Career planning can be tricky. We know some students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds can also face specific challenges.
These may include:
Exploring career ideas when you don’t know what’s out there;
Getting quality work experience with fewer existing networks; or
Having time to dedicate to career planning alongside other commitments.
At the Careers Service, we provide dedicated support to address these challenges:
Bristol Mentors
The Bristol Mentors scheme matches you with an alumni mentor. They can help you explore ideas, share advice, and give you an edge to break into the job sector that interests you.
Applications typically open in the Spring term – check your university emails.
My name is Noa. During my third year studying Classical Studies I got the opportunity to do a 10-week internship at Under the Wing Productions (UTW) through the University’s SME Internship Scheme.
UTW is a Bristol-based video production company that focuses on developing aspiring filmmakers.
I have always had a keen interest in filmmaking and the media industry, so when I came across the advert for this role, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity for me to gain valuable skills and experiences, whilst also building up my CV for when I leave University.
“Hi, I’m Anika. For my SME Internship, I was working for a start-up called Safer Industries Ltd.
I worked closely with the founder, Tim, to begin fleshing out the brands of his company and organise some elemental ideas around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policy.
Apart from occasional meetings in local Bristol cafés, my work was remote and flexible.
By the end of my internship, which spanned two months part-time during term-time, we had collaboratively created logos for one brand and created a Venn diagram covering some starting points for what would later be developed into a comprehensive and novel ESG policy.
Would you like to develop your Intrapreneurial skills and gain invaluable experience working with entrepreneurs?
Our IKEEP (Intrapreneurial Knowledge Exchange Enterprise Pathway) programme is designed for current students from all disciplines to undertake training and engage with industry on knowledge exchange projects as business advisors.
Students will get the opportunity to develop business model solutions and market awareness whilst enhancing their skills as intrapreneurs and future employees.
The IKEEP programme includes training in a range of business areas such as managing innovation, business model canvas and leadership strategies. After completing the training, you can apply for a project placement which matches businesses with teams of proactive students to tackle innovative project briefs through flexible 4-week project placements.
Hi, my name is Harry and I am a final year Management with Innovation student at the University of Bristol. This course is a four-year integrated master’s degree, combining specialist core disciplines such as Management, Economics, Physics and many others, with Innovation, to tackle the growing needs of the 21st Century.
Over the summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to join INVISTA, a global manufacturer of fibers, polymers and chemical intermediates, and a subsidiary of Koch Industries. I worked as a Business Operations Intern, joining the wider EU Supply Chain team.
I engaged with the Careers Service at the University of Bristol several times in my third year, when I was looking at, and applying for internships. The service provided me with resources to help my application stand out and signposted internships, including the INVISTA summer programme that I recently completed.
During this internship, I worked in the relatively new Centre of Excellence (COE) team. This formed part of the wider Enablement team, where the focus is very much on innovation. I found the opportunity to be a part of this team exciting, as it allowed me to use the theory I had learned in my course and apply it in the real world to improve efficiency within selected Supply Chain processes.
From a more tangible perspective, I got the chance to experiment and use tools new to me, such as ChatGPT to automate a process, and worked with developers to enhance a current system of capturing customer information. Through the culture of Principled-Based Management™, I also had the opportunity to ‘fail’, and take it as a learning opportunity for when things don’t go to plan – as they so often do. Therefore, this role provided an opportunity for both personal and professional growth.
Following the conclusion of my internship, INVISTA kindly offered me a full-time position as a Business Operations Specialist beginning in 2024, following my graduation. I will be joining the Customer Experience team, where I will be the focal point for my customers to ensure they get the very best service we can provide. I am really looking forward to beginning my career at INVISTA and furthering my knowledge in supply chains and the manufacturing industry.
Whilst studying, I found taking part in activities such as representing the University in tennis and being part of the innovation society, (firstly as Kit Secretary before moving on to Equality Director) will help me develop skills for working life, through teamwork, leadership, and people-skills.
I think one of the key skills to work in this industry would be the drive to continually keep learning. However, there are some skills which would be more obvious to increase your chances of getting into this sector, like teamwork, customer service skills, and experience using software such as Salesforce, SAP, and PowerBi.
I would also encourage you to want to keep learning more about whatever it is you are doing. For example, before my internship, I had very little knowledge of supply chains, business operations or the manufacturing industry, before my internship, but I was given a chance to learn because I showed the drive and commitment to constantly and quickly learn or adapt.
I entered into the internship process in a bit of an unusual state; I’d withdrawn from my PGCE (History) course earlier the same year and was just coming out of that self-reflective headspace we all go through when we’ve made our latest “big choice”.
Are you looking for an internship? While corporate giants might be a popular choice, opportunities at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may just be the best fit for you.
Five compelling reasons why small companies offer big opportunities:
“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.
Hello prospective Bristol PLUS Award achievers! I’m Lana Henry and I’m a fourth-year Veterinary Science student who’s now working as a PLUS Award Ambassador.
I completed my PLUS Award in the 2021/2022, and am here to answer the age-old question: is it worth taking on the PLUS Award despite a busy degree?
