TARGETjobs news roundup

Hello, good afternoon and welcome to the TARGETjobs news roundup! We’ve been getting busier and busier for a few weeks now, and it looks like things have now kicked off with the start of term. Whether you’re looking for graduate jobs, internships, or just some solid advice on how you can make yourself more employable as a student, it’s all here.

Interestingly the sector that has been the most active this week is management consulting. If you don’t know much about it, management consulting (mancon for short) is all about improving professional practices and building better companies. It is a growing area, with good salaries and a number of graduate schemes:

• If you want proof that consulting is a growing area, then check out this report from the Management Consultancies Association (MCA). Almost two thirds of consultancies expect to grow in 2013.
• And PA Consulting has launched a competition to make the world a better place. You can enter alone or with a team mate and compete for the chance to win a salaried internship. Definitely CV gold.

But if you’re not looking for jobs in consulting, there’s plenty more to talk about:

• If you’re interested in careers in finance, you might like to know that companies in this sector are encouraging the good treatment of employees. Aon was recognised for treatment of its working mothers.
• Insurers Lloyd’s of London has had a profitable first half of the year. They had a hard time last year after a series of natural disasters meant they had to pay out a lot. We can only hope they are not affected by the floods this year.
• And, in a similar announcement the design and engineering consultancy Atkins has issued an update on trading in advance of its half-year results for the six months to 30 September 2012. It has taken on nearly 300 new staff.
• If you’re struggling to find jobs with advertising, marketing or PR companies, we’ve got some useful suggestions for you. You can try looking in other industries, make speculative applications, or apply for internships and work up.
• Consumer goods company Unilever has teamed up with Save the Children to launch the EVERY ONE campaign. The partnership is aimed at improving access to health workers and life-saving vaccines.
• It’s time we came clean with construction news too. It isn’t all roses, but neither is it all doom and gloom. Several companies are making positive steps, and while investment is still needed, things are looking up.
• It has been the Liberal Democrat party conference this week, and chairman of the Bar Michael Todd QC has defended the Bar Council’s social mobility programmes. This included the new Pegasus Access Scheme.

And if those sectors don’t interest you, we’ve got plenty of general advice as well:

• For example, we’ve got the lowdown on what recruiters are really thinking when you go for an interview. The TARGETjobs team have recruited a fair few people and we know a fair bit about the things that annoy employers.
• So, could you be tempted by £1,000 and a paid internship with Siemens? It’s the first place prize for winners of the TARGETjobs National Student Challenge. All you need to do is take a couple of online aptitude tests.
• A report from accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young has found that traditional benefits are being cut back. This may not be an issue for a generation that will be on company pensions as standard, especially as new tax-free incentives are on the rise.
• Interestingly, the National Student Survey has found the highest ever levels of student satisfaction since the survey started eight years ago. There were improvements across the board in all six of the main survey categories.
• Feedback from the TARGETjobs Breakfast News event suggests that many graduate recruiters are now looking to school leavers for potential new recruits. But are they hiring, or simply promoting themselves?
• There is also a roundup of all the graduate jobs with deadlines that are closing in the next week. There are jobs from a number of different sectors on offer, so make sure you check them out.

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 jackie.balchin2@targetjobs.co.uk.