quite so demanding.

Closing Dates for Graduate Schemes

At last, in one place – the closing dates for “graduate schemes” of over 130 recruiters.

Jenny, one of our information & IT specialists (and a postgrad herself) has selflessly trawled through the two major paper graduate employer directories (Prospects and GET) and summarised the results in this Word document:

Graduate Scheme Closing Dates 2009.

It includes a good number whose closing dates are in the New Year, who have no official closing date, or who do year round recruitment. However, as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, many of those employers may be filling up places as we speak. Worse, they may have already made offers on all their jobs, even as you’re slaving away into the small hours, trying to get your application in just before their stated deadline. Apply sooner rather than later to be sure of being considered.

If you’re interested in reading the ads or profiles of any of the employers mentioned, you’re welcome to pop in and pick up your own free copies of Prospects & GET from the Careers Resource Centre.

Race Ahead With Small Businesses

Quick Update: 5th November
Hear Chris Leigh of Real Time Race interviewed on the Chris Evans radio show tonight (BBC Radio 2, 5-7pm). Don’t know who’ll be more enthusiastic, Chris or Chris (they’re two of a kind!). If you miss it today, I’m sure it will be on iPlayer for the next week.

Want to see what can be achieved with a lot of entrepreneurial passion, some very smart technology, plus a few added PhDs working part-time for the sheer love of it (and the possibility of future stock options)?

Real Time Race was featured this week on “Click“, the BBC news technology programme. They’re demo-ing a platform which has the potential to let you race a virtual F1 car alongside real F1 racing drivers – as a real F1 race happens. Instead of using CGI to recreate the track, they use video footage, laser positioning, GPS and real-time telemetry from the other cars (I think – hey, it’s complicated!). The programme is available in the UK on the BBC iPlayer until Monday 9th November and features Real Time Race as the first item.

The company behind all this is based at Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus near Warrington, which I visited a few weeks ago. I got the chance to talk to the CEO of Real Time Race, Chris Leigh, and as well as enthusing us all with his company, I felt he epitomised the challenges and excitment of setting up your own small (but with potential to be huge) hi-tech venture.

The company finance was (at that stage) Chris’s mortgage, so recruiting expensive postgrads wasn’t an option. However, he had 3 PhDs working with him, including someone who was working as a full-time consultant, whilst working on Chris’s project part time, and another PhD working part-time from a distance – Adelaide in Australia. They weren’t getting a salary, but working for share options, partly because they could see where this company could go, but also, I’d guess, because they were excited about working on the application of cutting edge technology.

Want to have a play with their technology yourself? You can download a demo from their website.

We saw several other hi-tech small businesses and I was encouraged to hear most of them talking about needing postgraduates – one business had 17 employees, 14 of whom had PhDs (Perceptive Engineering, working on process control, energy efficiency and pharmaceutical manufacturing).

However, what they really needed, in addition to smart brains, were people who were entrepreneurial, dynamic, could think for themselves and move at the lightning speed at which small companies operate, and ideally who were confident enough to be able to interact professionally with the senior managers who were the customers or backers of the business.

It was this last skill which they struggled to find, so if you can spend some of your time as a postgrad improving your commercial “nous” (more about understanding how businesses tick than management theory) and improving your confidence and business etiquette, you’ll be particularly sought after.

For more ideas of up and coming employers, have a look at some of the other Daresbury Campus tenants including Link Information Technology, Probio Healthcare, Web Comms, Applied Computing and Engineering, Calon Associates and Slainte Technologies, all of whom spent time talking to us about the jobs they have to offer and the skills they need. There’s more info about the event we attended and the skills these companies need in a recent Daresbury blog post (yes, they blog, and tweet too).

Small businesses are definitely a great source of new jobs and those based on Science or Innovation Parks are likely to need the higher order skills which postgrads can bring. They’re normally cash strapped in the early days, so with most, you won’t get rich quick – but you might get very rich long term.

CVs & Applications Talk – Now On-Line

Following the slidecast on “Finding Jobs for Postgraduates”, I’ve now created an on-line version of my Applications talks, covering CVs for Postgraduates, Covering Letters and Application Forms, with both slides and audio commentary.

You’ll find them embedded in this post, archived on the “On-Line Talks” page on this blog (later today), and with a bit of luck – available soon from the Careers Service website as a rather nifty playlist widget on the Postgrad pages.

There’s always lots more I could cover in the talks, so inevitably there will be things you might want to know about applications which are missing – there are always plenty of questions in a face-to-face talk. So, if you have questions on anything in these talks, or things you think are missing from the talks, just drop me a comment and I’ll try to answer them. If there are lots of questions, I’ll find a way of presenting them together as FAQ s.

Note: To get the best out of the CVs talk, I’ve suggested having a copy of some sample CVs to refer to. The clickable links on the presentation refer to our standard CVs handouts, CVs From Scratch and CVs for Research Students which both have example CVs at the back.

GSK Technical Jobs – Open Or Not?

Some of you will have received our e-mail alerts advertising the GlaxoSmithKline Technical Development Scheme – but if you try to apply now, you get to a page saying (at time of writing) :

“we are not yet open for our 2010 Technical Development Programme vacancies”

Curious to know why they’ve asked us to advertise vacancies which aren’t yet open, I spoke to GSK’s recruitment team.

They’ve confirmed that they are keen for potential applicants to register their interest in advance of the opening date. That means that you will get e-mailed as soon as they are ready to take applications. Although they will have a number of rolling closing dates for jobs as they are advertised, like many companies, they will be considering applicants as they come in, so the sooner you get your application in after the opening date, the better.

For example, for undergraduate placements, they point out that there is a first deadline of November 16th, with a second round with a deadline of January 22nd – but if they find enough good candidates from the first deadline, they won’t need any more come January.

The lesson? In a competitive market, vacancy opening dates might be more important than the stated closing date. If in doubt, apply as soon as the vacancies are advertised, and if an organisation you’re interested in allows you to pre-register, to be alerted when their recruitment swings into action, I’d sign up straight away.

Finding a Job For Postgrads – Audio & Slides

At last, I’ve managed to find a way to put not only the slides from my recent talks, but also an audio commentary, on the web and link the blog directly to it.

I’ve split the talks I’ve been doing this week into three parts, but you can also skip forward and backwards in the presentations as you watch and listen, so you don’t have to listen to the whole thing all the way through if you don’t have time.

Part 1 gives you some real data on the state of the job market, what employers think of postgraduates and some ideas of the types of jobs you could target. Part 2 looks at how employers fill jobs, and gives you strategies for finding jobs beyond just looking at adverts, including (the most important careers secret, I think) how to use your contacts to get the lucky breaks. Finally, Part 3 tells you about the further support we can give postgrads, including answers to some of the questions I got this week when I did the Masters and PhD presentations in person.

Feedback

If you watch/listen to these slidecasts (as they’re called), I’d love to have your feedback on whether they’re worth doing in future. They take a bit of time to do, but if they’re useful to you, I can have a go at the other talks (eg. on CVs, Interviews and Assessment Centres). Alternatively, I can just continue to upload the slides on their own. As ever, just drop me a comment (or a tweet) if you’ve got something to say.

So, without further ado, just don your headphones or turn your speakers on to hear all about how to get a job for postgraduates.

Part 1 – Postgrads and the Job Market

Note: If you want to click on the links on the final slide, you’ll notice that you need to click in the centre of the slide, or the little hand changes to skip backwards or forwards to the next slide.

Part 2 – Finding the Job You Want

Part 3 – Careers Support For Postgraduates

International Consultants Answer Your Questions

Our on-line forums have suddenly got a whole lot busier, as our plan to link you with alumni has finally taken off. Now available to answer your career questions on-line are:

• Karen Lau – formerly one of our Chinese postgrads (MSc in Statistics) who is now working for UK strategy consultancy, Wood Holmes Group in Newcastle.
• Kelly Qian – another former Chinese postgrad (Msc Management) who is an Executive Partner working as a search and select consultant (that’s “senior management headhunter” to most of us) at The Jace-Kelly Leadership Acquisitions in Shanghai.
• Mark Thomson – a former business graduate, who, after a year as a Sports Sabbatical Officer, now works in strategy consultancy for Oliver Wyman based in Dubai.

This is a great opportunity for you to question our alumni about their experience of working in consultancy, particularly if you’re keen to work overseas or are an international postgrad who wants to work in the UK.

You’ll need to use your university log-in to access the forums and fill in some brief information the first time you log-in, but then you can ask questions or just lurk and read the answers already given (look under the Discussions marked “Expert Advice”). We’d love to schedule some more alumni disucssions so we’re on the lookout for others who would like to help you – if you know anyone who would be keen to help, just let us know!

Why Undergrads Use The Careers Service?

I know you’re all serious grown up postgrads, but thought you might like to see the video our undergraduate marketing interns have produced to promote the Careers Service.

I shied away from using it in my postgrad induction talks (I know, I’m chicken) as I thought it might give you the wrong idea of what the Careers Service can offer but … oh, go on, if you’re up for a bit of student creativity have a click.

Warning : May contain semi-clad (male) undergrad.

If you have been affected by anything in this video, please visit our website, http://www.manchester.ac.uk/careers for further help and support.

On re-viewing this, I do actually think it’s fun, so, should I have had the courage to use it in my postgrad talks? Any views, just drop me a comment.

Who Can Use Our Careers Service?

I’ve been asked to clarify who is allowed to attend the talks announced in the last blog post. So, you’re welcome to attend if :

• you’re a current postgrad at the University of Manchester.
• you’re one of our recent alumni.
  Did you realise we can still help you at the Careers Service if you graduated from the University of Manchester within the last three years?
  (However, these talks are aimed at those who are currently studying or have very recently finished. In the time available, I won’t be covering, for example, CVs where you have a few years work experience gained after completing your postgrad degree. Might be better to see us individually if you’re still eligible.)

I also won’t object if you’re one of our research staff (though you might be better to go to a session specifically designed for you – see your Faculty training team for information), or if you’re one of our current undergrads wondering what it’s like trying to find work as a postgrad (though you’d probably be better to talk to us individually).

If you don’t fall into one of those categories, unfortunately, you won’t be able to attend our talks or see us directly. However, there are other ways of getting career support.

University of Manchester Support For All
Obviously everyone’s welcome to read this blog (and our other blogs, such as our International Student careers blog), follow our Twitter feeds, and visit our website. You’ll find that some of the links (particularly for vacancy information or downloads) will lead you to a login page for University of Manchester students and alumni (just sign up for a careers account if you’re one of our alumni), but most info is open access.

Access To Employers
We run a massive programme of Careers Fairs in Manchester, open to anyone, which generally include talks and free careers advice, (though the advice service does get awfully busy). Some other employer events are also open to students from other local universities – see individual event details for information.

Vitae
We’ve also started opening some of our researcher events to other universities through the support of Vitae. Last year this allowed us to offer a number of places for PhD researchers and research staff at other North West universities to attend Pathways, our big annual career options event for researchers. Vitae also run a national programme of careers events and a great careers website, open to all researchers (including those at the University of Manchester).

Your Careers Service
In addition, most Careers Services are now very happy to help their postgrads. For example, I know that our nearest neighbours, Manchester Metropolitan University have handouts on CVs etc directly targeted at postgrads (and I’m sure they’ll see you individually), and our other friends at the University of Salford, not only see postgrads individually, but also have Fiona Christie (a friend and former colleague) leading  their work with PhDs. She runs events, services and a blog directly targeted at Salford postgraduate researchers.

BT May Be Recruiting After All…

After making the headlines earlier this year with a shock announcement that BT was abandoning its graduate recruitment programme, their HR Director is now reported (in People Management) as saying that they’re just not going to do the usual tour of campuses and recruitment events, but still expect to take university leavers this year.

We know BT are still strongly supporting careers and skills events – they were here last week, helping to run skills sessions with Computer Science second year undergrads. So, if you do want to work for BT, I’d suggest keeping an eye on their graduate recruitment site, but also look at their general vacancy site where you may find them advertising for “experienced hires”.

In particular, if you are a research postgrad, even if you don’t have industry experience, you may find employers are willing to count your 3 or 4 year PhD/EngD as equivalent to work experience if your research is directly relevant (see a previous example from GlaxoSmithKline – though as these jobs are long gone, don’t expect the weblinks to work now!).