How being a ‘Life at Southampton’ Blogger has made my university experience

It is strange to think that it was over a year ago I applied to become a blogger for the University of Southampton, and now the time has come to recruit for new writers! How time flies by.

Thinking about the fact that my stint as a working blogger is coming to an end has made me contemplate just how much of a tremendous impact the job has made on my life here at Southampton.

At the same time, I’d like to encourage as many people as possible to apply for this life-changing experience!

So, why is being a blogger so great?

Blogging has boosted my confidence

It has given me the voice and the confidence to approach new people to learn about new things. The job requires you to come up with interesting content regularly. When I am running out of ideas to write about I have found that reaching out to people around me and checking out what they are getting up to makes for exciting content and an enjoyable experience of learning on my part. Not only has this built up my network here at the University, but it has also helped me make new friends.

Getting to know Enactus Southampton!

Meeting with AISEC and other societies for SUSU’s Culture Week. We chatted about activities for guests at the International Culture Night and the Global Village

Blogging has taught me the benefits of introspection

The more you blog about your life, the better you see and appreciate details that you take for granted. They say that your time at university creates some of the best years of your life. Taking some time to be mindful about what is happening right now has not only helped me understand myself but also get a better idea of where my life is going beyond Southampton. What’s more, this reflectiveness and the constant need to generate ideas has helped me think clearer.

Blogging has challenged me to be more disciplined

We all have to do something challenging at some point. Before coming to university I was not the best person at disciplining my use of time. Procrastination was my enemy, indeed. In addition, I can have the tendency to be lazy about connecting with people and keeping schedules. Since becoming a blogger I have an incentive to show up, meet with people and write.

At the same time, I have had to challenge myself to become better at time-management skills. This is essential as, in order for you to have a social life at university as well as managing academic work, you need to really have a good grasp of how you spend your time.

Holding the Filipino Society’s first Halloween party

With the FilSoc committee

Blogging looks good on your CV!

A project like this can really sell your CVs in job applications and helps with employability. Having the title of a “professional student blogger” on your CV makes you stand out from the pack. It shows that you learnt something outside of academia during your time at university.

Maintaining a blog also shows commitment to employers. Not only this, but because the theme of the blog is geared on student life, it says that you are emphatic to your audience and mindful about current events.

Blogging helps other people

This digital age is a wonderful era to live in. Your content can reach many people from different continents and cultures. The idea that your personal thoughts touch other souls is gratifying to say the least.

By frequently sharing an inside view of what life really is like as a student, and openly sharing moments about your life, you help potential university undergraduates decide if this is really the path that they want to take after high school or sixth-form college.

What I am up to now: obligatory dissertation hand-in photo! Can you say I 'got diss'?

Applying for the position

So, if you want to do something challenging, fun and generally make your student experience a hundred times better, you can do so by applying to be a blogger!

As my time here at Southampton is nearing its end, I can honestly say that I am very proud of becoming a Life at Southampton blogger!

Rylyn

Active resting: staying busy while taking time out

Sitting still has never really been my forte, but with the Easter break now slamming into us at what feels like a million miles an hour, it seems that at least some rest was very much on the cards.

I mean, it is needed; calling this past semester ‘mad’ would be something of an understatement, but with so much still to do I decided to take a more active approach to resting.

We all need to slow down once in a while and catch a breath; it’s not healthy to keep pushing it, even if you’re absolutely certain that you can manage it. At some point, you will just stop working effectively and become some sort of malfunctioning robot.

There are ways to keep yourself busy whilst still relaxing though. It’s what I’ve dubbed ‘active resting’, and it basically involves switching off some parts of your brain (the bits concerned with the extreme worries that you need a break from) but keeping others firmly awake. Not exactly scientific I know, but hear me out.

Dissertations, graduation and other third-year worries have been bubbling away at the forefront of my mind for a very long time. When Easter finally rolled around, it seemed sensible to push them aside – if only for a little while. Without these things concerning me, life quite honestly felt a little empty, so in order to stay active, I decided to rack up some more work experience and have a wander through some fields too.

That’s the active part: resting from one thing, but staying busy with something else. It keeps things interesting and dynamic, but still allows the necessary parts of your thinking to get some much needed recharge time. This past week has seen a cross-country road trip to the heart of Devon with some friends, and more press-related antics in the capital.

Hiding out in the countryside with some friends was a great way to switch off, but keep active.

Driving nearly 500 miles over Easter weekend proved a little more work than I first expected, especially given the mass amounts of traffic on the roads (I should’ve seen this coming I know). However, getting out into the countryside and away from emails, phone-calls and even just my desk was simply perfect. Staying active with some decent scenic walks certainly kept my brain awake too, so it was very much the best of both worlds.

Swiftly following my return from Devon was a trip into London for the press junket of the new film The Huntsman: Winter’s War, meaning that I got to sit in a room filled with famous people and feel important for a little bit longer. This opportunity came from The National Student, a student magazine a little further afield than The Edge. Again, it kept me sincerely motivated to work, especially after finding myself face-to-face with a few of the film’s stars for some one-on-one interview time.

 Work experience helps engage different parts of your brain too. In my case, the fan-boy side.

The whole time these things were going on though, I felt oddly rested. It was as if in doing all of these relatively active things, I was somehow relaxing. This is proof that you don’t have to be lying down or doing absolutely nothing in order to recharge those mental batteries.

So, if you know you need a break from university or school work (we’ve all been there, there’s no shame), but for whatever reason you don’t want to stop, you don’t have to. Just occupy your brain with something else, that’s challenging in a different way.

Anyhow, I’m nearly at the final sprint finish now. I guess that means that all this active resting should probably take a break itself until the summer.

The end is nigh, after all!

Ben

Graduate job hunt: tips and personal experience

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a graduate in possession of a degree must be in want of a job.

But today’s job market is indeed a tough one. Fortunately, it’s not all bad. There’s a recovery on – the overall employment rate for UK and EU graduates from a full-time first degree after six months was up from 68.5% in 2013 to 70.7% in 2014, and unemployment after six months was down from 9.1% to 7.8%. The recession hit us hard but things are looking up.

Improving your chances

Something I wish I had realised earlier on is that the graduate job hunt starts from the minute university begins. Everything you do has potential to be turned to an advantage in your search. For example, if you want to make your first year count, get involved in societies or perhaps even lead one. Securing a summer internship at the end of your penultimate year is also a way of improving your chances in the successive year. But to improve the results of your hunt considerably, be the early bird by beginning your search as soon as possible!

I started applying at the start of November. This might not seem too late since most deadlines are around the end of December/ beginning of January, but some of these positions are first come first served. What’s the more, the earlier you apply the more positions you can apply for.

Refresh your GCSE Maths skills

Most graduate job applications require you to take verbal and numerical tests. I bet you thought you’d never have to work out the percentage of apples in Bob’s fruit basket again! Well, you thought wrong. The numerical tests I’ve completed so far have challenged my grasp on basic percentages, ratios, multiplications and division. This isn’t so bad, however it’s been a while since I last did GCSE Maths. Oh well, time to dig out the old textbooks I say! The verbal tests normally require you to understand a large chunk of writing. Both aren’t so bad – unless you’re pressed for time. Despite this, practice is key. There are plenty of practice quizzes online to help.

Getting Connected 

So which avenues are available and what facilities are there to support you in this crusade? Well there is a surprising amount of very useful information and support provided by the University and further afield.

The Careers and Employability team.

If you are looking for more inspiration to kickstart your graduate job hunt, or want to know how the market works, then the University’s Career workshop on the graduate job search is for you. The interactive workshop will help you discover your job hunting preferences, find out how to structure your research and begin to create an effective action plan. The dates are listed on the events calendar so make it a habit to monitor it daily.

Get LinkedIn.

A good tip is to put a link to your LinkedIn profile on the header of your CV or on any cover letters you write. Doing so allows employers to paint a better picture of you. You cease from being just another resume and employers get a chance to view you as a real person. You would be naïve to think employers aren’t using social media to find out more about you, so why not use social media to your advantage? Again, the Careers team holds workshops on how to make an excellent LinkedIn profile.


Join Careers Sites. 

For example, TARGETjobs offers a Careers Report Tool that offers an assessment of your capabilities through simple behavioural questionnaires.

Check Emails.

Don’t miss out on the buzz as some great opportunities can be found if time is taken to sift through the hay!

Student Forums.

Extremely helpful advice from those who were once in your position, I would definitely recommend you check these out if you need first hand comments on applications from students themselves. The Student Room is an excellent example.

What else can I do after graduation?

Get a Masters Degree. 

Still not ready to enter the big wide world of working life? Then why not think about further education to further specialise and attain another degree? Although it may be beyond your financial constraints, there are ways to get extra funding. The University of Southampton, for example, offers bursaries, scholarships and studentships to the most talented students. The University also has industry partnerships who offer sponsorship opportunities in some subject areas.

What’s more, once you’ve secured a place on a Masters course, you can defer it and work for a year. This way you can earn enough money to help finance tuition and living costs whilst gaining work experience at the same time.

This is just my experience so far. I’m sure everyone else’s is unique so if you’ve got time, why not comment your tips below?

Good luck on the job search!

Rylyn

Advice from the Business Fair and the Careers and Employability Festival

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet some of the country’s Top 100 graduate employers at the University’s Business Fair 2015. The Business Fair is part of the Careers and Employability Festival, which is running on campus until 3rd November and involves career fairs, workshops, talks and presentations. The festival is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Careers fairs in particular are a really good way to meet companies and their student recruitment teams.

You can turn up to the event without booking a place and you’re welcome to spend as much or as little time there as you want. As soon as I walked in it was packed with students eager to chat to prospective employers, and it was clear that the employers and their representatives were just as eager to chat to the students too which was incredibly encouraging.

The PWC stand… proud sponsors of the Business Fair! 

Preparing for the fair…

I got a lot of excellent advice at the ‘Prepare for the Fair’ workshop that the Careers and Employability team ran. What I took away from the workshop boosted my confidence in approaching the exhibitors today: these companies have actively booked to attend the fair – they really do want to see you!

It is acceptable to attend the event not knowing every single detail about the exhibitors. However, since there are 100 stands, having done some research on the companies helped narrow down who I wanted to visit. This meant I had more time to make the most of seeing those I was truly interested in and ask them some pre-prepared questions – questions that the company website can’t answer for me.

Nick and Ali – part of the Careers and Employability Services team who organised the event! 

The University’s Careers and Employability Services team said this year was one of the busiest they’ve had. The service plays a pivotal role by working closely with students, staff and potential employers to enhance student employability skills. If you’re uncertain about your future, these are the guys to chat to!

 

What should you research?

 

I clicked on five or six company websites the night before and checked out their company values. I looked for buzzwords on their recruitment pages to get an insight of what a company is looking for in graduates. I found that ‘technology’, ‘independence’, ‘teamwork’, ‘confidence’ and ‘client-facing’ appear a few times online as well as being mentioned by the recruiters I chatted to yesterday. This was an easy way to find out if the company’s values fit in with yours.

I also considered what it really is that I want to get out of the Fair. For me, it was to see whether or not there were any graduate opportunities for me in the business industry as a Politics student. I have found that, actually, not having a degree with Maths, Science or Management is not a hindrance. A few of the exhibitors I spoke to did History, Psychology, English and Sports Science at university and still landed jobs in companies that are Business focused. Of course, different students have different objectives for attending and it is true that you won’t always get what you want, but this is the opportunity to start that.

The INEOS stand. INEOS is a global producer of petrochemicals and speciality chemicals, and looks for opportunities to make a company achieve further through acquisitions. 

My top 4 general questions were:

1. I study Politics – will I be able to fit in with you with my background?
2. Why did you choose to work for this organisation?
3. What skills do you look for in a graduate applicant?
4. How can I apply and when are the deadlines?

Some recruiters such as INEOS are especially looking for students with a background in finance and technology. I spoke to Hannah who has been working for INEOS for a number of years now. She had a background in the sciences that aren’t particularly focused on petrochemicals. She was the treasurer of her canoe society back at her university and she mentioned that it may have helped satisfy the mathematical requirements of the job application! When I asked Hannah what the top thing is that they are looking for in a graduate she gave me two answers: someone who is independent and someone who thrives on a challenge.

The Excel Programme stand. 

The Excel Southampton Internship Programme stand caught my eye. Their schemes offer a wide range of paid internships during term time, Easter and summer holidays based both on campus and within a variety of external organisations. It’s fantastic to see the University of Southampton teaming up with local and nationwide businesses.

I also had the pleasure to chat to Natalie and Hayley who were volunteering at the Target Jobs stand. Target Jobs has a large choice of internships, placements and graduate jobs. They also give expert advice on how to get hired. I myself am subscribed to their mailing list and it is incredible how many work experience opportunities are out there for us students.

Natalie and Hayley at the Target Jobs stand. Natalie is a 2nd year Psychology student and Hayley is a 4th year doing History, both study here at the University of Southampton. 

Ultimately, attending the Fair is a two-way process; you need to find an organisation where you can work at your best, so you really need to understand why you might want to work for a company.
What is it about them that attracts you? Is it their values, profit, clientele, or company benefits?

Overall, I think chatting to company team members is going to be helpful in my job applications. It has given me a good indication of what type of people employers are looking for. What’s more, some graduate recruiters did actually attend the event today – who knows, they could be the ones deciding whether or not to hire you! Just remember to check out the application deadlines for internships and graduate jobs. Some close in November which, when you think about it, is incredibly close. Quite frankly, I would not have known about this had I not gone to the Fair, so I’m glad I went.

Hooray for freebies!!

Go ahead and impress employers with your preparation and enthusiasm.

See you at the next Careers Fair!

Rylyn

Finding part-time work in Southampton

Freshers’ Week (or fortnight!) has sadly come to an end and the reality of another year at Southampton is dawning. For many this is the time to get serious about studying and sorting out your life here. For some, it also means looking for a job.

I have worked since I was 16 and I have always loved having a part-time job and earning my own money. When I first came to university working was a necessity, not an option. My student loan didn’t even cover my rent, let alone living expenses and I hate asking my parents for money, so that meant finding work.

In first year I had absolutely no idea how to apply for jobs, although I had worked since I was 16, I came from a small town where the two jobs I had were discovered through word of mouth, and needed no experience. So…where to look, what to apply for, how many hours could I afford to work a week, what did I need to be earning to survive, and what even was minimum wage for 18 year olds?!

SUSU 

I have never worked for SUSU but after walking round campus it’s obvious how many students they employ. From the SUSU Shop to The Bridge, SUSU could be a perfect way to fit employment in with your studies, especially since it works with term-time dates and around your timetable too.

Friends love the fact that SUSU will fit your hours around your timetable

Bars and Clubs

 

My first port of call in first year was Gumtree. Although admittedly not a great site for finding serious work, it’s actually pretty good for finding part time work, particularly in bars and clubs.

During my first year I worked in the coatroom of a local club. It meant getting to work for 10pm and leaving at 2/3am (if we were lucky), every Friday and Saturday. For the night owls amongst you this might sound ideal, but for me it was pure torture. It wiped out my entire weekend as I spent most of Saturday and Sunday in bed recovering from the late night, but I stuck at it, made friends amongst the staff and the pay kept me going. There are plenty of clubs and bars in the city to choose from if this seems like your kind of thing!

Restaurants

 

After finishing first year I decided that I wanted to stay in Southampton for the summer and find a job in the city, as I was unlikely to be able to find work back home. I headed out into the nearby high streets with my CV and a determined attitude. I spent one day handing out my CV and by the end of the day I had 3 job offers in various restaurants. For the next two years I was a waitress, working 20-25 hours a week (mainly at weekends), earned more than enough money to keep myself going and fortunately had a boss that understood that university came first.

I’d recommend handing in your CV by hand, and aim to go in the morning (10-11:30) or in the middle of the afternoon (3-3:30) on a weekday, not a weekend. You want to go when they are the quietest and the manager is most likely to be available. Don’t just hand your CV to a member of staff and then wander away - ask to talk to the manager, engage them in a conversation, show them that you are comfortable talking to strangers and are a friendly and approachable person. If you are not friendly and approachable, and don’t like strangers, then a job in the service industry isn’t for you.

Another important tip is to make you CV as short as possible, and avoid phrases like “I give 110%”, because it doesn’t read well. The CVs that stood out to us were the ones that fitted onto one page but still showed the key aspects of your personality and your achievements. Most restaurants (particularly chain restaurants) have their own training program and so don’t require previous experience. Don’t be afraid to go in and show them that you are capable of doing the job.

Tutoring

When I graduated from my undergraduate degree I no longer wanted to work at the restaurant - instead I wanted something that was more flexible where I could set my own hours, so I set up a profile for free on a website that connects tutors with potential tutees. I now have two regular students and have had more offers that I had to turn down due to a lack of time. Perhaps more suitable for postgraduate students (a certain level of expertise is required) than undergraduates, tutoring is actually super fun and a whole new set of skills. Plus the pay is fabulous; you set your own wage so you can expect to be earning £15-30 an hour, depending on your level of skill.

I love being able to set homework and write quizzes

 

Consultancy

For those interested in research, the University of Southampton has hundreds of active research projects which hire interns and consultants all year round, not just over the summer. Ask your lecturers and keep an ear out for what’s going on in your department. I currently work as a consultant for a Microsoft project run through ECS Partners and again, it lets me set my own wage and my own hours, and working from home is a treat compared to walking around a restaurant all day.

There are also opportunities at the University's Temp Bank, and as a student ambassador too.

Right, that was a pretty comprehensive summary, and in reality there are so many jobs out there that you really don’t have to settle for something you aren’t comfortable with. While some people love working in bars and clubs (and there enough of those jobs out there), really think about whether or not it’s for you before committing yourself to it. Most importantly, make sure that your boss is aware that University needs to come first, and they can’t expect you to just cover someone’s shift if it’s at a time that you have specified you can’t work.

In my experience, finding a job has never been too difficult and as Southampton has a huge student population, many employers are used to hiring students and are understanding about them going home for the Easter break and working around their University timetable.

Happy job hunting!

Emma

Polishing my networking skills

The word networking alone was enough to make me cringe a while ago. I thought networking was all about putting myself out there when, actually, compared to other people I didn’t really have that much to offer them.

It’s safe to say that my networking was ‘not working’ at all!

My perceptions were flawed to say the least. Since then, I’ve learnt that networking doesn’t have to be such a hard task. The bottom line is it doesn’t have to be forced; all you really need is the curiosity to learn about what people do and it should come naturally. It doesn’t just have to be you taking things from people since you also have something to give to them. If you think about it, you’d be surprised that a connection with you has a lot to offer.

If you’re an undergraduate student, for example, your bargaining power is that you have what organisations need in their work force: young, fresh talent who can learn at a high level! So these past few weeks, I have had the chance to do some *gasp* real networking…

One of the events I went to was organised by the Civil Service. It was with fellow university students from all over the country who were taking part in their internship programme. It was initially daunting at first. Countless worries flooded my thoughts as soon as I entered the room. How do I approach a closely huddled group of people I’ve never met in my whole entire life? What if they ignore me because I don’t actually have anything exciting to say?

Yikes… Where to begin in a crowd like this? Safe to say that the lunch and coffee helped tremendously!

Now that I think about it, most of the people in the room were on the same boat as me. It really does help to keep in mind that everyone worries about these things too!

The most effective way I overcame these fears was by simply throwing myself out there with a welcoming smile and a simple “Hi, how are you finding it?” I found that this question invited a comfortable response as opposed to starting with a hasty declaration of who I am.

I have to admit that I did practice introducing myself a few times. Your introduction is like a selling point, if I have to be honest. Like an ‘elevator pitch’, it can’t be too long but needs to be short enough for you to open up the conversation and invite a reply. A good conversation tends to have a balance between the amount you talk and the other person talking.

I also read somewhere that body language is crucial to getting people to warm up to you. I tried to maintain an open posture (not arms crossed or looking down!) and a smile. You can pretty much go anywhere from there; for example, by asking them what university they go to, what course they do, and why they were at the event itself. The key thing here is to be open both with the types of questions you ask (asking questions that start with how, what or why) and your body language.

Key speakers in these events include Sir Jeremy Heywood, Head of the Civil Service (pictured above), former footballer Fabrice Muamba, university graduates now working for the organisation, and TV journalist Clive Myrie. 

One thing I wish I had done was a bit of research on keynote speakers at the events. These speakers are likely to take questions after their speech and it’s a good idea to know a little bit about their work. Most of them even stay a while to chat to people. The more you know about them, the more you feel prepared to go up to them and actually ask about what they do.

Students I’ve met at the Summer Diversity Internship Programme 2015

Another important thing about networking is to follow up. Normally this means sending them an ‘it-was-great-to-meet-you’ email but this isn’t always necessary. LinkedIn is perfect for setting up formal business connections on social media – it is a platform that is professional enough for you to re-connect with them after unlike other sites that may be too personal.

Don't forget that the Universrity of Southampton's Employability Service can help too, giving advice on interviews, networking and more!

I know the word ‘networking’ can sound daunting but, when you really think about it, it really is just talking to people. There are some things that the most intelligent search engines can’t answer for you. Sometimes human contact is the best way to find things out.

Rylyn

Top tips: Summer internships

Ah summer time; the time of year of freedom from alarm clocks, holidays, BBQs… and summer internships.

It wasn’t until second year that I became seriously active at searching out some internship or work placement opportunities. I had worked in retail before and have done some volunteering during my gap year, but never had I done any office work. 

Getting that experience

As soon as second year hit, I was applying for internships roughly two or three times a week. I regularly went to employability workshops hosted by the Career’s Team. I highly recommend people to go – they are free and incredibly useful. Some argue that this may have been too early but the cathartic party me of year one was over and it is never too early to apply! The new term commences this September so now is a great time to start looking. You hear horror stories of students missing out because they did not know about application deadlines. Some worry about their statement’s quality looking rushed because they left it last minute. Don’t let your chances of finding the right career become subject to lack of preparation!

A leaflet from one of Southampton’s graduate fairs last semester. These are held a few times a year and are not just for final years – click on the link to find out when the next one is!

It is a good idea to apply for as many opportunities as possible. As well as going for mainstream companies and organisations, I also applied to a few of Southampton’s Excel work experience programmes and the Study Abroad programme. Spending a semester or so abroad is an excellent way of getting a well rounded university experience. I was set to head off to the University of Adelaide in Australia but chose to stay in England instead as I managed to secure myself an internship with the Civil Service.

I have heard good things about the British Civil Service and their graduate programmes even before applying. Applications are a few clicks away online which made the whole process incredibly accessible. And after a challenging selection process, I’m now having the pleasure of completing a two month internship with the Civil Service at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in Westminster. 

Outside of the office

What am I doing here?

It most certainly is not making coffee and filing all day.

As well as shadowing my colleagues and coming to meetings, my project here looks at supporting mental and physical health for people at work. This is as opposed to just giving up on health and letting go of valuable staff. For me, the ethical nature of this project has kept my interest in it so far.

Working 9 to 5 does have its tests for someone who’s used to getting up for breakfast at 6 pm and having dinner at 6 am*. But, in terms of knowledge acquisition, working such hours have become incredibly rewarding. The DWP’s work inevitably affects you and me at one point in our lifetime and I am especially grateful for working in an organisation that deals with issues at the top of the political agenda.

What have I found so far?

Whether it’s when you’re waiting for data to be gathered or when you’ve finished your tasks for the day, it is true that some projects experience quiet moments. But I actually think that this is the point of an internship – in fact, I think it is one of the best things about it. This blank space in your schedule is prime time for you to go ahead and find out about what your colleagues actually do. The first advice I got from my line manager when I first started is to never be afraid to join people for lunch or to invite them for a coffee. Not only does this come across as enthusiastic but once you know more about them you may find that you’re actually really interested in their work. If you do, you could ask to shadow them for a day or sit in at one of their meetings, if they didn’t mind. Chances are they won’t. People love talking about what they do and it is a fun and practical way for you to figure out what you want in your career!

Having lunch with the colleagues

Ultimately, there are plenty of opportunities out there for you to get some experience. It is just the case of proactively searching for them, so go out there and have fun while you’re at it! Good luck!

Rylyn

*NB: Author is particularly guilty of this.