Since my last blog I have been trying to get work experience as I feel that to become employable at this moment the more experienced you are especially in my field to greater the chance there is to get a job. I have not heard back from any of the companies which is a bit disappoint not even an email to say sorry no vacancies.

I have also attended numerous careers talks that are advertised thought the school, which have been helpful especially the agency related ones. Regarding them, my CV has been sent to numerous recruitment agencies.

However, I received confirmation that my application is being furthered by one company, and not by others, but thats life ups and downs.

Well after my last blog which explained my complete lack of work experience opportunities i have been offered three different work experience placements which is fantastic and proves that gruelling perseverance is priceless!

But i also got a whole lot of bad luck the past few weeks as i broke my leg…gutted!

It happened the weekend before i was scheduled to start my first placement at the B Group a creative agency. But they were really good about it and i should be able to postpone it untill after my leg is better, i then got offered and interview for a placement in summer which is great…but then got offered another placement in the first week of easter which they cruelly offered to me then took away when they heard about the pot/cast whatever you want to call it! Although i made it very clear how keen i was and they all said that they will keep somehting open for me for when im well enough.

So basically from this little life lesson ive been given recently, if you wait long enough and try hard enough you will get what you want…but just maybe with a few little osbtacles.

I’ll keep you updated with whether i got to the placements in the end and what they were like, fingers crossed i wont break any more bones!

Hey,

Happy New Year..

Following on from my last blog that seems ages ago now, I have had the experience of a formal interview for a place on a company’s graduate geotechincs scheme. It was a useful experience, I had to travel to East Croydon for the interview however when I got there my interview was only 40 minutes.. One main aspect of the whole interview experience is that practice and understanding the company you applied for. I also had a mock interview with the careers service at University which was really helpful.

Since the interview I have networked with several members of another company, where I had the opportunity to go to an open evening in Leeds where I meet people with the same discipline as my chosen degree, which was extremely useful. I have also been to the Newcastle office also which is one of the offices that I have applied to.

So the point of this blog is networking within a company is useful as it shows how keen you are for the position that is advertised.

I’m now in full swing of the Faststream application. I’ve spent the last few weeks refreshing my memory on how to do basic maths – percentages, fractions and graphs have haunted my dreams! The biggest problem I had was trying to find a ‘quiet and relaxing’ place to complete the tests. My laptop wasn’t ‘compatible’ and the uni library was never quiet no matter what time of day or late night I went. But I managed to find a time and a place, and completed them, now I’m just waiting for the results.
I thought I would count my chickens and think positively that I would get through far enough to the assessment centre. So, I took the careers service up on their offer, and ‘had a go at an assessment centre’. It was really good, an intensive day – I needed a nice cold Diesel afterwards to make my head better! 😉 It gave me a good insight into what to expect, which I think for most of these things is the most difficult part. You fear the unknown. Although, I would still pee my pants when I eventually do get to an assessment centre, but in the words of Gary Barlow on X Factor, ‘if you weren’t nervous, there,d be something wrong; … inspirational!
The hardest part about pursuing a career in the public sector, is work experience… so I’m looking for experience around my area of interest; international relations; so I’ve taken up a volunteering project with the refugee service. It’s really interesting; lots of knowledgeable people and a great way to learn about new cultures and issues facing asylum seekers and refugees both in our country and their home country. Not only is it adding weight to my CV, but its also a chance for me to figure out if this is something I’m interested in and want to have a career in for the next 40 or so years! Always good to check beforehand!

Ok, it was turning it to a tale of woe, right? On a careering BSc rollercoaster to nowhere. Clearly there is a happy ending – I am presently studying MSc Engineering Geology, a painstakingly chosen degree programme this time.
With background in Earth Science, a geological focus of some kind seemed inevitable. And the whole ‘engineering’ bag? Well engineering is probably the most credible prefix imaginable in the current climate of science and technology! It provides a structured framework for continued study and career development, promoting hands-on skills and highly desirable technical knowledge = a degree with a directional future.

‘How did you manage to clear the horrendous financial rut?’ I hear you cry. Well I was accepted on to my present course with the condition of a departmental studentship from the Natural Environment Research Council. How on earth did I manage such a thing? Well, I just asked.

In the end it was actually that simple. If you are serious about further study and prepared to put your cards on the table there are many more funding opportunities out there than you realise, you just need to be determined in securing them. Bursaries are in place to help students pursuing courses which will provide valuable skills in employment or research environments. Be firm with your attributes and know your sources of support when you apply for further study.
Don’t ever be afraid to keep pursuing these opportunities. For me it made the ultimate difference between being able to pursue further study or not.

https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/bl…_place_to_start

I’ve just started the first year of a part time MA which is part of my ‘plan’ to get the career of my dreams. Or a way to ‘pass the time’ amongst the application process.
I graduated 1 year ago from my undergraduate and decided to take a year out and get into the work place full time (I’d worked part time throughout my uni course) and get some experience in management along with paying off all the debt I’d racked up in my undergraduate!
I am pursuing a career with the government, and started the application process for the faststream. It’s long, painful, in depth and competitive. They want the best – there are a lot of talented people out there – so what makes my application different?
This is where I started from. They want people who can move up the ranks quickly and do well in management, how can I know I have that ability if I don’t even try? Whilst applying through the faststream (it starts in November, and finishes in April) I decided to work up the ranks in the financial service company I was working in.
I was out the race for the faststream by February -many quotes state its unlikely to get in the first time around, and feedback told me I was in the top 35% of candidates…
So here I am, still working my way up the ranks to prove my management capability, learning invaluable skills within the work place, and studying a masters in IPE, making contacts and working out what else I can do to make sure I’m in the top 25% of candidates the next time…

So, I have finally got round to writing this blog. I’ve been meaning to for a while, but you know what it’s like.

Anyway, career news. Unfortunately, not so much. I am a final year student of Chinese and Cultural Studies. I lived in China last year studying at a university in Beijing. I kind of assumed when I graduated I would be in high demand, because, of course, everyone is looking for people who can speak Chinese, right? Wrong. It appears that to be able to use my Chinese in a job, I am going to have to be fluent. And, unfortunately, that’s just not possible in a 4 year degree.

This is my current plan. I will take a job, any job in China and just spend every spare minute I have speaking Chinese, so that I can get somewhere near fluency. I’m thinking of doing a TEFL course this summer and then in September going to teach English in a small town in China. Somewhere where they don’t get many foreigners, a place where the children will point and laugh at my strange appearance. Perhaps after a year or two I’ll be in a position of usefulness to potential employers.

But, I’m continuing to apply for jobs in this country, the problem now is, I don’t actually know what I want to do. It’s kind of been “willy nilly” applications up ’til now, and I can’t take these constant rejections anymore! I think a trip to the careers service is in order…

Yes, it is getting on for 3AM and I am here writing this blog! No I am not mental, I am in fact in a buoyant, optimistic and strangely positive mood! Yes these are outlandish feelings for me (especially when “career-thought” is involved) and so I am unsure as to how to deal with them other than to let you know all about it!

Earlier tonight, whilst waiting for some Jerry Seinfeld stand-up to download, I decided to fill in that ‘What Next?’ brochure I was rattling on about last post. The one that asks questions about your interests and skills with the aim of hopefully narrowing down what kind of job is suitable for you yourself!

I have discovered a definite area of interest, so hold your breath and I’ll come back to it later.

Since going through this process I have realised that there was a key issue I had to deal with before I could make any real progress in my search for a befitting career.

My problem has always been being amazing at EVERYTHING!

Well not exactly, of course not. But I do like to think I’m multi-talented. However, this, my friend, is a curse! I’m good at most things… to a ‘good’ standard. I don’t excel at anything 🙁 I’m highly skilled in NOTHING!

Lots of my friends have done a ‘specialist’ degree, automatically condemning them to Nick’s Most Despised Creature Crew (Hitler is in there aswell), simply because they are sorted in life (doctors, town-planners, graphic designers… you know the sort…). They’ve made the decision to pursue a particular profession and have got on with making it a reality. I’m still stuck here with my hands in my pockets.

This, really, is where “The Brochure” comes into its own! I was able to identify my skills with my interests and out came possible jobs I might like. This was achieved via the recommended Prospects Planner (www.prospects.ac.uk), which is like those ‘Career Finders’ you did in Secondary School, for which you’d answer a billion questions, only for your perfect-match, dream-job to come out as Deforestation Officer! It’s that kind of thing, only this one helps.

As it turns out, my ‘profile’ (which took 15 mins max to set up) does actually match-up with certain vocations. This is big news my friend!

Before i was a lost puppy, now I am still a lost puppy BUT my owner has decided to get off his ass and plaster a load of ‘LOST’ posters about town (with a very accurate personality and skills description… LOST: 6ft4in shaggy terrier, introspective and risk-taker, £4 reward for safe return… alive or dead)!

So at last I have a bit of direction and am now able to start thinking about an action plan with my Careers Advisor! And because you’re all on the edge of your seats and have obviously been holding your breath, I’d better cut to the chase! I should be looking at ‘Publishing, Media and Performing Arts’.

Buzzing after my first ever cup of coffee courtesy of the Careers Service, I’ve only gone and been proactive in the next, crucial step of my (and, if you’re reading this, your) life – finding a career! Yes it is scary so it’s the perfect time to start being proactive (like them fancy yoghurts).

This morning I had innocently dropped into the Careers Service for a chat with our blog tutor and this is where the caffeine-induced-high-whirlwind began…

Remarkably, it turns out that there is a drop-in clinic for your very own Careers Advisor. Turn up and they’ll see you there and then (from 11AM onwards) for a 15 minute introductory chat.

I did this, knowing full well that:

my idea of the road my life is heading down comes to an abrupt and foggy conclusion in June next year (graduation).

… it was probably the right move to make.

I’m doing a Linguistics degree – my third degree since being at Newcastle (yes you may know me as Van Wilder). I did Modern Languages for a year but I realised they were boring. So I tried the exact opposite (Maths, Economics and Accounting). Big mistake.
So Linguistics is my last-ditch effort, the subject a wild stab in the dark. It doesn’t have anything to do with what I want to do… because…

I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO!!! (apart from be a professional footballer or a rock star).

It’s the “just get some qualification and you’ll be fine!” approach but, it appears, things don’t work out like that, things don’t just fall into place like they have done so far since primary school.
The key point is simple – you have to start thinking hard about YOU (and the sooner the better).

That’s what Dave my Careers Advisor told me. He gave me a brochure that helped crystallise my thoughts on what I want to be. It’s simple stuff really: what motivates you, what you enjoy, what sort of life you want etc.
And when I’ve filled this out I just pop back to the Careers Service and they’ll book me in for a longer 45 minute appointment, so that he can look through it and offer up some of his wisdom. Who knows, he might tell me I should be a rock star.

All I really know is that I want to be rich and successful and enjoy my job… that’s all I ask! It might sound selfish but that’s kind of the point – it’s my life and I want holidays in warm countries!

And now it’s time to reflect in a cheesy manner:
It’s an open road folks, you just need to put some petrol in the tank.