Tag: commercial awareness

Bright Network Internship Experience UK: A First-Hand Account

Posted on by uobcareers

The Bright Network Internship Experience is a free virtual internship which is open to everyone over the age of 18. 

Photo by Georgie Cobbs on Unsplash.

The scheme provides school leavers, current university students, and recent graduates with a valuable insight into one of 8 key sectors of the UK job market, giving participants the opportunity to connect with and learn from a range of leading employers. 

Handily, there are an unlimited number of online places available on each of the 8 different internship paths available, and since every experience is fully online, they can be completed from anywhere in the world. 

Whichever pathway you choose, your experience can be completed either as a three-day ‘live’ course, or in an ‘on demand’ format, which you can complete at your own pace. This means it’s really easy to fit the experience around your other commitments over the summer.  

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3 reasons to make the most of the Faculty of Arts Careers Series this February

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The pandemic has impacted so much, including the world of work. The ongoing uncertainty can feel de-motivating; it may feel easier to avoid thinking about careers right now and to put it off until later. However, it could be an ideal time for career thinking and looking at what the Faculty of Arts Careers Series has to offer, (more…)

Best resources for commercial awareness

Posted on by uobcareers
Photo by Surface on Unsplash

Commercial awareness is all about having an understanding of the market a certain organisation operates in.

It is a sought after skill by employers, and having good commercial awareness when applying for a job might help you stand out from the crowd.

How can you improve your commercial awareness? We’ve done a round-up of some of the top resources about commercial awareness from mycareer.

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Chambers of Commerce: the successful job hunter’s best kept secret

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What are Chambers of Commerce?

Chambers of Commerce are membership organisations which businesses can join to access services to help them grow and play a part in their local business community. They exist around the world at the local, regional and national level. Bristol Chamber of Commerce is run by Business West. You can easily find Chambers for your nearest home town or city, or home country, by searching online. For example, “[name of city] Chamber of Commerce.”

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6 tips for getting a job in an SME

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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 briefing paper, May 2019). 

There are many benefits to working for a small organisation, find out more in our online guide ‘What is an SME? Why work for one?’

Here are our tips for securing an opportunity with an SME. 

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Looking for a summer internship?

Posted on by uobcareers

The University runs internship schemes that enable you to gain quality, paid work experience.

We work with SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) including charities, social enterprises, and start-ups, as well as larger organisations across the UK.

There are many reasons why you might want to do an internship: (more…)

My Assistant Editor Internship

Posted on by uobcareers

Iona describes her experience of the SME Internship Schemes during her final year at the University of Bristol. If you’re inspired by her story, you can find out more about the schemes and how to get involved here. 

Hi, I’m Iona. I graduated with a degree in Cellular and Molecular Medicine in July, and from March to June interned as an Assistant Editor at the leading events website in the city – 365bristol.com – through the Santander scheme. (more…)

Bristol Mentors – Helping shape my future

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We caught up with Lucy Downer, Final Year English BA Undergraduate, about her experiences of having a mentor with the Bristol Mentors programme.

Starting out as a third-year student I felt incredibly daunted by the prospect of life post-graduation. Being part of the Bristol Mentors programme this year has given me invaluable experience within an industry I am considering entering after graduation. (more…)

The Graduate Internship…

Posted on by uobcareers

Is this you? You graduated from the University of Bristol in 2018, but you feel that something is missing. Lots of people you know might be in graduate careers now, moving and shaking to shape their world, but you’re still wondering what you should do? What would make the difference?  

(Photo from Pixabay) 

Employers tell us consistently that work experience is the answer. Not that week you had to do back at school, where you sat and watched people doing something vaguely more interesting than your lessons.

We’re talking about getting stuck in and really experiencing what a graduate role is like and making a difference, showing what impact you can bring to an organisation. In fact, this year over a third of the Times Top 100 employers repeated their warnings from previous years – that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are less to be successful during the selection process for their graduate programmes. (The Graduate Market in 2019 – High Fliers Research.) 

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My Internship Experience at HSBC

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Joe Baldwin, a Chemistry student at Bristol, shares his experience as a Commercial Banking Summer Intern at HSBC.

My time as an HSBC  Intern started as I expect it does for many, concerned about possibility of not having a job to go to after graduation. My search for an internship wasn’t about finding the perfect internship, as I didn’t know what this would be. I wanted to get a flavour of the jobs available to chemists – one that doesn’t involve lab coats and safety goggles. (more…)