Top five tips for attending IT's not just for the boys!

Katie Higgs attended IT's not just for the boys! and here are her top tips for anyone planning to attend!

I attended the IT’s not just for the boys event where it was held at the beautiful premises of Bloomberg’s HQ in Finsbury Square.
I would thoroughly recommend this event to any other female who has an interest and a passion in technology.
I gained lots of invaluable advice from all the companies, recruiters and past graduates, so here are my top five tips to make the most of this exciting experience.

1) Networking - make the absolute most of the people that you will meet at this event.
Whether it is the recruiters, the guest speakers, the past graduates or the other students, you need to make sure you take the opportunity to ask a lot of questions, to get a feel of all the companies and to not be afraid to be yourself.
This is your chance to make the best impression with all these people, some of whom have been in the same position as you, may offer invaluable advice and be able to answer any questions you may have about graduate schemes.


2) Preparation prior to the event - planning and researching the companies attending the event is essential.
Knowing about what the companies specialise in, what they look for in their employees and what opportunities they have to offer will go a long way before the event.
This ensures that you are prepared when talking to the companies and allows you to ask any specific questions that you may have discovered during your research. It also shows the recruiters that you have a keen interest in their company and tells you what the recruiters will be looking for on the day.

3) Make the most of the activities on the day - any activities or challenges that are set will allow you to shine, so use the challenges to show off your skills.
On my assessment day we did a team challenge working in small groups to come up with a solution which we then presented to a panel of recruiters. Here you need to be aware that the recruiters will be assessing you on your skills and contribution to the challenge.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert what is important is how you use your attributes to your advantage to make sure you portray skills that the companies are looking for.
Make sure you use this session to ask the recruiters any questions that you have about their company or graduate schemes.

4) Mental preparation - make sure you get plenty of sleep so you are relaxed and raring to go on the day.
Ensure that your travel is organised in advance so you don’t have any troubles on the day and therefore avoid making any bad first impressions by turning up late or in a mess.

5) Have fun - don’t forget to enjoy yourself whilst making the most of the day.
You will come home exhausted but absolutely exhilarated at the same time from all the useful information and advice that you will have come away with.


Will you be joining us?