Tag: Careers thinking

Tips to make the most of your winter break!

Posted on by Careers Service

With your winter vacation coming up, have you considered how you might spend the break from University?

Bristol harbourside in the snow

The Winter vacation, and the addition of Preparation Week this year between Monday 6 and Friday 10 January, present a valuable opportunity to invest in your future career before your studies restart.

Preparation Week is your chance, reflect on your skills, come to an event, or start making future career plans.

To kick things off, why not sign up for one our intro talks:

Make the most of the careers service during our opening hours which change slightly as we approach the Winter break. Live Chat and opening times for walks-ins are:

  • 9 to 13 December: 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm (Monday to Friday)
  • 21 December to 5 January: Closed
  • From 6 January: 10 am to 4.30 pm (Monday to Friday) – Back to normal!

Read on for our top tips on how to maximise your time during the break and preparation week. 

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Which employer is right for me?

Posted on by Careers Service

You’ve been working hard for years, and now, during your studies at university, you’re facing one of the biggest decisions of your life, choosing a career

Whether you’re looking for insight days, internships, placements, or a full-time role, the competition is fierce. When it feels like everyone is chasing the same opportunities, standing out comes down to your values.

Your principles and purpose can set you apart, even when many other candidates have similar qualifications.

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Mentoring matters – your chance to open doors and create opportunities

Posted on by Careers Service

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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Exploring Telecoms: why it’s a career path worth considering

Posted on by Careers Service

In today’s interconnected world, where communication plays a pivotal role in every aspect of our lives, the telecoms industry stands at the forefront of innovation and progress.

A view of the world from space

If you’re a student pondering your career options, Pano Savvidis, Senior Outreach & Content Manager for Virgin Media, gives several compelling reasons to consider a job in telecoms:

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Looking beyond the arts and sciences divide with interdisciplinary work

Posted on by Careers Service

Elena graduated from Bristol in 2022 with a degree in English Literature and is now a Communications Consultant at Bright Carbon.

We caught up with Elena about looking beyond the arts and sciences divide with interdisciplinary work.

“It can feel as though there‘s a massive gap between an arts career and a science career, and once you pick a side, you’re stranded there.

The popularity of Sylvia Plath’s fig tree analogy shows just how many people feel like the choices they make close off all other potential futures. I definitely felt this when I was choosing my degree.

There was a sense of finality – that this was my specialism and other routes were now closed. After a lot of back and forth and deliberation, I chose ‘arts’ and studied Art Foundation and then English Literature at University – and I thought that was the end of that for other subjects.

“But, once I started my job search, I realised pretty quickly that the door to other disciplines never really closes.”

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Developing career resilience as a graduate – how can you develop this increasingly important attribute?

Posted on by Careers Service

Resilience is becoming an increasingly crucial attribute in the job market. Whether you’ve just started your career or are navigating the job application process, building career resilience is an essential skill that can set you apart from the competition and contribute to your long-term success.

In this blog post, we will explore the meaning and importance of career resilience, and most importantly, how you can develop and strengthen this valuable trait, both as you apply for jobs, and navigate workplace challenges.

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What if your first job didn’t have to be the perfect job?

Posted on by Careers Service

The graduate market is increasingly competitive, so getting that grad scheme is becoming more difficult. 

However, grad schemes aren’t the only route into graduate employment and it’s OK if your career doesn’t have the most conventional beginning, middle, or end.

At the start of October, five Bristol alumni joined Bristol Connects Live: Squiggly Careers Alumni Panel event, to prove that their ‘squiggly’ career paths have been just as valuable, if not more so, to their personal and professional development than a traditional, linear path.

From starting a career with Teach First to now working for Amazon; an English degree to a Senior Data Scientist at Deliveroo; or even a History degree to Editor for the Financial Times, these alumni shared their career journeys to prove that your first job won’t necessarily be your forever job.

Panellists included:

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Navigating your future: the true value of arts, humanities and social sciences degrees

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Students of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) are often keenly aware of the positive characteristics of their degrees. 

Graduates of these disciplines are curious, creative, investigative and impactful, and AHSS degrees help us to understand ourselves, our society and our place in the world.

But what about their value in a career context? This is where unhelpful narratives about them being less ‘valuable’, come into play, such as that they lead to inferior job prospects. But there is so much evidence to challenge this. 

Here are five myths that research by The British Academy has helped to dispel: 

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7 things to consider before doing a PhD

Posted on by Careers Service

As with any significant undertaking, there are inherent challenges involved in undertaking a PhD, and some potential problems that can come up during one.

Not all PhD students will face these risks or challenges, but it’s important to be aware of them so that you can be prepared. Indeed, the biggest risk would be stumbling into any of these problems unawares!

The Careers Service are here to help you make the best decision for you. If you would like to speak to us about any of the areas for consideration we’ve listed below, get in touch!

1. Financial Management

Pursuing a PhD can be expensive. Research students need to pay for tuition, fees, and other expenses such as travel or registration fees for conferences, and whilst funding is available for these, this may not cover everything.

So, the risk of debt and financial stress is something to be aware of.

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