At Queen’s, you’ll find lots of opportunities to develop your skills, create your own brand and discover your own personal USP (unique selling point), that will ultimately get you hired in the future. Here, Lucy, Lauren and Daniella from our MEDIA programme reveal the different tacks they have taken to improve their employability and their career confidence.
‘I’m building an online brand’
Lucy Roy
“In the year of 2020, we have seen that anything can happen! This year has meant that not only have we as students have had to adapt our ways, but so too have employers. The increase of webcam interviews has meant recruiters will be researching candidates’ online profiles more than ever before. So, there is now more pressure to demonstrate an online presence to potential employers and recruiters.
But developing an online presence doesn’t have to be difficult! It can be as easy as gaining a social media following, constructing an online portfolio of works or starting a LinkedIn account.
Discover how to use LinkedIn effectively
Not only is LinkedIn free to use, it is also a great way of making connections with professionals in your sector.
There’s also a handy job search engine with plenty of job listings waiting for your application!
Not to mention, you can upload your CV and create content for potential employers to view when they’re exploring your profile.
So why not create an account? Simply add a professional photo, a summary of yourself, your skills and employment history and there, you have an online presence!” -Lucy Roy
‘I’m volunteering online’
Daniella Timperley
“For a lot of young people, volunteering is a great way to gain skills for employment and gain independence. This has been a little bit tougher to do during the COVID-19 lockdown with a lot of charities closing their offices and working from home. I personally am a really dedicated volunteer of Women’s Aid and have been for over six years. I’m used to attending events and public speaking which both haven’t been possible. I’ve found a way that I can use my other skills to still positively impact the charity from home as I am a broadcast production student and have experience making short films. I decided I would produce short videos for the charity’s social media to compliment and promote their campaigns. For their autumn campaign, I made a short film called ‘Walk A Mile In Her Shoes’ where I emailed staff and volunteers to take a video of their shoes walking outside in their gardens or on their walk for example so that I didn’t have to come into contact with anyone and I could still edit together a really powerful piece to push their campaign forward and encourage more engagement. This really benefited my skills and working remotely under the extreme circumstances of the pandemic, but still being able to produce work.
Daniella contributed virtually to the ‘Walk a Mile in her Shoes’ campaign
If there is a cause or charity you volunteered with before the pandemic and you haven’t felt connected or felt there was no way you could contribute, then think deeper and approach them. Maybe they don’t know how you could be helpful but see it as an opportunity to progress your career and enhance and gain skills. For me, this was producing short videos because that was something related to my degree and I knew I was capable of it but whatever degree you are in, think about what skills you have or need for that career and approach a charity that could really do with your help remotely through these tough times. This could also be as simple as an online fundraiser for a small local charity that is struggling to stay afloat. So get involved and make a difference in your community from the comfort of your own home so you can develop your CV.” -Daniella Timperley
‘I’m attending career-enhancing events’
Lauren Watt
“Cinemagic, Belfast’s Film and TV Festival, hosts a CineFocus Jury event every year. If you like to watch films and appreciate the cinema this type of event is for you. Do you tend to discuss and review the films you watch? The CineFocus Jury event is for you!I recently took part in the event. The event is for 15 – 25 year olds which means it is the perfect event for students in university. You have the opportunity to watch movies from all over the world. Review, comment and judge them with forms that you send in. Ranking the films as you review them you decide what will be shown at the festival.
It is an interactive and challenging experience based on your critical skills and experience with film. You can add it to your CV as an experience.
It is pretty easy to do, you email and apply for the event. With a small fee you receive the details to sign and receive the link to go onto the online Cinemagic Festival online. You create an account; login and the event should be added to your screen. It’s as simple as that.
Cinemagic is a great site for events along the media sector. It’s also a way to connect with others in the industry and join events where they host meetings with professionals in the media sector. It’s a great place to gain valuable insight. So be sure to check the website out!” – Lauren Watt
Career advice with Dermot O’Leary courtesy of Cinemagic
Find something you’re interested in! Blogging is a great way to improve your employability, as regular articles will show off your content-writing skills to employers. On the other hand, playing a team sport will demonstrate that you understand how to work in a team. You could even try a hobby that is a bit more ‘out there’ – pushing the limits of what is considered the norm will give employers a reason to look twice at your CV!
Write, write, write
Queen’s has its own newspaper and other platforms which provide plenty of writing opportunities – get involved with these to hone your content and copywriting skills to stand you in good stead for graduate jobs. There is always a reason to improve your written communication, and journalism also contains elements of research. Ask around and find out what you can contribute, and don’t forget to keep a record of what you do to show employers later on!
Learn a language
Having a second (or third) language under your belt can help you to stand out in a competitive jobs market. Business in all forms is increasingly international so mastering a well-used language such as Spanish or French will often give you an edge. What’s more, the hard work and dedication that learning a new language entails is bound to impress employers. There are plenty of online resources and apps available to help you to become bilingual!
Take a short course
There’s no better way to improve your graduate employability than by embarking on a short course to improve your skills. Short, online courses from providers such as FutureLearn and Coursera are available in a range of subjects, so if you want to discover what’s involved in a particular role or brush up on soft skills there will be a course for you. It doesn’t have to be related to your career – any course taken demonstrates to employers your initiative and organisational skills!
Become an ambassador
Being a student ambassador is the perfect chance to demonstrate your drive and commitment, all without doing too much strenuous work. MyFuture often advertises opportunities for student assistants in the university and students’ union in a range of areas. Often these jobs will pay, so it can be doubly worth your while applying. Lots of companies also have university ambassador schemes, which you can apply to as well!
For more on developing your employability at Queen’s visit our Degree Plus site and find out how you can get an award at graduation on recognition of the skills you have built up.
Award-winning series producer and director Ceri Rowlands recently delivered a CV workshop, revealing her top tips to creating a successful CV. It’s scary to think that you may be the perfect candidate for a job but because your CV isn’t formatted correctly, employers will not offer an interview. Luckily, with the right tips and content, your CV is the ticket to your dream job. Remember – a CV should not be more than two sides of a page, so make every word count! Here are some top tips to perfect your CV.
Sell yourself
After including your name and contact details at the top of your CV, write a short paragraph that “briefly summarises who you are.” This introduction can include what your current job or project is, your career objectives, and also emphasise any “higher ambitions” for your future career. Through just three to five sentences, you can immediately grab the employer’s attention by conveying your passion and prove you are the right candidate for the job!
List practical skills
This part is basically where employers see if you tick all the right boxes to fit the job role. When trying to get your foot into the door of film and production, highlight your technical skills. These may include using specific camera equipment, editing software, and sound operators. By listing these key skills, you are demonstrating your “awareness of production.” Also, do not underestimate the importance of stating if you have a “clean driving history.” This information is crucial when applying for roles, such as a runner, as travelling to production locations may be vital to the role. Additionally, providing details of your work experience proves the situations where you have developed your skills and abilities. Don’t forget to always have the job requirements in mind when writing this section! Tweak your experience details to suit the role!
Relate hobbies to the role
While a lot of job applicants may rely on high academic achievements to guarantee them their job, hobbies and interests actually tell the employer useful information! Make a list of what hobbies you enjoy and what interests you the most. Then, identify what skills you have developed through those part-time hobbies. Notice anything? By letting employers know that you volunteer at a children’s drama club, your willingness to give back to the community along with your leadership and teamwork skills are conveyed. This section of your CV should not be an extensive list, however, consider what couple of hobbies have “shaped your career goals” and win over the employer!
Include relevant links
The format and information for a CV in the creative industry is different from standard formats. When applying for production roles, your experience and skills are the key to your interview. Don’t be afraid to also link the employer any short features, showreels, or any other creative project that appropriately shows your talent! Ensure to set up alerts on BBC’s Careers Hub to never miss a fantastic career opportunity in film!
For more top tips on breaking into TV and Film, check out BBC Digital Cities.
Student blogger Dara O’Donnell from our MEDIA programme shares her pre-graduation career game-plan, including leveraging the power of LinkedIn to make vital contacts.
As a final year Film Studies and Production student here at Queens, it has been a whirlwind to say the least and not how I expected to be partaking in my last year at university. For the most part, the switch to online learning was daunting and difficult to get to grips with, being in a practical field that relies on hands-on work and lots of group collaboration. Nevertheless, we adapted quickly and moved on. Personally, I look forward to the exciting times ahead, albeit uncertain, that is to come of final semester and graduation of 2021.
Facing the world of work
Before the pandemic, being a nearing graduate was just as nerve wracking an experience as it seems to me now. With levels of unemployment rising and general anticipation in the air about our future, it is easy to get lost in it. However, it is not all despair, there have been lots of promising opportunities presenting themselves for graduates, surrounding this new world of remote work, affording the chance for people to gain experiences of remote internships for global companies, without having to say those emotional goodbyes to friends and family.
Deciding my path
Like most graduates, I am not 100% clear on what path I want to take for my future career. What I do know is that it belongs somewhere within the creative industry. Therefore, in realising this and approaching the new year, I am taking it step by step to apply myself and achieve some goals before I graduate, setting myself up for the best possible future.
My goals
Some of these goals include; creating an engaging LinkedIn profile that will showcase my personality and ultimately attract potential employers and building a solid creative portfolio to advertise my creative skills. When restrictions lift, I am excited to get out there and film more projects and overall work to improve my creative ability, expanding skills and networking with other like-minded people in the field.
Even in these daunting times, I am optimistic and anxiously looking forward to the future and the wide and many possibilities that are presented after graduation.
Nobody likes to be pigeon-holed – it stunts professional growth and limits your options. And the same can be said of employers. Just because a company dominates in a particular field or industry doesn’t mean they are only recruiting one type of graduate from one distinct discipline. In fact, some of the most successful and agile workplaces are committed to recruiting students from a variety of backgrounds to maximise creativity and diversify thought. Here are just four of them.
Chartered Accountants Ireland
‘We embrace diversity and creativity in the workplace – we want to see difference around the table’
“As a body we are keen to attract the brightest and the best but from all backgrounds which isn’t often known or appreciated and we find the employers we work with really welcome and endorse a mixed skillset and really welcome students coming from all degree discipline.
“As a Law graduate, to me, chartered accountancy was boring – it was going to be number-crunching accounting and it was a far cry from what I saw myself doing. I have to say my mind was completely blown. I often get asked will an employer not favour someone from a finance/accounting background and the answer is no. They don’t want to have everyone around their table with the exact same thought process and methodology. They really embrace diversity and creativity in the workplace and that really helps them excel, forcing them to innovate and disrupt the norm which is necessary in the modern workplace. Communication skills are key, which people mightn’t fully appreciate. The ability to make good decisions – to weigh up qualitative and quantitative data, to use critical thinking, to be a strategist and to influence others. So that emotional intelligence is absolutely core to becoming a good chartered accountant because ultimately that is a business leadership passport.”
‘It’s not just accountancy – there is a whole range of varied roles across the board’
“There’s lots of areas in PwC you can join as graduates – we don’t require a specific degree. As a Psychology graduate, it was never somewhere I’d considered because I just thought it was very corporate; that it’s all accountancy-based and it’s very professional and it’s maybe not for me. But actually, what I’ve found is that it totally is for me and it’s the right place for me to be. We are an accountancy firm, but there’s so much more than that – so we recruit graduates into consultancy, tax, deals, working with different clients, mergers, audit and of course accountancy so there’s a whole range of things you can do at PwC varied across the whole board.
Consultancy for example is very much working with clients and problem-solving and finding solutions for those clients. Someone might come to us looking to do a new business merger or something like that so our consultancy team would look into that for them and be their advisors.”
– Sarah Delaney, PwC
NatWest Banking Group
‘I’ve been here 14 years and probably had about 6 different careers.’
“The reason I’ve stayed so long in the bank is that, whilst I’ve been here 14 years, I’ve probably had about 6 different careers in that time. I have done a variation of different roles including business-facing HR consultant type jobs, business partnering jobs…Right now, I’m the HR business partner for three different areas and they are group business areas. I look after three business areas – financial crime and control, fraud prevention and shared services. These are the back-office areas – basically the bits of the bank that keeps everything ticking along, but you wouldn’t necessarily see those parts of the bank because they’re not there on the high street in branches and such. My role looks after about 8000 people and they are spread across the globe – predominantly UK, Poland and India but also I have a scattering of people in the States, Singapore and Japan and other ones and twos over the globe as well. So, I have very much gone from being an Island of Ireland-focused role back when I joined the bank 14 years ago to a truly global role now.”
– Sandra Wright, NatWest Group
Belfast City Council
‘In the council, you don’t just work on one thing, you have to flexible and respond to different demands.’
“We have a community plan which is focal to everything that we do and it’s called the Belfast Agenda and it focuses on Belfast becoming a safe, fair and inclusive city where everyone benefits from the success of the city. We’re looking for analytical skills, problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, communication skills – especially if you’re going out into the communities and engaging with the citizens of Belfast. As well as good written and oral communication skills, because you’d be working with a range of different audiences – so maybe colleagues, managers and members of the public. Researching and benchmarking skills are really important to us, work planning, project management and partnership working. So, whilst you’re at university, try to get as much experience as you can around that. Demonstrate that you’re self-motivated and you’re a good team player, and that you’re flexible in your approach to work. In the council you don’t just get working in one thing, there’s different demands all the time from different people and you have to be flexible in managing that demand, as well as working to tight deadlines.”
– Alison Long, Belfast City Council
To access more inspiring advice from business leaders, catch up on our Employer Panel series by re-watching our past events here:
Forget dreaming of a white Christmas, we’re dreaming of summer adventure. If you are planning ahead for 2021, come along to our USA SUMMER CAMPS – INFORMATION SESSION on 26 November to see where you could be spending a blazing hot season of lake swims, campfires and friendship.
Need some celluloid inspiration to get you in the mood? Check out our pick of the best summer camp movies to watch now. It’s amazing what a group of adventurers can achieve when they bandy together, huh?
The Parent Trap
Tiny Lindsay Lohan squared + hijinks at camp = Disney classic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYDaVvjI5kY
Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson + picture perfect Camp Ivanhoe = sweet ode to summer love.
Wet Hot American Summer
Bradley Cooper + Amy Poehler = satirical comedy genius.
Camp Rock
Demi Lovato + Joe Jonas = summer of song.
Addams Family Values
Wednesday + cheery camp = her personal nightmare.
If you want to star in your own real-life summer adventure, register for our USA SUMMER CAMPS – INFORMATION SESSION on 26 November at 12pm via the link below:
Thought about volunteering but don’t know where to start? Órla Mallon from our MEDIA programme has collated this handy guide. Read on and prepare to feel good.
Órla Mallon is a third year student studying Liberal Arts, with a main pathway in English Studies. She is participating in this year’s MEDIA programme, and hopes to go into a career in the media industry.
Volunteering is a fantastic way to make a difference during your time at University – and Queen’s has an opportunity for everyone. You can develop a range of skills, communication, organisation, problem solving, adaptability and much more. The invaluable skills you can gain will look great on your CV and will show potential employers that you can take initiative and work hard for something you’re passionate about. Being a volunteer also gives you a chance to give back to your local community and make new friends!
Here are seven different volunteering opportunities available – but remember the list doesn’t end here. Check out the QUB Volunteer page, or Volunteer SU website for more options.
Raise Funds for Charity
Charities such as Nexus NI, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and Action on Hearing Loss (and many more) are always in need of local fundraisers. Not only could you be helping raise funds for charity, but you can demonstrate your organisational and communication skills. Or, if you know any other worthy causes, don’t be afraid to get involved to raise some cash!
Volunteer with the Elderly
Sometimes older people need a hand sometimes – and it is so easy to be there for a chat. If you consider yourself a good communicator, or you want an opportunity to develop those skills, there are many roles available with Parkinson’s UK or Age UK, or, become a helpline operator onHourglass NI. You could also lend your hand to those suffering with Dementia or Alzheimer’s through The Alzheimer’s Society.
Be part of Local Conservation Efforts
If you have a passion for environmental issues, and especially if you want a career within the environment sector, this is a perfect opportunity! Belfast City Council often runs conservation programmes, as well as opportunities with the National Trust.
Help in a local Charity Shop
There is a charity shop on almost every street in Belfast – and they are often looking for volunteers! Oxfam, Cancer Research UK, British Red CrossandMarie Curie are just to name a few. Check with your local charity shop to find opportunities and develop your interpersonal and communication skills while you’re at it.
Join the Fight to End Homelessness
Volunteering with Simon Community NImight just be one of the best things you ever do. They are Northern Ireland’s leading charity in the bid to end homelessness and aim to provide a roof over everybody’s head. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they have issued an urgent appeal for emergency staff, demonstrate your ability to take initiative and volunteer now!
Promote positive Mental Health and Wellbeing
Northern Ireland charity Mindwise aims to support people living with severe mental illness, through a wide range of methods, including providing housing, navigating the criminal justice system, supporting vulnerable people, and creating resource centres for people to socialise. Many of their volunteer opportunities involve facilitating or teaching a class – so if you have an interest in music, photography or gardening, this would be perfect for you! Mindwise also provide Safeguarding Adults training, and First Aid training, skills that are valued in any workplace.
Homework Clubs!
This is just a short list of all the potential ways you could make a difference while you’re at Uni, so keep looking for opportunities to create positive change!
Volunteering can count towards your Degree Plus award. To find out how, visit the Degree Plus site.
Sarah McKeag, Associate Director for Talent Attraction and Acquisition at EY Belfast
Sarah McKeag, Associate Director for Talent Attraction and Acquisition at EY Belfast talks skills-based recruitment and how it differs from the traditional recruitment process.
About EY
EY are one of the big four professional services firms. We have about 550 staff in Belfast at present and 18,000 staff in 21 offices across the UK. We are traditionally known for bringing staff into their chartered accountancy-based exams, be that an audit business or tax business. We have a large consulting business in Belfast and we bring in students now down different routes, through data analytics, project management, contract and procurement management – so there is a wide opportunity for students at all levels within EY. We are a global organisation in 150 companies worldwide. So, the opportunity for students to move and to travel and gain that vast exposure is there, right on their doorstep in Belfast.
Strengths-based recruitment at EY
We have stepped away from traditional [recruitment] routes, we did this about 10 years ago and we work with an organisation called the Centre For Applied Psychology. They have helped us develop this strength-based recruitment process to assess potential in students. So that is the main difference in strength-based recruitment: we’re not looking for the students to have had work experience or experience in a range of things, we’re looking for the potential they have to become leaders in our business and to become successful in our business.
We review our process every couple of years. We review the strengths we use, the frameworks, to make sure that they are aligned to the people who are performing the highest in our business and then this helps assess this potential in the students coming in. So, if we think about what other employers use, they typically use a competency-based approach and the difference between a strength and a competency-based approach is around the energy and enthusiasm – competency can be learnt, whereas a strength is something where you have that natural enthusiasm and energy around doing. It is something you do well and you do often and you enjoy doing all that time. We use that across all our student recruitment, from the online assessment centre to the final interview. The majority of the strengths we use for EY are the core strengths from across all of our programmes we operate, but when you get to that final interview, we’ll have more focus strengths for the area you applied for.
Strengths that EY recruit against
These are the core strengths that we would measure:
Accountable
Agile
Adaptable
Analytical
Curious
In the know
Number Savvy
Resilient
Strong Communicator
Team Player
We are not looking for students to have done reams of work experience, we will give them a situation or a task and we will ask them how they would approach that, how they would feel about that, we may give them a number of tasks and ask them to choose their preferred 5 or we may give them a group activity and ask them to evaluate on how they have done in that activity and what they would do differently next time. We want them to have these strengths in their mind, when they are going through our process and think about how would I deal with the situation, what would I rely on to do that?
Curious
For example, if we look at the strength curious, we are looking for people that are always challenging and asking why they are doing something, they are looking for new ways to do something and challenge how something works or what’s driving a change in analytics they see so it is that curious, finding out what’s happening and what’s coming next.
Adaptable and resilience
I think at the moment adaptable and resilience are particularly important. That’s been huge for the students we have brought on in the past 6 months. But equally for the students that are coming towards their last year in university or starting university in a different way than they had ever envisioned themselves. How can they make the most of the circumstances they are in at the moment? Things are frequently changing so there needs to be a level of resilience so they can manage that change process. So that they don’t get change fatigue, so they can have coping mechanisms for stress management, they know when they are stressed and how to deal with that.
Number savvy
The number savvy one is not looking for someone that has done further maths or additional maths, however we are a number business and whether that be in data analytics or it be in our audit business, you will be given large volumes or data, sometimes numerical, and you will need to be comfortable working with that. People have to have a level of comfort around that, and understand what drives business or what drives our customers businesses as well.
Team Player
The team player one, we will assess on our EY experience day in our new virtual assessment. This is a really good way at seeing everyone’s energy and how they interact withing a group. In our business you will work in teams and they can be small teams up to very large teams. So you need to have an understanding of how to integrate into a team, what roles you tend to take on, what your strengths are. You do not need to be the leader of that group, quite often you just need to be the person who focusses that group or remembers to bring the group back to a certain point or build on someone else’s idea. We are not looking for the person who talks the most or loudest, but the person who brings the most value to the group, this may be bringing in people who are more quiet in the group or bringing a focus back to the task at hand. We also need those people who start the group off, who get everyone focussed on the task.
Prepping for a virtual strengths-based interview
Make sure your technology works
Make sure you’re comfortable to come on camera
Don’t forget you can blur your background in video’s if it makes you feel more comfortable
We want to see your face and your interaction
Virtual interviews are different from face to face as that rapport takes a bit longer to build up, however our assessors are very comfortable coming on to the camera
Make sure your WIFI is as strong as it can be
Make sure you will not get interrupted
Make sure you do all your prep work before hand
Identify your strengths
For identifying their strengths, particularly before the final interview stage, and you’re thinking about the job that you are going in to, quite often it quite difficult to identify your own strengths but if you think about your energy level – something you do well, you do often and you enjoy doing. It might not be the first thing on your list as you know you can do it in 5 minutes, it could be the thing you treat yourself to or the thing you do first because you know you can do it in 5 minutes. It will be the thing your friends always ask you to do, it will be the role you always find yourself in in any camp or society – so if you’re really good with numbers, you’ll find yourself with the treasurer, if you’re very analytical, people will come to you with their problems to find a solution. The things your friends say you never shut up about as well or something you can talk about for ages.
We will give you a situation or tell you a bit about the area you applied to, a bit about the strengths that they look for and then we will ask you about the situation and what you would find yourself doing if you were in that situation.
In our final interview stages, there is a short presentation which we ask the candidates to do and that should be your opportunity to do a little bit of research around EY and that line of service you have applied for. The final thing would be around motivation. You will be interviewed by a partner or director, who is an owner of our business, and they will want to know why you wanted to apply to EY, why you have applied to that particular area, as that is the part they own. It is really your opportunity to show the research you have done into the business and into the pathway you have applied for. There is plenty of information on our website.
What is a good question for a candidate to ask at the end of the interview?
I personally think you should always ask a question at the end of an interview. You should by that stage, have built up a rapport with the interviewer, the questions I would tell you to absolutely avoid would be around salary and benefits, as this information is all on our website. There is plenty of time to ask the recruitment team prior to the final interview.
Our interviewers have typically been in the business for a number of years and have had a number of interesting career paths to that point. Questions I would focus on at the end of the interview would be around what is the best client they have worked on, what has been the most challenging client they have worked on, what has been their career path to date or what has been their most interesting role in the organisation. There’s lots of questions related to the company they can ask us. A lot of questions we are being asked at the moment are about the returns to the office and how we engaged with our teams remotely and what were the biggest challenges. The partners are really open to hear from new graduates about what would work and what they would need to see coming into the business and they are keen to know what they can do.
A question at the end of the interview is an opportunity for the candidate to get a view on if they see themself working for this person? Do they want to work on their team? Do they inspire them as a leader? That is what they should be thinking about shaping their questions around if I was coming in.
I found that it was because of the people who interviewed me that made me join, we built a rapport, we had a good chat and we quite often get feed back that our interviews don’t feel very formal and they turn out as more of a chat. When I got the offer, I made the decision because I really enjoyed the people from the company.
For students, you need to think about what you need to know to be on that team and what else you need to know about the leader of that team you will be joining.
A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) could be the perfect launch pad, helping enhance your career prospects by providing you with an opportunity to manage a challenging project central to a business’s strategic development and long term growth.
You’ll ‘own’ your own project, linked to both our university and a business whose experienced teams will provide you with full support.
Here, Carolyn McFall from KTP lists five reasons to apply.
5 REASONS TO APPLY FOR A KTP?
Fast track your career
KTP is a real opportunity to deliver impact and shape your future career development. 90% of our KTP Associates at Queen’s are offered permanent positions at their host company at the end of the KTP project and go on to progress within the business.
2. Competitive salaries
All KTP salaries are extremely competitive. As a KTP Associate, your salary will be decided by the company in line with industry standards and with any other company employees at a similar level.
3.Support from leading QUB Academics and company supervisors
During your KTP project you will have an Academic Supervisor from Queen’s who will have specialist expertise in the relevant discipline and provide ongoing support throughout your time as an Associate, as well as a day to day company supervisor to support all aspects of daily work in progress.
4. Training and Development budget
You will receive dedicated coaching and mentoring and in addition to salary, an Associate on a standard two-year KTP project will have access to over £8,000 for training and travel.
5. Great perks
As a member of University staff, you will also have access to staff training courses, library and sports facilities as well as the option to join the University Pension Scheme.
Whether it’s wearing your ‘lucky’ shoes to a job interview or carrying a lucky charm, some superstitions can benefit your job search, while others could be holding you back.
Do you have a ‘lucky’ interview suit? Research at the University of Cologne found that lucky charms can work – but it’s all to do with the confidence they give you, rather than any magical forces at play. However, other work-related superstitions can have a negative impact on your career – especially when it involves negative self-talk. Read on to discover the superstitious chat you need to cut from your work lexicon.
“Everything happens for a reason”
When it comes to job searching, peddling the narrative that you are not in control can absolve you of the responsibility of trying to improve. Obviously, there are certain things in life that we can’t control and when bad things happen to us, all we can do is try and learn from it and do our best to move forward. But when it comes to our career and looking for jobs, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that our decisions and actions have a role to play. If you don’t get a job interview, for example, look at how you can improve for next time rather than shrugging and blindly putting it down to fate.
“I’m having a run of bad luck”
If you have been knocked back for a series of job opportunities, it’s tempting to look for a pattern when there is none. Instead of putting a bad run down to bad luck or that you are ‘cursed’ in some way, examine your own behaviour and actions and look at ways in which you can improve for next time.
“I’m no good at that”
We should always be striving to improve and upskill throughout our career, so allowing yourself to be pigeonholed as a poor public speaker or disorganised, for example, can limit you. Look at any perceived weakness as an opportunity to improve and get better at something. This way, you won’t rule yourself out of a great role down the line.
Want more help with your job search? Check out our website for advice on CVs, application and interviews.
