Tag Archives: employability

BU Careers & Employability support available to ALL BU students and graduates

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The support offered both on and off campus by the BU Careers & Employability Service includes:-

Careers & Employability Centre, Edge Student Development Centre, Talbot Campus The-Edge

You can drop in to our career centre in the Edge Student Development Centre (outside the Talbot Campus library), Mon – Fri between 8.45am – 4.30pm, and speak to members of the team about your careers and employability needs, loan out job hunting and application books, as well as pick up free careers and job hunting guides.

Access to the ‘MyCareerHub’ Online Careers System

Accessible 24/7 you can access the following with your BU username and password:-

*Careers advisors will see students from any course but they are also attached to the Schools/Faculties as follows:-

  • Jane Pimblett – Media
  • David Wakeford – Sci/Tech
  • Lynne Jones –Business, Law, Tourism, Hospitality, Retail, Events, Sport
  • Adrian Cuthbert – Business, Law, Health & Social Care

School/Faculty related careers and job hunting resources

To help you with finding careers and jobs within a specific sector, there is a whole section on MyCareerHub dedicated to providing resources for different job sectors to help you with identifying potential employers, job opportunities and careers information as follows:-

  • Online Job Sites
  • Employer Directories
  • Recruitment Agencies
  • Useful Organisations
  • Making Job Applications
  • Potential Earnings & Salary
  • Careers Information
  • What do BU Grads do after Graduation
  • Further advice & guidance

To access the ‘Sector Resources’ in MyCareerHub click here

Find us on Social Media!

  • BU Twitter Page – keep up to date with recruitment news, vacancies, job search hints and tips
  • BU Employability Blog – selection of useful articles sourced from around the web to help with the career planning and job application process

Other ways to contact us

  • 01202 961663

Key Opportunities to boost the CV!

  • Student Development Award – Valuable award helping students to stand out from the crowd and equip them with the skills that employers will find impossible to resist! Find out more here
  • Global Horizons Fund – Want to experience another culture? Want to boost your CV with an international experience? The Global Horizons fund could help! Find out more here
  • BU Volunteering – Lots of opportunities on campus to boost your CV through volunteering. Find out more here
  • Latest Competitions & Opportunities – The BU Careers & Employability blog features all the latest competitions and opportunities to boost your CV. Find out more here

BU Careers Support available to BU students AFTER graduation

  • Once you have graduated, you are still entitled to use the services of the Careers & Employability Service for up to 3 years from graduation, including access to MyCareerHub, whether you stay in the Dorset area or relocate to another area of the UK.

Employers on Campus

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careers-employability-logoCareers & Employability have organised a series of employer-led presentations running during February and March.

From sales and brand marketing, NHS, care sector, charitable education, teacher training, legal, freelancing, to internships in China & Hong Kong. These presentations are open to all students and can be booked via MyCareerHub.

Find the full list of workshops here.

It’s all about Careers & Employability

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careers-employability-logoEach year, over 90% of UK-based BU graduates find work soon after graduation. Placements, course content and the range of extra-curricular opportunities available at BU, all play a huge part in this success.

BU’s Careers & Employability team can provide you with access to loads of resources to help secure your ideal placement. They can help fine-tune your CV and most importantly, have links to a huge catalogue of employers, locally, nationally and internationally.

Find out more online, by booking a careers appointment or attending a great line-up of employer events.

Online

If you haven’t yet used MyCareerHub, then sign up now. It’ll only take a few minutes and to give you access to everything you need to start preparing for your future career.

The Edge

If you’d prefer to talk to one of the advisors about your options for jobs, placements or to get tips on writing and submitting applications, visit them in their newly refreshed offices at The Edge (just outside the library on Talbot Campus).

Careers appointments

There’s also a Careers Advisor in each Academic School/Faculty, with specialist knowledge of your academic area:

Events

The BU Graduate & Placements Fair takes place on 12 and 13 November 2014 (11am – 3pm), in Kimmeridge House, Talbot Campus. Sponsored by JP Morgan and Phillips, there will be over 150 organisations from all sectors, including hospitality and retail, creative and digital industries, finance, teaching, engineering, government and more.

Employer workshops are taking place throughout this semester. We’ll be welcoming Sky and IBM, among others, to share their placement and graduate opportunities and application advice. Check the Events pages in the Student Portal for more information or book now via MyCareerHub.

Contact the team at careers@bournemouth.ac.uk or 01202 961663.

Summer Vacation Opening Hours for the BU Careers & Employability Service

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The BU Careers & Employability Service will be open during the Summer Vacation.

All face to face, telephone and Skype careers appointments will be available to book via Careerhub.

The Edge Student Development Centre (outside the library) will be open Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm for enquiries and access to careers resources.

Graduating in 2014?

As you enter a competitive graduate recruitment market, we understand the need for our BU students and graduates to have access to careers and employability advice and support for as long as possible.

That’s why, as a BU Graduate, you can still access the services of the BU Careers & Employability Service for up to 3 years from graduation, whether you are still living in the local area or have moved away.

Access MyCareerhub 24/7 for all your career planning needs, including access to careers appointments via skype and telephone and all the latest job vacancies, recruitment events and employability resources.

BU students rock at awards dinner

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The achievements of BU students were celebrated at the ROCK Star Award gala dinner. Twelve BU students were nominated by their employers across five categories, with three of them taking home a trophy.

The ROCK Star Awards were created by ROCK Recruitment Specialists to recognise the outstanding achievements of Dorset’s students, young employees and entrepreneurs. The local company hosted 373 guests including sponsors, nominees and members of Dorset’s business community in a night of celebration at the O2 Academy Bournemouth.

Each of the individual Star of the Future categories were sponsored by local businesses. The Star Company Award, sponsored by Frettens Solicitors, was given to the company who invested in young people in terms of training and apprenticeships.

BU also sponsored two awards at the event – The Bournemouth University Student Star of the Future Awards for Under 19 and Over 19 categories. Linda Ladle, Careers & Employability Manager at BU, presented the awards and explained just how important student placements were for students and graduates.

“This ROCK Award honours students with both academic and employment skills,” Linda said. “It recognises that our nominees are developing both life skills, by becoming involved in charitable and voluntary projects, and commercial awareness during their studies, as well as really making a difference.

“BU is really pleased to sponsor the Rock Star Awards for a second year running to celebrate and recognise young talent, and our future stars.”

The winner of the Over 19 Student Star of the Future Award was Lee Merchant.

Lee, 21, is studying BSc (Hons) Applied Geography at BU and was nominated by his placement employer for his enthusiasm and passion in implementing carbon reducing schemes for local businesses. While undertaking his full-time placement he also continued to captain his cricket club despite the distance and will be completing his dissertation early to link in with his placement work. After collecting his trophy Lee said,

“This award is extremely special for me and I was honoured to just be nominated against some extremely talented and skilled individuals.”  He went on to thank his family and girlfriend for their support and his placement line manager, Paul Cooling, for the opportunity.

Dr Philipa Gillingham, one of Lee’s lecturers said,

“It has been fantastic to see the transformation Lee has made during his placement year, into a confident and valued member of the team at Poole Borough Council. All the Geography staff are very proud of him!”

The Under 19 winner of the BU sponsored award was Bournemouth & Poole College student, Charlie James-Peers, who was nominated for being an inspirational student, with a passion for current affairs that encourages him to strive to make changes in access to education.

BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism student, Jasper Taylor, won the Fire Radio Media Star of the Future Award, but was  unable to attend the ceremony because he is currently in Brazil working on the FIFA World Cup. Jasper, 20, is making a name for himself in sports journalism, gaining extensive experience in broadcasting and has already accepted a job with Sky Sports.

The WDS Inspirational Star of the Future was Nathaniel Hawley, studying BA (Hons) Television Production, who was nominated for inspiring and empowering those around him. Despite having to overcome multiple difficulties, his list of achievements so far is impressive. To date he has been a Young Ambassador for the Princes Trust, a mentor for Aim Higher and has volunteered in Ghana and Tanzania.

Speaking about what the award meant to him, Nathaniel commented,

“The award is proof that having a disability or growing up in difficult situations does not have to be a barrier to achieving your dreams. I feel more empowered and inspired than ever. You do not stop when you achieve your dream, you just expand on it and make it more and more ambitious each time you reach your goal.

“Winning this award will hopefully give me more credibility when applying for jobs in my chosen field. I hope to bring together my passion for telling stories​ through video and continue to  dedicate my time  helping vulnerable young people achieve their highest potential by one day starting up my own film school charity.”

As the night closed Angela Fletcher, Rock Recruitment’s Managing Director and creator of the Rock Star Awards, thanked the guests and sponsors for their support:

“I would like to congratulate each of our winners once again and also to acknowledge our runners up. With so many applications, getting to the final stage was exceptional and every judge told us how impressive each finalist was – I hope that current and future employers recognise what bright futures these individuals have ahead.”

Congratulations to all BU Winners and Nominees:

Daniel Abberley, BA (Hons) Business Studies with Operations and Project Management

Erin McDermott, BA (Hons) Event Managing

Lee Merchant, BSc (Hons) Applied Geography

Nomitha Gallagher, BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy

Daniel Hunter, BSc (Hons) Computing Framework

Scarlett Dixon, BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism

Jasper Taylor, BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism

Charley Packham, BA (Hons) Television Production

Tom Summerfield, BA (Hons) Events & Leisure Marketing

Isobel Kearsey, BA (Hons) International Hospitality Management

Nathaniel Hawley, BA (Hons) Television Production

Sa’id Haruna, BA (Hons) Communication & Media

Find out more about the ROCK Star Awards and the other winners and nominees at www.rockstars.uk.com

Careers & Employability support available to you

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Now that you are in your final term of university, no doubt you will be thinking about what’s next after your degree. We wanted to let you know that the BU Careers & Employability Service is here to support you in taking the next steps. We are a friendly team who can offer you advice on looking for a job, further study and all things career and jobs related such as completing application forms and interview guidance.

We appreciate that this is a busy period for you with dissertations, projects and exams, so with this in mind, our online careers system *MyCareerHub is a one stop shop available 24/7, featuring help and support for preparing you for life beyond university.

The help and support offered includes:-

• Calendar of Careers Action for Final Year Students
• Searchable database of Graduate Job Vacancies
• Ability to book careers advice, interview prep & CV review appointments with qualified careers advisors
• Access to forthcoming careers & recruitment events on and off campus
• Access to careers resources on a range of careers and job hunting related topics
• ‘Ask us a Question‘ Service
• Find out about further help and support offered here

Many students have told us that they find the job application and job hunting process daunting, so we have created resources specifically devoted to this including:-

• Help with writing CVs, Covering Letters, Application Forms
• Help with preparing for Interviews & Assessment Centres
• Opportunity to practice Psychometric Tests

• Opportunity to Practice Online Video Interviews
• Information Guide to finding Graduate Vacancies
• Job Hunting related to your Degree

Don’t forget!

• You can find the Careers & Employability Service in the Edge Student Development Centre (outside the library) Find out more here
• You can pick up a FREE Prospects Employer Directory from the Edge (outside the library)
• You can find us on Social Media – Twitter & Employability Blog
• You can use the services of the Careers and Employability Service including myCareerHub for up to 3 years from graduation regardless of whether you are staying in Bournemouth or returning to your home town.

We hope that this has given you a good idea of the help and support available to you, and that you will find it useful, not only during your final term but beyond graduation as well.

BU Careers & Employability Service

*You will need to login with your BU username and password

Students who go above and beyond celebrated at awards ceremony

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BU students who have completed the Student Development Award had their achievements celebrated during a dedicated awards ceremony.

The Student Development Award recognises the hard work and commitment shown by those who dedicate their time to extra-curricular activities alongside their course – such as volunteering, participating in clubs and societies and providing support to initiatives designed to enhance the student experience.

Over the course of one or two years, students create a portfolio of work to evidence and showcase the ways in which they go the extra mile, giving back and enhancing their employability.

This year, more than 80 students received their Student Development Awards from BU Vice-Chancellor Professor John Vinney and Students’ Union (SUBU) president Murray Simpson at a red carpet event and awards ceremony.

Vice-President Communications for SUBU Annie Hall, who attended the event, said:   “It was fantastic to see students from every school and faculty of the university.

“A selection of comments from the portfolio assessors was shared on the screens as the students collected their awards. They remarked on students’ commitment, use of initiative, willingness to go above and beyond and much more.”

Individual prizes were also handed out to several students.

Elisa Reynolds, a second year Biological Anthropology student, won the Most Outstanding Achievement prize.

eliza reynolds

Alongside her course, Elisa is involved with a wide range of extra-curricular activities – which includes volunteering with charities and an international project in Ghana, acting as Student Rep for her course and as a Student Ambassador and Mentor.

She is also an active member of the BU Handball Team and Baking Society.

She said: “I signed up to do the Student Development Award because I thought it would be a good way to collate all my extra-curricular activities and it provides a basis to strive for.

“Initially, I used the portfolio mainly as a way to showcase the variety of things I get involved in as I can’t fit it all onto a C.V.

“Doing the award has definitely improved my confidence as it has made me realise that I do things for other people without even thinking, and has given me hope with regard to job searches, as they tend to look for that kind of thing. Doing all of the activities have provided friends for life too.”

She added that receiving the Outstanding Achievement Prize at the awards ceremony was a welcome surprise.

“I was genuinely shocked,” she said. “Simply being nominated was surprise enough!

“Upon hearing my name, I blushed significantly but walked down to receive my prize, understanding finally that perhaps I did deserve it. I was very proud of myself and felt ecstatic to be in a room full of applause for me.”

The other awards and prize-winners were:

  • Best Reflective Writing Prize – Olivia Tuckerman (School of Health & Social Care)
  • Dedication to Coaching & Mentoring Prize – Christopher Hodge (Business School)
  • Prize for Best e-portfolio – Amy Haase (Business School)
  • Prize for Creativity & Enterprise – Glebs Kiselovs (Business School)

The BU Dorset Shrievalty Award was also awarded to students who have supported charity projects including Safewise and Streetwise in the community.

The High Sheriff of Dorset, who sponsors the Shrievalty Award, presented it to Aisha Chesshire (Faculty of Science & Technology), Joshua Freeland (Media School) and Preslava Ivanova (School of Tourism).

Find out more about the Student Development Award

Psychology students learn how to improve employability

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BU Psychology students were given valuable advice on how to improve their employability in a thought-provoking lecture by Dr Julie Hulme.

Dr Hulme is the Discipline Lead for Psychology for the Higher Education Academy which supports the psychology academic community in the UK.

The purpose of the talk was for students to recognise the skills that they had and how they could apply these to the workplace.

Students were left with an important message: “It’s up to you to build your employability”.

The talk was arranged by BU Associate Professor of Psychology Education Dr Jacqui Taylor, who has written a guide to psychological literacy with Dr Hulme which is being used by Psychology Departments across the UK.

View the guide

Over 300 students begin Student Development Award

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Over 300 students participated in the Student Development Award Inductions to develop their employability skills and enhance their future career opportunities.

Award students showcase their extra-curricular activities in an e-portfolio that they can then present to potential employers, giving them an advantage in the job market as they stand out from the crowd.

The events, across October and November, include games and hands-on practical exercises as well as opportunities to network with other Award students, Award Coaches and inspirational speakers from within and outside BU.

Sponsors of the Award, JP Morgan and Sheridan Lake Associates, came along to share their vast knowledge and tips on the benefits of presenting evidence of employability skills.

Award Co-ordinator, Sonya Harvey said: “This opportunity enables students to prepare for job applications, giving them confidence in their skills and articulating those experiences in applications and at interviews.

“They will definitely be the ones who succeed through their hard work and dedication.”

Find out more about the Student Development Award.

Students invested in their future

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Last week, the Graduate and Placements Fair welcomed over 2,600 BU students and 90 employers to Talbot Campus.careers-fair-400

The event, sponsored by Philips and Enterprise Rent-a-car, gave students an opportunity to network with a host of companies including L’Oreal, BSKYB, Intel, Kondor and Hilton.

Every year, a large number of students find information that helps shape their career and placement applications, this year being no different.

This was the first time the Careers Fair has spanned over 3 days, and organiser Rachel Clarke believes students have engaged well with the concept: ‘It was great to see so many students attend the Graduate and Placements Fair.  We attracted many employers who hadn’t been on campus for a few years but who were really keen to engage with and recruit our students’