8 reasons why you should do the Bristol PLUS Award!

As the new academic year starts, we are so excited to welcome you all back and *drumroll pleaseopen the Bristol PLUS Award for registration!  (more…)

Find work experience for this summer 🌞

Work experience is any opportunity which gives you experience of work, or the non-academic skills that will prepare you for work. It can be paid or unpaid experience and is not necessarily related to your degree or your future career plans. This can include internships, summer vacation jobs, volunteering, insight events and shadowing as well as self-driven projects. 

Good quality work experience should: 

  • Teach you new skills including professional behaviours. 
  • Highlight which skills you need. 
  • Let you explore a career idea. 
  • Connect you to people you could use as contacts in the future. 
  • Improve your understanding of that sector. 
  • Demonstrate your interest in that sector. 
  • Provide you with a reference. 

We know that many of you have had your summer internships and work experience cancelled or are struggling to find opportunities. 

Here are some ways we’d suggest you look for new opportunities for this summer. 

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Chambers of Commerce: the successful job hunter’s best kept secret

What are Chambers of Commerce?

Chambers of Commerce are membership organisations which businesses can join to access services to help them grow and play a part in their local business community. They exist around the world at the local, regional and national level. Bristol Chamber of Commerce is run by Business West. You can easily find Chambers for your nearest home town or city, or home country, by searching online. For example, “[name of city] Chamber of Commerce.”

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Four skills employers are looking for

The top skills employers in the south west are looking for and how you can develop these over the festive season.

What skills are local employers looking for? In the recent Local Sector Skills Statements 2019 produced by Skills West, communication skills featured in the top three most desirable skills listed by employers across eight separate sectors in the south west.   (more…)

Calling all final years and recent graduates! An internship opportunity for you!

The Santander SME Internship Scheme provides quality, paid work experience opportunities for final year students and graduates who completed their degree in the last 18 months.

The internships are 280 hours long and can be completed on a part-time or full-time basis.  (more…)

Size isn’t everything: 5 reasons why you should start your career working for an SME  

Working for a big corporate giant isn’t the only option when you graduate, starting your career in a small business can offer incredible experiences and teach you some invaluable life lessons.  

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Looking for a summer internship?

The University runs internship schemes that enable you to gain quality, paid work experience.

We work with SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) including charities, social enterprises, and start-ups, as well as larger organisations across the UK.

There are many reasons why you might want to do an internship: (more…)

10 ways to avoid being tricked by a job scam

Using online recruitment agencies and websites is now the most common way that students and graduates find a job. While most jobs that you see advertised online are real, fraudsters make use of online advertisements to trick you into paying for something that doesn’t exist.

Scams come in many different forms, but the people who carry them out are always looking for new ways to make easy money. To detect a scam and avoid being tricked, here are 10 things to look out for:

1. Always do your research. Type ‘name of the company’ + ‘scam’ into Google and see what comes up. Are they registered with Companies House? For VAT? Are they on mycareer? Check student forums to see if anyone else is talking about them or has experienced problems.

via GIPHY

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