Did you miss the UCL Institute for Sustainability and the UCL Energy Institutes Careers forums during our Environment week? Fear not, Laura Firmin from UCL Careers has written a round up for you:

Institute for Sustainability Careers in Energy Networking Event

A wide variety of speakers from sustainable energy consultancies and SMEs working within the sustainable planning and architecture arena each invited the audience to look back with them through their career journey that has led them to where they work now.

Some top career tips from this event:

1. Use an analytical mind-set to break apart your current or previous work experience to decide exactly what it is you did/ didn’t like about that role. Was it the working hours? The people you worked with? Were you using your strengths? The manner in which your efforts were recognised? Use these insights to assess the suitability of the job you’re applying to.
2. Weigh up your interest in the sector with what the job is actually asking you to do day-to-day.
3. If you’re a researcher, or doing a PhD, start building your network by proactively approaching companies who may be interested in your research and offer to present what you are working on to them. Many companies run lunchtime lectures in which you could do this and you can achieve many outcomes at once:
   1. You get to practice your presentation skills in preparation for your poster talk/ VIVA
   2. You are effectively promoting yourself, the university and your work to interested employers in the area
   3. If you are feeling stuck in a rut – having to put something coherent together and getting out of the office may spark new insights.

This networking event brought together many London businesses working towards a sustainable future – especially around the built environment. This is a pressing issue for London and environmental jobs are not just out in the countryside; for those of you who want to continue saving the planet whilst living in this city – there are plenty of opportunities locally which could fulfil both these desires.

Careers in Sustainable Resources Thursday 12^th February 2015

A great introduction by professor Paul Ekins created a focused atmosphere with an injection of humour and warmth.

Top tips to come from the night’s speakers were as follows:

1. Nick Lakin, Group Head of Government Affairs at Kingfisher suggested that many graduates entering the sustainability sector are likely to have big ideas for the future of their world. His advice is to balance ideas with practicality. Change is not always easy as holding a belief in a particular approach – so be pragmatic and be ready to adjust your idea so that you can collaborate with others.
2. Joshua Davies, Graduate Sustainability Consultant at URS-AECOM reminded the audience of the importance of gaining varied work experience. If you are looking to get into consulting – your variety of work experience and expertise will enable you to work on lots of different client projects. Stay proactive to avoid limiting your knowledge bank.

Many multi-national companies run consult on environmental and sustainability issues and have whole departments dedicated to the sector. However, even if you are hired to work in that department, you may also be required to work in other areas of the business where need occurs. So, be open-minded and consider whether your green values are matched throughout the business.

On Friday 20^th February UCL’s Global Citizenship Programme launched, and undergraduates across UCL will be able to register to take part in one of the different programmes taking place from 1-12 June.

What is Global Citizenship?

Global Citizenship is UCL’s initiative to build students who can:

• look beyond their individual and local interests and see the complexity of an interconnected world
• understand the nature of the challenges that face that world
• are aware of their social, ethical and political responsibilities
• are ready to display leadership and work together to change the world for the better
• are able to solve problems through innovation and entrepreneurship
• prosper in a global jobs market that values the skills UCL provides

It’s made up of 7 different strands to choose from: 4 targeted at first years and 3 more open to 2nd years, penultimates and finalists. The Global Citizenship Employability Programme (GCE), run by UCL Careers, is one of these latter strands – so if you are thinking about what your future may hold beyond UCL, read on!

What will you gain on the GCE programme?

UCL Careers Global Citizenship Employability Programme is an exciting and very hands-on 2 weeks. This programme is ideal for students who are interested in having a fulfilling and rewarding career, and who want to prosper in a global jobs market. In many ways the GCE programme is an ‘employability crash course’.

During the programme, you will take part in interactive workshops helping you to build an effective CV, perform well at interviews and assessment centres, build your network, search successfully for jobs and understand the graduate labour market. Importantly, the programme begins with a full-day dedicated to helping you discover, and articulate, your strengths, which you can then use to help develop your career.

What else does it involve?

Programme highlights include:

• fast-paced speed interviews with a range of employers, arming you with tips from professionals across different industries
• priority access to more employers at our Jobs Market, most of whom will have live vacancies they want filled!
• Employer 1:1 coaching on your CV
• Support to develop a personal action plan that you can take with you, helping you identify key steps you need to take to enter and prosper in a global job market.

What did people say last year?

Don’t just take our word for it – check out our video and hear from attendees at last year’s programme and come along to our information session held Friday 27^th February in Archaeology LT G06 at 1pm for more information, and to hear some case studies of students who succeeded from last year’s programme. And most of all, be sure to register and come to UCL Careers to pay your £20 deposit to secure your place!

This post looks at the events organised by UCL Careers during our Environment Careers Themed Week. If you didn’t manage to attend these sessions, we’ve captured some of the key points we took away to report to you. Our previous blog post also features some tips for getting into the environment and sustainability sector from the UCL Institute of Sustainability.

The Effective Networking workshop – or ‘Connecting with people who want to talk to you’.

Right from the first icebreaker, the UCL Careers seminar room was humming with energy and chatter as students threw themselves into task of mandatory mingling. Asked to discuss the benefits and potential barriers to networking, it was clear that while everyone agreed that it was a good way to make inroads into a sector such as the Environment, the idea makes most people weak at the knees.

Imagining rocking up to a formal networking event, clasping a handful of business cards in sweaty hands, and having to deliver a perfect elevator pitch to a room full of disinterested senior people who have far more important things to do than talk to you, it’s not surprising most people shy away from networking.

Despite these fears there are many reasons someone at a networking event might want to meet you (finding talent or just getting a chance to talk about themselves for example) – it’s all about asking simple, open questions about their work lives that get them talking.

The message from this workshop, delivered by Dave Carter of UCL Careers, was that networking doesn’t have to be daunting. Given the number of people who hung around after this workshop chatting, it seems networking can even be fun!

The Writing a CV for the environment sector workshop

“If you want to catch a fish, you have to think like a fish”.

This was the ethos behind the workshop, which gave students an opportunity to see through the eyes of a recruiter when scanning and scoring CVs for a researcher role in the environment sector.

Under tight time-restraints and with a pile of CVs to sift through, it was very quickly clear what makes a CV stand out, or fall out for a recruiter’s pile:

Tricks such as using plenty of bullet points, highlighting key skills from the person specification and putting the important information at the top were a winner; while long, wordy paragraphs and irregular formatting were very much considered turn-offs when you had a lot to sift through.

Finally, it is important to tailor your CV to every job application. Unfortunately, no CV is one-size-fits all!

The Sustainability Leadership workshop

Participants at this revolutionary session were thrown straight into the deep end when their first task in groups was to share their burdens and take them out of their metaphorical rucksacks. This involved each participant listening to their peers in turn with respect and patience. Greta Rossi, co-founder of Ākāśa Innovation took our potential future leaders in sustainability on a journey, introducing tools to help them harness their leadership ability. By the end of the session, each group of students had connected with each other in a meaningful way.

The Case Study: The London Olympics – The Green Games

Richard Jackson, Head of Sustainability at UCL shared his tips for ensuring that sustainable initiatives run throughout an enormous event such as the London 2012 Olympic Games.

1. Have clear strategic objectives: these must be in place right at the beginning and you must stick to them – even if plan A does not work – you must ignite plan B in order to meet those green objectives. If a material does not function as planned – can you produce one that does? When your site is audited – you will need to be able to say that you have delivered your objectives.
2. Get your people energised and inspired about the initiative. A prize as simple to produce as a pin badge for excellent engagement really encourages participation – especially if you have only produced a limited number!
3. Know your supply chain – every step of the way – be credible
4. An international event such as the Olympic Games is not the place to TEST innovative energy-saving ideas. Can you factor these tests into a trial part of the site beforehand?

To find our more information about Sustainability Careers, head on over to Careers Tagged.

You’ve sent in your application, aced the interview and now you’ve got that all-important first job. What then? Whether sustainability is a passion that’s taken you into education or an NGO, government or private sector, there are some common challenges you’ll encounter. And overcoming these will be essential in allowing you to flourish in your current (and future) roles. 

So once you’ve got your foot in the door, what then? Here are the Sustainability Team’s insights into what’s needed to survive and thrive in your sustainability career.

1. Celebrate the small stuff. Creating positive change is hard. And even small changes often take a lot of time and effort to achieve. So whether you’ve run a successful event, won some funding, or just got 20 more subscribers to your newsletter, make sure you celebrate your wins.

2. Change your mind and keep learning. One of the benefits of this field is that it cuts across a wide range of themes and roles. Whether it’s as communicator, auditor or policy-writer, you’ll find that most roles include lots of different disciplines. Keep topping up your skills and getting any training that’s available. And don’t be afraid to chop and change; there may be indirect routes into what you want to do.

3. Accept that we don’t all speak the same language. Even in a small organisation, you’ll likely find as many views about sustainability as staff. And in most cases, your agenda will be just one of many. Whether you’re interested in environmental auditing or grassroots campaigning, build your communication skills and make your ideas relevant to the people you work with. Learn to meet people where they are. After all, even great ideas rarely speak for themselves.

4. Make friends and collaborate. Creating a more sustainable world really will take all of us. And more often than not, you’ll be relying on the goodwill of others to support your work. So whether it’s by running stalls, through social media, or meetings with that all-important free tea and cake; start developing friends, allies and sense of community around your aims.

5. Keep your interest alive! It’s unlikely that you got into the sector through a love of long meetings about recycling bins.  Whether it’s through books, film, travel or just being outside, find ways to remind yourself why you got involved in this area in the first place. This is a brilliant field to be part of; don’t lose sight of it!

To find out more about the UCL Sustainability Team visit their website, follow them on Twitter and Like them on Facebook.

Come along to the UCLU Volunteering Services Unit’s Green Volunteering Fair and find out about a world of opportunities to get involved.

As part of our #UCLInspireMe series, Kavita Shankar, Content Marketing Executive at BSkyB talks to us about how she got his role and shares some tips for UCL students who want to get into the Marketing sector.

How did you get into your role?

My name is Kavita and I work in Content Marketing at Sky. How did I get this role? Well actually I applied for the marketing graduate programme at Sky and I got to the final assessment centre stage but wasn’t offered the role. A few weeks later I got a call from the HR team at Sky asking if I was interested in another role within Talent Attraction in HR. I really loved the company after experiencing it at the assessment centre and jumped at this opportunity. A year and a half into the role an opportunity came up in Content Marketing, exactly what I was looking for. I always had a passion for marketing and even structured the modules in my Psychology degree at UCL to suit this career.

What are the best things about working in your role?

There are several great things about this role. In a nutshell, I manage the marketing relationships between Sky and our partner channels, working on joint marketing campaigns. This gives me the opportunity to work with many different people/channels that vary from Discovery Channel to Disney Channel. No day is the same, working on different routes to market from radio features on Heart FM, digital ads you see in the tube stations to billboards on the roadsides.

With invites to channel launches and show press conferences some of the highlights of the role have been meeting Karl Pilkington and Dynamo, walking the red carpet with Bruce Willis, the premiere of Captain Phillips with my favourite Tom Hanks himself and bumping into some of the Kardashian family on my way to a meeting!

Oh and nothing can beat the standard benefit for all Sky staff – the full Sky package in all its HD glory for free!

What are the biggest challenges you face in your work?

It’s not all watching TV! Sky is a fast paced environment, which is challenging and what I love about it. Specifically in my role with so many channels and points of contact one of the biggest challenges is managing the workload, this is where organisation is key. Meeting deadlines is important as many of these timelines are dictated by media delivery dates. Marketing is a creative industry but also very process led with many stakeholders – managing key stakeholders is a challenging aspect of the sector.

What top tips would you pass on to a student interested in this type of work?

1)     Do as much research as possible, read articles, marketing sites and keep track of the innovations in the sector through blogs etc.

2)    Try and gain experience in the field, ideally both in agency and client side to be able to see how it all works together. Some companies may offer unpaid experience but this can be priceless on your CV.

3)     Go to career fairs and company presentations, this is a great opportunity to meet people in the field and ask them any questions you might have.

4)    A genuine interest in the field you are marketing will be what gets you up in the mornings.

5)    Don’t be afraid to try areas you are not familiar with, you never know what you mind end up having a passion for or being good at.

6)     All experience is relevant as it will help build skills required in any sector or role, take as many opportunities available to you and make the effort to seek them out.

7)    Try do something that will make you stand out in an application or an interview – for example I did a film internship in Bollywood in Mumbai and worked in the carnival Samba Schools is Rio, things like – this will help differentiate you from other candidates.

If you’re interested in a career in Marketing, visit Careers Tagged and find over 550 resources to get you started.

UCL Careers has a new subscription to a site you can use to practice and prepare for aptitude tests. These tests are common in graduate recruitment, particularly if you’re applying to large companies or some jobs in the public sector – for example, the Civil Service Fast Stream. You may need to take them online as part of the application process, or at an assessment centre.

If you don’t have much experience with aptitude tests, you can almost certainly improve your scores with practice. You usually have a fairly short time limit when you take the tests, so being familiar with the types of questions you will be asked is important.

Our new subscription package from Assessment Day lets you practice:

• 2 x Verbal Reasoning tests
• 2 x Numerical Reasoning tests
• 1 x Inductive Reasoning tests
• 1 x Logical Reasoning tests
• 1 x Diagrammatic Reasoning tests
• 1 x E-Tray Exercise

These are full length, timed tests similar to those used by companies.

You will receive detailed feedback after you complete the test, including which questions you got right and wrong and how you performed compared to others. You’ll be able to see what the correct answers were for each question, and an explanation of how the answer was worked out. You can download your results or email them to yourself.

There are also PDF versions of tests and answer sheets to download.

You can register here by entering your name and your UCL email address. You’ll receive an email in your UCL email inbox with a password to log in.

You can log back in to Assessment Day to practice again as many times as you want.

If you’re looking for more information and other sites which offer practice tests, please see the resources on our digital library. (You’ll need to log in with your UCL IT username and password).

We also have books to help you prepare for tests in the UCL Careers library. You can use them in our library area at any time we’re open. You can also borrow them for 2 working days for a £10 cash deposit, which you get back if you return the book on time.

– Linsey Chrisman, Information Officer, UCL Careers

As part of our #UCLInspireMe series,Tara Protheroe, Graduate Trainee (Fundraising & Marketing) at Cancer Research UK, talks to us about how she decided to undertake a career in the Charity sector.

Firstly, here’s a little contextual info about me. I’m 23, I went to the University of York, and I graduated in 2012 with a 2:1 in English Literature. Finding my first job was initially challenging; although I had a CV full of skills, university positions and part-time jobs, I lacked a professional internship or in-office work experience.  

So, how did I get into my role?

I’d always thought I’d like to get into marketing and applied to multiple jobs in my 3^rd year with little success. My lack of office experience was holding me back, so I started looking for internships.

I didn’t actively seek a charity role, but came across Cancer Research UK and was impressed by the variety of internships available.

I secured a role in Innovation Marketing, working on the Dryathlon campaign. After 3 months at CRUK I knew I wanted to stay; the work was stimulating and I was truly passionate about the cause. There weren’t any permanent roles available so I (successfully) applied for the graduate scheme.

What are the best things about working in my role?

I’d say the best thing about the CRUK Grad Scheme is the variety and the quality of the work we’re given.

We stay in each department for six months and work on an independent project. Where we go is partly dependent on business need, but there’s a lot of scope for us to choose roles based on our preferences. The responsibility we’re afforded is also a real benefit.

The organisational culture is fantastic. We’re frequently reminded of our core purpose in our daily work and surroundings.

What are the biggest challenges I face in my work?

Changing projects every six months makes the work more interesting, but also allows you less time to settle in and excel. Similarly, the responsibility and autonomy I am provided with makes it imperative that I motivate and organise myself effectively, which can be tough.

The size of the organisation can also be a challenge; there are so many different departments it can be difficult to keep track of and work effectively with all of your stakeholders.

What top tips would you pass on to a student interested in this type of work?

Start early! Think about what you want out of a career in your first year and try to gain relevant experience. But if you haven’t, don’t despair, there’s still plenty you can do.

If you want to work for a charity, think of the type of role you’re interested in – marketing, finance, etc., and look for work experience in those areas. You don’t have to have charity experience to work for a charity; it’s the transferable skills that are important.

If you’re working full time or an internship isn’t possible, there are still ways you can volunteer your time and gain skills in the process. If you’re interested in events, consider organising a fundraising event yourself, such as Relay for Life. If media or communications are your thing, write a blog, or approach a smaller charity and see if you can help them with their publications in your spare time.

The most important factor for any role, but particularly this sector, is passion. Would I have got the job had I not done an internship? I don’t believe I would – without it I wouldn’t have had the requisite passion, knowledge and confidence to impress at interview.

If you’re interested in a career in the Charity sector, visit Careers Tagged and find over 400 resources to get you started.

This post originally appeared on the Discover UCL blog

“I should know what job I want to have before I go to university”

University is the perfect time to investigate different careers, to see which one fits you best. Don’t worry, but take the time to explore different options, get some work experience and discover a career that you would like to follow.

“My career will be directly related to my degree”

Many people take the skills that they learn on their degree to move into something completely different. Even if you take a vocational degree, you will still learn transferable skills in communication, problem solving and research, which will enable you to work in a wide variety of different jobs.

“The best jobs are the ones where you earn the most money”

Some graduates feel pressured to go into the career that they think will earn them the most money. Careers with high salaries are often extremely pressurised, with long hours and lots of stress. Working out what you actually want from your career, and finding a job that provides a good quality of life, can be much more important for your happiness than a high salary.

“You can’t become a lawyer without a law degree”

You can apply to study for a GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law) if you are a graduate from any subject. Many law firms actually prefer students to take a different degree before studying for the GDL as they believe that it makes candidates more well-rounded individuals.

“You can only work in healthcare by becoming a doctor”

There are lots of jobs in healthcare, many of which do not even require a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) degree. Instead of studying to become a doctor, you could choose to become a physiotherapist, a paramedic or a clinical psychologist. Most of these careers require a specific degree, but it is often possible to retrain in one of these areas after completing a degree in a different area. In addition, there are many jobs available for arts, humanities and social sciences graduates, such as speech and language therapist, counsellor, arts and music therapist, or healthcare manager.

“You can’t work in finance with a humanities degree”

Humanities graduates are often great candidates for jobs in the financial sector as they have excellent communication skills and research abilities. You will also need to have good numeracy skills (e.g. A level Mathematics) and may have to undergo some postgraduate training.

“Arts graduates are less employable than STEM graduates”

Although it might seem like there are more well-paid careers available in STEM areas, in fact graduates from both types of degree are likely to find well-paid and rewarding careers. It’s important not to study a subject just because you think it’s more likely to bring benefits in the future; focus on what you find interesting and enjoyable, and look for careers that incorporate these elements.

For help to Find your Future, visit UCL Careers: www.ucl.ac.uk/careers