Category: WORK EXPERIENCE AND PLACEMENT FAIR

work experience WORK EXPERIENCE AND PLACEMENT FAIR

Work Shadowing Week 2023

Group of students observing and learning at a work shadow event, wearing professional attire — Students at their work shadowing week 2023

During Work Shadowing Week 2023, Queen’s University Belfast students had the opportunity to experience a day in the life of professionals in various industries in Northern Ireland. Here are seven top takeaways from our student participants:

Great advice

Criminology student Pamela Stewart had a great day with the British Army: “They were all very encouraging and I came away with great advice both for myself and my son who wants to join when he leaves school.”

Industry insight

2. Physics student Brian Rogers appreciated the preparation session beforehand and found it helpful in getting the most out of the experience: “I really enjoyed learning about Andor and speaking to the people there. It was a very useful experience as I move into my final year and begin to apply to graduate programmes.”

A warm welcome

3. Irma Umair, a Human Resource Management student, expressed her sincere gratitude for the wonderful opportunity provided by a visit to Finnebrogue Artisan: “The way we were welcomed and valued during your good company’s tour, gave me a clear indication that the foundation of the company was laid by great vision and values and it is the driving force behind the success of the organization. I appreciate all the efforts your good team made to make it happen successfully.”

An understanding of working life

4. Megan O’Hara, Law student, said: “I had the opportunity to hear from several of Baker McKenzie’s multi-disciplinary teams…I was able to gain an invaluable insight to the day-to-day workings of these professionals as well as their career pathways to these roles.”

Information on different roles available
5. Law student, Declan Gorman, said: “The day was packed with lots of information and insight into what working in a global law firm is like. I particularly enjoyed learning about the different roles outside the traditional ‘training contract’ route at Baker McKenzie.”

Networking opportunities
6. Sai Chintha, Construction and Project Management student said: “It provided an opportunity to gain first-hand exposure to the day-to-day responsibilities of different roles within the firm, which included getting to know their service lines and projects…This is a valuable networking opportunity as well as a chance to gain insight into potential career paths and the company culture at Deloitte.”

Company background
7. Finance student, Xiaofei SHEN commented: “I learnt about the firm’s welcoming corporate culture, its history of growth, the primary duties of each department, and how the company makes its signature sausage…I would like to thank Finnebrogue Artisan for its warm hospitality and patient explanation.”

What our employer partners had to say

Additionally, here are some comments from the employers who hosted students during the work shadow week:

A varied day

Andor Technology: “Feedback from the students was that they enjoyed the variety of the day seeing Research & Development, Engineering and Production and in particular specialists from their degree pathways.”

We hope we inspired them

2. McAdam Design Ltd: “Hopefully this will inspire them for the remainder of their course and we can see them all in a short period of time out within the workforce helping deliver for our communities.”

A well-structured and informative experience

3. Fibrus: We hosted Queen’s University Belfast students for a work shadowing day across our Marketing, Planning, and IT/Network Engineering departments. The students provided positive feedback, highlighting the well-structured day and informative experience. We’re proud to have given them a taste of life at Fibrus.

Overall, Work Shadowing Week 2023 was fantastic, and we are thrilled that so many students had such a positive experience. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the professionals who opened up their workplaces to our students and provided them with such valuable learning opportunities. We look forward to continuing working with such great employers who provide these kinds of opportunities to our students.

Read more on Work Shadowing Week on our website: https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/GainExperienceforyourCV/work-shadowing/

Tags graduate jobs, shadowing, work experience

Careers programmes Fairs Go Global Fair Graduate Recruitment and Placement Fair Spring Careers Fair Spring Recruitment Fair WORK EXPERIENCE AND PLACEMENT FAIR

Expert guide to preparing for a Careers Fair – Emma Lennox, Careers Consultant

Post author By Joseph Curran
Post date 13 February 2023
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Careers Fairs offer the opportunity to connect in-person with employers offering work experience, placement and graduate opportunities.

Hear from Emma Lennox, Careers Consultant on how to properly prepare for Careers Fair

Preparing for the Careers Fair

“Preparation for career fair is key. You need to know the logistics; so what buildings are being used?, what employers are going to be there? and who are you going to target when you get there?

If it’s online, make sure you have the technology started, make sure you know your device is going to work. You have everything connected and you’ve got your battery ready to go.

If there is a virtual or an online aspect to careers fair, you have an extra element of preparation. You might have to go onto the platform in advance and make your profile and make sure it sells you in the skill sets that you want employers to know about”.

Make sure you are prepared for the virtual elements of the Careers Fair

Speaking to Employers at the Careers Fair

“This is the time to go and actually speak to actual employers to find out things you can’t find from their website”

“Don’t ask them something you should already know, so it’s on their website or it’s in the fair information booklet. Make sure you’ve done your research.”

Here are possible questions to ask:

Asking about a particular job if some of the details a bit vague.
You could ask about the recruitment process
Ask about specifics of the assessment centre
You can ask about what the day in the job would really look like
What are the main responsibilities
What is a new recruit going to be asked for

These are the things that really get the employer talking and show that you’ve done your research and you’re engaged and interested in this organisation.

Employers here to answer your questions at the Careers Fairs

Top Tips

“Try not to go to the careers fair with a group of 10 of your best friends. You walk around in a huge group and the employer will just see a huge group. This is your time to stand out, to be an individual”.
“Don’t take lots of stuff with you through the careers for and make sure you keep your hands free because you need to take notes. Remember the positions; Remember the companies; and remember the jobs when you go back later and you’re working out how to keep this engagement going.
“Look at the job tasks; look at the values and the mission statement of the company because you might go in there and find a company you never considered before”.

After the Careers Fair

“Don’t forget to follow up after careers fair”.

“If the employer has a LinkedIn account, you can ask if you can follow them. Definitely follow the company, see what’s happening and keep up to date with things. If you were speaking to someone, you have a personal rapport with them and you think, “I would really like to discuss this role further”. You can send them a personal e-mail and thank them for their time.”

Keep an eye out for QUB Careers Fairs and other events here

Tags Autumn Careers Fair, fairs, graduate recruitment and placement fair, Spring Careers Fair, Spring Recruitment Fair

Skills transferrable skills work experience WORK EXPERIENCE AND PLACEMENT FAIR

Top 4 Takeaways from “Want to Find Work Experience?” Session

Post author By Joseph Curran
Post date 6 February 2023
No Comments on Top 4 Takeaways from “Want to Find Work Experience?” Session

The Want to Find Work Experience? Session took place on the 27th January 2023.

A session for Year 1 & 2 Sociology, Social Policy, Criminology & Social Work students on exploring career options and how to access relevant work experience opportunities and internships.

Students will be encouraged to reflect on their own interests and values to support exploration of work experience opportunities that align with their career goals.

Here are the Top 4 Takeaways from the session:

1. Reflect on your main interests

2. Consider what you want from an internship

3. Register on MyFuture for internship updates

4. Attend employer events

Tags employability skills, skills, work experience, work experience and placement fair

Fairs Graduate jobs Graduate recruitment Graduate Recruitment and Placement Fair Spring Careers Fair Spring Recruitment Fair work experience WORK EXPERIENCE AND PLACEMENT FAIR

Where is the Spring Careers Fair?

Post author By Md Salah Uddin
Post date 12 January 2023
No Comments on Where is the Spring Careers Fair?

STUDENT ARRIVING AT a Queens Fair in the Mandela Hall — Find your way around the three campus venues

Location one

Venue of spring career fair — Students can attend career fair in different venues

The Mandela Hall – you’ll find it right at the back of the ground floor of One Elmwood. Tip tip, there is a side entrance opposite the Parlour that brings you straight to the Hall.

Location two

The Whitla Hall. You’ll probably know this one as it’s where graduation takes place. If you don’t, just come out of the black and white hall and turn left.

Location three

The South Dining Hall – just beside the Whitla Hall, you will find the South Dining Hall. It’s right opposite Lanyon South.

Don’t forget to register for the Fair at go.qub.ac.uk/springfair.

Tags graduate jobs, graduate recruitment, Spring Careers Fair, work experience and placement fair

Employer Engagement Employer events Employer Insight Employer Panels Employers Study abroad volunteering Work abroad work experience WORK EXPERIENCE AND PLACEMENT FAIR

Over 60+ Amazing Companies You Can Meet at the Work Experience & Placement Fair

Post author By Aoife Stuart-Madge
Post date 15 February 2021
No Comments on Over 60+ Amazing Companies You Can Meet at the Work Experience & Placement Fair

Whether you are looking for a summer job, a placement or an internship, you can meet a host of employers from every industry with opportunities for students just like you. Here is who is registered to exhibit at the Work Experience and Placement Fair on 24 Feb.

EY (UK)

Catholic Guides of Ireland Northern Region

Le Pritchitt & Co Ltd

Grant Thornton

Civil Service Fast Stream

Probation Board for N.Ireland

Herbert Smith Freehills

Specialisterne NI

Version 1 Ltd

Farrans

Regional Medical Physics Service, Belfast Health & Social Care Trust

Diaceutics

CK International

Rakuten Blockchain Lab

IAESTE – British Council

Chartered Accountants Ireland

RPS Ireland Ltd

Coffey Construction (I) Ltd

Alloyed Limited

Childline

First Derivative

Design ID Consulting Ltd

Centre for Effective Services

Citi

TUSLA Child and Family Agency

Civil Service Local – Cabinet Office

ASM Chartered Accountants

Allstate Northern Ireland

Leonard Cheshire Disability

Nitec Solutions Ltd

EOS IT Management Solutions

Glen Dimplex

Henderson Group

Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK), Ltd

Symphony Talent

Shelter Northern Ireland

CavanaghKelly

Eli Lilly and Company

NI Screen

Have you registered for the fair yet? If not, you can register here.

Tags Employer Insight, employer panels, employers, networking, work abroad, work experience, work experience and placement fair

Creative careers cultural careers Employer Engagement Employer events Employer Insight Employer Panels Employers Networking not for profit work experience WORK EXPERIENCE AND PLACEMENT FAIR

Expert Guide to Networking as a Student

Post author By Aoife Stuart-Madge
Post date 9 February 2021
No Comments on Expert Guide to Networking as a Student

Throughout the academic year, the Careers service at Queen’s host employer events, fairs and industry insight opportunities. These are a great networking opportunity and offer the chance to ask questions of some key players in your target industry.

However, often the word ‘networking’ can fill you with dread. Don’t fret – it’s something you do every day. “Networking is something we do everyday, often without realising it!,” says Emma Lennox, Queen’s Careers Consultant. “It’s about reaching out to people, sometimes with an objective in mind (potentially employment-related) and sometimes not.

It’s about connecting online and in person. If online, be professional, join groups and post meaningful comments, expand your network and be curious!” she says.

Before the sessions

Emma suggests doing a bit of desktop research before attending an employer event so you know who is going and what you might want to ask. While the guest speakers will be doing much of the talking, it doesn’t hurt to have a short bio prepared in case you are asked. According to Emma, this should answer three key questions: Who are you?

What do you do/study? What are you looking for?

At the sessions

Emma has prepared the following cheat sheet of questions you can ask employers at networking events:

How did you start in this area of work?

Where do you see a person like me fitting into this field (industry, company)?

What professional associations should I join?

What professional publications should I read?

What are some of the problems and issues your organisation faces?

What are the most necessary skills for these types of jobs?

What are the trends affecting your business?

What’s a typical career path for someone coming in at my level?

Can I keep in touch with you and let you know my progress?

Networking Opportunities Ahead of the Work Experience and Placement Fair

Post author By Aoife Stuart-Madge
Post date 9 February 2021
No Comments on Networking Opportunities Ahead of the Work Experience and Placement Fair

The theme for the Work Experience and Placement Fair on 24 February is #ExperienceMore and we are giving you the opportunity to do just that with four amazing employer panels taking place in the run up to the fair. Designed to give you access to networking opportunities and to provide valuable introductions to key figures in your target industries, here is the who, what, where and when you need.

Want a career with international travel?

Join our expert panel to talk about their international career paths, their road to success and valuable lessons learned along the way. Hear from Michael Barton, Invest NI Regional Director for Canada, and Exchanges4Peace Jessica McClearn on working in NYC.

Date: 19 February 2021, 1-2pm

Register here

Interested in conservation, heritage and museums?

Whether you want a career in environmental conservation, heritage organisations, archives, museums or galleries, our expert panel will feature Louise Smyth from NI Museums and Kim McMonagle from the National Trust. They’ll be talking about the skills and experience you need to move into the sector.

Date: 22 February 2021, 1-2pm

Want to work in the Public or Not for Profit Sector?

Perhaps you want to work for a charity or an NGO, or forge a career as a public servant. Our panel features representatives from The Probation Board for Northern Ireland and the Community Foundation who’ll be discussing their own path to success and how you can move into the sector.

23 February 2021, 1-2pm

Register here.

Interested in a Creative Career?

From arts & culture, music, publishing and film industries, you’ll need a portfolio. Join our panellists and find out what skills and work experience are needed to build your body of evidence successfully to move into the sector. Featuring employers from ALT Animation, Hypixel Studios, film production company Retinize and writer and director Rebekah Davis, this session will be packed with top tips on breaking into the creative sector.

Date: 24 February, 2.30-3.30pm

PLEASE NOTE: THIS SESSION WILL BE SCREENED WITHIN THE WORK EXPERIENCE AND PLACEMENT FAIR ON 24 FEB. ONCE INSIDE THE FAIR, LOCATE THE CREATIVE CAREERS STALL.