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6 things we learned about resilience from our Employer Hotseat

Beth MacDougall, EY

Beth MacDougall from EY delivered a session on Resilience. Here are the top takeaways.

Its normal to be nervous

“The one thing that terrified me literally more than anything was what am I gonna do for work. How am I gonna go into the workplace with this really strange title, this really long list of symptoms? And a degree that I don’t know how to be of use anymore and no experience. I was completely shook. I was absolutely terrified because all I wanted to do was work.”

But Beth goes on to say…

“I wish that I could go back to myself six years ago and say it’s going to be okay. It’s gonna be fine.”

Challenge = Change

“I learned that it is absolutely OK to challenge things in a process or on an application form, or in a procedure that you feel like you’re going to make you feel disadvantaged or unfair. There were plenty of times in an application form that actually will ask you to disclose a disability way before the ‘do you have a disability question’…that was my first lesson that it’s okay to challenge things. And that it’s the only way that we’re going to change things, by challenging and by asking the questions.”

People’s opinions are not your reality

“I remember the first time that I spoke with someone about my disability in a workplace, they actually told me that I was a health and safety risk, and it was selfish of me to be wanting to work in a workplace environment, after speaking to me for all of 2/3 minutes. I just wanted to have a conversation and explain, you know, but I can do this! But then why do I have to explain something? Why am I defined by this label that I have attached to me?”

Beth then speaks about how working as a recruiter allows her to speak to a range of people from all works of life

“We can learn from so many different people by having those conversations and again as recruiters we are in that position where we can constantly speak to a diverse group of people and learn from every single one of them. Giving someone a voice, really means that person is going to be able to bring their true authentic best self to the workplace.”

Play to your strengths (and find out how to play to your strengths!)

“Strength-based recruitment was definitely my friend…We might not have as much experience as persons who don’t have disabilities because it’s been harder for us to get that 0r maybe we’ve needed to take a break at times”

“So strength-based recruitment for me was so powerful in terms of I knew I didn’t have the experience that probably everyone else applying for this job did. I actually had no recruitment experience. I had plenty of student experience, plenty of mental health, well-being, events, development – but it was all dotted around different areas. I could only get small different bits of experience in different ways. I didn’t really know how to combine that. Until, I spoke to someone who help me do that”

Be proud and honest of who you are

“My interview at EY was actually the first time I ever disclosed my disability in an interview, outright. First question, “what are your motivations for EY” – well I have a disability. Straight up there. I’ve heard about this and this is why I did it because EY’s brand was all about a culture of belonging – our world your way. And I really truly believe that. I could see the images I could see the stories and I could see the things EY were doing to support people like me.”

“70% of people with a disability actually have an invisible disability which brings its own challenges. You can hide that until you get into your workplace, but if without disclosing a disability it’s very hard to get the support that you might need to be able to thrive and employ yourself the way that you want to.”

Who you are will show in what you do

Beth speaks about how people with different disabilities are often overlooked for employment and workplace stigma towards those disabilities

“People with disabilities are the largest pool of untapped talent. And that is because we do have, again those natural barriers, and sometimes that natural stigma of – traditionally disabled has meant something that someone cannot do.Whereas I would challenge that… people with disabilities are nature’s greatest problem solvers. We have to learn to live in a world that isn’t actually built always for us. We have to find different ways to do things. Which kind of brings me to my final point in terms of people with disabilities are some of the most valuable workforce that you can bring into an organisation. Those qualities of resilience communication, because you’re constantly having to communicate things, and ask for things and explain. Problem solving, creativity innovation, you name it, a person with a disability has to show that every single day in their life.”

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Cibyl Feedback surveys

Win £500 to spend at a shop of your choice and help the careers service at the same time

This year we’re taking part in the Cibyl survey, one of the UK’s largest student careers aspiration surveys.  Cibyl provides employers and universities across the nation, with unparalleled insights into students’ career thinking. They will use your survey answers to provide us with a detailed feedback report. The reports will tell us how satisfied you are with your careers support and the wider university experience, as well as which employers you aspire to work for. Take the survey and you’ll be giving us valuable feedback.

In return for your help, Cibyl are giving away…

  • £100 Amazon gift card (given away every week- 14 to give away!)
  • a pair of Apple AirPods (two given away)
  • £500 gift card of your choice! Choose from shops such as ASOS, Uber, Argos, Amazon, John Lewis, GAME, JD Sports and M&S (two given away)

Tell us what you think of your university course, which employers you like, and how you’re feeling about life after graduation. Cibyl will use the results to put together research reports to help universities and employers across the UK, so that they know what kind of job you want.

It only takes 15 minutes (and you can take it on your mobile!)

Take the survey now: https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90503600/careers

Would you like to know more about Cibyl? Here’s some extra information:

The Cibyl Graduate Research is the UK’s most comprehensive piece of research into students’ views on graduate careers and recruitment: over 65,000 UK students took part last year. Cibyl also powers The UK 300, so ranking your favourite employers is a great way to influence their status in the publication. 

Cibyl is an excellent tool for helping students to think about graduate careers: the questions require you to rank employers in a variety of ways, helping you to think laterally about your career options and why you like, or don’t like, certain companies.

Your answers are completely anonymous. You are welcome to read our privacy policy which can be found here. 

Cibyl abides by all MRS codes, ESOMAR codes and ISO 20252. We are conducting this survey in partnership with your Careers Service.

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Canada Careers programmes Global Opportunities Go Global Go Global ambassadors international experience Student experience student success Student success stories

Student Experience: My Research Internship in Canada

Emily Bond

As F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “It’s a funny thing about comin’ home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You’ll realize what’s changed is you.”

Departing London Heathrow, bound for Toronto Pearson.

Canada has always been on my travel list; known for its great outdoors, safe multicultural cosmopolitan cities, and friendly people. Engaging with people who had visited, Canada was always described to me as one of those places thats experience is nearly impossible to describe and after visiting once you’ll want to return.

So when the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship was released, it posed as an opportunity to spend up to 12 weeks researching in a country on my bucket list. And when people ask why I applied, I say why not, because I had so much to gain from this opportunity and little to lose.

I first applied for the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship in 2020 however was unsuccessful in my application. Fortunately, due to a change in my degree programme I became re-eligble to apply and reapplied in August 2021. Receiving, notification in September that my application had been nominated for the programme I began the process of filling out the application form, detailing experience I had gained from work experience the year before and what skills I could bring to the programme. With my application submitted it, I was left to wait to see if any Canadian professors would contact me. I was fortunate to be contacted by two professors in November to further discuss their projects and my suitability.

Outside the engineering building where I spent 10 weeks

By December, I had been selected and confirmed my place on the 2022 Globalink Research Internship.

From January through to departure in May, I organised my flights, housing, visa, starting/ finishing dates for the internship, and a small amount of currency. Connecting with my supervisor during this process made it feel less intimidating as I was able to ask questions or express queries.

Before I knew it May had arrived, and I was stood at the airport waiting to depart on one of my biggest adventures yet. An 8 hour flight, and 2 hour immigration wait later, I was in Toronto.

The first week, I was provided with a tour around the faculty, opened up a bank account, and familiarised myself with the campus. I was able to meet my supervisor and research team in person as well as start on my project. Over the next 10 weeks I was able to develop a general research topic of Micro-structural analysis of advanced composite structures, into a working conference and journal paper focusing on Investigation of impact response of 2D braided hybrid composites using Micro-CT. Throughout the project I was able to develop my knowledge of braided composites, non-destructive analysis, and composite sample manufacturing.

Emily in the lab with a manufactured sample

Alongside researching, I took the time to explore the city of Toronto through events such as Toronto Pride, Canada Day at Woodbine Beach, and a Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre. These formed some of the key highlights of my internship in addition to trying different foods and visiting the key tourist attractions such as the CN Tower, Casa Loma, and the Aquarium.

As the end of July approached, I realised I had learnt more, made international friends, gained new experiences, and stepped out of my comfort zone to my growth zone. It’s an experience I will always look back on fondly and would encourage people to take as many opportunities to develop themselves personally and professionally.

Top Tips

  • Ask for help
  • Take time to explore where you are, it’s easy to get stuck in work
  • Keep in contact with your support network back home
  • Take lots of photos and videos
  • Plan in advance especially housing, visas, flights, packing.
  • Don’t give up

Search and find Global Opportunities via our online search tool.