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!

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

It’s over! UCL Careers has just finished running the two week Employability Summer School as part of the Global Citizenship programme. Taking place over two weeks, from 2 – 13 June, we saw over 70 penultimate and final-year students, from a whole range of different departments, go through the fortnight building upon their skills as well as improving their confidence in the job hunting process. With over 20 interactive events tackling a whole host of topics, it was an intense first-time experience for many – the days were jam-packed with information, guidance and plenty of opportunities to put it all in to practice.

What did they do?

Beginning with an ice-breaker to get things going, students kicked off the programme with a day looking at how to connect with employers – a session rounded off with an opportunity to chat with a UCL Alumni panel and network afterwards. The following day’s workshops focused on CV and applications as well as interview techniques and ended with a chance to speak to start-up businesses at the Small Companies Big Jobs fair. The week was then split in to sessions full of tips on online job searching, psychometric testing, mock assessment centres, post-graduate study and international job hunting with plenty of 1-1 coaching interspersed. Throughout the week, mornings were spent with varied plenaries from Capco and Save the Children which were engaging and insightful.

Week two followed a differed flavour with a group ‘job searching’ session and an opportunity to put everything they had learnt in to practice at the annual UCL Careers Jobs Market. The students then divided up over the next three days with some attending the case-study-centred ‘Focus on Management’ and others developing strengths-based skills at the ‘Marketing yourself as a Global Citizen’ strand. The last day was dedicated to action-planning and forward thinking as well as a chance to celebrate the past two weeks – rounding out a successful programme of workshops with an HEAR accreditation and a well-deserved lunch.

What did they build their confidence in?

On their first day, students took a ‘confidence measure’ which got them thinking about how they felt in regards to their personal situation. With a score of one to five, they marked their self-confidence in:

• Connecting with employers
• How to write a good CV
• Filling out applications
• How to succeed at interviews
• How to find relevant jobs
• Making decisions about their future careers choice

They then filled this same indicator out on the last day and compared them both – the idea being that they’d hopefully see an improvement from their first day. It is safe to say that there was a huge improvement! Every one of these pointers saw the numbers rocket from a score of around 1-3 to a confidence-inspiring 4-5 by the final day. Proving the value of all they had picked up over the two weeks, students felt that going forward, they were more ready and able to approach the job search armed with the right information and resources, as well as the support of UCL Careers in the months and years ahead.

Well done class of 2014!

What did students think of the Summer School?

 “The best course I’ve done at UCL! It has increased my confidence in connecting with employers and finding job that suits my strengths and personality as well.”

“Enjoyable, interactive and applicable to real life.”

“Finally someone turned the lights on in a pitch black room!”

“UCL Careers is a great asset to the university – use it!”

Want to find out more about this unique opportunity to hone your employability skills? Visit: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/students/skills/summerschool

Throughout the year we run many events aimed at supporting students and recent graduates in all parts of their job search. Find out more: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/students/skills/calendar

If you are looking for a graduate job now, or want to get an internship or some work experience this summer, come and meet over 40 employers with jobs, internships and training opportunities who are hiring now!

We have large employers offering places on their graduate schemes, as well as smaller organisations looking to grow their workforce with graduates and interns. Here are just some of the amazing roles and organisations you will find at Jobs Market:

• Arcadia Group with opportunities in Finance, Merchandising, Digital and Buying
• Bartonia Care who combine an entrepreneurial culture with roles in adult social care
• Capco with places on their associate talent programme in financial consulting
• Colas Rail with both engineering and fast track management roles
• KweekWeek with tech start up roles
• IMS Consulting Group with life science and healthcare consulting roles
• News Associates with places on their fast track journalism courses
• PwC with last minute places on their graduate programmes
• Teach First with places on their teaching leadership programme
• Willis with graduate roles in insurance and reinsurance

If you’re looking for graduate level work or experience now, you will find opportunities to suit you at Jobs Market.

When: Monday 9th June, 2:30 – 4:30pm

Where: 3rd Floor, ULU Building

Beat the queues on the day by confirming your attendance now at www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/summerevents

Come and meet over 40 employers with jobs, internships and training opportunities available with a summer/autumn start!

From big prestigious graduate schemes to smaller organisations and recruitment agencies offering a diverse variety of graduate jobs within finance, consulting, engineering, technology, media, sales &  marketing and charities & non-profits.

Employer confirmed so far include: Arcadia Group, Capco, Colas Rail, Freshminds, ICAEW, IMS Consulting Group, KweekWeek, Management Solutions, News Associates, Ocado, PwC and Urban Times plus many more.

When: Monday 9th June 2014 2:30 – 4:30pm

Where: 3rd Floor ULU Building

This is your one-stop shop to get on the career ladder this summer. To register: www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/summerevents

The aim of this event is to help PhD and other research students with their career planning by providing an opportunity to meet employers from the Life Science and Health sector.

Monday 9^th June – 11:00am to 1:00pm for fair, 2:00pm to 4:00pm for one-to-one sessions

Venue: North Cloisters for fair, Wilkins Haldane Room for one-to-one sessions

The event will begin with an intimate fair which will have a few select organisations. Many of the employers present will be PhD holders themselves. The fair will be followed by one-to-one sessions that will allow you to discuss any questions you might have in further detail with a specific employer on a one on one basis.

In order to allow you to get as much as possible out of this event, please research the organisations thoroughly. Please see the Graduate School website for further information about the organisations and representatives who have PhDs as well as how you can book a one on one appointment with an employer: http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/course-details.pht?course_ID=2234

PhD students can book a place via the following link :

http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/course-details.pht?course_ID=2234

Research Staff can book a place via the following link : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/events/signupform/

Thinking of entering enterprise or starting your own? Then ‘The Small Companies Big Jobs Fair’ is for you!

When: Tuesday 3rd June 1-5pm

Where: North Cloister, UCL Wilkins Building

There will be companies from an array of sectors offering internships, placement and job opportunities covering marketing, advertising, web development, digital music and production to name a few. Find out what it takes to get started and whether you have the right CV to get hired by attending one of the sessions on;

•       Lessons from working in Start Ups: The good, the bad, and the awesome;
•       Mistakes when starting up – and how to avoid them;
•       Supercharge your CV – land that start up interview.

To keep up-to-date on who’s coming and more details head on over to: www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/summerevents

The Small Companies Big Jobs Fair is brought to you by: UCL Management Science & Innovation, UCL Careers, UCL Advances, Silicone Milkroundabout, FATJIL and the National Association of Colleges & University Entrepreneurs (NACUE)

The aim of this event is to help PhD and other research students with their career planning by providing an opportunity to question, to hear from and network with employers that come from a variety of roles within the Education sector, who are PhD holders themselves.

When: Thursday 29th May 5:30 – 7:30pm

Where: JZ Young Lecture Theatre

The panel of speakers will give tips on how research students can use their qualifications and experiences to enter this field as well as information about their sector.

Panel of speakers will be:

• Steve Cross – Head of Public Engagement, Public Engagement Unit, UCL
• Satnam Sagoo – Head of Education and Training Unit, Public Health England
• Marek Kukula –  Public Astronomer, Royal Observatory Greenwich
• Vicki Symington – Education Coordinator for South East England, Royal Society of Chemistry
• Chris Wilson – Regional Director for London and the South East, The Brilliant Club
• Hilary Leevers – Head of Education and Learning, Wellcome Trust

To find out more and to read the speakers’ biographies please go to: http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/course-details.pht?course_ID=2462

PhD students can book a place via the following link :

http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/course-details.pht?course_ID=2462

Research Staff can book a place via the following link : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/events/signupform/

Ok, I know what some of you may be thinking. Two weeks? In early June?  What am I going to get out of this? What will be expected of me?  How does this beat spending time with friends, reflecting on the year, or just getting outside after exams?!?!

If you’ve got your dream job or internship lined up for the summer, then the answer is pretty simple: it may not.  But if you’re wondering what to do next, don’t have any work lined up, and are feeling some dread about what’s to come after your time at UCL – chances are you’ll be feeling that way even if you do spend the first few weeks of June out in the park.

So why don’t you put that time to good use?  Why not take part in workshops and projects, with a group of like-minded students, learning key skills to help you get a job or internship? If you can’t banish that dread, why not at least harness it to achieve something positive?

Background

In today’s job market, getting a good result from UCL will work in your favour. However, a UCL degree alone will not land you the graduate job you want. These days, it is your experience, motivation, skills, and importantly, how you market all of these, which can make the difference between getting a job and having your CV being binned at the application stage.

So, how will UCL’s Summer School Programme help you?

Over two weeks, UCL Careers will help you explore and build your skills in various aspects of your career: from planning, to applying, to interviewing, to researching wider issues that will serve you well as you progress onwards from your first job.  Not only will you learn from each other, but you will gain priority access to over 40 employers who are looking to recruit students, now, for paid opportunities.  You will also get 1:1 time with these employers, as well as with a range of experienced careers consultants, giving you feedback and insight into how you are marketing yourself in the world of work.

So, how will all of this unfold?

Week One

In week one we will be breaking down the career essentials, looking at everything from how to plan your career, to how to put together a CV, to how to engage with employers effectively, to how to approach assessment centres.  Some of the key questions we will tackle will be:

How can I….?:

• make decisions around career choice?
• personalise my CV to a specific employer?
• really use LinkedIn to get jobs?
• sound credible at interviews?
• do well on online aptitude testing?
• stand out from the crowd at assessment centres?
• really connect with employers?

We’ll approach these through workshops, team work, plenary speakers from a range of sectors – from the humanitarian field to banking and finance – intensive employer-led feedback, and debriefing sessions with careers consultants.  All of this will prepare you not just for putting this into practice in Week 2, but for your career journey long ahead.

Week 2

Week Two will kick off with the Jobs Market, where you will get priority access (ie. first in the queue ahead of all other students) to over 40 employers who have immediate vacancies in 2014.  With the intensive preparation from week 1, you’ll be well placed to have meaningful conversations with them which will hopefully lead to a role for you.

For the rest of the week, we’ll push you to dig deeper and really test your careers skills.  Working in teams, you will carry out a Labour Market Research project, where you will explore key themes of Global Citizenship,  such as ethics, how to market yourself in an increasingly transnational jobs market, and how to identify companies and sectors at the cutting edge of global workforce.  You will also apply the skills you’ve learned to a wider global picture, and then present back to a panel who will give you intensive feedback, helping build your presentation skills and confidence for when you have to do this in the real world.

Finally, we’ll end the week with drinks and a chance to unwind before the weekend.

Register now!

If that’s not enough to grab your attention, you can also put this on your CV to show employers just how serious you are about your career, and why they should hire you.  Attendance in 70% of these sessions will count towards our HEAR.

REGISTER NOW – TO SECURE YOUR PLACE YOU NEED TO BRING A £20 DEPOSIT TO UCL CAREERS, ULU Building, 4^th Floor.