We meet the Law Undergraduate of the Year Award winner 2015!

Name: Cara Goldthorpe
University: University College London
Course: LLB Law with French Law

Cara is the 2015 Law Undergraduate of the Year with Mayer Brown. Since the final we've caught up with her to find out why you should take part next!

When I saw the Undergraduate of the Year Awards advertised through my university careers newsletter, I signed up almost immediately; there was nothing to lose but so much to gain. However, before progressing very far, I encountered some difficulties in France where I am currently studying on exchange.  I put my application to one side for a couple of months, and only returned to it after I’d received several reminders from the team at TARGETJobs. Looking back, I’m so glad that they phoned me up and nudged me to push on with my application, as otherwise I doubt I’d be where I am today!

After all this, I was just so happy to make it to the top 35. Making the shortlist of 10 was an achievement I had never anticipated and I went to the assessment day with a positive frame of mind feeling proud of simply coming this far. I found the day very enjoyable; it was nice to meet the other shortlisted candidates and to put faces to the name of Mayer Brown, who were clearly investing a lot in the competition.  Numerous members of the firm gave up their time to be on the judging panel and networking drinks followed where we had the opportunity to mingle with the graduate recruitment team, trainees, associates and partners.

Being announced as winner on Friday last week was an even bigger surprise and I’m just glad that the work I put into my application paid off; as well as grateful for the opportunity TARGETJobs created by organising the awards and Mayer Brown for their sponsorship. I’m very excited to be joining the firm on their summer scheme later this year, as everyone who I’ve met from the firm so far has been lovely and I am keen to learn more about the work that they do.

I’d strongly encourage any penultimate year law student to apply for the competition. The application itself is not that time-consuming when you compare it to other applications for work and work experience, which have far more stressful assessment days! As for the competition, not only is there a great prize at stake, but if you’re shortlisted you’ll have the opportunity to meet other talented students from a range of disciplines at the award ceremony. It’s a great atmosphere and nice to see so many employers reaching out to students in this way.

Congratulations again Cara and to all the 2015 finalists!

Fancy giving it a go? Preregister your interest for 2016 here: http://undergraduateoftheyear.com/register

Winner of the 2014 Law Undergraduate of the Year Award urges you to apply for 2015!!

Unfortunately, I was unable to undertake the prize of a vacation scheme with Mayer Brown but only as a result of already having many schemes in place for the summer.

Vacation scheme are a fantastic experience and I have learned a great deal through mine. For example, whilst sitting in the banking department at one firm I gained insight into the role of a law firm when acting for both lending financial institutions as well as a wide variety of borrowers, including companies and private equity houses. As a vacation scheme student I was able to perform typical trainee tasks such as creating an index for the Bible to the transaction, drafting board minutes and even sending emails to clients requesting documents and signatures.

While you’re expected to do some work on a vacation scheme, the majority of your time is taken up by your supervisor teaching you the fundamentals of the practice area, attending various practice area presentations and, of course, attending the many social events organised by the firm.

I would definitely recommend anyone considering a career as a solicitor to undertake a vacation scheme. Not only are they enjoyable but they also give you a very good insight into the firm, allowing you to make an informed decision about whether or not you wish to work at the firm that you wouldn’t be able to make if you applied directly through a training contract application. You also have the opportunity to experience a variety of practice areas. For example through my roles I have also worked Restructuring and Insolvency; while the Banking lawyers help set up the loan agreement, the Restructuring lawyers are on hand when something goes wrong, namely the borrower’s inability to pay back the debt under the terms of the facility agreement. I never appreciated just how many things a lawyer has to consider on any particular matter, both legally and commercially, until I undertook these schemes!

Finally, if you’re considering a career in law then I would strongly recommend that you apply for the Law Undergraduate of the Year Award! Mayer Brown is a first rate international law firm and undertaking a scheme there will not only be a very enjoyable and informative experience but it will also significantly increase your chances of obtaining a training contract at the firm. This is because you have three weeks to impress the firm instead of just a few hours at an assessment day! Winning the Award in itself is a highly regarded achievement and even being shortlisted in the top ten will look fantastic on your CV!

I never imagined I had a chance of winning this Award but here I am so I strongly urge you all to apply, you have nothing to lose! Good luck with your application.

Alexander Hughes, Law, University of Southampton

Law Undergraduate of the Year Award 2014, Winner

Do you think this could be you for 2015? Apply to the Awards here: undergraduateoftheyear.com/law

Weekly Career Round-up

Hello everyone, I hope you're all enjoying your summer break! 

Welcome to this week’s weekly roundup post!

So, as always I am going to start off with the internship and graduate job deadlines.

Secure an internship: don’t miss next week’s work experience deadlines – Find out my here.

Don't miss out on this week's upcoming graduate job deadlines, find out how to apply here. 

Now, onto this week's career advice

Internships

Whether you're trying to turn your internship into a graduate job offer or climb the career ladder in a permanent job, know how to increase your chances of success. Have a read of our article 'Career tactics for women: from internship to job to promotion' to find out more.

You have landed the internship that you had been working towards since your first year. Well done! But what's the best way to ensure that your placement leads to career success? Check out our article 'How to make the most of your investment banking internship' to find out how to further your career.

Want to learn how to avoid those common work experience blunders? Find out more here.

Law

Before attending a law assessment centre this summer, make sure you've read our top tips on how to perform at the group exercise element of the assessment day. We dispel the myth that everybody needs to prove they are a natural born leader; you can shine in other ways. Have a read of out article 'Be your best self in a law assessment centre group exercise'

Finance

If banking is your career of choice, have a read of our recent article 'Deutsche Bank application: don't let the word count limit you' to learn more about the application form for a graduate scheme or internship at Deutsche Bank. 

Retail

Whether you want a retail graduate job with your part-time employer or to join another retailer's graduate scheme, read our advice article on how to make your experience shine.‘Turn your part-time shop work into a graduate retail career’

We asked two graduate retail managers from Tesco, Luke Hammett and Claire Pickthall, to share insider tips from their job hunting experience. Have a read of the interview 'How to get a job in retail management' to gain insight into how to get the career you want in retail.

Engineering

If you want to be hired as a graduate civil or structural engineer, there are three decisions employers expect you to make before you apply. Find out what these three decisions are in our article 'Want a civil engineering job? Three career decisions you have to make'

That's all from me this week, good luck with your applications.

Enjoy your weekend!

Roxanne

TARGETjobs career advice weekly roundup

Hello, hope you are all enjoying the lovely weather. If you are taking a break from the sunshine then you've come to the right place to catch up on all the career advice we have been writing this week. 

But don’t worry it’s going to be a quick round up today so you can rush off back outdoors and enjoy this beautiful weather we are having.

So, let me start off with career advice in the finance sector:

Most employers within the financial services sector will test your commercial awareness during your graduate interview. And your understanding of the bank, insurance broker, actuarial firm, consultancy or regulator to which you've applied, and the market in which it operates will be taken into account to decide whether you get the job. 

Have a read of our article 'Commercial awareness: what retail banking, actuarial and insurance employers want you to know'.     

Law

   

The training contract is closing in, with only 14 days left to apply it is time to organise yourself and beat the rush. Have a read of our article 'Don't miss the 31 July training contract deadline' for the list of law firms you can apply to. 

Whether you are interested in applying for training contracts, vacation schemes, insight days or open days, it’s likely you’ll need a law CV – even if you're just uploading it to your online application form. Use our top ten tips from graduate recruiters in law to help you.  

General 

Increasing numbers of students are setting up their own businesses after leaving university. Find tips on how to develop your entrepreneurial skills with our article 'How to become an entrepreneur when you graduate' and learn how this will help you whatever path you choose.  

Internships

We refreshed an old piece of career advice which is still very prevalent today. How can women turn their internship into a job and into a promotion? We were privileged to catch up with Dr Sue Black, a senior research associate at University College London and campaigner for women’s advancement in the workplace. Find out what suggestions she has regarding how you can progress in your career.

Deadlines

The World Cup and Wimbledon are over so there's no excuse to put off your job hunt any longer. Your friends might already have their graduate careers lined up but there are still jobs out there, you just need to search for them. To make your life easier, we have put together the latest opportunities 'Get them before they go: graduate jobs to apply for now'.

It's not too late to get yourself on an internship or work experience placement to boost your CV and your bank balance. There are still lots of great opportunities out there, many of which have an immediate start and are paid. Don't wait around for an opportunity to magically appear, apply now!

That's all from me this week.

Enjoy the warm weather and have a great weekend.

Roxanne

TARGETjobs career advice weekly roundup

Hello, it’s that time of the week again for me to tell you what we've been reporting in this past week on all things to do with graduate recruitment. 

As always I am going to start this week's roundup with next week's graduate job and internship deadlines.

So, calling all graduates, you've had a month or two of winding down after the stress of your last exam and now you're in the perfect frame of mind to start focusing on kick-starting your career. For next week's graduate job deadlines look no further, check out our article here.

It might already be July, but that doesn't mean it's too late to apply for internships and work experience. Deadlines for a host of internships available through ScotGrad and Step are fast approaching. Internships are a great opportunity to find out if you like working in a particular area, get some all-important experience. Check out the internships available here.

Now, onto career advice.

Are you considering working abroad after university? According to the trendence UK graduate barometer survey one in four students plan on working abroad after graduation. Have a read of our article 'One in four UK students plans to work abroad after graduating' to find out more.

Law

Planning on applying to CMS Cameron McKenna for a training contract by 31 July? Then make sure you follow our advice when crafting your application form answers.

Finance

HSBC and Willis are among the many employers in retail banking and insurance that highlight the importance of emotional intelligence. It’s a quality that’s easily forgotten because it’s not explicitly requested or graduates don’t know what it means. Have a read of our article 'Emotional intelligence - a must have for financial services graduates' to find out more.

Interested in working as a financial manager? Have a read of what would be expected of you in our job description article. 'Financial manager - job description'.

Art & Design

Do you aspire to be a Graphic Designer? Read our job description article to find out what is required of you and how to make that dream a reality.

TARGETpostgrad

Are you looking for funding options for your postgraduate study? Have a read of our article 'Government bursaries for teacher training, social work, medical and healthcare courses' to find out more.

That's all from me this week,

Best of luck with your applications.

Have a fun weekend!

Roxanne

TARGETjobs career advice weekly roundup

Hello and welcome to the weekly news roundup. The one and only place to find all the latest news and career advice published on our main sites http://targetjobs.co.uk and http://targetpostgrad.com in the past week.

First of all, congratulations to all the new university graduates! I hope you have all achieved the grades you expected. 

This week I would like to make some space within this news roundup to introduce the changeover of TARGETcourses.co.uk to TARGETpostgrad.com.

Some of you may be wondering where the idea of renaming our website came from, so I thought it would be a good idea to enlighten you.

The core reason behind TARGETpostgrad.com was to help students like you and perspective students from around the world find our website as we move to offer a global service.

The site will still offer the great benefits that TARGETcourses have 

1. The most comprehensive UK postgraduate course search
2. Funding advice linked to relevant courses
3. Postgraduate fairs across the UK with 70+ different course providers
4. International study options                    
5. Advice on how to choose a course to further you career

If you haven't yet signed up to TARGETpostgrad.com, then edit your TARGETjobs.co.uk profile today to start receiving targeted emails catered to your interests.

Now, let me start of the news round with the latest internships and graduate job deadlines.

Don't miss out on next week's internship and work experience opportunities, apply here or miss your chance.

Degree results are in and graduations are approaching fast - there's never been a better time to apply for jobs. If you're interested in IT or engineering, read our article here to see what MI6, FactSet, Marshall Wace and DSTL have to offer. There are also accounting and finance roles available and management and marketing feature heavily this week. Make sure you don't miss out!

Careers advice

With graduation creeping closer for many students I thought it would be a good idea to share CV and covering letter advice to help you kick start your job search.

Regardless of what professional industry you aspire to work in, catering your CV to match the criteria of the position is crucial. Whether your target is a graduate scheme with an investment bank or a vacancy for a graduate managing a shop, write a CV that is right for the job. Have a read of our article 'Writing CV's for different types of graduate jobs'.

Most companies will request a covering letter to accompany your CV, your cover letter is a way for you to sell your skills and explain why you think you're suitable for the role in question. When writing your covering letter there are some blunders that you're better off avoiding, have a read of our article here to find out what they are and how your can cross them off your list of 'don'ts'.

Find out how to crack interview questions about your time management techniques and the kind of examples you might give in your answer. Have a read of 'How do you manage your time and prioritise tasks?' Tricky graduate interview questions' for more information.

Sector Deadlines

Don’t miss the training contracts deadline, second-year law students. See which law firms want applications in by 31 July with our helpful list of application deadlines: Find out here.

That's all from me this week.

I hope you all have a great weekend 

Happy 4th July to our American readers! 

Roxanne Chand

TARGETjobs career advice weekly roundup

Hello, welcome to this week's weekly roundup post.

This week I will be sharing with you all the latest career advice that we have published onto our website. 

http://targetjobs.co.uk/

Before I begin with this week's upcoming internships and graduate job deadlines, I have an exciting announcement to make.

The BIG announcement

As from 2 July 2014 TARGETfcourses.co.uk will be renamed to TARGETpostgrad.com. 

The reason behind this changeover is to enable more perspective students from around the world find our site and we can deliver you a more interesting service. 

Now, on to the careers advice

This week's upcoming internship deadlines could see you jetting off to the Netherlands with Unilever or to India with Pursue Asia. Whether you're looking for four weeks of work experience or a year in the industry, apply now before it's too late!

It's also time to apply for the many end-of-the-month deadlines for graduate jobs. 30 June in particular is a big day, with more than a dozen employers closing theirs doors to any more applications. Whether it's law, engineering, retail, business or IT roles you're looking for, there are still plenty of options available with popular graduate employers, such as Skanska UK, Centrica and Peel Hunt LLP. So don't wait around - make sure you apply before the month is out.

Sector areas

Law

The TARGETjobs Law team recently visited seven law firms to see what they wanted to tell you about diversity in the workforce. Law firms want to see the best training contract applicants regardless of race, gender or background, but there is sometimes the worry that this message doesn't get across. Here's what we found out: 'What are law firms doing about diversity?'

If you’re considering a career in law and are thinking to apply to Clyde & Co, then remember you have until 31 July to get your training contract applications done. That gives you plenty of time to get researching and plan out what you’re going to say before you send in that final, perfect application. When you need help, check out our guide to selling your skills in a Clyde & Co training contract application. 

Property

Gerald Eve are currently recruiting for immediate start vacancies, this is a rare opportunity to have! To all those interested in a career within property this is for you. 'Tailor you graduate application form and CV to Gerald Eve' A word of warning: completing this application form will be time consuming, with five applications questions and a covering letter to write from scratch, as well as a CV tailored to the firm. Gerald Eve look for such specific attributes in graduate employees that adapting an application you've made to another property firm will end in rejection. 

Retail

Majestic Wine is expanding and they are seeking to hire graduates from any discipline into trainee management roles. Read our article 'How to become a trainee retail manager with Majestic Wine' to find out more about the retailer's recruitment plans and how you can impress in your application and interview. 

Finance

The Royal Bank of Scotland typically holds two rounds of interviews for its graduate programme: a telephone interview and an interview at an assessment centre. Little can prepare you for these interviews like a heads-up of the types of questions that you may be asked and advice for answering them. Have a read of our article 'Common RBS graduate interview questions and how to answer them' to help you focus your answers and impress on the recruiter.

That's all from me this week.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and good luck with your applications.

Roxanne

TARGETjobs career advice weekly roundup

Welcome to the weekly graduate recruitment roundup. This is where you find the roundup of all the latest graduate career advice we have written this past week. 

Let's start off this week's roundup with the internship and graduate job deadlines.

Check out our roundup of upcoming deadlines for internships and placements, lasting from 12 week's to 12 months. There are placements available in engineering, IT and marketing, but you'll have to be quick as they all have deadlines coming up over the next week.

Don't miss out on these great graduate opportunities available from targetjobs.co.uk. There are vacancies with imminent closing dates within a range of sectors, including graduate schemes in IT and technology, retail and engineering. Popular employers with application deadlines coming up include the John Lewis Partnership and Royal Bank of Scotland Group. So if you think any of these jobs might be for you, don't wait around - be sure to apply this week!

Now on to the career advice section:

Finance

Would you like to start off you finance career working for a bank like Credit Suisse? Well, I am going to tell you how you can. Credit Suisse requests a covering letter to accompany its application form. This additional layer is intended to weed out the motivated candidates from the unmotivated; the well-researched from the uninformed; and those who genuinely want to join the team from those who just want a job. Read here how to write an impressive cover letter for Credit Suisse and what they expect to see.

To increase your chances at the next stage of the process find out how to tackle the Credit Suisse graduate interviews and questions. Have a read of our article which describes what they look for in a potential candidate and how to beat those interview nerves by researching the company. Preparation is essential with every interview. 

The deadline for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group’s Technology and Change Audit Graduate Programme has been extended until 30 June. This gives you a few additional days to decide what you’re going to include in your online application to persuade the bank to invite you for an interview. Have a read of our article 'RBS's Technology and Change Audit Graduate Programme: how to show you've a good grasp of technology risk'.

Law

Don’t miss that 31 July training contract application deadline! If you’re applying for a training contract that begins in 2016, you need to get your application completed. We’ve provided help on answering those tricky commercial awareness questions, presenting your experience and what you need to research about the firms. See the links below to get tailored help for RPC, Shearman & Sterling and Mayer Brown, or check out TARGETjobsLaw.co.uk for more information on how to get from application to interview and beyond. 

Calling future solicitors! As some of you will be all too aware, 31 July is the training contracts deadline for the vast majority of commercial law firms. We've had a look at the following firms’ application forms and offer our tailored advice on how you can best answer their questions: 

• Osborne Clarke
• Simmons & Simmons
• Jones Day
• Baker & McKenzie 

Retail

Interested in a managerial position at McDonald's? Have a read of our article 'Interview tips for McDonald's trainee manager job'.

Get the inside buzz

Get the inside buzz on what it’s really is like to work for top employers from those in the know. Recent graduate employees give their view on culture, training, salary and benefits and their overall satisfaction

• What employers say: their company information, jobs, internships and more
• What we say: our own top tips on how to get hired written by our expert careers editors
• What employees say: get the feel for working life from those in the know.

That's all from me this week, I wish you all the best of luck in your applications!

Have a great weekend.

TARGETjobs career advice weekly roundup

Welcome to the weekly graduate recruitment roundup. This is where you find the roundup of all the latest graduate career advice we have written this past week. 

As always I will start off the roundup with next week’s internship and graduate job deadlines.

Last chance to apply! These summer internships and graduate work experience placements are going, going, gone.. Apply now!

There's a busy week ahead for deadlines for graduate schemes and jobs on targetjobs.co.uk, with application closing dates coming up fast for vacancies with popular employers such as the John Lewis Partnership, Heineken and Tata Steel. If any of these opportunities catches you eye, act now to your application in before it's too late. Apply now.

Careers advice

To become a Doctor there are three stages that you will need to go through to achieve that goal. These three stages consist of medical school other wise known as University, foundation training and speciality training. If you want to work as a Doctor within a hospital here is what will be required of you 'Doctor (hospital) : job description'.

CVs for a graduate scheme with an investment bank usually fall into three types: straight and narrow, everyman and wildcard. Want to know where your CV fits and how to improve it? Have a read of our article 'Compare your investment banking graduate CV to the competition'.

Calling all aspiring trainee solicitors, applying for a 2016 training contract this July.  Keep our helpful list of application deadlines to hand and you won’t miss the boat: click here to find out the contract deadlines for each law firm.

And if you’re applying to regional firm, Osborne Clarke, you’ll need to tell the firm how 'your hobbies, interest and work experience will ensure that you are a successful trainee solicitor' Read our advice on how to tackle this application form question, and others. 'How to complete your Osborne Clarke application form'.

TARGETcourses

Getting funding for a postgraduate course is a little more complicated than for an undergraduate degree, principally because there isn't a graduate student loan system in operation. Have a read of our article 'Introduction to postgraduate funding in the UK' for more information.

That's all from me this week,

I wish you all the best of luck on you applications!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Roxanne

TARGETjobs career advice weekly roundup

Hello, and as always welcome to our weekly graduate career advice and news round-up. I have a few introductions for you today, to welcome the new editorial interns Jessica, Katie, Claire and Liz. 

The new editorial interns will be blogging for us so watch out for their posts.

Just a few words from our interns before I start on this week's roundup post.

"My names Katie, in between stressing about my dissertation and trying to get the most out of university while I still could, I spent a considerable amount of time trying not to think about life after my final exam.A lot of the friends I made at Nottingham Trent University already seemed so set on what they wanted to do post education, and this filled me with dread because I still didn’t have a clue. But that didn’t stop me from getting everything I could out of university.
Now, as an editorial intern at TARGETjobs, I’m finally okay with being undecided. I’m enjoying learning about publishing and I know that somewhere along the line I will have that light bulb moment.I might officially be in adulthood now that I’m a 21-year-old graduate, but I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up."            Katie Lloyd 

"My names Jessica, I've done a degree in Linguistics and Spanish Studies at Lancaster University. I’ve started a baking society. I’ve taught dozens of hyperactive children and hormonal teenagers – I even lost six of them in London for two hours. I’ve lived in Spain and the Netherlands. I’ve spoken at a Linguistics conference and used the ‘c’ word repeatedly (thankfully, the topic was the history of swearing in English). I travel to an excess, clocking up numerous hours on public transport and visits to world heritage sites. I love anything wordy and I’ve slept (pretty unsuccessfully) on a crab-infested desert island near Singapore. Despite all of this, I’ve never had a permanent, full-time job. Still, as an editorial intern working on TARGETjobs I think I’m on my way there. In an ideal world, I’ll be sailing up my career ladder to an editorial role working on educational, academic or language resources.
 For now, I’m enjoying my internship here; I spend a lot of time fact-checking, proofreading, writing and tweeting. I’m also trying to keep up my Spanish and my blog wordoriginstories.wordpress.com after my nine-to-five-thirty working day." Jessica Jennison

"Hello, I'm Liz. I've just finished my degree in English Literature at the University of York and I'm working as an editorial intern here at TARGETjobs over the summer. In my spare time at York, I wrote film and theatre reviews for the student papers, I got involved with an anthology which publishes students’ creative writing and I interviewed local residents for a community project.
I’ll be going on to do a Masters in 18^th century literature next year, which thankfully means I can put off making my career decisions for a little longer! That said, I have known for a while now that I’d like a career in publishing, and I've done work experience placements with a couple of book publishers. TARGETjobs is quite different from other places I've visited though; most of the content here goes online and there aren't any books in sight. I’ll keep you all updated about my experiences and I may also say a few things about the differences I've noticed between GTI Media and book publishing houses."                                                                Liz Bingham

Now, let me start this week's careers roundup with next week's internship and graduate job deadlines:

Let your graduate career start here! Next week's application deadlines for graduate jobs and schemes.

Teach First and many more: next week's work experience deadlines, apply here

On to our latest career advice articles...

If you’re looking for a glamorous career in PR, you’ll need to know how to get a foot in the door. Before you can really get stuck in to hosting major events, drinking swanky cocktails and schmoozing local journalists, check out what you can do as a bright self-starter with the TARGETjobs guide to entry-level routes into public relations. 

To all law students, before applying for 2016 training contracts by the 31 July deadline, make sure you fully research the firms you're targeting. We show you how in our article 'How to research training contract applications'

According to new research carried out by the trendence institute, male undergraduates are much more willing than their female peers to overlook a company's image if an attractive salary is on offer. Click here to read more.

Job opportunity

GTI Media are hiring! Marketing and PR assistant wanted.

The role:

The Marketing Assistant will work with all members of the Marketing Team to provide administrative support, as well as having the opportunity to take responsibility for their own projects. 

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate excellent organisation and time management skills, be a quicker learner and have a strong team work ethic. 

As you will be involved in both B2C and B2B marketing, you should be confident in both verbal and written communication, be a creative thinker and have an eye for detail. 

This role is an excellent opportunity to develop your marketing skills within a small, busy marketing team working across the GTI portfolio and TARGET product range.

If you think this role suits your career aspirations why not apply now.

That's all from me this week!

Enjoy your weekend and best of luck in your applications.

Roxanne