If you are about to graduate, or you’ve graduated over the past year, at a point in the not-too-distant future, you will be asked to take part in a government-backed survey called Graduate Outcomes. This replaces the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey (DLHE for short).

Graduate Outcomes, like DLHE, asks about what you have gone on to do after your graduation and a range of other questions that will build up a picture of where graduates work and study, how much they typically earn and what industry sectors they prefer. Unlike DLHE, Graduate Outcomes will take place quite a long time after you graduate.

It’s a detailed survey that takes a little time to complete, but its results will be exceptionally useful to prospective students, universities and government agencies in understanding graduate career paths and the labour market.

Why are we telling you this?

We want to introduce the survey to you so you are aware that you will be asked to take part. You will receive a link to the survey by email, fifteen months after graduation, so if you have just completed your course, you’ll hear from the survey company in September 2019.

Why is the survey such a long time after graduation?

The time lag is to enable earnings data from the tax system to be linked to the survey results. Previously, earnings were declared by graduates themselves. In this way, the survey result will be more robust.

Respond to the survey

When the time comes, please respond to the email link or to the follow up phone call and complete the survey. The survey company will be persistent in calling, as response targets for Graduate Outcomes are high, so responding promptly will save the need for continuous calls.

Your career journey

Remember that as a UCL graduate you can still use UCL Careers support in finding work and progressing your career, for up to two years after you’ve finished your course. Take a look at our website for more information about our services for graduates

If you have any questions or would like further information please contact us on careers@ucl.ac.uk or visit the Graduate Outcomes website.

Sally Brown – UCL Careers Advisor

On the 3^rd October, UCL Careers welcomed four speakers from different companies to speak to students about their application processes and to offer some ‘top tips’ about completing application forms. What was clear was that although every company has their own way of shortlisting candidates, some specific annoyances regarding poor applications were common to all recruiters.

Online application forms

All the panellists stated that their company asks you to fill in an online application form. They often ask for the same information that you will have on your CV – such as your academics and some personal details – but often in a format that suits the needs of the company. The representative from PwC was keen to highlight that due to the desire for social mobility, many companies (inc. PwC) do not ask for your work experience at this stage – understanding that some graduates may not have had the opportunity to undertake relevant or unpaid work experience/internships during their studies. So don’t worry if you feel your current work experience – such as bar work or retail – doesn’t directly relate to the industry you are applying to, they will be looking for a breadth of transferable skills they can build on.

Top tips from the panellists:

• Talk to people already doing the role you are interested in
• Check whether it is the right ‘fit’ for you through researching the role and company thoroughly before applying.

Online: Motivation and Competency questions

Online questions regarding candidates’ motivation to apply to the company, their industry knowledge and basic common competencies (such as team-work) were common amongst the companies represented. It was also common that some candidates offered generalised responses that could be applied to any of their competitors.

Top tips from the panellists:

• Research! Research the role as well as the organisation.
• Take your time – allow 1-2 weeks to fill in the in the application.
• Research the industry to build up your commercial awareness – reflect upon how current issues may affect the company.
• A ‘real human’ will read this – all the panellists agreed that their companies do not use software to filter candidates.

Video Applications

Yes the 21^st century is here! Both the panellists from Unlocked and the Bank of England stated that they use video as part of the process. This is where you receive some written questions, get a few minutes to prepare your answer and then you are filmed saying your responses. These are reviewed later, as there is no one on the other side of the camera whilst you are speaking. The aim is to find out what you are like as a person and your communications skills.

Top tips from the panellists:

• Check what else is in view of the camera e.g. remove the picture of you and your friends at a Halloween party, lock up the cat etc.
• Dress smartly
• Find a quiet place, but not too quiet that you are inclined to whisper.
• Try to look directly at the camera and not at the ‘thumbnail’ of you.
• It is acceptable to jot down key points during the preparation time and refer to the paper during your answer – but avoid reading from the notes like a script.

Online testing:

Two of the panellists – from PwC and The Bank of England – stated that their company uses some online testing that may include numerical, inductive (sometimes called logical reasoning) or verbal reasoning tests, work style preference questionnaire, or a personality test.

Top tips from the panellists:

• Don’t lie or second guess yourself on the latter two – they are there to help the company work out a ‘best fit’ for you regarding departments.

Five Top Tips for applications:

1. Don’t copy and paste information off the website for your application.
2. We know what we do – show us why it interests you and discuss how you would be a good asset.
3. Take opportunities offered – reply to e-mails that offer you information, meetings or chats.
4. Be specific to the firm you are applying to – show a genuine interest.
5. Research! How can you show motivation about something you know little about?

We had 15 organisations involved in International Development Week including governmental departments, charities, NGOs and private companies which shows the scope of opportunities which exist if you decide this is the sector for you.

Our week started with a panel discussion bringing together representatives from Care International, Department for International Development (DFID), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Oxfam, PwC and was chaired by Dr Priti Parikh, Programme Director for MSc in Engineering for International Development.

Our panellists working in diverse capacities from a humanitarian co-ordinator to a consultant shared their experience and insights to give students an insiders’ perspective of what to expect. Read Top Tips from Industry Experts on how to stand out.

Laying the foundation for an understanding of the sector, Dr Callum Leckie presented an overview of the types of roles available, qualifications required, and how and where to gain experience. We were joined at the event by UCL alumni who’ve worked at British Pakistan Trust, The Hummingbird Foundation, MSF, Plan International, Save the Children, Wateraid and The World Bank for informal networking to answer questions on a one to one basis.

Read Breaking into International Development and Working in International Development – Alumni Case Study.

The Week drew to a close by highlighting graduate schemes with DFID, Charityworks and Mott MacDonald who also offer internships. A consistent message throughout has been the importance of volunteering and this can be undertaken in the UK via Volunteering Service or overseas with VSO.

A student has summed up the Week: “It was directly focussed at our current stage in life as students and encouraged me to think about next steps. I have really enjoyed International Development Week and am looking forward to now seeking out more opportunities to find out more and get involved.”

Danielle Thom – Curator of Making at the Museum of London

It was never my original plan to be a curator. As an undergraduate at Oxford University, I’d spent much of my history degree faffing around with journalism internships and trying to make it in magazines. As it turned out, I was a terrible journalist, and thus spent my first year post-graduation trying to stay afloat in the Sea of What Do I Do Now. I signed up for an MPhil, trying to recapture the bits of university that had appealed to me – research, 18^th century history, material culture – and was persuaded to switch to History of Art for the visual training it would offer. Lacking savings, a scholarship, or family funds, I spent the rest of the year working in a cold-calling office, saving up the commission I earned to pay my way through an MPhil.

My master’s degree, at the University of Birmingham, was invaluable for several reasons. It allowed me the opportunity to confirm, once and for all, where my interests lay. It gave me the chance to do in-depth research, at a level beyond that expected of undergraduates. And, crucially, there was an element of work experience embedded in the programme, which allowed me to work on a small exhibition in a voluntary capacity, co-curating a display of prints at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts. At the end of the year, that experience turned out to be vital in getting me my next job, as a junior Curator with the National Army Museum, in Chelsea. I had wanted to stay on and do a PhD, but – again – funds were lacking. I figured that working in a museum was the best thing to do, and this job allowed me to live at home with my parents, save up money, and gain additional, important, experience in the field.

And that’s how I ended up at UCL, in part because my PhD supervisor there, Tom Gretton, was recommended to me by my MPhil tutor; and in part because I still needed to live at home to make ends meet. I worked part-time retail for the first year, squeezing in shifts around time in the library and archives. This isn’t intended to be a tale of woe – I’ve been extremely lucky – but it’s important to realise that the entry route into museum careers isn’t always plain sailing for those who lack economic and other forms of privilege. Finally, however, I managed to secure AHRC funding, which covered me for the remaining two years of the programme, and freed up my time so that I could take on additional volunteering, one afternoon per week.

Six months after finishing my doctoral thesis, in 18^th century British print culture, I managed to secure a job on the Assistant Curator Development Programme at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was a bit of a culture shock, fresh from a PhD, full of self-importance and used to autonomous research – to suddenly be responsible for fairly mundane, even menial tasks, such as counting dead beetles (for pest control purposes) and shunting objects around on trollies – but it was as essential a part of my education as the PhD had been. I was assigned to the Sculpture department, which wasn’t then my area of expertise, but I figured that it was an opportunity to develop a new body of knowledge, and took advantage of the resources available to me. I’ve been working on a book manuscript, about an 18^th century British sculptor, and was able to do a month-long curatorial fellowship at Yale University while researching that. I co-curated a pavilion at the Venice Biennale, as well as curating several smaller displays, and travelled all over Europe and the US as a courier for artworks. I also applied to, and was accepted for, the New Generation Thinker scheme, which is run jointly between the AHRC and BBC Radio 3, giving me the opportunity to make radio documentaries and appearances. I took advantage of every opportunity presented to me, although not all of those were easy projects, and sought things out rather than waiting for them to come looking for me. I’ve learned that in the museum world you can’t be shy about singing your own praises, as odd and obnoxious as it may feel to do so, because it’s rare that someone else will do it for you.

The assorted experiences which I’d gathered while working at the V&A enabled me to get my current job, as Curator of Making at the Museum of London. I’ve been in post for the last six months, and here I’m responsible for the historic decorative arts collections (such as jewellery, ceramics and sculpture), and also for developing collections and displays that reflect contemporary making in London today. I’m involved in the exciting redevelopment of the Museum of London, which is building an entire new museum at West Smithfield. I’m also still (!) working on my book manuscript, and occasionally make an appearance on the radio, continuing my 18^th century researches while forming new networks in a less familiar field.

So you think you might be interested in working in museums, cultural heritage or the arts but aren’t quite sure where to start? You’re probably not alone. Whilst there are broadly four types of museums and galleries in the UK – national, regional and local, university and independent  – these represent a vast array of collections, artefacts, objects, specimens and homes. From well-known and established collections to the history of anaesthesia it could seem a daunting task to know where to start.

In addition, unlike other sectors, there is no clear pathway for starting out your career, such as through a graduate scheme for example. Volunteering remains an important way to develop your interests and skills, though opportunities for paid work do exist. The good news is the sector requires people with diverse skills to thrive including education, programme, science, history, business, marketing, finance, and digital to name a few. And while funding cuts have meant that museums have to rethink the ways in which they operate, this also means that there can be lots of opportunity for those with creative ideas and an interest in innovating.

However, the sector remains competitive. Jobs in museums, galleries and libraries made up just 5% of jobs in the creative industries in the UK last year, a 6% increase since 2011 (Creative Industries: Focus on Employment June 2016). So being proactive, gaining valuable experience and making contacts is crucial.

London is an exceptional city in which to launch your career in this industry. With over 278 of the 2,500 museums in the UK located in London alone (Museums Association; Londonist) this city hosts a diversity of cultural places to work right on your doorstep. To help you explore the many options and opportunities for work in this sector, UCL Careers has organised a programme of panel events for Museums & Cultural Heritage Week beginning Monday 14 November: Museums Forum, Cultural Heritage Forum and Working in the Arts. A Museums & Heritage Volunteering Fair will also take place during the week.

Each panel event will feature expert speakers who will provide insight on the sector by sharing their own career journeys, their perspectives on what is currently driving the sector and what keeps them excited about this field. They will also offer valuable advice for those looking to get a foot in the door.

Kicking off the series is the Museums Forum featuring speakers from the Grant Museum, the Museum of London and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). Panellists for this event include:

Jack Ashby, Manager of the Grant Museum and former head of Learning and Access for all UCL Museums and Collections for a period over 2009 and 2010. Jack has interests in scientific communications and evolutionary biology.

Jackie Kiely, Curator in the Department of Archaeology Collections at the Museum of London. Jackie has published widely on Roman artefacts.

Danielle Thom, Assistant Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Danielle specialises in 18^th century art and co-curated the exhibition A World of Fragile Parts a special project exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale running until 27 November.

The panel will also feature a current student who held a summer internship at the British Museum.

Register to attend this and the other events online via your ‘My UCL Careers’ account.

UCL Careers Museums & Cultural Heritage Week is part of the #UCLInspireMe series.

Other events in this series:

• Museums & Heritage Volunteering Fair, 15 November @ 17:00
• Cultural Heritage Forum, Tuesday 15 November @ 18:30
• Working in the Arts, Wednesday 16 November @ 17:30

Source: Walt Disney – Donald Duck – Modern Inventions (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSohVE6Zmjc)

George Monbiot’s recent article in The Guardian, “How a corporate cult captures and destroys our best graduates”, raised some interesting questions about graduate recruitment at the UK’s top universities. At UCL Careers we recognise not all organisations have equal resources, and that it is our responsibility to give non-profits, public sector organisations and SMEs every chance to promote their career opportunities to UCL students and graduates.

The article criticised several Russell Group universities and, although his researchers did not contact UCL and nor were we criticised in the article, we wanted to share what we are doing to ensure students and graduates find out about and have access to more than just City careers.

The article accused leading universities of passivity in the face of “love bombing” from large corporates, suggesting they should be doing more to counter this. UCL Careers devotes considerable time and resources to initiatives alerting students to alternative career options, and encouraging non corporates to come on to campus. Looking at our events this week, we are working with 23 employers on our Global Citizenship Employability Programme, of which 50% are charities, SMEs or public sector bodies, including Think Ahead (a graduate programme for mental health social work) Ark Schools (an educational charity) and Bartonia Care (a healthcare scheme for the elderly). Likewise, looking at the employers collaborating on our Focus on Management course, these include the Civil Service Fast Stream, Researchers in Schools and Repositive (an SME working for efficient and ethical access to genomic data), alongside several large corporates. Finally, just over 25% of the employers attending our Jobs Market, are from the public and charity sectors, or are SMEs.

We developed our themed weeks specifically to raise the profile of sectors such as Charities and NGOs, the Environment, and Museums and Cultural Heritage, and to place them on an equal footing with our Careers Fairs which feature more corporate career paths. Unlike our Fairs where organisations pay a substantial fee to attend, our themed weeks are completely free of charge for employers.

This year’s themed week programme comprised 26 individual events covering six sectors, and over 1,300 UCL students attended. They heard from expert speakers at organisations such as Amnesty International, Save the Children, the NHS Graduate Programme, the Institute of Conservation, the National Theatre, the V&A Museum, Global Alliance for Chronic Disease and the Stroke Association. Some weeks, such as Charities and NGOs, almost entirely featured SMEs, charities and public bodies, but even weeks such as Life and Health Sciences had representation from non corporates at every event.

The UCL Careers Twitter hashtag #uclinspireme highlights a range of career opportunities which UCL students and graduates may not be aware of- and where employers may not have the resource to promote them on campus. This includes a series of blogs written by people in less publicised graduate jobs including fashion PR, market research, and child safety, as well as highlighting less common vacancies such as “Epidemiology Intern”, “Content Marketing Executive”, and “Fundraising and Marketing Graduate Trainee”. Students can follow @uclcareers, or search for the hashtag #uclinspireme, to keep up to date with these.

We also make a great effort to involve charities and SMEs in our placements, internships and vacancy services. Smaller organisations are put off by fees to access university students, but are also often worried about attending high profile events and receiving huge numbers of applications, which they don’t have time to process. We set up our shortlisting service, UCL Talent Bank (which takes much of the legwork out of recruitment) specifically to engage smaller employers and bring their vacancies to UCL students’ and graduates’ attention. Since Talent Bank started, we have advertised around 175 roles for non corporates, including Rainforest Foundation UK, the Institute for Sustainability and homelessness charity Providence Row. Talent Bank is free of charge for employers.

Talent Bank is a service for all UCL students and graduates but we are also tasked with sourcing internships for specific courses at UCL, one of these is the BASc Arts and Sciences. Over the two years we have been working with these students around 65% of the internships they secured were with either SMEs or charities.

Finally, we often arrange for employers to visit departments to talk about relevant career opportunities. In two examples from this year, two panel discussions in the School of Public Policy involved representatives from Oxfam, VSO and Macmillan Cancer Support, while a recent panel event at the Institute of Education featured a large UK based charity, an international development organisation, the director of a small business and a self-employed consultant, the idea being to demonstrate to students the variety of the types of careers they could aspire to.

The Guardian article praised the Careers Service at the University of Cambridge for trying to “counter the influence of the richest employers”. It lauded their policy of imposing a fee on rich recruiters and using the proceeds to make it easier for non profits to recruit at the university. Almost all leading UK universities charge fees for recruitment services to larger organisations, and UCL is no exception. First and foremost, these fees have to represent good value for the companies who pay them or they won’t recruit here, and the many students who are interested in careers such as finance, law, consultancy, IT and engineering will miss out. That said, we consciously invest any surplus from these activities into services for all students, including the initiatives listed above.

We don’t believe our role is to make value judgements about particular career paths, and nor will we tell you that you should or shouldn’t pursue a particular job based on our own ethics. We do believe we have a responsibility to marry our knowledge of the many different careers UCL students pursue, with the availability and interest of particular employers when delivering our events and services. We hope this overview provides reassurance that we don’t just promote one type of career, but we are always interested in hearing from students and graduates if there are particular employers or sectors you want to see more of.

– Phil Howe, Employer Engagement and Business Development Manager, UCL Careers.

Once again UCL students have come out in force at the Target Jobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards with 6 shortlisted students and 2 winners!

These annual awards have 12 categories, sponsored by major employers, with each category having 9 or 10 shortlisted students. Prizes include work experience, international trips, i-pads and chances to spend time with top executives in the sponsoring company. Needless to say, they are very competitive – 3,553 students applied this year and after filling in the application form, they had to go through aptitude tests, an interview and assessment and a final centre.

UCL had 6 students shortlisted:

Daniel Mannion – Electronic Engineering with Nanotechnology (Engineering Undergraduate of the Year)

Benjamin Thomas – Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Engineering Undergraduate of the Year)

Vaibhav Bhatla – Computer Science (Future Business Leader of the Year)

Anna Tomlinson – German and History of Art (Languages Undergraduate of the Year)

Cara Goldthrope – Law with French (Law Undergraduate of the Year) – WINNER

Harrison Dent – European Social and Political Studies (Male Undergraduate of the Year) – WINNER

“To be shortlisted for the Target Jobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards is a great achievement and congratulations go to Anna, Benjamin, Cara, Daniel, Harrison and Vaibhav. In addition, to have two winners is absolutely fantastic. The Undergraduate of the Year Awards are extremely prestigious and hopefully UCL’s performance this year will encourage other students to apply in the future.”  -Karen Barnard, Director of UCL Careers.

Harrison wins an internship with L’Oreal (sponsor) including one week in Paris at their Headquarters and 2 days with members of L’Oreal Senior management Committee. Cara wins a place on Mayer Brown’s (sponsor) summer vacation scheme plus Apple iPad.

Congratulations to our winners, the UCL students who were shortlisted and all who applied. This year’s cohort continues what is becoming a fine tradition in UCL with previous winners and shortlisted candidates over the past 6 years.

You can read more about the awards here: http://undergraduateoftheyear.com/

Alec Lozanoski, graduate from Institute of Child Health (2013),  shares his experience of UCL Careers GradClub and how he changed his view from a sceptic to an advocate.

How did you find out about GradClub?

Throughout completing my MSc at UCL, I received countless emails from the UCL careers service. As I was also the Course Student Representative, and had my sights set on a PhD, ergo I immediately disregarded these

What motivated you to use the service?

After graduating, jobs in my related field were few and far between. I started a voluntary lab. assistant place in heart valve cell research to build my CV and experience. As a graduate, I still received plenty of emails, after being in a career rut since undergrad; I thought this would be my best and last shot and have nothing to lose.

How you find the service and what did you gain

At first I was utterly sceptical, as I knew I was doing everything I possibly could for my career but didn’t have any luck, so I convinced myself that it would be a waste of my time, and taking up a slot for someone that could benefit. I thought that I would give it a shot, and if the service was poor or not reaching any targets, that I would call it off.

As I suspected, I was in fact doing everything right. However, at my half hour weekly meetings with Katie, my CV got a complete restructure to resemble a science template, and then began some working on networking, and interpreting feedback on this, followed by some mock interviews, which turns out I desperately needed.

Next steps for you?

I will maintain the CV as its current structure, adding this new job and relevant training to it. I will be tailoring it to a Science-work placement/industry job targeting CV, rather than PhD.

Would you recommend GradClub?

 I cannot suggest GradClub highly enough, the earlier you start the better it would be for you. You would be surprised at some aspects that you will be pulled up on, it always helps having 3^rd person input, particularly one who may not be as well informed in your current career plans and help you to open-up and see a wider picture.

I only wish that GradClub was available indefinitely!

To find our more about how UCL Careers GradClub can help you Find your Future, visit: www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/gradclub

We contacted the students who participated in Focus on Management 2014 to see how they’ve been getting on since the course. We saw that they were thrilled on the last day of the course … but how has completing Focus on Management impacted them and their career? Here’s a selection of the responses we received:

Marianne Thompson
Third Year, BA French and Spanish (Joint Honours)

“I was recently able to draw upon the invaluable experience that I gained from this course at an assessment centre for an international investment bank. I believe that it was my exposure to business case studies during Focus on Management that best prepared me for this process, and I was successful in gaining a place on the competitive summer internship.

I would highly recommend the Focus on Management course to anyone who is thinking about applying for internships or graduate schemes, as it is the perfect introduction to the kind of work you will be expected to complete at assessment centres, as well as providing you with the skills and knowledge to impress employers in the future.

The diversity of the business case studies presented, along with the intensive nature of the course, means that you are always kept on your toes and you are constantly being challenged in new ways.”

Andrew Dunn
Graduated with an MA in History, 2014

“Focus on Management was marketed as an opportunity to network with some of the brightest sparks of UCL’s student body – and they were! It was a practice run at many of the exercises that one might find at an assessment centre. The opportunity to work with other students to solve these exercises helped me develop a greater awareness of my own skills as a leader and team-worker.

Shortly after taking part in Focus on Management, I put the skills learnt to the test during an assessment day. I’m pleased to report that I must have picked something useful up, as I was subsequently offered a position! I strongly recommend any student at UCL to have a go at Focus on Management 2015 — you won’t be disappointed!”

Pancali Hume
Graduated with an MSc in International Public Policy, 2014

“I found out about Focus on Management after seeing an email about it from UCL Careers and there was a part of me that almost didn’t apply – but I am so happy that I did!

The 3 days we spent on the course prepared me for my upcoming assessment centre at a professional services company far better than my individual research or any practice interviews I did. It challenged my thinking and allowed me to practice vital presentation skills and teamwork exercises in a realistic context.

I would recommend Focus on Management to all UCL students as I sincerely believe this is the prime time to be thinking about leadership and creating concrete goals to champion and lead change in our generation.”

Inspired by the words of last year’s participants? – you have until Wednesday 8^th April 2015 to apply. Go to http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/recruiters/events/focus for more details and application instructions.

Focus on Management 2015 is sponsored by leading global healthcare company GSK

Do you….

> Want to develop the vital skills you need to stand out in the workplace?

> Want to learn how to handle a case study and gain commercial awareness?

> Want to improve your understanding of management?

Apply for UCL Careers’ Focus on Management 2015 course!

This year GSK ,a leading global healthcare company, is sponsoring and contributing to the course. GSK actively recruit talented UCL students to help their business develop innovative products across pharmaceuticals, vaccines and consumer healthcare. Get your applications in by Wednesday 8^th April 2015.

What will I do during Focus on Management?

Focus on Management is a 3 day course (10th – 12th June) packed full of activities which will give you an interactive and rewarding immersion into the world of business. Your team-working, problem solving and presentation skills will be put to the test as you work in small groups to crack a range of business challenges.

• Day 1 prepares you for the upcoming employer-led cases studies by focusing on management essentials, team work and skills you need to stand out in the workplace

• Over Days 2 and 3 you work in teams, facilitated by a team manager, on business case studies from four major graduate employers. The team managers, from a variety of organisations, will trial different managerial styles over the two days giving you the chance to observe what is most effective.

You will get plenty of opportunities across the three days to meet and learn from different companies. Last year included contributions from P&G, Capco, Civil Service, PwC, Wellcome Trust, ICAEW and WaterAid.

See what last year’s students said about the course:

 How do I apply?

For further information and to apply for a place, click http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/events/focus. The deadline is Wednesday 8^th April 2015 11:59pm. We can only accept applications online; if a disability means you need the form in a different format please contact UCL Careers (careers@ucl.ac.uk).

Demand for this course is high and we receive many more applications than there are places, so take care when completing the form.