The Management Consultancy fair is kicking off our autumn careers fair schedule this year on Wednesday 1  October.

If you’re thinking about coming to the fair, it’s a good idea to do your research on management consultancy beforehand so you can make the most of the opportunity to meet employers. These are three ways you can get informed and come prepared:

The Management Consultancy fair is kicking off our autumn careers fair schedule this year on Wednesday 1 October.

If you’re thinking about coming to the fair, it’s a good idea to do your research on management consultancy beforehand so you can make the most of the opportunity to meet employers. These are three ways you can get informed and come prepared:

1. Search Careers Tagged, our online careers library

Careers Tagged is full of information to help you at every stage of career planning, from thinking about your options to creating great CVs and job applications. All resources are picked and checked by careers professionals. Search for ‘management consultancy’ for links to professional bodies, industry news sites, job vacancy sites, and more:

http://www.careerstagged.co.uk/resources/management%20consultancy/all/popular/1

2. Check out the TARGETjobs guide to management consultancy

This is a really useful guide with insights into major management consultancy employers, what employers are looking for, and how to demonstrate your skills in applications and interviews. Come in to UCL Careers on the fourth floor of  Student Central (ULU building) to get a copy to take away (subject to availability), or the full guide is available online:

http://targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/management-consulting

3. Research the job market on What Do London Graduates Do

What Do London Graduates Do is a website for information on what graduates from University of London colleges have gone on to do in the last 5 years. It can give you real life information on recent graduates working in management consultancy. Search by the job ‘management consultants’ on http://wlgd.thecareersgroup.co.uk/ to see how many graduates are working in management consultancy, the companies where they’ve found jobs, the salaries they’re earning, and how they got jobs: http://wlgd.thecareersgroup.co.uk/Details/JobTitle/24231

Looking at this can give you valuable insights into how to approach your job hunt. For example, you can see that 32% of graduates working in management consultancy found out about their jobs through personal contacts and networking, and 21% through previously working at the company. So networking and getting work experience are clearly important if you’re considering management consultancy. Coming to the Management Consultancy Fair is a great way to start networking and meeting employers.

The UCL Careers Management Consultancy Fair on Wednesday 1st October 2014 is kindly sponsored by Accenture

Bigger and better than last year, the UCL Banking and Finance Fair is a 2-day fair,  involving 66 employers offering permanent graduate positions, 1^st and 2^nd Year internships and placements. 

When: Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th October at 5:30 – 8pm

Where: North and South Cloisters

How do I get in: Simply turn up with a valid UCL/GradClub ID card.

This fair is a must for anyone interested in Investment Banking, Finance, Economic Research, Professional Services, Insurance and related sectors.

The 66 employers involved include:

Day 1: Citi, FTI, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Goldman Sachs, AXA, Financial Conduct Authority, and RBC Capital Markets. For full day 1 employer details Click Here

Day 2: PwC, Ofcom, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, J P Morgan, BP, Diageo, British Airways and AIG. For full Day 2 employer details Click Here

The UCL Banking and Finance Fair 2014 is kindly sponsored by Citi and PwC.

Every year UCL Careers holds a number of Careers Fairs to help you talk to employers and find out first hand what they are looking for. You will get more out of the Careers Fair if you spend a little time preparing…

Be aware that there will be a mixture of all kind of employers from all kinds of sectors exhibiting each day and you might find an employer that you had never really considered before as being a front runner for you. To help you prepare effectively we’ve put some handy tips together to get you started:

Before the fair

We strongly encourage you to do some research on the exhibitors before the fair: www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/fairs

As well as reading the exhibitor profiles, click through to the organisation’s own website to find out more about them.

You can then decide which exhibitors you particularly want to talk to, and you will be able to ask more informed questions. Try to prepare some questions in advance and think about the main points that you would want an organisation to know about you – it can help you feel more confident.

At the fair

At the fair, each exhibiting organisation has a stand and their reps are there to answer your questions about what the organisation does, what jobs they offer to final year students and graduates, what internships/placements they provide to earlier year students, and any other opportunities that they offer.

Wherever possible, try to talk to someone on the stand instead of just picking up a brochure. Use the opportunity to ask your questions face-to-face.

If you are feeling a bit nervous about approaching your first choice organisation, it can be a good idea to visit some other stands first to practise your technique.

If you are given a business card, make a point soon afterwards of noting on it anything that it would be useful to remember. Have they suggested you email them with further questions? Did they give you advice on their recruitment process?

Even if you have a ‘hit list’ of exhibitors, consider other organisations at the fair that are less well known. They might be offering just what you are looking for.

Remember to bring your UCL ID or GradClub ID card as you won’t be able to enter the fair without this!

Other hints and tips

• Remember that many of the opportunities are available to students of any discipline
• Staff on the exhibitor stands are often relatively recent graduates who can tell you what it is really like to work in their organisation
• If you want to have a CV ready to hand over, arrange an appointment at UCL Careers before the Careers Fair to ask for some CV feedback
• The fair may be busy when you arrive – don’t be put off. People tend to congregate by the entrance, so head to another part of the fair where it will probably be quieter
• Avoid walking round the fair with a group of friends. The exhibitor may not realise that you are interested in them, and you could miss out because your friend happens to be more talkative than you!
• If you feel overwhelmed, and don’t know what to do or where to start, make sure you visit the UCL Careers for help.

For further information about the fairs, please visit: www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/fairs

Management Consultancy is a popular career choice for many graduates and competition for places on graduate schemes is fierce.   A good degree (1^st or 2.1) is a pre-requite together with a range of high level skills such as the ability to gather and analyse complex information, solve problems, think creatively, present information clearly and concisely and manage projects.  However, many graduates will meet these criteria, having developed these skills through a range of experience and activities – what can you do to stand out from other applicants?

Selectors will be looking not only at your ability to do the job but also your passion for wanting to do the job. So what sort of things can you do to demonstrate your commitment and enthusiasm for management consultancy?   Well, showing a genuine interest in business and the wider environment in which organisations are operating is essential. Just mentioning a couple of companies that you’re interested in will not impress – demonstrating that you’re already thinking like a management consultant will!       Think of organisations you’ve experienced yourself – maybe as a student, a consumer, an employee, a patient. Did you spot any inefficiencies or poor processes? What could be changed and how? What might be some of the barriers to change? Carry out a SWOT analysis on different organisations (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).  Starting to identify and work on your own mini case studies will be excellent preparation for the selection process which will include working on a business case where you will be expected to present recommendations based on your analysis of a range of information provided to you.

Preparation is key to success so:

Attend the Management Consultancy Fair. This event offers an excellent opportunity to research the industry, find out what differentiates consultancies, industry sectors they specialise in, clients they work with and to find information that’s important to you personally that might not be easily accessible on websites.

Analyse your skills and collect evidence to demonstrate how you have applied these skills. Search for ‘management consultancy’ here for links to professional bodies, industry news sites, job vacancy sites, and more

Make sure you have a clear understanding of what Management Consultancy is, what it involves and why you think you will be well suited to it.   Using the same link and searching for ‘management consultancy’ here you can gather a wide range of resources and tips to help you prepare for the selection process including links to practice case studies.

The UCL Careers Management Consultancy Fair on Wednesday 1st October 2014 is kindly sponsored by Accenture

Considering a career in Management Consultancy? If so, then don’t miss the Management Consultancy Fair, taking place on Wednesday, 1st October from 5.30 pm – 8 pm in the North and South Cloisters in the Wilkins Building.

The evening will enable you to network with a wide range of employers who will be present at the event:

Accenture (sponsor), The Boston Consulting Group, PA Consulting, Helios, EY, Corporate Value Associates, Newton Europe, Informa, IMS Consulting Group, North Highland, Deloitte, Management Solutions, UCL Advances, TARGETjobs Consulting, Gallup, AlphaSights, dunnhumby, Police Now, Oliver Wyman, Deutsche Post DHL Inhouse Consulting, Towers Watson, Capco, TeachFirst and PwC.

As well as networking opportunities, this event offers the chance to research the industry, to find out what differentiates consultancies and the industry sectors in which they specialise. Ask questions about the skills required, current opportunities, the selection process and anything else you’d like to know.

The event is on a first come first serve basis so please arrive early to guarantee a place. Queuing begins at 5pm.

The UCL Management Consultancy Fair 2014 is kindly sponsored by Accenture

So, you’ve decided the big corporate world is not for you.  You would much rather work for a smaller company – an SME, where you can make your mark, take on responsibility, get to understand the whole business not just a fraction of it, and potentially rise to the top.

The next stage is to work out what SMEs are out there and how to target them?

 One way might be to think about what is on your doorstep.  Students based in London have a plethora of businesses to target and the majority of them are SMEs.  According to the Federation of Small Businesses and Department for Business, Innovation & Skills there were 841,000 private sector businesses in London in 2013.

From data that we collect through the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey we can see that during the last 5 years after graduation 827 UCL students had graduate level roles in SMEs across London with 294 UCL students in businesses based near UCL in the WC1 area.

In just one year (2012/13) 395 UCL graduates had graduate level positions in SMEs throughout London six months after they graduated.  Of those students 35 were based just near UCL.

By targeting local businesses to UCL you can build up a relationship with an employer while you are still a student.  The employer is likely to know UCL, might be extra keen to engage with UCL students and could be willing to offer you the opportunity you have been looking for.

Once you have your target list of SMEs you will need to contact them to see what opportunities they might be willing to offer – you could ask if they have a summer internship scheme or you may find it more fruitful to ask if they would be able to have a short informal chat with you about the work they do, or perhaps could they offer work shadowing for a day or two.   As they will be local they may be more willing to offer you something and the hope is that the initial thread can ultimately lead, perhaps via one or two more interactions, to something more robust.

To source opportunities with SMES register with our shortlisting service UCL Talent Bank.

For UCL students wanting more help with sourcing SMEs in relevant sectors and locations, and for general guidance on approaching businesses speculatively book an appointment with one of our Careers Consultants.

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

As a UCL alumnus, you probably appreciate that job searching can be quite daunting. You are also most likely aware of the anxieties and importance associated with that dreaded term – ‘networking’. UCL Careers have made the process as easy, effective and enjoyable as possible, with a focus on employers and students both getting the most out of participation. I had the opportunity to see the mutual benefit in taking part during a UCL alumni panel and networking event, run during the successful Employability Summer School. With over 70 willing and eager UCL students, I joined more than 15 alumni from a range of employers including TFL, PWC and TeachFirst.

The value of networking can’t be understated. It can generate leads and openings, create worthwhile business relationships and offer up personalised information in a short space of time. Enthusiastic and talented students are aware of this and actively seek opportunities to talk to top employers, find out as much information as possible and learn more about how they can develop their skills within a specific industry or company.

As Marketing Communications Intern at UCL Careers, I was best placed to bridge the gap between encouraging students of the benefits in engaging with the alumni panel but also to offer, hopefully, useful insights about my own career path as well as answer general questions about what it’s like to work in marketing.

As per previously sent-0ut instructions, all alumni were greeted and briefed fifteen minutes prior to the event, with introductions and mini-networking in a separate room. The event then began – we were split in to two rooms and a semi-formal approach was taken with students grouped in 3’s and 4’s with one alumnus per group. Ten minutes was then allowed for discussion before we moved around and spoke to a new and eager group, with a total of an hour and six rotations.

This was a great opportunity to give a little information about myself, UCL Careers and the marketing industry and then take some well-thought out questions from motivated and genuinely interested students who appreciated the information given. Many took notes and asked articulate follow-up questions to which I was able to provide more detailed answers. A comfortable and enjoyable experience, I feel the students left with an impression employers, and UCL Careers, was engaged and approachable.

Concluding the event, we were given two drinks tokens and an opportunity to mingle in a more relaxed setting with all the students, other alumni as well as UCL Careers staff in the downstairs bar area. This was a great way to discuss topics in more detail and highlight to the students relevant aspects of our roles and companies.

Attending panel events are a great way to give back to UCL Careers if you are a past student as well as maximising your company’s profile with talented and eager UCL students from a range of disciplines. Well-organised and engaging, the events usually take a few hours of your time but offer huge and lasting personal and organisational benefits in return.

To find out more visit: www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/recruiters or email careers.events@ucl.ac.uk

The activities you will participate in at UCL’s Global Citizenship Summer School are divided between those led by our very own top-notch careers consultants, and guest employers from a variety of sectors. If you’ve attended any Skills4Work events before, you’ll be pretty familiar with why this employer involvement is such  a useful tool. If you haven’t, or you’re still a bit confused about what you’ll get out of this element of Summer School, read on.

Say you’re a highly motivated student who knows exactly what firm they want to work for. For the sake of a good example, let’s presume you study finance and it’s your dream to work for Barclays. Would you pass up an opportunity to get a personal session with somebody who recruits graduates to work for Barclays, in a totally informal way, and receive feedback from them on your CV and your interview abilities? Of course not – it’s an excellent opportunity and you never know how far impressing the right person at the right time can take you.

The scenario described above is not, of course, applicable to everyone. Let’s look at another example – say you are serious about your studies and have a good idea of what you want to do, but only vaguely where you want to work. Why not take the totally free opportunity to meet a recruiter from the sector or sectors you’re interested in, who will give you extremely relevant feedback to prepare you for your applying within their industry.

Who knows— you might even be surprised when you’re a student who just wants some professional feedback— anybody’s professional feedback—and you realise that your skills are quite well suited to an employer that you’d never considered before.

At Summer School, you will have the opportunity to meet a variety of employers. At the alumni panel, UCL graduates who are now at places like BskyB and Deloitte (and many more!) will answer your questions and tell you about the skills they developed when they were in your position.  At the speed interviewing, you’ll answer competency questions under time pressure to a variety of employers who include Morgan Stanley, GlaxoSmithKline, and LBA Books. You can get your CV checked by employers such as Macfarlanes or Cisco. This is just a glimpse of the sectors and types of employers who will be present – think of the different helpful viewpoints you will be exposed to and the invaluable advice you will receive tailored to your employability.

To register and find out more about the UCL Careers Employability Summer School as part of the Global Citizenship programme run by UCL, head on over to: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/global-citizenship/programme

– Weronika Benning, Skills Administrator, UCL Careers