Outstanding PLUS Awards: Meet the winners 2023/24!
Want a career that makes a difference?
Earlier this year we hosted an alumni panel event with Niranjali Amerasinghe, Jenny Cook and Nyika Suttie, whose jobs all focus on making a tangible difference.
Their role titles are:
- Niranjali Amerasinghe – Executive Director (Action Aid USA).
- Jenny Cook – Technical Advisor for Strategic Partnerships and Gender Inclusion and Diversity (PIARC World Road Association).
- Nyika Suttie – Student Culture and Inclusion Training Officer (University of Bath).
Working in partnership: Tutor the Nation and the Careers Service
At the Careers Service we work in partnership with external organisations to bring a range of experiences to our students, and we like to think our brilliant students give a lot back too!
This year we have been working closely with Tutor the Nation, who have taken part in City Challenges and run mock interviews for our students as part of becoming an endorsing organisation for the Bristol PLUS Award.
(more…)Top tips for international students pursuing careers in the UK
Last month, we invited five international students and alumni from various sectors to share their successful experiences in securing graduate jobs in the UK.
Here are our five panellists and their top tips:
Megan Lim, LLB Bachelor of Law
Megan is a current law student from Malaysia who has secured a training contract with Osborne Clarke and is also our PLUS Award Ambassador. She offers this advice to international students seeking jobs in the UK:
“Don’t hesitate to ask for help at any stage of the application process. Seek assistance from your supervisors, the Career Service, friends, and family for application reviews, and practice interview questions.
Additionally, actively engage with employers, if possible, through LinkedIn and careers fairs. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions.”
Explore support on applications on the CVs, applications and interviews page of our website.
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Challenges of tomorrow – festivals and events
Events are a major element of the UK economy, with an estimated £3.3 billion revenue in 2023.
We ran the “Challenges of tomorrow – festivals & events” panel to give students an insight into how to get into this exciting sector, with expert input from Pauline Bourdon, Stevie Lee-Bennett and Charlie Wall.
Here is a quick introduction to our panellists, their backgrounds, and current roles:
Pauline Bourdon is a Director at Soliphilia (a green touring & sustainability consultancy), a lecturer in event sustainability at BIMM Bristol, a sustainability consultant with UNSW Cardiff, and the Head of Sustainability & Social Cohesion at Team Love – an event production company producing 6 festivals a year including Love Saves the Day in Bristol, Silver Hayes at Glastonbury Festival and Waterworks, London.
My SME Internship: Cecilia – Bristol City of Sanctuary
Hi, I’m Cecilia. Having completed my internship at Bristol City of Sanctuary during my International Development MSc, I am filled with gratitude for the invaluable experiences and personal growth it has brought me. Working as a campaigns and communications intern in such a vibrant organisation has been an incredible opportunity, and I am excited to share some insights and highlights.
Mentoring matters – your chance to open doors and create opportunities
With just one week to go, Bristol Mentors is still open for applications for home UK students returning for study in 2024/25.
Bristol Mentors provides successful student applicants with an alumni mentor working in the sector/industry they are aiming to break into.
Mentorship can be an enriching experience and our student mentees are always happy to tell us more about the range of benefits they have gained whilst on the programme.
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Getting started with networking as a state school student
Some people have more experience of professional networking through personal contacts, but where do you start if you don’t have these existing connections?
Carlos is a second year Law student and Co-President of The 93% Club (UoB’s State School Society). In this blog, Carlos shares his experiences and advice for developing professional networks at university as a state school student.
“It wasn’t until my second year at university and my role as co-president of The 93% Club that I truly grasped the importance of networking. For students like me, who don’t have family connections in high places, networking offers a crucial opportunity to connect with employers, learn about companies, and expand future career prospects.
(more…)How to get into… working for regulatory bodies
In February, the Careers Service hosted a panel of University of Bristol alumni who now work for regulatory bodies in the UK.
But what is a regulatory body?
Regulatory bodies are organisations established by governments or other authorities to oversee and regulate specific industries or sectors. Their primary role is to create and enforce rules, standards, and guidelines aimed at ensuring safety, fairness, transparency, and efficiency within their respective sectors. This is an interesting line of work, and one which students might not know a huge amount about.
The panel that kindly spoke for us all work for regulatory bodies and shared what it is like to work in this area, along with the journey they took to get to where they are now in their careers.
The panel were:
- James Brassington (MSc Economics 2015): Economist at The Payment Systems Regulator.
- Maddy Cooper (BSc Psychology 2023): Leadership development grad scheme at Office for Students.
- Alex Hunt (BSc Politics and International Relations 2023): Fintech Analyst at The Bank of England.
- Samilah Naira (MSc Economics 2023): Economics Advisor at The Competition and Markets Authority
My SME Internship: Chaeyeon – Learning with Parents
Hi, I’m Chaeyeon. During my second year studying BSc Psychology, I completed an SME Internship as a Content Intern at Learning with Parents. They are an education charity, empowering families, schools, and communities to have enjoyable home-learning facilitated by parental engagement.
Parental engagement, involving parents to support child-led learning activities, can be promoted to families of different shapes, sizes, and socioeconomic backgrounds to tackle educational inequality that is largely driven by early provision.
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