Five reasons why working for a small business can offer big opportunities  

During the current academic year, the Careers Service at the University of Bristol are running a new series of events: Small Business, Big Opportunity (SBBO).

This series will feature panels, employer presentations and events designed to help you explore the unique opportunities that working for a smaller business can offer. 

Here are 5 reasons working for a small and medium size enterprise (SME) could be the best fit for you:  

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Top tips for our Get Hired careers fair

An employer talking to a student at a careers fair

Our Get Hired careers fair is happening on Wednesday 1 May, 12:30 pm to 4 pm, at Bristol Beacon

It’s a great opportunity to network with employers of all sizes across a variety of sectors, with lots of other activities going on on the day.

To find out more, and book your place, visit the event on mycareer.

To help you make the most of the day, we have pulled together our top tips on how to prepare for the fair…

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SME Internship Scheme: Finding an SME Internship at a careers fair – Windō

Last academic year, final year Engineering Mathematics student Patrick approached Windō at the Get Hired careers fair, and as a result was able to secure an SME Internship with them. 

We caught up with Oli, founder and CEO of Windō, and Patrick to hear about how a chat at a careers fair led to a connection…and an internship!

Windō 

Windō is a free platform for students to easily access, digest and compare the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) progress and plans that companies are making to drive positive change across sustainability, diversity, equality and inclusion, and employee wellbeing.

A photo of Oli talking to a student at the Get Hired fair.

“Hi, I’m Oli, CEO at Windō.

We were invited as a Sustainability Partner to have a stall at Get Hired in the Spring. It’s always a great opportunity to demonstrate our platform to students and meet the very people we built Windō for.

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Access arrangements at careers fairs.

Our annual 2-day careers fair, the Employer Showcase, is back, bringing brilliant opportunities to network and foster connections with potential employers.

The event runs on Wednesday 11 October and Thursday 12 October from 12:30 pm to 4 pm at Bristol Beacon, providing the chance to discover a whole range of work experience, internships, and graduate roles from employers of all backgrounds.

  • The Careers Service will be located on the Lower Ground Floor of the venue and will be available to answer any questions that you might have about the showcase.
  • There will be the opportunity to receive bespoke advice from our Careers Advisers, as well as the chance to get a professional headshot taken for your LinkedIn profile – please register using this form to express your interest: LinkedIn Headshot Registration Form
Two members of the Careers Service, both female, smiling underneath a signpost that reads "Register here"

Our careers fairs are for everyone, so if you:

  • Suffer from a long-term physical or mental disability
  • Are neurodivergent (including but not limited to Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia)
  • Have any access requirements to be fulfilled
  • Are apprehensive about any aspects of the event

We are here to help make the day as easy as possible for you.

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Post-Get Hired checklist: make the most of your connections.

Bristol Beacon’s Get Hired event on Wednesday 3 May brought together more than 750 students with 40 employers from a range of industries, offering immediate job vacancies, graduate roles, and internships.

Fair sponsors, Outlook Energy, talking to students at the Get Hired careers fair.

But attending the fair is only the first step – what you do next can determine your success in building your network, finding a mentor, or landing your dream job.

The employers at Get Hired were impressed by the quality of students they met, and as we know Bristol students are the 4th most targeted by top graduate employers, so it’s important to capitalize on that positive impression and keep the momentum going.

Here are some tips to help you maximise your post-fair experience.

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Get Hired sponsor spotlight – meet Elizabeth from Davitt Jones Bould (DJB)

Hi, I’m Elizabeth Collin and I am the Business Manager at Davitt Jones Bould (DJB), real estate law specialists, and we are one of the sponsors of Get Hired this year.

After graduating from the University of Warwick in 2018 with first-class honours in English Literature, I embarked on the graduate job hunt. When looking for positions, I was very open-minded, seeking a position that would allow me to learn and grow in a commercial setting.

This is always my first tip to graduates now: with this mindset, you will invariably stumble upon opportunities that you weren’t even aware of at the time. This is exactly what I experienced when I secured my graduate position at Davitt Jones Bould (DJB).

DJB is a national law firm founded in 1999 which has become established as the largest specialist real estate firm in the UK. Unlike traditional law firms, at DJB we operate a twin-track model, separating commercial dealings from the legal practice.

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Top tips for networking with employers at careers fairs.

Get Hired, our flagship spring careers fair, is back! Taking place on Wednesday 3 May, from 12:30 pm to 4 pm at Bristol Beacon, it’s a great opportunity to network with a variety of employers.

But how do you network effectively? We chatted with James Darley, CEO of Transform Society, to get his networking top tips.

“It’s critical that you get the most out of this unique opportunity to meet employers face-to-face and build your professional network, but often students worry about these events and don’t know how to get the most out of them.

As part of the ‘Prepare to get hired’ event series (aiming to help you get the most out of Get Hired), I will be hosting a skill session based on professional networking where I’ll discuss what professional networking is, why you need to do it and how to do it.

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Jumpstart: land a role in a top start-up.

Get Hired, our flagship spring career fair is taking place on Wednesday 3 May, from 12:30 pm to 4 pm at Bristol Beacon, Trenchard Street (near Bristol Hippodrome).

On the run-up to Get Hired, we will be hosting a series of employer-led sessions to help you prepare for, and make the most out of, the fair. So if you are unsure what to do at a careers fair, or want some tips on how to research the attending employers, and what questions to ask; head to mycareer to explore our Prepare to Get Hired sessions.

Jumpstart, whose mission is to make startups a valuable career path for everyone, are one of the organisations presenting a Prepare to Get Hired skill session. We recently caught up with Jumpstart’s co-founder Kabir, to hear about his experience as an entrepreneur. 

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Top tips for getting the most out of LinkedIn

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

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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