The University of Kent Careers and Employability Service Careers with a Biodiversity/Wildlife Degree

1. You can download a copy of this presentation at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm The University of KentCareers and Employability ServiceCareers with a Biodiversity/Wildlife Degree

2. Location of the Careers Service www.kent.ac.uk/careers Telephone: 01227 823299 Email: careerhelp@kent.ac.uk Drop-in times (no appointment needed): 10.30 to 12.30 & 2 to 4 pm

3. Destinations of Kent Conservation and Wildlife Graduates

4. Biodiversity Careers Page www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Environment.htm

5. Sources of Environmental Jobs • Environment Post www.environmentpost.co.uk Major source of conservation vacancies. Reference copies are in File R4 in the Careers Service. • ENDSwww.ends.co.uk   Environmental Data Services has listings of jobs. Includes a Consultancy Directory. • The Guardian on Wednesdays. • Countryside Jobs Servicewww.countryside-jobs.com • The Green Directorywww.greendirectory.net/home.cfmEthical Careers Servicehttp://peopleandplanet.org/ethicalcareers • Nature Magazine www.nature.com/naturejobs/channels/graduate range of postgrad, PHD and postdoc positions. • Growing Careerswww.growing-careers.com vacancies in environment and conservation, nurseries and garden centres, • Environmental Recruitment Agencies • Environment Jobwww.environmentjob.co.uk. • Ecological Recruitment Co. www.eco-uk.com • Green Technical Resourcingwww.gtr.uk.com • ADC Environment Recruitmentwww.green4u.co.uk • Many jobs in the environment are not advertised - organisations get enough CVs from people applying speculatively to be able to fill their vacancies from these. You need to network and be persistent. See CVs and Covering Letterswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm and Creative Jobhuntingwww.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/CJ.htm to learn how to do this.

6. CHOOSING A CAREER • CHOOSING A CAREER BOOKLET - available from Careers Service. • Prospects Planner - powerful career choice programwww.prospects.ac.uk/links/Pplanner • Information on many graduate careers is at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin.htm

7. One third of graduate jobs accept any degree subject. BECAUSE: • Learn new skills quickly • Analyse & solve problems • Communicate well • Open to new ideas, adaptable and flexible • “Managers of change” • Marketing and Sales • Retailing • Social Work • Personnel • Civil Service • Accountancy • Banking • Computing

8. Postgraduate Study • Over 35% of Kent Bioscience graduates continue to postgraduate study • MSc/M.Res – 1 year • PhD - 3 years • Teacher training – 1 year • Medicine/radiography/ physiotherapy www.kent.ac.uk/careers/postgradmenu.htm

9. Master's Courses • Soils and Environmental Pollution, University of Reading • Coastal and Marine Resource Management, University of Portsmouth • Conservation and Tourism, University of Kent • Conservation Biology, University of Kent • Environmental Analysis and Assessment, Royal Holloway, University of London • Environmental Diagnosis, Imperial College London • Environmental Impact Assessment, Oxford Brookes University • Environmental Policy, Planning and Regulation London School of Economics and Political Science • Environmental Pollution Control, Middlesex University • Environmental Pollution Science, Brunel University • Environmental Technology, Imperial College London • Risk Management, Middlesex University • Rural Development, University of Sussex • Water and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey • Environmental Law and Policy, University of Kent

11. EXAMPLE CVs www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/environmental-cv.htm Check you campus emails regularly as I will send you many careers emails Get voluntary experience for your CV: Kent Wildlife Trust www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk conservation work in Kent including West Blean Woods. Needs volunteers. Run excellent and cheap wildlife study days on, for example, small mammal and bat identification

12. VACANCIES University of Kent Vacancy Database www.kent.ac.uk/ces/vacancies.html Other talks www.kent.ac.uk/careers/casevents.htm

13. BRUCE WOODCOCK • A Duty Careers Adviser is available for short (15 minute) consultations: MORNINGS (10.30 am - 12.30 pm) and AFTERNOONS (2 to 4 pm). Don’t need to book an appointment just ask at reception in the Careers Service (Keynes College Driveway) • If you need longer ring our reception on 01227 823299 to make an appointment for interview with me. • Email: bw@kent.ac.uk

14. Careers Employability Award on Moodle www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm

15. Moodle Careers Employability Award www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm#subject

16. The amount of time put into this is astounding! I actually spoke to friends from other universities who said they wished they had something like this. I enjoyed the depth of the module. It went far beyond some general tips on how to write a good CV and prepare for an interview. Rather it went in to detail about the whole process of graduate job search from the beginning to the end. It was very instructive . The module is very, very useful! I really love how it makes you to think about your personality and helps you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Comments from students who have completed the award It really blew my mind with some ideas I’ve never known before, such as portfolio working and working from home. I never thought about obtaining happiness from my work before. It was so easy, quick and I learned a lot. I found the module to be highly thought-provoking as it really encouraged me to consider how my degree will benefit my future and what I can be doing now to improve my graduate employment prospects. You get a really nice certificate! Without realising, you have finished the course and have already put together a very good CV and covering letter. It has made me feel a lot more confident when it comes to applications and interviews and has also made me think about skills that I didn't think I had before. It would be mad to apply for a job or attend an interview without doing it! Before the course I had only a vague idea of my career path and opportunities. Now I am applying for summer internships and know how to effectively sell my skills to a prospective employer and have a much more focused plan for my future. I recently had a very successful interview largely because I put the advice on the module into practice.

17. You can download a copy of this presentation at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm The University of KentCareers and Employability ServiceCareers with a Biodiversity/Wildlife Degree

19. If you can’t get a relevant placement, do something that develops your teamworking/organising/ problem-solving skills: BUNAC: Summer Camp USA www.bunac.org.uk Thursday, 25th November, 12 pm Keynes LT5 Spend up to a year working and travelling in North America. For a summer of work, travel and culture, try BUNAC's Work America programme, where you can do anything from working in a theme park or a restaurant to arranging an internship with a world famous company.

20. UNIVERSITY OF KENT CAREERS FAIR • Thursday 4th November, Eliot Great Hall, 2:00pm – 5:00pmA chance to talk informally to all sorts of recruiters offering graduate jobs, sandwich placements and summer internships. See www.kent.ac.uk/careers/fair.htm for full details and a list of participating employers. Everybody welcome.