Capital One were at our last IT's not just for the boys! on Friday. Katy joined Capital One 6 months ago on their grad scheme, read about her experiences here!

"I joined the Capital One team back in September 2013 as Graduate on their Technology Rotation Scheme. Although I haven’t worked here for too long I have excelled in my role and loved every minute of it! I currently work within the IPS team as a Service Manager, helping to resolve all kinds of incidents affecting service. This allows me to interact with loads of different people and my job brings something different to the table every day.

A typical day for me would involve a morning check-in with all the support teams we work with around the world. This allows us to communicate any service impact we may have had overnight, find out if there are any current issues and set actions for the relevant teams if needed. Depending on the day will depend on what meetings are planned – If it’s a Monday we’ll look into the past week and what, if anything has caused downtime to services. If it’s a Wednesday/Thursday we have support meetings with certain teams. These meetings look into any work we have ongoing and get updates on these.

A major part of my job is been able to react to the unexpected. An incident can happen at any time to anything and instantly takes priority. My job is to ensure the incident is resolved as quickly as possible with as little impact to the customer as possible. This requires creating a bridge between the relevant teams depending on the issue itself. For example, if there was an issue with the call centre – this would require engaging network resources. Once the issue is resolved the team then look into how to stop the issue from happening again in the future and what the true root cause was. This helps to stop common incidents occurring and if similar incidents happen in the future, the work done to solve the previous incident helps to highlight what areas to try and eliminate as cause first. The satisfaction you gain after been able to resolve something that is causing other people issues is great. The knowledge that you’ve been able to prevent that same issue from happening again in the future, well that’s something too.

The Capital One graduate scheme is an amazing opportunity to experience different job roles, be a valued member of a team and gain experience/understanding that can help you to produce higher levels of work in future roles. It is a pleasure to work for such an employee focused company, with an impressive history and excitingly bright future. This was just the first 6 months of my journey with this company, I can’t wait for the rest!"

Katy Rodwell 

Our programme of STEMinismUK events are now nearly over for this academic year, but keep an eye on our website www.targetjobsevents.co.uk when more events will be announced over the summer!

TARGETjobs career advice weekly roundup

Hello and welcome to our weekly careers advice roundup.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out our website or social feeds, this is the place for you to find all the new advice we have written over the course of the week.

General news:

This week we have been focusing on How to get hired Live, the biggest career event of the year. 

Offering students the opportunity to network with industry professionals and get their name out there in graduate recruitment circles. The date of the event is 22 April 2014 and you still have the chance to attend – get your tickets here.

On to our latest career advice articles:

If property is your career of choice and you have an internship arranged, you may find this article ‘How to impress during your property internship’ helpful – read here to find out more. 

Are you interested in a career in commercial or residential property? Find out what Knight Franks really thinks about industry work experience and our top tips on improving your CV technique for internships and graduate jobs at Knight Frank. Read the article here.

Do you struggle when it comes to phone interviews? Read our article ‘Knight Frank's internships:telephone interview tips’ to gain a better understanding of what to expect and to build your confidence through practice.

Are you interested in PR but not sure it is the right career path for you? Have a look at our article‘Why a graduate job in public relations could start your PR-fect career’ to gain a more in-depth understanding of public relations and what is expected from you.

In marketing, a lot of attention is focused on attention-grabbing details, so developing your 'brand' could be the thing that clinches the job for you. Read our article on 'Branding yourself' to help gain the attention of marketing recruiters.

We conclude as always with the roundup of the graduate job deadlines closing soon: here

We wish you the best of luck with your applications!

Happy weekend,

Roxanne

Becky Watson joined Capital One last year on their Technology graduate scheme. Could you follow in Becky's footsteps?

Becky Watson, Delivery Manager, Capital One - A day in the life of.....

"I joined Capital One back in September 2013 on the Technology graduate scheme. I am at the end of my first 6 month rotation as a Delivery Manager and I am loving it! My role has involved me working with different people from various areas, with the aim of helping them all work together to deliver a piece of work. I have worked on a number of different projects which has given me a great insight into how the IT department works and also supports the rest of the business.

When you start here, you aren’t just thrown in at the deep end and expected to work everything out yourself. Capital One have put together a great induction programme which tells you all you need to know about the business and gives you the opportunity to take part in some exciting events. For example, one of our first graduate tasks here was to be split up into teams to see who could raise the most money for charity. Our team decided to host a Halloween Party which was great fun and also raised lots of money for charity!

  

An average day for me would start with breakfast (bacon sandwich from E@T, our onsite restaurant!) and then catching up with various members of the team to check how their work is going; sometimes this also involves speaking with our colleagues offshore in India. I then take this information and provide a status update in my first meeting of the day to the core team members. I will continue to check in with members of the team throughout the day to monitor progress and help remove any blockers.

Capital One has created a rotational graduate scheme which allows me to gain an understanding of how various areas of the IT department work. From this I hope to gain a rounded insight which I hope will be a great strength in my future work. In my current rotation as a Delivery Manager, I have been responsible for the delivery of multiple projects which has provided me with new challenges on a daily basis.

It’s great being part of such a huge company which spans all over the globe. Even though the company is so vast, you still feel cared for and valued in everything you do. Capital One is a great company to work for and I look forward to my future here both on the graduate scheme and beyond."

Becky and other members of the Capital One team will be joining us at our next IT's not just for the boys! event. Apply to the event today to find out if you could follow in Becky's footsteps!

TARGETjobs career advice roundup

Hello everyone! Welcome to the weekly career advice roundup.

General news:

This week we have been focusing on the TARGETjobs National GraduateRecruitment Awards – have you been following our Twitter posts? We would like to say thank you to all the students who participated in the trendence survey; your opinions made a difference! Check out the award winners you voted for.

On to our latest career advice articles:

Are you a law student with the aspirations of training as a barrister? Do you want to gain more information regarding which area of practice pays the best? Watch the videos of the TARGETjobs LawNational Pupillage Fair 2014 to find out which are of practice pays as well as a magic circle law firm, why having a strong back and shoulders is essential for family law, how cross-examination lessons can put the strain on friendships and why picturing a judge having a family breakfast might make you a better advocate.

If property surveying is your career of choice you may find our article ‘Five ways to sell your work experience to property graduate recruiters’ helpful. Read here.

For those interested in retail here are four reasons why retail makes a great graduate career - Take a look at this article and pursue your career in retail.

But, if none of these take your fancy, why not browse next week’s graduate job deadlines? View here.

If you are still uncertain about what profession you want to enter into or you feel you need advice filling out your application then attend our event on the 22^nd April 2014: How to get hired Live

The Biggest career advice event in town! With professional speakers from a variety of prestigious companies attending, it is the perfect opportunity to network and really get your name out there in the graduate recruitment circles. We hope to see you all there!

As always, we wish you all the best of luck in your applications!

Have a great weekend.

TARGETjobs career advice roundup

We hope everybody’s having a great weekend – here’s our weekly career roundup to make the weekend even better!

This season’s TARGETcourses Postgraduate Study and Funding Fairs finished on Wednesday! Newcastle was our final venue, and the day was excellent. Did you miss the event? Don’t worry: you can still get a feel for the atmosphere by checking out @TARGETcourses on Twitter and looking for all of the pictures. Even better, we’re going to put up recordings of all of our seminars up on the website, so watch this space.

Now, do you like what we do? Do you enjoy reading our blog and our articles? Do you also have a bit of a passion for writing and editorial work? Then apply to be an intern here at TARGETjobs! We are currently hiring editorial interns to work for four months in a paid internship. Interested? Take a look at the vacancy and apply now.

On to our latest career advice articles:

If you’re applying to Transport for London then we can tell you about their interview process. They interview in two stages, first over the phone and then face-to-face at their assessment centre day. Read here about topics that they’re likely to bring up.

The Network Rail application process, however, varies widely. You could find yourself filling out an online application, taking a phone interview and then attending an assessment day, or you could be sent straight to the assessment day. It depends on the scheme, so it pays to know what to expect.

If you’re applying to Mott MacDonald, then you probably won’t face an assessment centre at all. They prefer to conduct more intimate interviews in the office that has the vacancy that you’re applying for, which is unusual for an employer of their size.

This week we’ve also got a salary guide for you to take a look at. Do you want to know how much you earn in civil engineering, construction and surveying? Find out here.

Plus, if you’d like a summer internship or industrial placement in civil engineering, construction or quantity surveying then we have a list of employers for you to look at here.

As always, we’re finishing off with this week’s upcoming internship deadlines alongside this week’s graduate jobs roundup. Best of luck with any applications that you make this week.

Have a great weekend.

Read yet another success story from another great student who attended IT’s not just for the boys!!

Final year student Shabna is studying Computer Systems & Software Engineering at the University of Greenwich. Read about her day at the event and what’s in store for her when she’s graduated…..

I was lucky enough to attend the IT’s not just for the boys! event last November in the fabulous Bloomberg HQ Offices (I will never forget their canteen and all those snacks…) and I had an amazing time. Alexandra Watson was fabulous and really brightened up the day for me with her advice and Kathryn Parsons was very inspiring! I loved meeting all these ladies who were similar to me and the team challenge was really fun – especially as we interacted with recruiters too. The best part of the day was definitely the networking as everyone was so friendly and helpful, giving loads of advice. That very weekend I went away and started applying to graduate schemes.

This event was the first time I was drawn to The NET-A-PORTER Group and their technology department, I was always aware of their technology side but I didn’t realise they ran Grad schemes! I personally enjoy what the company does which gave me real motivation to apply for them. Hannah and Lucy were so friendly at the event and their stories about the office made me really want to look into it more. The NAPG application process was much simpler than most, with the focus being on a CV and covering letter rather than a million and one questions about every possible thing a person could ask (I’ve seen many applications like this!). I applied in January and the day after the deadline I got a call asking for a phone interview. Now I have had quite a few phone interviews so I wasn’t too nervous, and the guy who interviewed me was very friendly and easy to chat to. I thought the next step would be the standard assessments, which is where I usually fall, but surprisingly they book you in straight for the assessment centre. I was over the moon to be invited to the assessment centre! I did have a few tests to complete before this but I practised and did my best.

The night before the assessment day I was a bag of nerves. I was reading horror stories about the technical tests a lot of other companies use and was trying as hard as I could to find any hint of what happens at The NET-A-PORTER Group but there were no clues on the internet. On the day I made my way to Shepherds Bush Westfield, to the top floor and there I was looking at the most beautiful office! It really is a stunning place but the most amazing part was just how nice everyone was. We got a delicious breakfast and all the other candidates were lovely too. The day turned out to go amazingly well as it was so casual and fun that I relaxed and just went along with it. At the end of the day I was sad to leave because I so badly wanted to get the job! They were assessing 28 people for 8 spaces so I hoped for the best but I prepared myself for the worst.

The next week I got a call and I had got in! I am not even joking, I was in a state of shock. I haven’t had the best successes for the past few years so to get this job, I was SO proud of myself. I persevered and pushed until I got something – and I’m so glad I did. Now I get to work with some of the best technological minds in the industry and join one of the most fabulous companies in the world AND I’m one of the first Female Software Development Graduates to join the team. 

I have to give a huge thanks to Katy and everyone else involved with IT’s not just for the boys!. Without that event I wouldn’t have known to even apply to The NET-A-PORTER Group and I wouldn’t be where I am now. In my third year of Uni, stressing over the mountain of work but ready for my job starting in September.

Could this be you? We have our final IT’s not just for the boys! in March – APPLY NOW!

TARGETjobs careers advice roundup

Hello everybody, and welcome to the latest careers advice roundup. I do apologise for the delay this week, but hopefully our many advice articles will make up for it!

First of all, for all you aspiring teachers out there we have a guide to answering the Teach First application form questions. (Places for history and English fill up very quickly, so get your applications in early.)

If Land Rover is more your speed, then here’s how to excel at their interview. Answering their competency-based questions with style can help you accelerate your career.

We have advice on how to move into IT services and consulting, too: here’s an article on how to perform well in CGI’s face-to-face interviews.

In the world of investment banking, connections are currency. Here’s some sound advice on how to network your way into an investment banking job. (Don’t let your ‘British reserve’ get in the way of your career!)

If you’re seeking work experience in finance, make sure you demonstrate the skills that HSBC want to see from their retail and wealth management summer internship applicants.

If you’re hoping to work in engineering then perhaps you’re considering Mott MacDonald. If so, then here are six application tips. The advice is relevant whether you’re applying for a graduate job or just a summer placement.

If you’re looking for some more general advice, then take a look at our article on assessment centre written exercises. Written assessments are becoming more common, so check out the best ways to showcase your professionalism.

Alongside interviews and group exercises, assessment centres also come with a host of social pitfalls and problems. Assessors will be looking at you from all angles, and so nailing the social side (coffee breaks, meals) is a crucial part of your day. Here’s some advice to help you calm those nerves.  

If you fancy yourself as a self-made business mogul then we’ve got some advice for you, too. Here’s our guide to seizing opportunities and making the most of your enterprise and entrepreneurial skills.

Finally, it’s interview and assessment centre season for aspiring solicitors who have applied for summer vacation schemes. Follow our ten practical tips for interviews, to make sure you give the best impression you can on the day. 

Alongside our usual (and incredibly useful) internship deadlines and graduate job deadlines roundup, we have a special guest deadlines feature this week. Check out all of the property internships, placements and work experience deadlines for 2014.

Have a great week!