Doing something to try get me a job.

willhub

I've hosted my website, it would have been more but I had a data loss incident, in fact I've had 2 but the second time I backed up.

http://willhubtech.com/

I'm focusing on the layout of it first, because I need to read some SEO before chucking all of my content on.

graeme_s-2

Another good way to get a job in an area you're interested in is to take any job you can get at an organisation that also employees people doing what you want to do. Places like Universities can be quite good for this. A mate and I both did Computer Science degrees at the same University. We both then got summer jobs working in accommodation at that University, and then through picking up other temporary jobs managed to work our way into the areas we were interested in. You can make contacts and hear about opportunities much more easily if you're already working for the organisation.

I work at a different University now in an IT related job I really enjoy. My friend works in IT Services for the University we studied at, and recently project managed the IT install for a £50 million new building.

I was reminded of this method today when I saw a guy who used to work in the Costa Coffee on campus coming out of the AV Services department in one of their branded polo shirts. He's obviously managed to move across into an area he was more interested in having started out in a coffee shop.

willhub

I'll keep my eye out for jobs at Salford Uni, I would not mind working there.

fevmeister

I'm desperate for a job too after graduating last July. I have 12 gcses at grade A*-B, BBCCD at A level and a 2:1 degree in economic geography. Still too hard! Makes me wonder was university worth it!

graeme_s-2

willhub wrote:

I'll keep my eye out for jobs at Salford Uni, I would not mind working there.

I've only ever worked at Universities. Started off with my work experience in IT Services at Staffs Uni when I was at school, then got a summer job there off the back of that. Used that experience and reference to get a summer job at the University I studied at, used that to get some part time work while I was studying, then a full time job when I graduated. Then used that experience and reference to get a job at a better University, and then finally moved into a permanent post in a job I really enjoy. I think Universities are generally nice places to work. Interesting people and decent employers for the most part.

But back to my original point, Universities employ large numbers of people in a wide variety of roles and a wide variety of pay scales. Getting a job doing something (anything) on campus would be a good foot in the door to getting a job you're genuinely interested in.

utgaardaolle

Re whining about if university studies are "worth it". No, probably not, you just might earn more over a liftime of hard work if you don´t waste several years at uni. Interesting work with interesting people (and some interesting nutters) is what you just might get from a long education.

AchillesLeftKnee

utgaardaolle wrote:

Re whining about if university studies are "worth it". No, probably not, you just might earn more over a liftime of hard work if you don´t waste several years at uni. Interesting work with interesting people (and some interesting nutters) is what you just might get from a long education.

That depends entirely on the degree, and the work ambitions of the person in question. A friend of mine works for a Cambridge-based agency specialising in tech\engineering placements, and based on who they place and where they place them, I'd say the right degree (or postgrad activities) and a willingness to relocate will land a decent job that'll make the time spent in education worthwhile (and, yes, that does include PhD students) in pretty short order.

That said, I take the general point that J. Random Degree and career plans that consist of "dunno" doesn't really cut it these days.

Gizmo_

utgaardaolle wrote:

Re whining about if university studies are "worth it". No, probably not, you just might earn more over a liftime of hard work if you don´t waste several years at uni. Interesting work with interesting people (and some interesting nutters) is what you just might get from a long education.

Best tip I have is that your CV shouldn't just list what you've done, but how you went about it and why it was successful. Demonstrate that these are the behaviours you'll bring to the company. Frankly, I've worked on a lot of stuff that's been really high-profile and bl##dy difficult - and a f##k up on one of my projects made the front page of the FT a while back (massively f##ked up in fact, but genuinely not my fault). But I could describe many of these things to someone in a slightly different part of the industry and it would tell them nothing. Any pillock can work in a big company and bimble along simply 'following process'. However, if I say what tools and principles I applied to achieve the results I did, now you're talking.

fevmeister

It doesn't help that there are rubbish employment opportunities in the north east!

dynamicbrick

Re lazy employers recruiting internally/through friends & family/word of mouth - there is a logic to this. The biggest cost of the recruitment is a) agency fees, and b) staff churn in the first six months. People who come in via recommendation are far less likely to leave - it's a statistical fact.

Anyway, my experience of advertising for junior sales admin roles has been broadly in line with everyone else here - except 400 CVs for one job, of which maybe three I could actually read without needing to consult my teenage daughter on words, usage, and sentence construction of the modern yoof.

Quite apart from the fact spell check function escapes even the most highly educated people, some memorable snippets from under-24s CV land;

Hobbies;
"aving it large!!" (must have seen this a dozen times)
"girls" (honesty or not young man, I have an office full of 'girls' here, not sure I can count on you to concentrate)
"collecting things" (knives? guns? body parts?)

Skills;
"I'm well good at organising things" (especially sentences)
"None" (what, not even basic motor skills?)
"Eating" (how did I end up here? All I wanted was to be a fighter pilot)

In my experience, generally the best people for any job - even mundane work like sales admin - were those returning to work after long period out of it; mainly because they actually want to work (the desire is obvious compared with people who've turned up because their JSA depends on it)... you just need to cut them a bit of slack for the first three months as they ease back into the working routine

BigJimmyB

saprkzz wrote:

CNC precision engineering,(F1 work) based on oxfordshire.

If I was 17 again, I'd be banging your down down.

Sounds like a fantastic oppotunity (well, before you employed your mate....)

saprkzz

BigJimmyB wrote:

saprkzz wrote:

CNC precision engineering,(F1 work) based on oxfordshire.

If I was 17 again, I'd be banging your down down.

Sounds like a fantastic oppotunity (well, before you employed your mate....)

My mate is 32, its never too late to get into CNC machining. Just need to posses the correct skills and willingness to progress.