See what Kate Nichols has been up to since being a runner up in the 2015 Undergraduate Awards!

My name is Kate Nichols and I am in my fourth and final year at the University of Nottingham studying Management with German. I received an email from TARGETjobs while I was on my Year Abroad in Germany, inviting me to apply for the Undergraduate of the Year Awards 2015. Applying for the Management Undergraduate of the Year Award, sponsored by Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, was an extremely exciting and memorable process.  

Initially, I had to fill out an application form which consisted of a few questions from the sponsor regarding leadership and general managerial practice and my personal experiences. Following this, I was invited to undertake three online tests. 

A few days later, I received an email from a Talent Acquisition Manager at Enterprise-Rent-A-Car to inform me that my application and online tests had been successful and I was invited for a telephone interview. I had butterflies in my stomach and I wanted to start preparing for the interview straight away! I am a huge lover of new stationery so I went into the German town where I was living and bought myself some new sticky notes, highlighters, pens and paper. I printed off information regarding the award and Enterprise-Rent-A-Car and started preparing for the interview and eventually every inch of my living room wall was covered in sticky notes! Although I felt nervous about my telephone interview, the interviewer was extremely friendly and was skilled at putting me at my ease so I was able to relax and really enjoy the interview. I could not tell if I had done well enough to get to the next stage of the process. 

Following my interview, I received an email notifying me that I had been selected to attend an assessment centre at Enterprise Holdings in Egham. This was an inspirational and highly enjoyable day. Being surrounded by what I can only describe as the friendliest and most welcoming people, it was a delight to speak to current Enterprise employees about their experience of working for Enterprise and participate in management orientated activities. I received a phone call a week later regarding the outcome of the assessment centre. I was shaking as I knew I would be in competition with other very strong candidates, however I was over the moon to be chosen as one of the 10 finalists for the award.

Attending the awards ceremony in London was extraordinary. The Winter Gardens at Canary Wharf was the perfect venue to host a ceremony for such prestigious awards. It was a pleasure to share this day with the hostess, Fiona Bruce, who enlightened us all with stories of her past and present career. It was an excellent opportunity to share experiences with fellow candidates and network with employees of high profile companies.

As a result of reaching the finals, I was offered a summer internship with Enterprise-Rent-A-Car which I have now completed. By the end of my internship, I was proud of what I had achieved in a short period of time and have met some fantastic people working for Enterprise -Rent-A -Car. I am extremely excited to have also been offered further employment. Applying for the award was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It not only allowed me to experience a graduate application process, but also it exposed me to such wonderful and invaluable experiences which has provided me with a fantastic pool of networks. 

Apply for the 2016 Undergraduate of the Year awards now.

Interested in attending our City Law for Ethnic Minorities event? Read Damini's experience!

In June 2015 I attended the TARGETjobs City Law for Ethnic Minorities event, and had the opportunity to network with trainees, associates, partners and graduate recruitment teams from Reed Smith, Baker & McKenzie, Wragge Lawrence Graham and Co, RPC and Cooley. It was a great experience and I would recommend any aspiring lawyer to apply.

What is it?

City Law for Ethnic Minorities is a two day event hosted in London by TARGETjobs Events. It has been running for 12 years providing an invaluable experience opportunity for motivated law students. The two days provide a real insight and exposure to city law firms in London that would be otherwise difficult to reach for those from disadvantage and/or ethnic minority backgrounds. The organised skills sessions allow you to learn what firms are looking for from applicants, and how to make your application stand out.

Why did I apply to attend City Law for Ethnic Minorities?

I have always been interested in City law and as a second year law student studying at the University of Bradford, the geographic disadvantage means there are limited opportunities to gain this depth of insight.  After hearing about this event, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to gain experience in City law whilst also learning about the diversity of it and the importance of this diversity.

How did I find the application process and the interview?

The application process is not too hard, but don't be fooled, it is competitive. The application requests your CV so make sure it is up to date and no longer than two pages. Also a 200 word answer as to why you want to apply and what makes you a strong candidate is required. This is your chance to portray your personality, but don't get caught in the web of trying to list all your strengths into the limited space of 200 words, just be yourself. To be quite honest, I started my answer with "Good morning, my name is Damini Sharma…"

The telephone interview is short but to the point. There aren't many questions but the interviewer tries to make you feel as comfortable as possible. Make sure you have done some background research on the firms attending and the event itself so if any questions arise, you know how to answer them. Also, don't be afraid to re-arrange the interview if the timing isn't amazing.  I remember I was working at the time but the TARGETjobs Events staff were really helpful and we were able to arrange it to a time that suited the both of us. In fact, it served as a great opener when it came to the actual interview.

What was the best part of the event?

The best part of the event for me was the amount of networking opportunities available. Not just with the professionals but also with peers. Getting to know other students stories and sharing your own is a large part of learning how to improve your career prospects and gain exposure to new opportunities you were not previously aware of. It is important to remember that though it is a competitive field, not everyone is your competition and teamwork plays an important role in almost all careers to an extent.

Networking with the firms professionals was also a large part of this event. Learning about the ethos and values of a firm are best done by visiting a firm and talking to the employees.

What did I get out of it?

I learnt so much in these two days it was unbelievable.  Not just about the firms but also about the city and what it would take to live there.  It is so incredibly different to my hometown in the sense of the amount of people, the sites, the traffic and… the price of food. As a person who has never been to the heart of London, this was a very new experience for me.  Even with accommodation and a portion of my expenses reimbursed, I understood that London would be an expensive place to live.

As for the event itself, there were so many aspects addressed which you don't normally gain an insight into, for example, the skills sessions.  On the internet you can find so many articles and blogs on applications, but not many on the assessment days.  The skills sessions provided practice of group and individual presentations, case study exercises and teamwork sessions. These are all activities which could potentially be a part of the assessment day when applying to a Law firm.

What am I going to do now?

As a second year law student, it is an opportune time for me to apply for training contracts. Using the knowledge and connections I have gained from the event, I can now apply with more confidence as I now know what firms are looking for in my application and how to make my application stand out.

My advice to you.

1. Apply. This is a great opportunity to network with some amazing professionals and students and to consider whether you think that City Law is right for you.  It can also make your CV and applications stand out and give you a better competitive stance. There are only 85 positions allocated from hundreds of applications. 

2. LinkedIn is your best friend.  If you're not already on LinkedIn, get on it.  Many legal professionals now use LinkedIn as a network base. With so much networking at this event, the best way to keep in contact with everyone you meet is through LinkedIn. You can also showcase your strengths and achievements.

3. When we arrived, in the Introduction talk, Katy said "To make the most of this opportunity be prepared to participate, as the more you put in, the more you will gain from attending." This is so true and I would like to pass this advice onto you. Not just for this event, but for any event you attend. Don't be afraid to approach people, ask questions or get involved.

If you have any further questions about my personal experiences of the event, don’t hesitate to connect and mail me on LinkedIn.

Catching up with Jessica: our Engineering Undergraduate of the Year

Applying

Starting my 2nd year at Cardiff University studying Integrated Engineering, I had to decide whether I should do a year in industry and what the benefits would be. I was looking at what was to offer when I came across the TARGETJobs' competition for ‘Engineering Undergrad of the Year Award’. Looking at the previous year’s winner, the prize looked amazing. Not only would the winner get a year placement with Eon, they would also win a trip for two to one of Eon's European projects, an invitation to the awards ceremony and a trophy. I’m interested in the energy sector so knowing Eon sponsored part of this interested me. This title seemed pretty immense but I thought I’d give it try.

Process

The process was quite straight forward. This process ranged from answering questions related to the energy sector to psychometric and logic tests, and submitting your CV. Don’t get put off by this; it was all in small chunks which made it easier. I suggest doing them as soon as you can but there is still time to do them last minute if you forget! If you’ve made the effort to apply you’d be silly not to go the last leg. 

Assessment Centre

I got a call from both TARGETjobs and an Eon representative; I was invited to come to the assessment centre along with 20 others for the day. Assessment days are always a bit daunting but this one was actually quite fun (as fun as they can be!); all the assessors there really just wanted to get the best out of you to see your full potential. I thought the assessment day went relatively well but now it was just a waiting game to hear back from them.

Awards Ceremony

The phone call I had been waiting for! I had been shortlisted to come to the awards ceremony. I was ecstatic. It was such an honour to get to the top 10, getting to this point was an achievement in itself. The competition was tough, I knew this the second I met all these energetic, intellectuals at the assessment centre.

The awards ceremony was held in East Wintergardens in London. It was such a vibrant day. I got the chance to meet the other candidates from across the different awards and the Eon representatives. It was a really good place to network. TARGETjobs pulled all the stops out with this, from the delicious food to Fiona Bruce!  Of course one of the most interesting things was meeting her; she gave a great talk to kick off the ceremony. As she read through the winners I started to get a little nervous, the ‘Engineering Undergraduate of the Year’ was one of the last to be called out. Then it was the time all of us at the table had been waiting for. When she called my name out I froze, I couldn’t believe it. Certainly a moment I will never forget.

Working for Eon

I have now started my placement. It wasn’t what I expected, as I didn’t really know what to expect! With regards to developing and gaining new skills this is a fantastic place to do so. I feel part of a team here. I’ve been here four weeks and loved every minute of it. On top of this I still have a trip planned to go to Germany to see one of Eon's projects.

Moving on/Advice

A female winning the ‘Engineering Undergraduate of the Year Award’ is a milestone in relation to us as a society moving forward in promoting STEM subjects to females and equal opportunities. I want to say a big thank you to TARGETjobs and Eon for supporting this; hopefully this will encourage girls to follow their dreams in subjects that are prevalently taken by boys. It is so important to have a mixed gender workforce!

Only advice I would give is to just go for it; do it for the placement, do it for the holiday, do it for the experience, the awards ceremony and for you. Through any part of the process you will only gain valuable skills to help you further in life. Apply now. What have you got to lose?

Apply for the 2016 Undergraduate of the Year awards now! 

The Interns guide to employment

Hundreds of thousands of fresh graduates are poised to leave university and join the job market. So this is a little letter to you all, to offer guidance and assistance in your internship/job hunt.

DEAR STUDENTS..

We all want to be interns at Google, and believe that it would be that easy to progress within our careers after university. Unfortunately, we cannot all be that lucky! 

BUT IT'S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM..

If you're looking for helpful insight into how to get that desired career when you finish university then I have exciting news for you all! Did you know that several prestigious graduate employers offer internships and graduate jobs to high performance students? We here at TARGETjobs have an entire section set up on our website dedicated to helping you find both internships and graduate jobs.

If you're looking for a way to enter into an industry you have always dreamed about.. then keep reading!

After researching the statistics, getting a job after university is either a conquest or a process which can be both exciting and hard work. To ensure that you have a better chance of getting a job with a leading employer, you should investigate into its internship scheme as soon as possible. 

This is not an opportunity to be missed! 

Internships offer a better prospect for students to gain high quality work experience. They also open up doors to candidates who have excelled with the company and could potentially progress into a job opportunity. 

Competition will be a key factor when job hunting. This is inevitable, there are thousands of  graduates searching for their ideal first job. This is why using your internship experience can become beneficial to you. Showcasing your knowledge and experience through your CV can help you stand out in the crowd.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? 

This is probably one of those questions that you have asked yourself when considering an internship. But the answer is simple... A JOB! According to Sallyann Birchall, UK head of graduate recruitment from Deustche Bank "We now do penultimate-year recruiting rather than final year recruiting, about 80% of our interns are offered positions."

This is positive news for graduates to keep pushing for the career that they want. There are many graduate recruitment agencies out there to help you, and we are one of them! TARGETjobs are there to help you with the process of your applications, share with you our top interview tips and offer a variety of opportunities on our graduate board.

Here are some great advice articles to help you:

Example CV's and job hunting tools

Tricky interview questions and how to answer them

How to tackle assessment centres

Psychometric tests

Acceptance and rejection - how to handle these situations

Best of luck... I am sure you can all be SUPER INTERNS!

Roxanne Chand

Get your publishing career started: become an editorial intern at TARGETjobs

The careers advice you read on TARGETjobs is put together by a team at GTI Media, TARGETjobs’ parent company, and we’re hiring four interns to join our editorial team over the summer.

 

Interested? Apply here

Why you should apply

This editorial internship is a great opportunity for you to:

1.     Be paid and receive top-notch training. While you are working with us, you’ll be fully trained on topics such as interviewing professionals, effective copy-writing and search engine optimisation techniques and managing client expectations – everything a graduate interested in a communications career needs.  And, of course, you’re working for us and will receive an hourly wage of £6.70 (£1,005 a month).

2.     Get CV tips and careers advice from our experts. Our editors are experts in recruitment, as well as coming from a wide range of journalism and publishing backgrounds themselves. They’ll happily give you advice about your CV and LinkedIn and you’ll get tips on how to present this internship in the best light, too.

3.     Form the basis of a successful career in the media – or elsewhere. Our previous interns have gone onto find graduate jobs as feature editors of magazines, as production editors for leading books publishers, as PR representatives and as copywriters and journalists. Others have gone on to join graduate management training schemes at top companies, while others have gone into teaching. This internship helps you work out want you want to do in your career and gives you the skills to get there.

What you need to know

Over the summer, you will:

• research organisations and specific careers areas to tight deadlines and summarise your findings using crisp, clear copy
• fact-check and update articles
• write articles for print and web
• contact clients and industry experts for input into our articles by phone and email
• interview contributors and write up your interviews into articles for publication
• complete routine tasks centred around our online content management system
• provide some administrative support.

You must be:

• accurate and have excellent attention to detail
• organised and persistent
• confident enough to pick up the phone and interview contributors if required
• calm under pressure
• self-aware – so you know when to ask for help
• a good team member
• able to think on your feet and take the initiative.

And you must:

• be able to complete in-depth, detailed desk research and summarise your findings clearly (a lot of the work will involve conducting in-depth research)
• write good, plain, concise English in both chatty and more formal styles
• have high standards of spelling, punctuation and grammar
• be able to interpret data – including basic statistics
• have a professional telephone and email manner.

We are looking for four interns to start in May or early June. Ideally, two interns will stay with us until mid-September and two until mid-October, but we can be flexible on this. We will give preference to those who are able to start in May. Please state your earliest possible start date when you apply.

Find out more about the internship and apply here. https://targetjobs.co.uk/employer-hubs/gti-media/424884-editorial-internships You’d better hurry, though: the deadline is 31 March.

Impressing us with your application

One tip: have a good look at our CV and covering letter advice before you apply.