Connect with confidence: a first-timer’s guide to networking

Networking can be daunting, especially for those who have not had much experience with it before.

Studies show that first-generation students often have smaller, less diverse social networks, which can limit their access to networking opportunities and reduce their confidence in these settings.

However, building a network is crucial for personal and professional growth.

Here are five practical tips to help you get started:

Careers fair
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My experience taking part in Not Impossible microplacements

Hello! My name is Archie and I have been participating in the University’s partnership with the work experience platform Not Impossible.

My experience with Not Impossible started with an email entering my inbox, with the promise of microplacements due to the fact I was from a widening participation background.

Their system creates short-term, 1:1, one-hour to one-day, work placements with Bristol and Bath employees smart-matched to you – within your sector, using an online skills and interests tool and psychometric tests that identify shared motivations, reasoning skills and personalities.

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How to write a winning CV

Employers can spend as little as 30 seconds looking at your CV, so you need to make shortlisting easy for them.

Make sure you stand out from the crowd and showcase your unique selling points, by following these top tips. If you are unsure how to start or need a bit of feedback, check out the range of resources available on mycareer.

Resources available on mycareer:

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City Challenge: Changes Bristol

City Challenges are a programme of events providing students with the opportunity to engage with charities and social enterprises.   

Students can support worthwhile organisations whilst developing skills to improve employability. By taking part in a City Challenge, students gain experience in problem solving, presentation skills, innovative thinking, and community engagement.  

Changes Bristol

The Changes Bristol logo: speech bubbles behind text reading ‘Changes Bristol.’

This month we invited Changes Bristol to host our latest City Challenge. 

Changes is a user-led organisation and a unique recovery service for those in mental distress.

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Davitt Jones Bould Law: Undergraduate placements and CV advice

Davitt Jones Bould, the largest specialist real estate law firm in the UK, have opened their Undergraduate Placement applications. They have written for us about their placement opportunities and provided some application advice too. 

Davitt Jones Bould logo.

The placement is truly like no other as we deliberately don’t put you through a structured programme. Instead, you will be working in line with the real-time demands of the business, giving you experience of what running a business is really like.

You will work directly with a talented team of Davitt Jones Bould people, including colleagues in the Business Services Centre, lawyers based all over the UK and Davitt Jones Bould’s leadership team. You will be given responsibility straightaway for a wide range of tasks – some will play to your strengths, and some will challenge you to learn new skills.

You will be provided with dedicated on the job mentoring and training, as well as access to Davitt Jones Bould’s wider training programmes and courses. 

Apply today. 

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Graduate Stories: Working on the commercial graduate programme at INEOS

Luke graduated from Bristol with a Mechanical Engineering degree and now works at INEOS on the Commercial Graduate Programme. We recently caught up with Luke to hear about his experience working for INEOS and his advice for students who are starting their career.

Hi I’m Luke,

I graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but it didn’t take me long to realise that a traditional engineering career wasn’t quite what I was aiming for. While I was at Bristol, I explored various fields through different internships. Each role gave me a new perspective and showed me how the engineering world operates beyond the technical aspects. By the time I finished my degree, I knew I wanted to combine my engineering background with a focus on business and strategy.

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Start-up stories: FixMyTek

FixMyTek, formerly known as FixMyCrack, is one of the exciting student start-ups the Basecamp Team had the pleasure of working with during their early days at the University of Bristol.

Since then, they’ve grown into a thriving tech repair business, and we’re excited to catch up with them in the blog below as they share their journey, their mission, and what’s next for FixMyTek.

Some of the FixMyTek team inspecting a device.
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My SME Internship: Aarya – Drinks Kitchen

This past summer, I had the incredible opportunity to intern with Drinks Kitchen, a pioneering company in the non-alcoholic beverage industry.  

Located in Bristol, Drinks Kitchen is on a mission to redefine social drinking norms by offering high-quality, environmentally mindful non-alcoholic drinks. The internship was part of the SME Internship Scheme, which aims to provide students and recent graduates with quality, paid work experience.   

Drinks Kitchen logo
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Celebrating Black History Month at the University of Bristol: A Student Perspective

Hi, my name is Nicole a third year studying Marketing BSc. I am also a Careers Ambassador and a Communications Intern at the Careers Service. 

As a Black student at the University of Bristol, Black History Month holds a special significance for me. It’s a time to reflect on the rich cultural heritage, achievements, and contributions of Black communities in our academic family, not only in the UK but around the world.

More than that, it’s an opportunity to have our voices heard, our experiences valued, and to celebrate the diversity that makes our university such a vibrant place.

The Careers Service’s approach to this celebration is embedded in a genuine desire to empower Black students with resources being available for students all year round, not just during the month of October.

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City Challenges kick-off the year with The MoSAIC 

City Challenges are a programme of events providing students with the opportunity to engage with charities and social enterprises.  

Students can support worthwhile organisations whilst developing skills to improve employability. By taking part in a City Challenge, students gain experience in group working, problem solving, public speaking and presentation, innovative thinking, and community engagement. 

The MoSAIC (The Museum of Science, the Arts & Interdisciplinary Collaboration)
is a Bristol based business taking STEAM learning to the next level and reducing the disadvantage gap using cross-curricular education. They show young people and educators how creative the STEM subjects really are through online and downloadable teaching resources and accessibly priced in-person creative school workshops aimed at secondary school aged students. The MoSAIC came and hosted a session with us at the Careers Service on Tyndall Avenue. Students worked together and came up with ideas to support the marketing of services and diversification of revenue streams. 

Gareth, founder of The MoSAIC stands in front of a slide with his company's branding on. He is talking animatedly and gesturing.
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