Ahead of UCL Careers Media week, Grace, UCL Geography Graduate,  gives us her insider’s view on what a Programmatic Account Manager does.

After studying a Ba Geography degree at UCL for 3 years and finishing with a 2.1. I had no set idea what career I wanted to pursue. After toying with a few career paths I was informed by a recruiter that my life was destined for digital marketing. My recruiter promised I had the ideal transferrable skills; good balance of numeracy and writing, some experience in the online world (marketing an event on social media and getting involved in a blog) and an eagerness and confidence to learn and get stuck in.

I was intrigued by this suggestion but also slightly hesitant because I didn’t know what this industry was all about. One of the first roles I was put forward for was for a ‘Programmatic Account Manager’ position with a small but growing company called Periscopix and since then I have not looked back! One of the most exciting aspects of my job is that no day is the same, however here is snippet of my working life here at Periscopix!

First things first:

In a nutshell my role is to purchase online advertising space on behalf of my clients. I buy this ad space using DoubleClick, a bid managing platform owned by Google. I select inventory that will be relevant for my client and only enter an auction if the ad space fits the criteria I’ve chosen. This auction then takes place programmatically, i.e. as a page loads DoubleClick will work out who has selected this particular criteria and who has the highest bid and that person will serve the ad. So you’ve got the gist.. how does my working day pan out?

Quick Check:
Programmatic display is still a baby in the online arena. This fledgling industry is thriving YoY and it’s exciting to be catching the wave of such a ground-breaking practice. As with such young systems it is constantly developing, although this is all in the name of improvement, it is difficult to always stay on top of new features, settings and changes. Thus every morning we will spend 15 minutes looking into our clients’ accounts to check everything seems in order, examining performance and making bid adjustments where necessary.

New client – handover:

Then it’s straight to a meeting room for a sales handover. Eeeek very exciting! A member of the sales team confirms a fitness clothes retailer wants to launch programmatic buying with us. In this internal meeting we discuss what their goals are, what they know about programmatic buying and what they expect to get out of it. It seems relatively standard, they know a little about online display advertising, they are keen to gain brand awareness and quality traffic to their site. Meeting over and it’s straight to the desk to begin thinking about what targeting will be the most relevant and responsive to launch with.

Within around 3 months of working at Periscopix I began being solely responsible for a client from handover. This means I am in control of every aspect of an account. I am in charge of designing the campaign, building the account, ad trafficking, reviewing the set-up, optimising the account on an ongoing basis and, of course, managing all client contact.

This autonomy is unusual for a digital marketing company, but having ownership of an account means I have so much vested interest in the performance, I know the client and the account inside out and I have fantastic variety in my day-to-day working life.

Ad trafficking:

A couple hours of this day I am spending ad trafficking. This is necessary every once in a while with new clients and also existing clients wanting to change theirs up. Today is because a travel agency client has decided to carry out some rebranding. With the industry-wide developments mentioned earlier, the set-up process of uploading ads is always changing. This means there is always a new system to crack and new ad requirements to get to grips with and this process can be a challenge. With internal support from within the team and Bid Manager Support readily available when the job is done it is always a rewarding feeling finally seeing the shiny new ads uploaded into the interface we use. J Especially as they get slicker by the month!

Lunchtime!
The size of Periscopix is growing really fast and the average age of an employer is 27. With an open plan office and new starters every month it is really fun to just sit in the kitchen and meet new people. I was surprised at how quickly I made really good friends here. Often we will take a stroll to borough market or saunter to Potter’s field, a walk is often needed after the free posh coffee, toast and the array of fruits we stock up on in the mornings!

Client meeting:

After lunch I have a meeting with a B2B client that sells mobile analytics. The meeting is taking place at the client’s offices in central London. I am looking forward to the catch up as I have great relationships’ with all my clients, something that is nurtured since handover. It is easy to get on with clients whilst working at Periscopix because our USP is our transparency and commitment. We only have a handful of clients each to ensure we are able to commit time to working on the accounts. Plus we are sharers; we want the client to know what we are doing, why and how we are doing it and what we are planning.

Optimisation:

Aaaah it’s nearing the end of a busy day and I get to optimise! This is the back bone of our job, pouring ourselves into our accounts to tease out trends and work out where to go from here to progress the accounts even further. We have a dozen optimisation tasks we can tackle to improve accounts. My favourite part of my role is finding the gems during optimisation sessions; sites that outperform others, user lists that are responding really well and discovering fascinating insights using lookalike modelling to provide clients with useful insights into who their target online market really is. We foster a test and learn ethos here at Periscopix and so as long as your tests are based on data, anything is acceptable. This freedom and encouragement means although you have in mind what your clients expect, you also get to explore and test what you find interesting.

Home time!
As always the day went too quickly! However its 17:31 and I am out of the door. The directors, Simon and Marc, believe efficiency and productivity stems from a happy workforce and Simon says ‘there is nothing worse than watching the clock and having a boring job’. Hence the company are forever trying to strike a balance of being busy but getting it all done in the working hours – which is a refreshing change from the nightmare graduate schemes I hear about from my friends. Now it’s time for a quick gym session (read: sauna) – membership subsidised by the company of course!

To find out more about UCL Careers Media Week, visit: www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/getinto

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!

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.

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.

Aaron Marchant from All About Group, gives us his take on the pros and cons of the Charity sector. Don’t forget to register for our Charities and NGOs week starting w/c 2nd Feb 2015!

When hunting for a career, many students don’t consider the charity and not-for-profit sector, choosing instead to focus on other career routes. Here are some pros and cons about working in the sector which might give you something new to think about.

Salary

Ok, so you probably won’t be earning huge amounts of money as soon as you graduate. Starting salaries tend to average between £20,000 and £25,000. These can rise over time to £40,000+ after five to ten years, with the potential to go even higher.

Working environment

Working in the not-for-profit and charity sector often results in an interesting and varied working day. If you choose to work in a support-based role, you’ll be moving between locations and coming into direct contact with clients. This type of work will be especially hands-on – you could be working on outdoor projects or helping vulnerable members of society. Alternatively, you might be based in an office, liaising with support workers and other industry professionals. This would involve the sorts of things you would expect from most office environment, such as more regular hours.

Something different

If you’re interested in making a real difference to society, or you want to work abroad, then charity work is something you should consider. For example, if you choose to work in International Aid & Development, there will be plenty of opportunities for travel. These might range from short trips to assess a situation to working abroad on long term projects. Closer to home, you’ll be able to make noticeable differences to the communities around you.

Open to everyone

Whether you’re doing a law degree, considering a job in the creative arts, or working on a new app, there is something for everyone in the not-for-profit sector. For example, if you’ve been considering graduate finance jobs, the charity sector needs financiers just as much as other companies do. You’ll be able to put your skills to good use whilst giving back to society. Similarly, a creative student might be interested in running community theatre or putting on art events. Whatever your background, there’s more opportunity in the sector than meets the eye.

The bare bones – pros and cons

Pros:

• Challenging
• You can make a difference every day
• Variety of working options
• Opportunities for travel and working abroad

Cons:

• Can often be emotional
• Relatively low potential earnings
• Sometimes stressful

The not-for-profit and charity sector, therefore, has a lot to offer. Whether you’re someone who is passionate about helping others, want to use your knowledge in a social context, or just wants to try something different, it’s a career well worth considering.

Aaron Marchant works at www.allaboutcareers.com, a careers advice service for students and graduates

Register for the UCL Careers Charities and NGOs week here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/events/getinto

UCLU WINTER VOLUNTEERING FAIR
12 NOON – 3PM THIS THURSDAY
SOUTH CLOISERS & MAIN QUAD MARQUEE
Will 2015 be the year that you make a big difference?  If so, a good place to get started will be our Winter Volunteering Fair on Thursday 22^nd January.

In the South Cloisters we’ll be hosting over 50 different London-based organisations for you to find out about, including Centra Volunteering, Diabetes UK, Action Tutoring, Health Poverty Action, Origin Housing, Keen London, West Euston Time Bank, Stemettes, St John Ambulance, ULU Links, London LGBT+ Community Pride, Anthony Nolan, Body & Soul, UCL Hospital, Theatre Royal Stratford East, UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre, St Joseph’s Hospice, MAC-UK, Stroke Association, Newlon Fusion, IntoUniversity… and many more.

In the Main Quad Marquee, UCLU Volunteering Society (VolSoc) will be hosting an international volunteering fair, with exciting projects from around the world.  There exhibitors include: Frontier, Otra Cosa Network, The Hope Foundation For Street Children, Kaya Responsible Travel, PSE For a Child’s Smile UK, The Daneford Trust, Tenteleni and more. For more information about the Volunteering Society and international volunteering please go to their website.

You’ll find us in the South Cloisters and Main Quad Marquee from 12 noon – 3pm on Thursday 22nd – we hope to see you there!

Add the Winter Volunteering Fair to your calendar

As part of our #UCLInspireMe series, Joni Browne, Research Officer at the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) part of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)  talks to us about how she got this role and shares some tips for UCL students who want to get into the Research sector.

How did you get into your role?

After five years of frenzied trial and error in other roles, I worked out that I needed a job which was varied, required a mix of interpersonal, academic and analytical skills, and had a structured career path. Research was particularly appealing because it has the power to influence and shape an organisation’s policies and strategies. I got my foot in the door by applying for a graduate role at a market research agency called IFF Research where I quickly gained exposure to different research methodologies across a variety of sectors. I then moved into health-related researcher/analyst roles in the NHS, Ipsos MORI and Capita. Last year I took up my current position as a Research Officer at the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR), where I spend most of my time evaluating volunteering programmes for voluntary organisations.

What are the best things about working in your role?

If variety is the spice of life, then research is Spiceworld. I’m involved in qualitative and quantitative research, so tasks I might carry out include designing questionnaires, conducting interviews, analysing data and presenting findings. There are periods where I might be out doing fieldwork, talking to volunteers or staff at voluntary organisations, and then other times I might be by myself agonising over some data, what they mean and how to best explain them in a report. No two projects are ever the same, and each comes with its own challenges so it’s always stimulating and I’m always learning.

I’m fortunate enough to work with extremely bright, thoughtful, supportive people that I like and learn from. We can debate serious matters such as research ethics one moment, and have in-depth discussions about ‘MasterChef’ or croissants the next – all with equal fervour. If I’m working on a stressful or difficult project, having good colleagues around takes the edge off it.

What are the biggest challenges you face in your work?

Job security can be an issue depending on how the research role is funded and whether it’s agency-side or client-side/in-house. Fixed-term rather than permanent contracts are the norm for some roles given that many organisations (especially in the voluntary sector) are seeing their research budgets squeezed. The hours of work can sometimes be unsociable if you have to travel for fieldwork. Finally, it’s worth noting that if you want to make millions, retire at 40 and sip piña coladas on your own private beach, research isn’t the area to get into. I don’t think the pay ever truly reflects the effort and range of skills required to do the job well.

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

Social research and market research are highly competitive, but do not be deterred. I’d recommend the following:

1. Try to get onto a graduate scheme. While some bigger organisations are better known and look good on your CV, a smaller organisation might give you more responsibility more quickly
2. You might want to specialise in either qualitative or quantitative research but consider gaining skills in both to maximise your attractiveness to employers
3. Try to take degree modules which have a research methods component for training in research techniques and an understanding of the theories behind them
4. Strong IT skills (especially Microsoft Office) are essential, and if you can use software such as SPSS, even better
5. Getting voluntary work experience as a researcher is one way to gain practical experience and get a taste of whether you might like to pursue it as a career
6. It’s worth identifying organisations you would like to do research for, checking out their website and sending them your CV on spec. Other channels you might use to find graduate schemes and research jobs include CharityJob, Jobs.ac.uk, Guardian Jobs, and Milkround.

If you’re interested in a career in the Market Research sector, visit Careers Tagged.

From clinical biochemistry to teaching, most areas of work have professional magazines with news and discussion about what’s going on in the sector.

If you want to demonstrate good commercial awareness and understanding of the work you’d be doing in applications or interviews, reading these is a great way to build your knowledge.

Here are some examples of sector magazines available in hard copy in the UCL Careers Library:

• Planet Earth (focusing on the environment sector)
• International Accountant
• Young Lawyer
• Association of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine News
• Society of Petroleum Engineers Review

There are more sector magazines that aren’t available in hard copy, but can be found on our digital careers library, www.careerstagged.co.uk . The best way to find these is to search by sector, for example ‘teaching’ or ‘construction’. Some examples are:

• The Times Higher Education Supplement
• The Environmentalist
• PR Week
• Building Talk
• Horticulture Week

UCL Libraries also provide access to more useful magazines and journals. You can access the Financial Times, including off campus, and journals published by professional bodies. Go to ucl.ac.uk/library and use the main search box to search by title.

– Linsey Chrisman, Information Officer, UCL Careers

This post originally appeared on the QM Jobs blog

The NHS Scientist Training Programme will open in January 2015. The STP is a graduate-entry programme for scientists, where you are paid a salary by the NHS while training.

Postgraduate training for the STP leads to a specifically commissioned and accredited master’s degree and certification of achievement of work-based training following one of nine themed pathways:

• microbiology(infection control and epidemiology, mycology, virology, toxicology, bacteriology and parasitology)
• blood sciences (clinical biochemistry, haematology/transfusion science, immunology)
• cellular sciences (histopathology, cytopathology, reproductive science)
• genetic sciences (genetic science, bioinformatic genomics)
• neurosensory sciences (audiology, neurophysiology, ophthalmic and vision science)
• cardiovascular  respiratory and sleep sciences  (cardiac science, respiratory and sleep science, vascular science, critical care science)
• gastrointestinal physiology and urodynamic sciences
• clinical engineering (rehabilitation engineering, clinical measurement and development, medical device risk management and governance), reconstructive sciences (maxillofacial prosthetics)
• medical physics (radiation safety physics, radiotherapy physics, imaging with ionising radiation, imaging with non-ionising radiation, clinical pharmaceutical science)
• informatics (genomics, physical sciences, health infomatics)

For more on the STP application process see here. And if you’re a scientist and want to talk about your career options, why not book an appointment to see one of our Careers Consultants? www.ucl.ac.uk/careers