6 tips for getting a job in an SME 

Posted on by Careers Service

An SME is a small or medium sized enterprise. Over 99% of businesses in the UK are SMEs employing between 0 and 249 people (House of Commons Business Statistics, December 2021).  

There are many benefits to working for a small organisation. You can often develop a broad range of skills and knowledge as being part of a small team often involves taking on a variety of tasks, adding interest to your role. Small organisations can grow quickly and you may be given greater responsibility sooner than working at a large organisation. SMEs are often based in shared office spaces which allows you to network with employees from other organisations and grow your professional network quickly.

Here are our tips for securing an opportunity with an SME:  (more…)

Getting to know the Outstanding PLUS Awards: Everyday Hero & Innovation

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,The Bristol PLUS Award gives you the chance to get rewarded for your extra-curricular activities and learn to articulate your skills to employers. Last year, we also launched the Outstanding PLUS Awards (OPA), to recognise PLUS achievers who went above and beyond in one of 8 categories.

In this post, we’re taking a closer look at the Everyday Hero and Innovation categories.

Everyday Hero

This category is all about showing evidence of you being reliable and consistent in your work and inspiring others with your energy and enthusiasm.

Photo of Elizabeth playing netball, jumping to shoot the ball
Elizabeth McGechie, Year 3 Applied Anatomy BSc, Netball Coach

The qualities of an outstanding Everyday Hero can come across in any PLUS Award activity. Here’s what some of last year’s nominees did:

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My SME Internship: Katie – Treepoints

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My name is Katie, and I am a 2nd year student studying BA French and Spanish. A photo of Katie smiling.

I completed my SME Internship this June at Treepoints, an online platform start-up which provides support for businesses to take climate action and reduce their carbon emissions.  

The internship took place in London, where I covered a variety of tasks over the month including market research, internal auditing, competitor research, developing selection criteria for new partners and bringing on board a new plastic collection partner.  (more…)

Welcome to your new-look mycareer!

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You may have noticed that mycareer has had a bit of a glow-up! Rest assured it is still packed with all the events, opportunities and information it had before. 

We thought we’d give you some top tips for getting the most out of it:  

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Tailor your profile

When you first log in, you’ll be asked to set up your profile which will take you under 3 minutes (we know, we have timed ourselves doing it!)  This will ensure that you get the most relevant advice and opportunities for you. 

 

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The Career Discovery Feed

Find articles from us here at the Careers Service, as well as other specialists. Personalise your feed by favouriting resources as you go and build your own library.

 

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Get your CV ready pathway

We have lots of pathways for you to discover. This super useful pathway will help you learn to write a winning CV in 3 easy steps. Once you’ve completed it, talk to us on Live Chat and we can book you an appointment to have your new CV reviewed by a Careers Advisor. 

 

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Search opportunities

We have a HUGE range of jobs, work experience and opportunities for you to explore. You can use filters to target your search to find exactly what you want; whether it’s a part-time role to fit around your studies, volunteering, a summer internship, or immediate start graduate vacancies, we’ve got you covered!   

Take a look!

Watch our 3-minute video to walk you through the new features 

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So, what are you waiting for? Head to mycareer now, set up your profile and start exploring! 

 

 

Getting to know the Outstanding PLUS Awards: Change Maker & Better World 

Posted on by Careers Service

The Bristol PLUS Award rewards students for taking part in extra-curricular activities during their studies. In 2021/22 academic year, we launched the Outstanding PLUS Awards (OPA), which allows PLUS Award achievers to nominate themselves for going above and beyond during their PLUS activity.  

In a past blog post, we looked at the Diverse Partnerships and Civic Superstar categories. Today we are introducing you to the Change Maker and Better World categories, and the diverse range of activities that could count towards both categories.  

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Meet our New Enterprise Competition winners! 

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The New Enterprise Competition drew to a close this year at our celebration event. Route Zero were crowned the winners of the Growth stage, winning £10,000 plus 12-months incubation at SETSquared.  

RouteZero logog, a lime green arrow that links to a z

RouteZero was founded by Computer Science graduate Albie-Baker Smith and his co-founder Dan Brown with a mission of stopping catastrophic climate change through their platform which helps individuals and organisations switch out high-emission travel for greener journeys.

A picture of Albie, founder of RouteZero

“The UK has just experienced its hottest temperatures on record, and winning the competition provides us with the opportunity to attack one of the UK’s highest emission sources: travel.  We’d like to say a massive thank you to the New Enterprise Competition and the University of Bristol for catalysing RouteZero’s potential.  The investment allows us to accelerate our work with customers and deliver them journeys that are Green, Anywhere, Anyway.”

 

Albie and Dan- RouteZero

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Indea: My BristolGrad Internship experience

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My internship with the Careers Service as the BristolGrad Careers Support Intern was a great opportunity to gain loads of skills with a super-supportive team behind me.

Picture of Indea. A young woman smiling as she stroked a large ginger cat
Indea and a furry friend

Let me set the scene: I was a wide-eyed Arts graduate, leaving university to enter the world of work in 2020 – in the middle of a pandemic. After months of rejections (or just being ghosted by employers), and a job I didn’t love, I spotted the chance to apply for the BristolGrad internship.

My role consisted of supporting the delivery of the BristolGrad project. You can find out more about how the Careers Service supports graduates on our website. Because we were focusing on supporting a varied cohort, my role was also varied. (more…)

Violet: Student Leader, drag artist, and PLUS achiever!

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Bristol PLUS Award achiever and Outstanding PLUS Award nominee Violet Allmark achieved her 70 hours of PLUS activity through working as a freelance drag performer and taking on a student leadership role as chair of Bristol Theatre Department Society InterACT. 

Violet was a freelance performer with drag cabaret ‘The House of Savalon’ during their residency at award-winning Bristol LGBTQ+ venue Queenshilling, proud sponsors of Bristol University LGBTQ+ society. 

A photo of Violet performing in a drag show
Violet performing as Etta Boy, at The House of Savalon

‘My freelance work, as part of the House of Savalon’s three month residency at Queenshilling, gave me the opportunity to develop my artistic costume-making practice, and improve my time management and organisational skills. I spent hours preparing for my acts: sourcing, making and editing my own costumes, props and audio. 

In addition, the regular feedback sessions enhanced my personal reflection skills on my own performances as well as my communication skills through constructive feedback

A crow of people in drag on a stage cheering
The House of Savalon at the Queen Shilling

Kickstarting my drag career this year has led to such amazing performance opportunities, such as performing last week before Divina de Campo at the Creative Youth Network Station and even internationally in Woody’s Bar Toronto, where I was tipped during my performance by a queen recently announced to be on Season 3 of Canada Drag Race and I was even in the presence of the show’s ‘version’ of Ru Paul: Brook Lynn Hytes.’

Violet also developed new skills and experience by chairing the committee of InterAct, the theatre department’s society. 

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My SME Internship: Tom, Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH)

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Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH) is a multi-award-winning charity which works to affirm the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and reduce discrimination experienced because of sexual orientation or gender identity.  

EACH work with us through our SME Internship Scheme to host interns to support their charity work, in roles such as Administration & Fundraising Officer, Helpline & Creative Development Assistant, and Research & Administration Officer.   

Since 2013, EACH has hosted 14 SME interns through the SME Internship Scheme.   

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Getting to know the Outstanding PLUS Awards: Diverse Partnerships & Civic Superstar

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Bristol PLUS Award students undertake a huge range of activities, and develop an abundance of skills and experiences. The Outstanding PLUS Awards launched in 2021-22 to further celebrate students for making outstanding personal contributions, whatever their chosen activity. 

In this blog, we’re looking at two of the Award categories, and some examples of nominees from our very first Outstanding PLUS Awards cohort.  

If you’re interested in finding out more about what our Outstanding PLUS Awards students got up to, check out the other related posts on our blog and you can find more information on our webpage.

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