Author: Careers Service

The Growth Stage: Entrepreneurial reflections and why you should enter

Posted on by Careers Service

The Growth Stage of the New Enterprise Competition (NEC) is just around the corner, with applications open until Friday 5 May.

It’s an incredible opportunity for any new business, with a prize of up to £20,000 of funding.

A headshot of Beverley Samways.

We caught up with Beverley Samways, one of the runners-up from last year’s finale, who shares some of her insights on the NEC, and her thoughts on what it means to be an entrepreneur!

Beverley’s company, Unique Connections, provides innovative programmes and services to empower young people with disabilities and support them to help them thrive in their communities.

(more…)

Get Hired sponsor spotlight – meet Elizabeth from Davitt Jones Bould (DJB)

Posted on by Careers Service

Hi, I’m Elizabeth Collin and I am the Business Manager at Davitt Jones Bould (DJB), real estate law specialists, and we are one of the sponsors of Get Hired this year.

After graduating from the University of Warwick in 2018 with first-class honours in English Literature, I embarked on the graduate job hunt. When looking for positions, I was very open-minded, seeking a position that would allow me to learn and grow in a commercial setting.

This is always my first tip to graduates now: with this mindset, you will invariably stumble upon opportunities that you weren’t even aware of at the time. This is exactly what I experienced when I secured my graduate position at Davitt Jones Bould (DJB).

DJB is a national law firm founded in 1999 which has become established as the largest specialist real estate firm in the UK. Unlike traditional law firms, at DJB we operate a twin-track model, separating commercial dealings from the legal practice.

(more…)

Top tips for getting into the arts sector

Posted on by Careers Service

The arts sector offers an incredible range of exciting and diverse career options. However, navigating it and figuring out how to get onto your chosen career path can be unclear.

The creative industries don’t tend to mass recruit so you might have to think a bit differently about how you find and approach opportunities.  

A paintbrush covered in red paint surrounding by a circular splatter pattern on a white background.

Understanding what kinds of experience and qualifications you need in order to pursue your desired career is an important first step.

Many industries expect to see a portfolio or are looking for specialist skills. Our sector guides are a great place to start when looking to kick-start a career in the arts.

These helpful guides have tailored information and advice about industries such as the performing arts, digital media, and heritage.

Finding work opportunities

Finding opportunities in the arts can be more difficult than in STEM. Less opportunities are widely advertised in the arts industries, particularly in very competitive sectors such as film and television.

Making speculative applications is therefore a great way to target your energies towards the companies and the roles that you would like. Even if your application is not successful, speculative applications can be a great way to get on a company’s radar and make connections which may help you in the future.  

(more…)

Aman: My IKEEP experience with a tech start-up

Posted on by Careers Service

The IKEEP (Intrapreneurial Knowledge Exchange Enterprise Pathway) programme, run by world-leading business incubator SETsquared, offers free online training in entrepreneurship and business skills.

Some students then take on a project with an innovative SME. We caught up with epidemiology postgrad Aman Jat after he finished his IKEEP placement with medical tech start-up Microsol.

Aman Jat at the beach in Cornwall

Aman, can you tell us more about the project you were working on? 

Microsol is a science start-up focused on delivering AI-enabled software products for predicting aerosol properties in respiratory drug delivery. Microsol directly contribute to the advancement of respiratory therapeutics, which is beneficial to society and the economy.

The aim of our project was to plan Microsol’s public launch. A key objective was to develop a marketing campaign, find prospective investors from data and expand their network, as well as enhance their web presence.

(more…)

Top tips for networking with employers at careers fairs.

Posted on by Careers Service

Get Hired, our flagship spring careers fair, is back! Taking place on Wednesday 3 May, from 12:30 pm to 4 pm at Bristol Beacon, it’s a great opportunity to network with a variety of employers.

But how do you network effectively? We chatted with James Darley, CEO of Transform Society, to get his networking top tips.

“It’s critical that you get the most out of this unique opportunity to meet employers face-to-face and build your professional network, but often students worry about these events and don’t know how to get the most out of them.

As part of the ‘Prepare to get hired’ event series (aiming to help you get the most out of Get Hired), I will be hosting a skill session based on professional networking where I’ll discuss what professional networking is, why you need to do it and how to do it.

(more…)

Make your SU award nomination count for your career

Posted on by Careers Service

Being at university is not just about getting a degree. It’s also about the opportunities alongside your degree to explore interests and develop yourself.

It can be about pushing outside your comfort zone or proving to yourself that you can do something. You may want to make a difference in a community or make your mark. Or you may want to dedicate time to an interest or a cause that intrigues or inspires you.

Many find these fulfilling experiences through Bristol Students’ Union (SU), by:

As well as making university memorable, SU experiences can enhance your employability.

Employers frequently state the value they place on extracurricular experiences.

A group of students accepting an SU Award. There are balloons in the background and the students are all smiling widely.

The SU celebrates students’ achievements each year in the SU Awards.

Being nominated and achieving one of these coveted awards can help you stand out to employers.

So how can you make the most of this?

(more…)

How to get into: business intelligence, data analytics, and artificial intelligence.

Posted on by Careers Service

It’s no surprise that career opportunities within the business intelligence, data, and AI sectors have grown massively in recent years.

Data is everywhere, so data analytics is critical in helping businesses improve all types of decision outcomes.

Technology is constantly unearthing new ways to be innovative and efficient, making it an equally exciting and challenging area to work within.

On 14 March 2023, we were joined by three speakers who shared their experiences of internship, leadership, and entrepreneurship within these evolving areas of the technological industry, and how students from a range of academic backgrounds can go into them.

Our speakers were:

Teik Keat Tee
Finance Business Intelligence Intern  

Sam Haynes
Head of Risk Analytics  

Helen Tanner
Director at Data Cubed 

Here are our top 7 takeaways from the event:

(more…)

Find Yourself a Mentor – Introducing Bristol Connects

Posted on by Careers Service

Are you enjoying your subject and wondering how that passion could translate to your future career? Perhaps your head is swimming with ideas about what you think you’d be good at and what would be rewarding work? Do you want to understand what might give you the edge in application and selection processes?

University alumni can be a great source of support. Not only are they familiar with Bristol, but they can also be a ‘real life voice’ that will provide realistic and honest advice.

A photo of the backs of three Bristol graduates in their graduation gowns.

Bristol Connects is a free platform for all current students to interact and network with University of Bristol alumni. We spoke with two Bristol alumni that have been interacting and supporting students via the platform to find out more about what they’d been getting out of using the system.

(more…)

How to get into: Media – film, TV, and radio

Posted on by Careers Service

Hi! My name is Ella and I am a second-year English student and Career Peer Support Assistant at the Careers Service.

In February I attended the “Careers in media: film, TV and radio” panel event, as part of the Faculty of Arts Careers Series.

The Alumni panel included:

  • Ceci Golding: Producer at the BBC
  • Kaia Rose: Multimedia Content Lead at Connect4Climate
  • Owain Astles: Freelance Film Director
  • Rosalind Arnell: Senior Music Producer at Classic FM

Film, TV, and radio are thriving sectors renowned for their popularity and competitiveness. The media industry has seen a shift post-pandemic, with the increase in streaming services creating a huge quantity of new and flexible opportunities.

Someone holding a clapperboard, used in film making

The media sector contributed 111 billion pounds to the UK economy pre-pandemic. The South West, in particular Bristol, is a thriving media hub which employs around 50,000 people in a wide variety of roles.

Here are my top 6 takeaways from the Q&A panel:

(more…)

Jumpstart: land a role in a top start-up.

Posted on by Careers Service

Get Hired, our flagship spring career fair is taking place on Wednesday 3 May, from 12:30 pm to 4 pm at Bristol Beacon, Trenchard Street (near Bristol Hippodrome).

On the run-up to Get Hired, we will be hosting a series of employer-led sessions to help you prepare for, and make the most out of, the fair. So if you are unsure what to do at a careers fair, or want some tips on how to research the attending employers, and what questions to ask; head to mycareer to explore our Prepare to Get Hired sessions.

Jumpstart, whose mission is to make startups a valuable career path for everyone, are one of the organisations presenting a Prepare to Get Hired skill session. We recently caught up with Jumpstart’s co-founder Kabir, to hear about his experience as an entrepreneur. 

(more…)