‘The Careers Service always felt like a safe space to talk’ – with Kofo Ajala

We know that coming to the Careers Service can be a game-changing moment, even if it might feel a bit daunting at first. You may not even be sure what support we can offer to you. 

Kofo Ajala at Get Hired! 2019

We also know that the best people to tell you (and us!) about the benefits of using the Careers Service are students who have been in the same position. We caught up with Kofo, BA History graduate 2020, to find out what she had to say about her experience with Careers during her degree.    (more…)

Good reasons to contact your Careers Service

Picture of long straight woodland road with light at the end
Image from Pixabay

We are often greeted with surprise from both students and graduates visiting the Careers Service for the first time: “I never knew there was so much here!” and “I wish I had got in touch before now” are common reactions.

We also know that students are often reluctant to get in touch with us, feeling that they need to have a specific reason to talk to us – you don’t!

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The New Enterprise Competition winners!

The New Enterprise Competition drew to a close last week and the winner of the Growth stage was Kaedim, winning £10,000 and 12 months incubation at SETSquared.

Kaedim, launched in 2019 by Computer Science with Innovation students Konstantina Psoma and Roman Bromidge, is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) start-up which turns sketches into 3D models. Their degree based at the Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship alongside the help of the Basecamp Enterprise Team, allowed them to develop their idea, enhance their entrepreneurial skills and draw on a pool of expert industry mentors.

Below: The Basecamp Team (virtually, of course) announce the good news to Kaedim

Over the course of the year, the Basecamp Enterprise Team received over 100 applications to take part in the Ideas, Development and Growth stages of the competition. Winning the competition gives students, graduates and staff the opportunity to win prize money and unlock support packages to help develop and grow their start-up ideas- whether it be a business, charity or social enterprise!

Here’s what Kaedim had to say about winning this years’ top prizes:

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5 takeaways from Social Sciences and Law Careers Week

Did you make it to Social Sciences and Law Careers Week 2020?

From 10 – 14 February this year professionals working in a range of career paths popular with Social Sciences and Law graduates came to share their career advice and experience. We heard panel discussions on careers in ‘Government and Policy’, ‘Academia and Research’, ‘Marketing and Communications’, as well as ‘Using Your Degree to Make a Difference’.

If you missed out on any of the talks, don’t sweat! We’ve pulled together information on the speakers’ career paths and their headline hints and tips from each event in a handy Careers Week Resource.

To start you off, here are our five key takeaways from the week:

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Levelling the playing field: My experience of chairing the Social Mobility Panel

The 93% Club aim to improve the experience of state school students studying at the University of Bristol. As part of our Equality and Diversity Careers Week back in January, they kindly volunteered to chair our Social Mobility Panel. 

Alice (the groups president) shared her experience of chairing the panel with us:  

Chairing the Social Mobility Panel at the Equality and Diversity Careers Week was a fantastic experience that left me feeling inspired and hopeful about the future of social mobility amongst UK employers. 

The representatives from Nationwide and the Civil Service Fast Stream were both keen to share what their organisations were doing to break down barriers and create a more inclusive workplace, both through their applications processes and the training they provide for their staff. It was also great to hear from UpReach and Aspiring Solicitors about their programmes to level the graduate playing field and open doors into careers that may not previously have been open to students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. 

via GIPHY

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Equality and Diversity Careers Week is coming!

Equality and Diversity Careers Week 27-31 January

Employers are waking up to the importance of equality and diversity in their graduate recruitment.  According to the Institute of Student Employers, 76% of employers now consider social mobility to be a priority.  

But what does equality and diversity in careers really mean? And how do these values affect you? 

For the week of 27-31 January, the Careers Service and Bristol Students’ Union are putting on fifteen events to explore and celebrate diversity as a workplace strength. 

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Getting your dream job in the media

Are you looking for the holy grail?

(image from Pixabay)

Don’t miss our series of popular events during Media and Creative Industries Week!

We’re often asked for a list of graduate vacancies in the media. The problem is it doesn’t really exist. At least not in one place. But the good news is that with determination and creativity you can hunt down hidden opportunities.

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Who are the Faculty Employability Team?

Last week (12 June 2019) the Faculty Employability Team at the Careers Service won the ‘Enhancing the Student Learning Experience Award’ at the Bristol Teaching Awards. To celebrate this fantastic achievement we thought it was about time we introduced the team and explained a little more about what they do.

The Faculty Employability Team (Back row L to R: Peter, Ellen, Eilidh, Tim, Gareth. Front row L to R: Holly, Natalia, Hannah, and Jo.)

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Five reasons to come to Get Hired!

  1. Employers are there to recruit you 

We have a range of employers attending – from small to large, from Bristol and beyond. They are there because they want to recruit University of Bristol students and have immediate vacancies to start this summer. Make the most of this opportunity! Use the app to research employers in advance and target the ones most relevant to you.  (more…)

Why Social Science students should be confident about their career prospects

It was recently announced that the UK’s top employers are planning on increasing their number of graduate jobs by 9.1% in 2019 – that’s over 1800 additional jobs compared to 2018. 

Positive news for graduates? Absolutely. But do you ever find yourself wondering if your degree subject will hold you back against the competition, that you’d have been better off doing Medicine, or Computer Science? 

Well, it’s time to challenge that thought. There’s mounting evidence that your Social Science degree stands you in good stead to make the most of the jobs of the future.

Here are three stand out reasons you should be feeling confident:  

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