How to get into Government and Politics

Posted on by Careers Service

Considering a career in Government and Politics?

In October 2022 the Faculty of Social Science and Law employability team hosted a ‘How to get into Government and Politics’ panel event. Professional speakers, all University of Bristol Social Science and Law alumni, joined to talk about their careers in this area and give advice on how you can get there.

Speakers we heard from:

  • Tabitha Tossel, Senior COVID-19 Inquiry Governance Officer at the Department for Health and Social Care.
  • Kim Slim, Policy Team Leader at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
  • Anwen Jones, Area Lead for Gloucestershire and Dorset in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
  • James Allan, Economics and Strategy at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
  • Vasiliki Sogia, Social Research Officer at the Office for National Statistics.

Check out their profiles on LinkedIn by clicking their names! (more…)

GAIN City Challenge – kicking off a new year of the City Challenge programme!

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Following a highly successful first year of City Challenges, Girls Are INvestors (GAIN) took part in hosting the first City Challenge of the new academic year.

GAIN City Challenge group

Students tackled the question of ‘How we can encourage women into finance and bust myths?’ in groups before presenting their ideas to GAIN, allowing the charity to use these ideas in their future work.

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Bristol international graduates share their Graduate route visa success

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Since summer 2021, international graduates have been able to stay in the UK for two years (three if they have a PhD) to work or look for work, under the Graduate visa route.   

This is the first in a series of posts sharing the experiences and advice of Bristol alumni who have secured jobs using the Graduate visa. Hear from Ning, Fei Fei and Emelyn – two of whom work at the Careers Service!  

Ning Tay, Malaysia – Honours Law LLB

Careers Support Officer (International) at the University of Bristol 

picture of Ning tay smiling in her graduation gown

My initial plans of heading to bar school changed significantly due to COVID. As such, I applied for the Graduate visa and got an internship with the University’s Student Inclusion Peer Support Team, whilst figuring out my career path. Due to the flexibility of the visa, I was able to transition to a fixed-term position in the Careers Service after 6 months of my internship, now supporting the employability of our international students, with a focus on those returning to China.

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Top tips for getting the most out of LinkedIn

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After our Employer Showcase, you might be thinking about how to build on the connections you made with potential employers.

 

We’re here to show you everything you need to know to get the most out of LinkedIn and start making valuable industry connections.

Photo of a tablet showing a page about LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social media site for professionals where you can network with others in your sector, keep up to date with industry news, and host a kind of online CV that showcases all your best work, achievements and experience. However, to really benefit from the site it’s best to go above and beyond, and actively use it to seek out opportunities and connections.

With that in mind, here are four tips on how to make the most of LinkedIn.

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Your ultimate guide to careers fairs

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It’s here! The  Employer Showcase, our Autumn careers fair, takes place this week on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 October, from 12:30 pm to 4 pm, at Bristol Beacon.

Whether you’ve just started university or you’re gearing up for graduation, the Employer Showcase will have something for you.

It’s worth taking advantage of these opportunities whilst they’re readily available to you, even if you have no idea what you’re planning on doing after your studies. Have a snoop and see what appeals to you. If you know exactly what you want to do: great! Come along and network with employers from a whole range of industries.

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My SME Internship: Nathan – Purplefish

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Nathan is a Politics and International Relations graduate who worked as a Social Media intern at Purplefish as part of the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) Internship Scheme.

A photo of Nathan, smiling.

“Hi, I’m Nathan and I was recently given the opportunity to spend a month as a PR and Social Media Intern at Purplefish, an award-winning, Bristol-based PR and communications firm. Admittedly, I held preconceived notions that an internship would be a relatively uninspired experience that would be undertaken solely for the CV boosting prospects. However, in reality, I couldn’t be further from the truth. 

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Is a graduate scheme right for me? Pros, cons, and FAQs.

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To grad scheme, or not to grad scheme; a question many of us have asked. Differing from graduate jobs, graduate schemes are training programmes run by large companies, offering a body of graduates a firm foothold in an industry. Keep reading to see if a grad scheme is suited to you and get application tips.

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Madeleine Pengelly: from Bristol graduate to Delaware

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The  Employer Showcase, is just under two weeks away!

A busy bristol beacon at leats years careers fair. up front, purple and orange balloons

Taking place on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 October, it is a great opportunity to build connections with employers from a variety of sectors, and see what opportunities are available from graduate roles and internships to work experience.

Our employers range from international organisations to small and medium enterprises and there will be different employers attending each day. Check out mycareer to book your place and start planning who you want to meet.

Our sponsors this year are OC&C Strategy Consultants, Frazer Nash, AlphaSights, Datamine, Delaware and Baker Hughes.

Madeleine Pengelly from Delaware (one of this year’s fair sponsors) tells us about her time at university and life in her current role.

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Getting to know the Outstanding PLUS Awards: Resilience & Wellbeing Champion

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The Bristol PLUS Award rewards students for participating in extracurricular activities alongside their studies, and provides a framework to articulate their skills and experiences to employers.  

Last year we launched the Outstanding PLUS Awards (OPA), to reward students who went the extra mile in their PLUS Award activity. In this final edition of our four-part OPA blog series, we will be breaking down the Resilience and Wellbeing Champion categories to show the spectrum of activities that can be used towards both categories.  

Resilience  

This category is all about demonstrating how you persevered or adapted to challenges whilst in pursuit of your PLUS Award.  

A personal challenge is a broad concept and can encompass many situations. The highest scoring nominations reflected on how they responded to challenges, and how those challenges impacted their PLUS Award journey:  (more…)

Graduate stories: from Bristol graduate to AlphaSights Capital Marketing Manager

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The  Employer Showcase is our biggest employer event of the year.

A picture of the Alphasights stand at last years careers fair. A man in a suit talks to two students
AlphaSights, one of this years sponsors,  at Get Hired, our 2021-22 in-person careers fair

Across two days you will have the chance to meet a wide variety of employers and talk to them about available opportunities from graduate roles and internships to work experience.

Join us on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 October, from 12:30 pm to 4 pm, at Bristol Beacon.

Head to mycareer to book your place and start planning who you want to meet.

 

Huge thanks to our sponsors this year: OC&C Strategy Consultants, Frazer Nash, AlphaSights, Datamine, Delaware and Baker Hughes.

Lucy Dean, Bristol graduate and current AlphaSight Capital Marketing manager, talked to us about her time at Bristol, and life in her current role.

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