TARGETjobs news roundup

Ladies and gentlemen; boys and girls; grads, undergrads and postgrads; welcome to the TARGETjobs news roundup. This is the news that puts the ‘art’ into ‘smart’, the ‘ledge’ into ‘knowledgeable’ and the graduates into jobs. Boom.

We’re all about engineering this week, with a pair of positive developments for those of you looking to move into this sector. Building on more good news released a fortnight ago it seems like it's a good time to be an engineer. If this is your field then you'd do well to capitalise on events.

• First thing on today’s list is the news that ScottishPower is creating 50 new grad scheme vacancies. These come as part of a recruitment drive which will add 300 jobs to the energy giant. Applications for these roles will open in early March.
• And if you’re looking to apply for engineering vacancies, but are having trouble getting your application in order, there’s good news there too. The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE to you) is running a series of CV and interview workshops around the UK throughout March and into May.

However, it wasn’t all about engineering this week, as there were significant developments from the consulting, IT and law sectors.

• If you thought Scottish Power’s 300 new jobs were impressive, you should check out the Boston Consulting Group. They have increased their staff by 17% this year. They now have around 5,600 employees, which means nearly 1,000 new employees – nice!
• According to Haybrook IT Resourcing, IT grads have unrealistic expectations of how high their salaries will be. They suggested that graduates currently expect starting salaries of around £25,000, when in fact they are more likely to be closer to £18,000. Quick tip: be realistic and undercut delusional classmates.
• On the advice front we have some useful tips for anyone looking to join the legal sector. Find out how important communication skills are if you want to become a solicitor or a barrister.

Of course, the developments haven’t all been in those sectors, and there is plenty of general advice for those of you who need it:

• First up, we ran you through the next part of our top 10 skills and competencies series. This time we looked at problem solving. A large number of employers are looking for graduates who can demonstrate evidence of problem solving skills, so this article is a must-read.
• There was also a lot of noise about the Wilson Report, which is suggesting that sandwich degrees and mandatory paid internships are the way forward. The government commissioned report is released on the tail of a government push on internships.
• We also gave you a roundup of all the job deadlines happening in the next week. If you want to work in HR then this will be a busy week for you, with several different companies closing positions. Engineering is amongst the other sectors closing a number of roles. Check out the latest jobs here.

To get graduate careers news as it happens, check out the TARGETjobs news feed. Alternatively, check out the roundup this time next week!

TARGETjobs offers the largest choice of  graduate jobs, internships and placements. Independent reviews on top graduate employers and career planning tools and expert guidance. Become a TARGETjobs blogger by getting in touch with me at jackie.balchin2@targetjobs.co.uk