1. NEWSLETTER
The Final Countdown…
June 2012
Summer in the Careers Centre
The Final Countdown…
Careers Meetings - Feedback
Exams nearly over? The rest of your life beckoning?
Employability Award You may be contemplating a long hot summer of sport, a little travelling,
R&R back at the family ranch…or you may already be a teensy bit
panicked about the small matter of what to do next…
Vacancy portal for our students
If you haven’t given much thought to life after uni and you don’t have a
plan – do not despair! Help is at hand from the Careers team throughout
the summer. We can help you to review your options, polish your CV and
develop a job-hunting strategy. You can come in and see us before you
leave, or contact us later by Skype, ‘phone or e-mail to have a chat. In
the meantime, start using the wealth of resources available via our
website at Current Students.
If you do have a plan, but haven’t had your CV reviewed recently, make
The Careers Team is still an appointment to see a member of the Careers team. We can help you
here to help you during to do full justice to your achievements and to produce a targeted CV and
covering letter for that dream job. We are also able to help you tackle
the summer!
tricky application forms and guide you on how to fill in that big empty
section labelled ‘Personal Statement’ or ‘Additional Information’ – which it
Career Meetings will be
is critical to get right! And once you’ve secured an interview, we can help
available most of the summer
you to prepare for that too – with top tips and confidence-boosting
vacation. Throughout June
techniques to help you perform well on the day.
appointment times remain as
usual (see link) Appointments.
Finally, did you know that the Careers team go on helping UoG graduates
In July and August only
morning meetings will be for up to three years after graduation, giving you access to careers
available. expertise, resources and motivational support – and it’s free!
You are welcome to call us on
01242 714795, e-mail at
The Careers team wish all our just-about-to-be
careers@glos.ac.uk or use
the Live Chat service on our graduate students all the very best in their next
endeavours – and we will be in touch with you again
website Current Students to
book an appointment. You
can also use our ‘Advice by e- in six months’ time, to find out what you have gone on
to do through the Destinations of Leavers from Higher
mail’ service to send your
career-related query,
including drafts of your CV or Education Survey!
personal statement to us for
advice/feedback Advice by e-
mail.

2. Careers Meetings - Feedback from our Students and
Popular resources Graduates
 Destinations® - We are continuously evaluating feedback from our students and recent
graduates following career meetings to improve the service we offer.
contains all the Your views and input are always greatly appreciated!
resources you need to
plan your career, We are pleased to share with you that feedback received during this term
including videos, suggests that:
interactive tools, • 100% of our clients said that they would recommend our services
downloads and to their friends
answers to frequently • 100% agreed that it is easy to book an appointment
asked careers • 90% were clear about what to do next to move ahead with their
career plans after a discussion with our experienced consultants.
questions.
Here’s what students had to say following their appointment with our
 Job hunting? Career Consultants when asked:
Useful links – here
‘What did you get out of your careers meeting?’
you can download
our useful guides on ‘After the meeting, I went to the interview confident and well prepared and
job hunting and researched, and ending up getting the job. So I would say it is
successful. :)’
applications,
vacancies websites ‘I got a better understanding in the field I want to go into and got shown
by sector and watch how to find jobs in that area’
videos
‘Informative advice and guidance on how to improve my teaching CV and
personal statement’
 Gradsouthwest –
for other regional ‘I got a friendly, enthusiastic face who after a few minutes understood me
opportunities really well and offered me a multitude of options.’
‘Fresh ideas about networking both within the university and by using
 Prospects - the external sites. The steps that I needed to take in order to pursue my
official graduate career were also clearly laid out.’
careers website ‘I received great help with my issue. I left the meeting feeling positive and
packed with knowing in what direction to head. I also received follow up feedback
information about promptly.’
jobs, sectors,
postgraduate study
and more

3. YOU could be eligible for a University of Gloucestershire
Employability Award!
If you volunteer, do a part-time job alongside your degree, participate in
an SU Club or Society, help a member of staff with a research project,
contribute to cultural or sustainability events, take part in enterprise
activities or undertake a short-term internship – you could gain official
University recognition for your achievements – and add a University
Employability Award to your CV…
Gaining this award will signal to graduate employers that you are
someone who is keen to explore your potential, develop your skills, take
` on responsibility, contribute to an endeavour and reach your personal
Here’s an interesting article goals – so it makes a great addition to your CV and will be something to
from the Prospects May highlight in job application forms.
Newsletter that looks at the
rise of UK ‘super cities’ that You can start working towards an Employability Award at any point in
will increasingly give home to your studies. We ask you to provide evidence of what you have achieved
industries previously in a Personal Statement of Achievement – in which you record what
associated with London: In you have done, assess the impact your achievements have had on you
the city and others and analyse the skills you have used and developed to
achieve your goals.
Written by Luke Berté,
Editor, Graduate Prospects, So, if you are volunteering, trying an internship or taking a vacation job
May 2012 over the summer, resolve to have your hard work recognised when you
come back to uni in the autumn – and check out now the details of what
you need to do to apply for an award in the Employable Gloucestershire
Graduate Scheme section on the Careers website at Current Students.
The Careers Team is running
two workshops for its Testing times?
Postgraduate Research
Students: If you are applying for graduate jobs at the moment, you may
be faced with those daunting ‘Psychometric Tests’ which
Tuesday 29 May 2012 many employers use in the recruitment process. The Careers
Centre has come across a couple of sites which could help -
Room FCH QU122
they provide lots of advice on how to cope with a range of
tests and the opportunity for a bit of practice too!
• 9.30-11.00 CV
writing www.jobtestprep.co.uk
• 11.15-12.30 www.psychometric-success.com
Interview technique
If you would like to book a
place, please go to If you are considering a postgraduate qualification, Prospects Postgrad
researchseminarboookings@ UK magazine can offer some useful guidance.
glos.ac.uk

4. Register on UGO!
The University now has its own graduate vacancy service – University of
Gloucestershire Opportunities – UGO for short! Vacancies are being
added on a daily basis. If you are a current student, you will need to use
your university login details. For recent graduates, please follow this link:
http://ugo.prospects.ac.uk/ to receive e-mail alerts of jobs you may be
interested in with local, regional and national companies. We would also
recommend visiting Gradsouthwest and Prospects.
How ‘Business Aware’ Are You?
In the most recent, large-scale survey of graduate employers in the UK, it was found that Business
Awareness was an employability skill that employers felt new graduates often lacked.
If you feel that you perhaps lack this a little – or would like to consider just what being ‘business aware’
actually constitutes - read on. Also known as ‘customer’ or ‘commercial awareness’, this is an
employability skill that is not too difficult to develop, given a little thought and time. In fact, you might be
surprised at how business aware you already are without realising it.
Part-time work, volunteering or roles of responsibility (such as student ambassador or course rep) can
give great opportunities to develop business awareness. Take a look at the following page from the
website of the University of Edinburgh’s careers service: Reflecting on your own experiences . You’ll
find an exercise to help you reflect on your own experience by analysing, in business terms, an
organisation you have ‘worked’ for e.g. a bistro/bar; a student-run charity.
For further detail on the survey mentioned at the start of this article, see the full report in which it
features: “Future Fit: preparing Graduates for the World of Work”.
Finally, did you know...
You can apply for an internship NOW Volunteering is a great way to acquire relevant
within the University, through the new experience to add to your CV. Contact Cathy
Degree Plus scheme. Go to Green, the new Degree Plus Volunteering
http://insight.glos.ac.uk/departments/ss/de Officer at studentvolunteering@glos.ac.uk or
gplus/Pages/StudentInternships.aspx to 01242 714547 or go to www.do-it.org.uk to find
find out what’s available. This is a great out what opportunities are available near you.
way to develop your skills, gain valuable
experience and a University Employability
Award to add to your CV…