Adzuna and Milkround have teamed up to launch a nationwide campaign to find the UK’s “Graduate of the Year 2013”. The competition, open to all graduates from academics and student politicians to sports people and young entrepreneurs, will reward the brightest and best in their field. Applicants must answer a series of simple questions about themselves and what makes them special, and the winner will be rewarded with the following prize an internship with a top UK company (including eBay, L’Oreal, Sony & Google), a cash prize of £1000 & a CV clinic with a top UK entrepreneur.

Enter here:  Graduate of the Year 2013  

Just come across this great little digital security quiz on Twitter posted by @guykawasaki, think you’re pretty savvy when it comes to protecting your personal information? Take the quiz, there are lots of useful links, embedded within the quiz to help you protect your ‘online presence’.

Click image to open interactive version (via simplisafe.com).

I am pleased to say that following on from the success of last year, we will be running Postgraduate Enterprise Futures again this year on Tuesday 21st May at Manchester Town Hall, and it’s going to be BIGGER, BRIGHTER and BOLDER, even if I do say so myself.

Registration is now live, and here’s a good luck note we received from Vince Cable MP (Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills) on why events like this are so important:

“I was pleased to hear of the launch by the universities of Manchester, Salford and Manchester Metropolitan of their new joint initiative to promote enterprise amongst your graduates and postgraduates.

The experience of enterprise in education is key to improving levels of enterprise ambition and helps to give people the knowledge and awareness of what it means to run a business and the skills they will need in order to pursue new opportunities. The collaborative venture through the North West universities is to be applauded and will further help to foster the spirit of growth and enterprise, which is so essential to the future prosperity of the country”.

RT Hon Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

So what are you waiting for, sign up now! We look forward to welcoming you on the 21st May.

Something to mull over perhaps before you next post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. How much of this information do you want in the public domain, how much of it do you control, how much is innocuous and what might come back to bite you? Remember the Paris Brown Twitter incident? If not, the University of Huddersfield’s Careers and Employability Service have a great blog post on ‘How not to tweet: lessons from Paris’. 

As with most things in life:

• Know your triggers and exercise common sense. Avoid using social media when you are upset, angry or when your judgement is likely to have been clouded or impeded.

• Be respectful in order to get respect – don’t try to antagonize or incite others and similarly don’t rise to taunts.

• Before you post, tag or comment – reflect on why you are posting it, the tone of the post and who might see it. Review i.e. does it convey what you mean, could it be misconstrued?

• It’s a reciprocal thing – remember to credit sources if you are retweeting or using someone’s else’s words, jokes, images etc, as you expect them to credit you when they use your words or images.

• Engage with others, and be authentic, don’t try to be something you are not, just to avoid losing connections or followers. People will come in and out of your life whether in person or online, you’ll learn to create your own (Google+) circle of family/friends, close confidantes, colleagues etc.

• Own up – if you have put something out there only to regret it, then own up right away. You’ll be surprised at how people will appreciate this and also empathise with you.

• Accentuate the positive, to eliminate the negative – if you are embarrassed by some of your older social media or someone with the same name as you features higher on Google searches, think about how to use social media to raise your visibility, for the right reasons. Consider blogging about your work, your inspirations, career motivations, job search etc or tweet, use LinkedIn discussions, Flickr or Vimeo on a regular basis. This will help to supersede any embarrassing older posts.

• Delete - any posts or tweets and if necessary, explain why you felt you had to.  Shut down old or redundant accounts that you no longer use so that they are not likely to be hacked.

• For your eyes only! – Your passwords and security codes should be for your eyes only, do not share them and remember to change them intermittently to avoid being hacked.

• Read the small print! Obvious one really but it goes back to my point about common sense. You wouldn’t start a job, take out a mortgage or a loan without reading the full terms and conditions, so in the age of information (over) sharing, you have a responsibility to read and understand the terms and conditions of any social media before you start to use it.

Useful links:

Reppler – helps you to manage your online profile across social networks

TweetDelete – helps you to delete older tweets from your time line

Manage your Identity – Helpful tutorials from the Internet Society

4 tips to manage your online reputation – Forbes magazine

How to download your Twitter Archive - the real test is to read some of the old tweets without cringing

How easy is it to delete yourself from the web? – Guardian article

Are you studying Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, Politics Marketing, Management, Finance, Accounting, Economics or Business and want to enhance you career prospects?
The University of Salford is offering students from all degree backgrounds and years of study the chance to take the BLOOMBERG APTITUDE TEST (BAT) completely FREE OF CHARGE on campus! Take the test that puts you in front of over 20,000 prestigious employers worldwide! To date, 1 in 7 students have been contacted as a direct result of taking the BAT and entering the Talent Search!
“Bloomberg LP is a financial data analytics and media company that was established in 1981 by Michael Bloomberg, the current mayor of New York City. The company has offices in over 194 countries and provides clients access to financial data and news through the Bloomberg Professional Services, also known as the Bloomberg Terminal, used by over 20,000 companies obtain data, market analytics and news as well as to execute electronic trades and communicate with other players in the industry
The Bloomberg Institute, the educational branch of Bloomberg, has developed the Bloomberg Aptitude Test (BAT); a learning tool aimed for students and graduates that want to pursue a career in the business world and are interested in finding a job or internship opportunity.
The Bloomberg Aptitude Test is a standard online test that evaluates students and recent graduates for their aptitude and general knowledge to work within the business world. . “The BAT lasts two hours and is distributed into 8 sections, composed of 100 multiple choice questions written in English. The content of the test aims to put students on real job situations and make them take decisions as if they were at work. The test assesses aptitude rather than theoretical knowledge.
REGISTER FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY

All questions on the BAT evaluate aptitude rather than knowledge so you do not have to have a background in Finance in order to do well on the BAT. Questions place you into commonly encountered workplace scenarios and evaluate your ability to identify the best solution to the problem encountered.
REGISTER FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY

In the past three months over 15,000 BAT test takers have been contacted by companies to discuss employment opportunities. Companies actively recruiting BAT test takers include (but are not limited to): Deutsche Bank, European Commission, Citigroup, Kellogg Company, FTI Consulting, Macro Risk Advisors, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, AIG, Robert W. Baird, Guggenheim Partners, BP, Fitch Rating, Hamilton Lane, Pierpont Securities, and RBS.
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Graduation is imminent and you’re due to leave the student bubble that you’ve been living in for the last three years. Worried about the daily grind?  Scared that no-one will give you a chance to worry about the daily grind? Growing youth unemployment and expensive student loans driving the fear? Well, don’t worry because there is one graduate market crying out for employees…

With over 1 billion people learning English worldwide TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) is an increasingly popular way to spend a year or two. It’s also the sort of job that sees you spending your weekends lounging on an exotic beach or visiting ancient temples. But, how can TEFL help to boost your CV and your chances of employability back home? Here’s how:

Sadly, a good degree is no longer enough to get you a great graduate job. Nowadays, you also need to demonstrate solid work experience and transferrable skills. Working as a teacher you’ll learn a number of key employability skills:

Leadership- Aside from leadership, managing your class will give you the opportunity to learn empathy, coaching and goal setting.

Communication skills- Succeeding in an environment where English is the second language is clear evidence of great communication skills!

Adaptability-Working as a teacher you’ll constantly have to think on your feet. Note down a few key examples to include on your CV for when you return home.

Language Abilities- In a global (and competitive) economy, knowledge of an additional language can help set you apart. If you’re spending a year abroad then make an effort to speak the lingo. You could also pick up a language exchange partner to help you learn even quicker!

Interested in Teaching abroad after graduation? Then, check out this video of Rozel, a graduate TEFL teacher living in China!

Useful links:

Prospects TEFL Job description

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/english_as_a_foreign_language_teacher_job_description.htm

Careers in TEFL and Teaching Abroad

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/tefl.htm

TEFL / TESL Teaching options

http://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions/279417-tefltesl-teacher-job-description

On 13 and 14 June 2012, I went to Manchester Graduate Recruitment Fair, where over 100 employers came to meet students and graduates.

I ran into Heather Sharp, who has just completed a Geography degree here at the University of Salford, so I asked her whether she’d write a blog post for us on what she thought of the fair.  Thanks very much, Heather!

 Where did you see the fair advertised, and what made you decide to go?

I saw the fair advertised on the University careers website, and the careers adviser and some of my friends pointed it out to me. It seemed like a great opportunity to meet employers and find out more about graduate schemes.  I thought I would gain confidence in looking for a job and I was also hoping to hear employers say first-hand what kind of people they want to work for their organisation.

Have you been to the Manchester Graduate Fair before, or any of the Salford Careers Fairs?

No, and I didn’t really know what to expect or what I would be expected to do.  But I thought it would be good to just find out what it was like, and then if there was another fair in the future I’d be better prepared.

What preparation did you do in advance?

I looked at the Fair guide online, and did some research into the companies who were going to be there to decide which ones I would be particularly interested in. Once I’d done that, I prepared some cover letters and CVs for those ones, as well as general CVs for other stands that I might see when I got there.

Who did you speak to at the fair?

It was scary to just go up to a stand and introduce myself to them!  The first person I spoke to wasn’t one of my target companies, but he put me at ease, which helped, and it was good to get the first one over with.  After that, I went to a stand which I had prepared for, and just had a general chat about myself and what would be involved in the graduate scheme. I then handed my CV and covering letter at the end and asked for their name and e-mail address. There was another stand that I thought I’d like and I had prepared for, but when I talked to them I found I just had a bad feeling about working for them. So it was useful in both directions.

Once I’d spoken to the companies I’d targeted particularly, I just had a general look around and chatted to any that took my fancy.

The employers that stood out for me didn’t stand out in a good way: they were the ones who were very formal and didn’t seem to put me at my ease!  I preferred talking to the ones who were more relaxed, where I found it much easier to sell myself.  I also was a bit frustrated that there weren’t many employers looking specifically for Geography students: most of them seemed to be looking for engineering or IT if they specified a particular subject.

However, I did follow up one application and have had a telephone interview, and am now waiting to see whether I got through to the next stage.

Would you recommend the fair to other students or graduates?

Definitely!  It’s great to see what’s out there, and I think I got more out of it because I’d done my homework. But I will say as a graduate that I wish I’d done this earlier, at the end of my second year, and then I’d really have known how to approach the graduate job market in my final year.

I am still looking for work and in this climate I think you have to have patience and determination and keep an open mind about what you can do. I’m still thinking about what I want to do longer term: I think I know what I want, but sometimes I wonder whether I’ve got the confidence and the patience to get there.  But I do feel more confident after going to the fair. I’ve learned that there are graduate jobs out there, but it is hard work finding them and applying: you need to learn to sell yourself and convince employers that you really want to work for that firm. I also learned that from the employers’ point of view, they’re struggling to find the right people for their company, and so it’s up to us students to find out what they are looking for.

What’s the strangest interview question you have ever been asked?

Source: SuperScholar.org http://www.superscholar.org/intelligence/

BBC Writers Room are looking for two event volunteers who are genuinely passionate about writers and drama, to come and work on the festival in June.

Successful applicants will work with BBC Writers Room staff to meet and greet delegates, look after guest speakers & speakers requirements during their master-class sessions, and generally be on hand to ensure the smooth running of the festival.

During the festival you will be able to sit in on a number of ‘open’ sessions and master-classes – a really unique opportunity, because in order to attend the festival you have to be a writer with a professional broadcast credit! In addition, we’d like to invite you to MediaCityUK in the autumn of 2013 to attend a Writers Room North master-class on screenwriting.

If you are interested in becoming an event volunteer, you need to do the following:

• 1.   Tell us about a TV drama writer that inspires you – why? (250 words max)

1. 2.   What organisational skills & experience can you offer Writers Room?  (250 words max)
2. 3.   How do you think this opportunity would benefit you? (250 words max)

Applications must be submitted via email by 10.00am on Tuesday 30^th April to futures@salford.ac.uk for the attention of Suzanne Hitchman

Please remember to put your name, roll number, the course you are studying and your University on your application.

Please also note that successful individuals will need to base themselves in Leeds or fund your own travel to Leeds on the 26^th and 27^th June 2013. 

The event will take place at Careers and Employability, University House.

If you are thinking about becoming a teacher but you are confused and don’t know where to start from! Then this is your chance to speak to an adviser and get a good insight into Teaching and find out how the Teaching Agency can help you in determining your Future as a Teacher!

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Routes-into-Teaching-University-of-Salford/147757752054113 or email: h.j.abdollah@edu.salford.ac.uk”