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

The University of KentCareers and Employability ServiceSummer Vacation Work -Internships and Beyond The slides from this presentation are available atwww.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: Law For 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, • MBDAwww.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 Publishinghttp://gs12.globalsuccessor.com/fe/tpl_penguin01.asp?newms=info04 • Metaswitch Networkswww.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 Databasehttp://kent.prospects.ac.uk • Speculative applications • Graduate directories and websites e.g. Prospects.ac.ukand Targethttp://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

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