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:
The UK creative industry, valued at over £124 billion, is a sector renowned worldwide for its innovation and talent.
As a student, you may find it a little daunting due to its competitiveness and unclear entry routes. If you’re among the 42% (according to a new study by Ravensbourne University) who believe a creative career isn’t realistic, here are six ways to break in.
University of Bristol alumnus Will Booth, graduated in an MEng in Aerospace Engineering in 2022 and is now working for Airbus Defence and Space. We recently caught up with Will, to hear about his journey from graduating to working in the space industry.
Hi I’m Will,
As I reflect on my journey from the University of Bristol to my current role at Airbus Defence and Space, I appreciate how important my time at university was in shaping my career in the space industry. The exposure I gained during my studies, particularly through my fourth-year group design project (AVDASI4) and my third-year independent research project, simulating reusable launch vehicle landings, solidified my passion for working in the space sector. Through these projects, I discovered my love for complex spacecraft design and developed key contacts at Airbus, which would prove invaluable later on.
Researching potential future employers is important to ensure their values align with yours, but where do you start?
We recently chatted with Ken Janssens, Co-Founder & Head of Social Impact at Windō, who are on a mission to connect you with LGBTQIA+ employers.
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 diversity, equality and inclusion, sustainability, and employee wellbeing.
We talked to Ken about researching LGBTQIA+ friendly workplaces using Windō’s LGBTQ+ Transparent value filter, which tracks over 500 major employers based on their diversity and inclusion efforts.
“Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) make up a large proportion of the UK’s economy and account for approximately 30% of graduate employment” (AGCAS, 2022),
Finding and applying for work experience, including internships, or graduate roles, in SMEs can be different to schemes with larger employers. In April 2024, the Careers Service invited three professionals, who work in scientific SMEs, to share their advice:
Dr Mark Benizett, VetIMD – Pioneering isothermal molecular diagnostics solutions for the animal health sector
Dr Clio Andreae, GenomeKey – Biotechnology using cutting edge machine learning and DNA sequencing to treat Sepsis
Dr Ed Jones, Kelpi – World-leading sustainable materials innovation business – harnessing the properties of seaweed to create compostable, marine-safe, low-carbon bioplastic packaging
Here in the UK, we have a booming seasonal job market.
Part-time work not only allows you to earn cash around your studies, but it also allows you to gain skills and experience future employers will be looking for; teamwork, communication skills, the ability to organise your own time and confidence in the workplace, to name a few.
So, how do you start looking for part-time seasonal work to fill your time in the summer holidays? Here are some areas that you could look into:
Hospitality
Hotels, restaurants, bars, and catering companies often require extra staff during peak tourist seasons. Seasonal hospitality jobs may include roles such as servers, bartenders, kitchen staff, and hotel housekeepers.
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.
If you are disabled, neurodivergent or have a long-term physical or mental health condition, we are here to make Get Hired as accessible as we can for you. Complete this form by Thursday 18 April and we can build a support package for you. Watch our Accessibility Arrangements at Careers Fairs video to learn about arrangements we can put in place to help you access the fair.
To help you make the most of the day, we have pulled together our top tips on how to prepare for the fair…
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.
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:
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.”