Tag: Graduate stories

Top tips for international students pursuing careers in the UK

Posted on by Careers Service

Last month, we invited five international students and alumni from various sectors to share their successful experiences in securing graduate jobs in the UK.

Here are our five panellists and their top tips:

Megan Lim, LLB Bachelor of Law 

Megan is a current law student from Malaysia who has secured a training contract with Osborne Clarke and is also our PLUS Award Ambassador. She offers this advice to international students seeking jobs in the UK:

 “Don’t hesitate to ask for help at any stage of the application process. Seek assistance from your supervisors, the Career Service, friends, and family for application reviews, and practice interview questions.

Additionally, actively engage with employers, if possible, through LinkedIn and careers fairs. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions.”

Explore support on applications on the CVs, applications and interviews page of our website.

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Looking beyond the arts and sciences divide with interdisciplinary work

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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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My SME Internship: Tom – Ipsa Consulting

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Hi, my name is Tom and I graduated with a BSc in Geography in July 2022. 

After graduating, I sourced an internship opportunity myself, and I completed an SME Internship in November and December 2022.

My company of choice was Ipsa Consulting, a Devon-based consultancy supporting the sustainable growth of purpose-led organisations. 

My role

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How an SME Internship can kick start your entrepreneurial career

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“The decisions you make at University are often life-shaping. They set the tone for your future and compound over decades”

Adam Chambers is a Bristol History (BA) alum, and President of Nurse Recruitment Experts. In his third year at the University of Bristol he participated in our SME Internship Scheme.

Here are his thoughts on how this has shaped his career:

“Why am I writing to encourage you to apply for an SME Internship? 

I started Nurse Recruitment Experts (NRX) in 2019, nine months after graduating from studying History at Bristol.  

Since then, we’ve sourced and hired 10,000 plus Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Certified Nursing Assistants for health systems across the US and Canada.

A photo of Adam smiling, outdoors in a suit.
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Graduate stories: Working in software development at Ghyston as a Bristol graduate

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Meet Bristol graduate Izzie who now works at Bristol-based, independent software company Ghyston, as a Software Developer.  

We caught up with Izzie to hear all about her journey from Chemistry student at the University of Bristol to where she is now: 

A photo of Izzie laughing in a group at a desk, as a colleague holds up a construction made of multi coloured plastic blocks.
Izzie, (centre) at a Ghyston training day.

“It’s a pretty well-worn path. Primary school, secondary school, A-levels, university, but what next?  

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Graduate stories: Working in data analysis at Tesco as a Bristol graduate

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Rachel graduated from Bristol with an Economics degree and now works in data analysis for Tesco. We recently caught up with Rachel to hear about her experience working for Tesco and her advice for students that are starting their career.

Rachel Buzinin

“Thinking about careers and trying to secure a first job might be easy for some.  Maybe you’ve had an idea about what you want to do for a while and your university degree is leading you in this direction.

However, for others, it’s less clear, and this can cause anxiety and confusion. I fit into the latter group and nearly 7 years since graduating I’m still figuring it out!

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Graduate stories: The Graduate Route visa has allowed me to do a meaningful job

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Utsa attended the University of Bristol as an international student from India, majoring in BSc Social Policy and Sociology.

A picture of Utsa smiling with a city scape behind her

After graduating last year, Utsa used the Graduate Route to secure a job within the university and is now working as an International Scholarship Assistant.

She is one of over 80,000 international students granted a Graduate Route visa since it launched in the summer of 2021.

Utsa spoke to us about her ambitions for working in a role that allows her to make a positive impact on the people and communities around her.

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Graduate stories: working at TLT as a Bristol graduate

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Joseph Battle graduated from Bristol with a law degree and is now a first seat trainee in TLT’s London office.

We recently caught up with Joseph to hear about his journey so far at TLT and his advice for students considering a career in law.

Hi I’m Joseph, 

While studying I tried to get as much exposure to the legal industry as possible to confirm that I wanted to start a career in law and to work out which area of law suited me best. This included work experience with a barristers’ chambers, a boutique private practice, larger full-service corporate firms and a firm operating in a different jurisdiction. These experiences were invaluable for me to gain an awareness of the different disciplines within the industry and to figure out what clicked for me.

I was appreciative of the opportunities to attend numerous networking evenings and law fairs whilst at Bristol. I found these to be a brilliant way to informally chat to representatives from a whole host of firms and to quickly get a feel for whether I would be a good fit for the firm and whether the firm would be a good fit for me. (more…)

Graduate stories: from Bristol graduate to External Communications and Relationships Manager at STEM Women.

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Pam McGee is a 2005 Bristol University graduate who studied English Literature BA.

Pam is now the External Communications and Relationships Manager at STEM Women. She has kindly written this blog to tell us about her experiences at University and working for STEM Women.

A picture of Pam smiling

“I can’t tell you a motivational story about how I always wanted to work in PR and communications, because I never knew I wanted to – it just happened. But I can give you one key piece of advice which is to engage with your university Careers Service – something which, I’m sorry to say, I didn’t do during my time at Bristol.

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Graduate stories: from a Bristol graduate to Pupil Barrister with the Crown Prosecution Service

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Hi, I’m Ellen. I studied LLB Law from 2015 to 2018 at Bristol, where I developed a real interest in criminal justice.

A picture of Ellen, the author, smiling,

Modules such as Rich Law, Poor Law and Jurisprudence encouraged me to think about the practical implications of law and the (in)justice these perpetuate for everyday people

As a student leader in the Human Rights Law Clinic, I gained experience working alongside lawyers on a project to encourage compliance with the UN OPCAT (Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture) on behalf of the African Commission. This developed my interest in using law to achieve positive societal change.

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