The University of KentCareers and Employability

Service

Summer Vacation Work -Internships and Beyond

The slides from this presentation are available at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

What is an internship? Short-term position, usually in summer

vacation Career-related Usually (but not always) restricted to

penultimate-year students Structured Aims to give a taste of the work you

would be doing as a graduate recruit – and to encourage you to apply in your final year!

Why do an internship? Gives you better idea of career

options Increases business awareness Improves your chances of being

offered a graduate position with that employer

Makes you more attractive to other employers

Demonstrates work-related skills

What skills do employers look for in graduates?VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Able to express your ideas clearly and confidently in speech

TEAMWORK Work confidently within a group

COMMERCIAL AWARENESS Understand the commercial realities affecting the organisation.

ANALYSING & INVESTIGATING Gathering information systematically to establish facts & principles and solve problems

INITIATIVE/SELF MOTIVATION Able to act on initiative, identify opportunities & put forward ideas & solutions

Do you need to do an internship?

Any work experience can help to develop your people, teamwork or organising skills, or just make your CV more interesting

This does not have to be formally designated as an “internship” or be in the field where you hope to work as a graduate

For example: work with children; customer service and sales work; work abroad; voluntary work

Getting a junior role in an organisation can help you to get a different perspective and make contacts

What will employers think?

“Volunteering is well regarded: candidates are given a higher score within the recruitment process if they have done volunteering” (Large accountancy firm)

“We are aware that students can’t always afford to spend a month doing unpaid work experience or shadowing, therefore we value other activities like stacking supermarket shelves” (Law firm)

Some employers with internships still available: Finance Lloyds Banking Group (General Management,

HR)

www.lloydsbankinggrouptalent.com/programmes/summer-internships/

Ernst & Young www.ey.com/UK/en/Careers/Students/Internship-and-Placement-Opportunities

Mercer http://uk.mercer.com/referencecontent.htm?idContent=1322650

Pricewaterhousecoopers www.pwc.com/uk/en/careers/student/careers/undergraduate/insight-internship.jhtml

Bloomberg www.bloomberg.com/careers/internships/

Student experiences …

“The tasks I was able to complete within just a few weeks ranged from running charts, creating and updating quarterly reports and summarising the latest economic and investment research for colleagues ”

(Mercer Investment Consulting intern)

Student experiences …

“I did an internship at the branch in Reading and had real responsibilities from day one. In my second week, I was organising team meetings. By the end of my stay there, I had been placed in charge of customer satisfaction”

(HSBC summer intern, now Executive Management trainee)

Some employers who offer internships: LawFor listings of firms offering law placements, and vacation scheme deadlines, see: Law Careers Net www.lawcareers.net

Many deadlines coming up at the end of February or end of March

Most law firms are keen to recruit graduates in subjects other than law, but non-law students may not be eligible to apply for a vacation scheme until their final year.

Student experiences … “I helped to compile a report for the

Competitions Commission and had to do some research on pubs! In the commercial department I helped draft some terms and conditions and attended client meetings .. the work I was given was always appropriate for someone who had not done a law degree”

Some employers who offer internships : Research

Roke Manor Research www.roke.co.uk/jobs/undergraduates.php

DSTL (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) https://www.dstl.gov.uk/summervacationplacements

Universities, e.g. Birkbeck www.bbk.ac.uk/biology/prospective-students/internships,

MBDA www.mbdacareers.co.uk/grad_summer_placement.html Biosciences

http://www.societyofbiology.org/education/careers/placements/industrialandsummer

Physics http://bit.ly/v7S4yz http://webnix.physics.ox.ac.uk/pjcc/placements.php

Student experiences … “In my project, I cloned the Dyt1 gene

to make a fusion protein GST, expressed it in bacteria and attempted to purify it. I learnt many new skills, including a formal course in confocal microscopy that will help me directly in the future in a career in science. ”

(Summer student, London Research Institute, Cancer Research UK)

Some more employers who offer internships – or other work experience:

BBC – all areas, from production to finance http://www.bbc.co.uk/careers/work-experience/

Centrica www.centrica.com/index.asp?pageid=952

Four Communications www.fourcommunications.com/jobs_internships.php

Pearson Diversity Summer Internships (Business & Journalism) http://summerinternships.pearson.com/

Penguin Publishing http://gs12.globalsuccessor.com/fe/tpl_penguin01.asp?newms=info04

Metaswitch Networks www.metaswitch.com/careers/internships/undergraduate/

Swire www.swire.com/mt/en/programmes/summer_internship_programme/

Student experiences …“I did a couple of weeks work experience on Dragons' Den while I was still at university and I got the chance to do a variety of things. I dealt with applications, sought free press to advertise we were looking for applicants, looked for new entrepreneurs on the internet, and learned how to use a DV camera to film auditions (something I had never done before because I hadn't done a practical media course). After I graduated, they rang me to come back to do a couple of weeks casual work for Mastermind and this has since been extended “

BBC runner

Student experiences …

“During my eight weeks I met senior figures in Pearson's businesses and worked on a range of projects including researching competitive intelligence data, producing a database to store my research and the research of the team and copywriting, as well as having fun along the way”(Intern, Pearson Diversity Summer Programmme)

Student experiences … “I was a Summer Intern in Swire Beverages'

Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) department where I assisted the manager with a few projects. I didn't have any experience in EHS prior, so from the first day I was learning new things. In one project I was analysing the safety procedures for Swire's bottling facilities in China, looking at areas for improvement while making the guidelines more user-friendly. In another, I compiled statistics related to work injuries that were used in a meeting to improve safety standards and share best practices across Swire Beverages' operations”

‘STEP CLASSIC’ PROGRAMME www.step.org.uk  - placements in

small/medium organisations in all sectors Offers project work that will help these

organisations to develop. 8 week summer placement programme for

2nd year undergraduates. Pay: about £210 pw 1400 projects, open to science, technology

and engineering students Launched in January – new opportunities

added regularly so register your interest online

Student experiences …“I was placed with a construction company, an industry I would never have considered looking into. The internship was really inspiring; my role involved taking control of a project. I had to carry out market research to identify new business opportunities within the company's business development team, gaining valuable experience and useful industry contacts”

(Environmental Science and International Development student, now running a social enterprise company)

Other career areas Not all potential graduate recruiters

offer “internships” … … although many do offer career-

related work experience … even though this may not be

advertised widely (or advertised at all)

… and could be unpaid

The Creative Career Search

To get work experience in advertising, TV, film, journalism, public relations, etc

… you need to make the first approach

… and to be persistent See www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/CJ.htm

for more advice and information

Getting an internship is just the beginning …

When you do obtain work experience, be willing to help out no matter how challenging or menial the task.

Be yourself, friendly and approachable, but at the same time professional

Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice

Finding Local Employers Employers often prefer local graduates

for placements: No accommodation worries May want to work in the area after

graduation Kent – includes KentGrads database

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/kentopps.htm Elsewhere in the UK www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sitesgen.htm

How to apply CV and covering letter – speculative

applications and small companies. Application form – usually online for major

graduate recruiters You need to put as much time and

effort into applying for an internship as you would to apply for a permanent position

For help see www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm

Finding out about internships and other summer work experience Careers & Employability Service Vacancy

Database http://kent.prospects.ac.uk Speculative applications Graduate directories and websites e.g.

Prospects.ac.uk and Target http://targetjobs.co.uk

National Council for Work Experience www.work-experience.org

RateMyPlacement www.ratemyplacement.co.uk

#ratemyplacement

Other points Get actively involved in

University life, so that you have evidence of teamwork, organising, leadership etc. skills for your CV

Apply early – closing dates for the most popular employers are often in December or January

Duty Careers Adviser A Duty Adviser is available to help

with queries between 10.30 am - 12.30 p.m. and 2.00 - 4.00 p.m. every weekday.

No appointment needed - just drop in.

Where to find the Careers & Employability Service

Opening Hours:

9-5, Mon - Fri