April Hired E-Magazine

HEAR FROM FINAL YEAR STUDENT AMY ABOUT ON HOW SHE LANDED HER DREAM JOB WITH THE HELP OF MYKINDAFUTURE!

Spotlight on

careers in HR & Recruitment

ARE YOU MAKING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE?

GREAT ADVICE FROM PROFESSIONALS WORKING IN HR & RECRUITMENT!

Start your HR career with opportunities from Santander, Civil Service, M&S and Accenture! | Company Profiles

CONTENTS Page 3

Welcome from the Team

Page 4

Introduction into careers in HR and Recruitment

Page 5

Meet Ben, a HR graduate in the Civil Service

NATIONAL AWARD SPONSORS BPP Society of the Year [Strathclyde Bright Futures] www.bpp.com

St James’ Place Fastest growing Society [King’s College Bright Futures] www1.sjp.co.uk

Page 6/7 My experience of working in HR and Recruitment Page 8

Meet Amy, who recently secured a grad job at TUI

with the help of the MyKindaFuture team!

Page 9

Join your Bright Futures society

HSBC Most Collaborative Society [Lancaster Bright Futures] www.hsbc.com/careers

Page 10 Start a career in HR with M&S HR Page 11

Accenture: How digital fluency is closing the

gender pay gap

Page 12/13 Making the most out of LinkedIn Page 14

Graduate and Internship opportunities

with Santander

Page 15

Looking for a placement?

Join the MyKindaFuture team!

Page 16

Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25

Company profiles Apple HSBC KPMG The Civil Service Fast Stream M&S Santander Ashurst Accenture Costain

The Civil Service Most Inclusive/Diverse Society [Worcester Bright Futures] candidate.faststream.gov.uk

RPC President of the Year [Shah Ahmad - Aston] www.rpc.co.uk/manifesto

CAPP/Jobmi National Ambassador of the year [Adam Engdahl - Royal Holloway] www.jobmi.com

Lancaster University Corporate Investor of the Year [RPC] www.lancaster.ac.uk/careers/

M&S Newcomer of the Year [Southampton Bright Futures] careers.marksandspencer. com/graduate-careers

GE Aviation Event of the Year [Strathclyde Bright Futures] www.geaviation.com

WELCOME

from the team Welcome to the April edition of the Hired magazine! In this issue, we are looking at career options in the HR and Recruitment industry, giving you a great insight into how to succeed and the opportunities currently available!

Although you might not have experience of working in the recruitment industry, many students have experience of working with recruitment teams and agencies whilst looking for a job! It can be a hard concept to grasp at first, a recruiter approaches you, helps you through your application and interview process and hopefully you get the job but they don’t ask you for fee! So where is the catch?! The majority of recruiters make their money through finding great candidates to fill positions for their clients and part of that role is making sure that you, the candidate, is as prepared as possible.

Like many students, I was completely unaware of how this worked when I graduated in 2015, so I have put together some helpful tips to help you get the most out of working with recruiters!

Firstly, try to build a relationship with your recruiter and let your key

qualities and skills shine. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to be able to ‘sell you’ as a candidate and you need them to believe in you to do this best.

When you are talking to a recruiter at any time, treat it like an informal interview making sure you are prepared and at your best. Again, the recruiter is building up a profile of you to be able to get you a brilliant job so make sure you are consistently showing your best side!

Recruiters spend the majority of their time working with candidates, they are a fountain of knowledge for great advice on acing applications and interviews so make sure you seek and take their advice. They might not have indepth knowledge of the industry you are going into, but do not overlook their support when it comes to recruitment!

If you are working with multiple agencies, keep a note or diary of all the conversations and jobs you are discussing, recruiters will probably call you out of the blue about various positions so make sure you are prepared and ready to talk about any role – remember each phone conversation you have is an opportunity to reinforce your greatness! Finally, when

looking for jobs or agencies to work with, only select those which you are really interested in – your honest enthusiasm will shine through!

After working at MyKindaFuture for over 8 months now, I have had the opportunity to work closely with our recruitment team who have opened my eyes to the world of recruitment! Unlike many agencies, our recruitment team are mainly focused around supporting students to find opportunities and helping them to prepare for interviews and assessment centres.

The committee members of our Bright Futures Societies are just some of the students who have received support and in this issue, one of our society presidents, Amy Docker from Leeds University, worked with our team with her upcoming interview with TUI and we hear about her experiences on page 9!

Good luck in your job hunting and I hope you enjoy this issue!

Lucy Godwin National Societies Executive at MyKindaFuture

If you don’t have a Society at your university then set up your own!

Contact us at society@mykindafuture.com and we can get you started right away!

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An Introduction into Careers in HR & Recruitment Great vision without great people is irrelevant.

(Jim Collins, Good to Great)

If you are looking to work in an interesting, diverse and ever-changing industry, a career in HR or Recruitment could be the one for you! Although similar in their functions, they are both extremely competitive; there are fundamental differences between the two!

Human Resources - HR

Recruitment

Human Resources (HR) involves everything related to the employeremployee relationship and recruitment is part of this process. The term HR is often used to describe the function within an organisation that supports people management. HR is a core business function that is essential to any organisation’s effective operation.

Recruitment, on the other hand, within a large organisation is usually a part of the HR function. However, there are specific organisations - such as recruitment agencies - that provide external support companies who perhaps struggle with their recruitment or do not have the specialist knowledge or even the time to recruit themselves.

An HR department within an organisation is responsible for everything from handling the details of hiring and interviews (part of recruitment) to dealing with employee relations such as conflicts and complaints. HR also often tends to manage the payroll with a company as well as employee relations such as pensions, benefits etc.

Recruitment, effectively, is sales.

Sales that is two fold. Recruitment consultants have two ‘customers’ – the client they are trying to gain work from and the candidate they are trying to place in a role. Many people miss the reality that recruitment is professional sales.

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Recruitment agencies often receive bad press for being cut throat, harsh and ruthless. Sadly, this is the case for

some recruiters (a minority) and this significantly impacts the reputation of others. This is a huge challenge for recruiters in today’s world!

Why are HR and recruitment important?

HR and recruitment are extremely important functions regardless of what industry you work in. You will always be interviewed for any job you go for and there will (or should) always be someone you can go to within your organisation regarding any disputes.

To work in either industry is not a science but you do need many skills to be successful within this field… if you enjoy working with people you are off to a good start! This month’s magazine will hopefully offer you a deeper insight into these sectors!

What could you achieve... on the Human Resources scheme?

What is your current role and what does it entail?

My name is Ben Coates, I joined the Human Resources (HR) Fast Stream in September 2014 having graduated from Northumbria University in the summer having studied HR. My first placement is in Civil Service Resourcing, an expert HR service working across Government. I am in the unusual position that I actually work in the team that manages the Corporate Fast Stream, so I get to see things from both sides! It’s a really challenging and rewarding role, I have been responsible for leading on large projects, have line management responsibility and have worked on high profile submissions for the head of the Civil Service, all in my first 6 months!

Why did you apply for this Stream?

Choosing the HR programme was an obvious choice for me, I have been committed to a career in HR for some time.

The real draw for me with the Fast Stream was the huge diversity of roles you can do and the level of responsibility you get.

In many organisations, HR can be quite a narrow career choice, but in the Civil Service the possibilities are endless. I am in a position of responsibility that is really unusual at this stage in my career and this, combined with the huge support network, (not to mention the funded Master’s degree!) made the Fast Stream stand head and shoulders above the rest for me.

Where do you hope to be at the end of the Fast Stream scheme?

By the end of the programme I am aiming to have a broad knowledge of HR in different functions and be ready to move

into a senior management position. The fantastic thing about the Fast Stream is that in just 3 years you are given the skills and experience you need for this to happen. I have set myself the ambitious aspiration of reaching the Senior Civil Service within 6 years. Ambitious as that is, the programme provides a level of development that means it is a realistic target, within a short period of time I can expect to have a real impact on how the Civil Service delivers for the British public.

What is your proudest achievement whilst being a Fast Streamer?

My proudest achievement so far whilst being a Fast Streamer (apart from actually getting on to the programme!) was organising and facilitating a solutions event for senior leaders from across a number of teams. I was tasked with getting a group of key decision makers around a table for an afternoon to make effective decisions

on a complex and high profile project I was leading. The output of this was a submission to the Permanent Secretary. This involved extensive planning to design an event that would allow some complex and contentious issues to be discussed in a way that brought about quick and effective decisions. I also had to lead this discussion myself between a number of Directors, Deputy Directors and other senior figures. It was a steep learning curve but the event was successful and I received positive feedback from the senior leaders involved. Being given this level of responsibility is one of the reasons I really value this programme, it stretches you to develop and push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

Apply now (Click here) Click here to read about why the Civil Service would like to attract more male applicants to apply to the HR Fast Stream.

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-fast-stream

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Advice from HR & Recruitment Professionals

One of the best ways you can start to understand what is really like to work in the HR sector is to talk to peo MyKindaFuture team and contacts from the companies we work closely with to give us insight into their rol

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Claire, Head of Societies at MyKindaFuture

Talia, Product Development and Marketing Manager at MyKindaFuture

Simon, Strategic Lead for Emerging Talent at MyKindaFuture

How did you end up working in recruitment and HR? I studied HR Management at Southampton University and always wanted to apply the skills I had developed at university in a role that involved lots of interaction with people.

In my opinion the HR function is what keeps the business functioning to its optimum as it deals with people and without happy people, businesses will fail. As Richard Branson says “if you run your own business, put on top your employees, then your consumers, then your shareholders”

I studied psychology at university, and realised I was really interested in the psychology behind business decisions and how to get people to buy into you, your products and your company. I started off in Learning and Development, and found it really interesting to see how people learn and to put theories I had learnt at university into practise. I am now working in Product Development and Marketing at MKF, which I also love. When we are working on new products, I enjoy working out what psychological state young people are in within the whole recruitment cycle, which then helps us work out what we can do to support the young person within the different stages. It also help us understand how we can aid our clients with products that will both solve the problems they experience whilst recruiting young people, and how to make them a differentiator in their market.

How did you end up working in Recruitment / HR? I did my industrial placement from University in an HR / Recruitment role as I thought I would enjoy this and wanted to use my placement to find out. I did ‘find out’ and really I enjoyed it, particularly the recruitment part of it. I then found myself in sales on leaving University (I enjoy finding out about businesses issues and challenges and then creating solutions for people) and 22 years on I am still working in recruitment!

What are the top skills that students need to work in Recruitment or HR? People skills are really key!

What is the best tip you can give someone wanting to do your job?

If you love working with people and helping them get the results they need, then go for it and don’t give up as when that combination happens, it makes all your hard work seem very worthwhile.

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What are the biggest challenges you face working in recruitment?

Recruitment is not for everyone, you need to be resilient, as it can be tough when an individual turns down a job offer when you have worked so hard with them, or a client rings you up as a candidate has not turned up for their interview or they interviewed who you thought was the perfect candidate but the client does not agree! You also need to be persistent, as clients don’t always want to talk to you and it may take some time to finally have that quality conversation or meeting with them that gets your relationship started. Essentially our job is dealing with people and people do the most surprising things, both bad and good! But in the end anything bad that happens is always forgotten when one of your candidates gets the perfect job for them and you know you were instrumental in making that happen, you have helped them get their career started!

What are the top skills that you think students need?

Attitude is the most important attribute and the good news is that attitude is a state of mind not a skill that you need to have when you start your career. If you have the right attitude, you will want to learn the skills and develop the knowledge to become a great recruiter. So when recruitment companies recruit they focus on your attitude.

Skills / behaviours that would be useful to have and will give you an edge will be: the ability to communicate (which is more about asking good questions then listening, not talking at someone, which is what poor sales people do!); influencing skills; building relationships; goal orientation; persistence and resilience.

What is the best tip you can give someone wanting to do your job?

I am going to give two! The first, an absolute focus on wanting to do a great job for your client. And as I see it I have two clients, the employer you pays for the service I provide and the candidate who I want to support securing the right job for them. And the second is to grow your skills and knowledge as clients buy based on credibility and trust, demonstrating knowledge and expertise is what builds that trust.

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What are the biggest challenges you face in your job?

The biggest challenge for me is that people are an unknown commodity and you can’t always second guess what they will do or how they will react.

In terms of the skills needed to work in this market, I think you need to be a good team player, resilient to set-backs and innovative in terms of thinking of new ways to solve age-old problems. My degree taught me some of these skills but I have learnt so much more since being in the world of work.

For anyone interested in this career path, I would recommend getting as much work experience as possible, and put yourself out there for any opportunities that put the above skills to the test!

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What do you enjoy the most about your role?

The role that I currently work in is still very much people focused. The best part of what I do is matching up the requirements of a business by supporting them to shape their attraction strategies and helping students to make better informed career choices.

What do you enjoy the most about your role?

Working in a recruitment consultancy is not the same as a role in HR. It is important to understand that working in a recruitment company is fundamentally a professional sales role (not a door to door sales role!) and is fast paced, dynamic and about hitting targets, all of which I find very motivating. The great news is that today professional sales is about the ability to build relationships quickly, being inquisitive, understanding business challenges and creating a genuine solution that will make their business perform better.

So in my case, hire great apprentices, interns and graduates who go on to build successful careers. Do that well and you make good money, so first and always focus on doing a great job for your clients and you will then reap the rewards.

The biggest buzz of all is when I tell someone they have got the job and hearing their reaction (I have had people literally scream down the phone with excitement!)

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Mark, University Relationships Manager at MyKindaFuture

Bianca, Graduate Recruitment Consultant at MyKindaFuture

How did you end up working in recruitment?

I worked for a recruitment agency during my final year of university. During the summer between my penultimate and final years I worked for a FTSE 100 company and organised Assessment Centres and screened CVs as part of my role (I thought my internship was in Management Consultancy but I was exposed to a lot more than that one industry!)

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience of in house recruitment and decided to pursue a part time career to see if this industry was for me.

How did you end up working in recruitment?

I started a career in recruitment because I was attracted by the prospect of marrying the two subjects I studied at University: Media and Sociology. So far in my career I worked on roles across the creative industry, the financial services, engineering, IT and many others which gave me a great understanding of the jobs market in the UK, as well as helped me interact with professionals from various fields of work.

What are the biggest challenges working in recruitment?

I think the biggest challenge of working in HR or recruitment is that there is a common misconception that recruitment consultants are ruthless, cut-throat salesmen or women! The harsh reality is that there are many of these ‘type’ which really damages the image of recruitment.

Another challenge of this industry is being adaptable - as I said: no two days are the same and no two clients or candidates are the same so you need to be able to adapt to their way of thinking and use the correct tone which is applicable to them (e.g. the way you speak to an apprentice must be different from the way you talk to an HR Director from a multinational company).

What are the top skills that students need?

You need to be adaptive as you are constantly speaking to different people. You also need to be creative and innovative, recruitment requires you to be creative in the way you approach clients as what works for one may not work for another. Finally, you need to be resilient and determined, you will knocked back, you will send through candidates who don’t get the job, you will have phone calls with companies who aren’t interested in hearing from you. You must be able to bounce back!

What is the best tip you can give someone wanting to do your job?

There will be days you feel like giving up - you may have spoken to candidates who don’t fit the bill or you may have tried cold calling and had knock back after knock back... don’t give up! Your hard work will pay off - you just need to find what works for each individual client and you will reap the rewards!

What do you enjoy the most about your role?

Guiding graduates into their first roles in the industry.

The satisfaction of helping a novice to take the first steps in their careers is priceless.

What are the biggest challenges working in recruitment?

Handling the pressure of such an effervescent industry. Recruitment processes change every day, as do people’s priorities and timeframes. It can be very challenging to keep a candidate engaged throughout the interviewing and assessment process which sometimes can take up to a couple of months, as is making sure that your client understands the value that your candidate can bring into the business and doesn’t offer the position to someone else. The recruitment industry is a very competitive marketplace, where speed, multitasking and working under pressure are essential traits and can sometimes pose challenges.

What are the top skills that you think students need?

You need to be very resilient – because every month at least of small percentage of your work will not bring any results but that’s all part of the job, don’t be discouraged! You will also need to be very good communicator and rapport builder – because they will have to liaise with clients and candidates on a daily basis and the key to success is in being able to establish very good relationships with both parties.

They need to be very ambitious and self-motivated – successful recruiters need to be very good sales people, which means that they will have to take a pro-active approach to hitting targets and keep themselves motivated throughout the day.

What is the best tip you can give someone wanting to do your job?

To conduct in-depth research into the industry using job boards, LinkedIn, your careers service, or our Bright Futures network. But more importantly, to speak to the people who are already doing the job to get a ‘real feel’ of the main responsibilities and challenges that a career in recruitment involves.

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What do you enjoy the most about your role?

The most enjoyable aspect of working in recruitment and HR is that no two days are the same - no two clients are the same, no two candidates are the same. I am a people person so I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with a wide range of people from candidates such as electrical engineers to clients who were HR Directors or Partners!

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Hazel Bird, Attraction and Outreach Officer at KPMG

What do you love most about your job?

I’ve been in the job for about 18 months and I’ve yet to have a typical day! One day could consist of going to a university and running a skills session on interview skills, or a presentation on behavioural capabilities and key competencies that might come up in interviews, the next day I could be at a school, running an assembly with a teacher, doing speed networking with other employers, speaking to students about alternative opportunities like apprenticeships. I could find myself in Glasgow one day, Edinburgh the next, Aberdeen the next. The variety of work and that I never get bored is what I enjoy most about my job along with inspiring young people to apply for our programmes.

How did you come to work in Recruitment / HR? I studied a MSc in Marketing and worked previously in event management and business development before coming to work in the student recruitment team on their Marketing and Attraction side.

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Tom, Recruiter at MyKindaFuture

& Co-founder of The Recruitment Collective How did you end up working in recruitment?

I fell into after returning to London after 2 years teaching and travelling. My friends were working in accountancy and finance but recruitment seemed to offer quick career potential. I was also extremely fortunate to join a brand new company as their fourth employee.

What do you enjoy the most about your role?

People - I get to deal with a real mix of characters as no two people are the same. Everyone has something unique or interesting about them and it is great to in turn find out how others ended up where they did in their careers.

What are the biggest challenges working recruitment?

People - they are unpredictable and even some of the most reliable individuals can let you down when you are least expecting it.

What are the top skills that students need to work in recruitment?

Organisation, perseverance and the ability to laugh even when things go horribly wrong.

What is the best tip you can give someone wanting to do your job?

Only consider it if you can see yourself doing it for 3-5 years. Think long and hard about whether you want to join a big, established company or a smaller organisation (there are pros and cons to both). It takes longer than you think to master and many, many people drop out after 6-18 months (and sometimes less).

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ople who are already working in it! We have asked some the le, how they came to work in HR and what advice they have for students!

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HELP SECURE YOUR DREAM JOB WITH MYKINDAFUTURE As well as gaining bundles of experience and skills by being a committee member of a Bright Futures society, our students also gain support from our experienced team when looking for graduate roles, placements and internships!

Our ‘green room’ service, which supports students in preparing for upcoming interviews and assessment centers, was recently utilised by one of our Bright Futures presidents, Amy Docker from Leeds University.

Amy has secured a graduate role in finance with TUI, one of the companies we work with at MyKindaFuture and we hear from Amy about her experience of securing her new role before she graduates this summer.

Centre and received a call 2 days later offering her the role!

The entire process from Amy finding out about the role and being offered the job was 5 weeks and this compares to an industry average of 15 weeks

In a recent conversation with TUI, it was highlighted to our team that TUI had vacancies that they were looking for our assistance in promoting, including finance. Shortly after this, Amy Docker - the President of our Bright Futures society at Leeds expressed an interest to our Societies team that she was keen to pursue a career in finance. Our team was then able to match Amy’s aspirations with the needs of TUIs and we quickly put them in touch directly. Through all merit of her own, Amy flew through the TUI application process and was invited to Assessment Centre last month.

Amy told us that the recruitment team at TUI asked a lot about her role in running a Bright Futures Society during the interview and has kindly provided us with the following testimonial:

Following a detailed call with Kate from our recruitment team in Cheltenham (who was a terrific help in preparing Amy for the day, an example of our ‘green room’ service), Amy went to the Assessment

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“Having joined Bright Futures in 2014 I had attended a number of fantastic events all aimed at promoting my employability and boosting my success in the competitive job market. These events gave me a pretty good idea of what to expect at assessment centres, as well as the all important do’s and don’ts!

Before my first ever assessment centre I spoke to Kate from the MyKindaFuture recruitment team for some last minute tips and to calm my nerves. We talked about criteria assessors are looking for in the teamwork activities, the importance of not letting your professional

nature slip during down periods such as lunch and of course the all important firm handshake employers expect when you meet for the first time. Of course it is important to be yourself during assessment centres, but having an idea of the boxes assessors are looking for you to tick is definitely very useful and something other candidates who haven’t had access to this guidance may not consider. Although I had heard a lot of the advice Kate provided before, I would urge anybody feeling nervous or in the dark about the experience of assessment centres to contact the MyKindaFuture recruitment team.”

We wish Amy the best in her new role and we look forward to keep connecting students to great employers! If you are in the process of applying for jobs then please get in touch with Kate at: kate.davis@mykindafuture.com or 01242 236415.

GREAT HR MANAGEMENT BRINGS GREAT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES People are key at M&S. People who can enthuse, engage and empathise with customers. People who can inspire others, innovate as a matter of course, act with integrity and work as a connected team.

Finding them is one thing. Developing them another. Which is why brilliant HR management is critical.

We employ some 83,000 people across M&S. Whether they work on the shop floor in one of our stores, make sure everything runs smoothly in Logistics or Supply Chain, or provide the business brains at Head Office, their focus is on customers. It’s essential that we source and cultivate the right talent, and our HR teams have a vital role to play in our expanding, multichannel, socially responsible business.

resource. Then you’ll move to a specialist area at Head Office, such as Recruitment, Policy, Reward or Learning & Development. Similarly, on an HR placement, you’ll rotate around different departments to give you the full picture of what we do, the challenges we face and the people who make it all happen.

An HR career at M&S offers a wealth of opportunities – and you can embark on this exciting journey on our 18-month HR Graduate Programme or as a student on a 12-month HR Business Placement.

“My first four months of the programme were spent in store. I got involved with various commercial activities across Food and General Merchandise, which gave me a good understanding of how the business functions on the frontline, as well as an insight into the people strategy.

Then I spent four months in the People Policy Specialist team, before a final rotation working alongside a Resource and Succession Consultant responsible

As a graduate, ideally with an HR or related degree, you’ll start at one of our stores working alongside our HR Business Partners, learning about how we manage our vast and valuable

Click here for:

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LINKEDIN

Rebecca studied Acting at university before being inspired by a career in HR.

TWITTER

for recruiting and training Section Managers.”

It was obviously a good grounding – Rebecca has recently won ‘HR Star of the Quarter’ for her work on a new performance management system.

Applications don’t open until later in the year.

In the meantime, you can contact us on WhatsApp: 07834 335603 with your career questions.

Getting to equal How digital is helping close the gender pay gap at work

Digital has had a positive impact on the women’s education and employment opportunities.

And the future looks promising as millennials mature and move into the ranks of leadership at work.

It’s a well-documented fact that women are lagging men in workplace equality. Different reports have pegged the time to gender parity at as much as 100 years. Now new Accenture research is proving that digital fluency—the extent to which both men and women have embraced digital technologies to become more knowledgeable, connected and effective—is helping to close this gender gap and level the playing field for women in the workplace.

Our Digital Fluency Model examines the impact of digital technologies across women’s entire career lifecycle. We surveyed nearly 5,000 women and men in 31 countries to gauge their familiarity with digital technologies. We found that, while men outscore women in digital fluency across almost all of the 31 countries we studied, that gap is narrowing and digital fluency acts as an accelerant in every stage of a person’s career—a powerful one in education and in the workplace, and an increasingly important one as they advance into the ranks of leadership.

Why is this? Digital fluency is helping today’s workers better manage their time and become more productive. Digital fluency also enables greater work

flexibility—an amenity that workers value and companies are now providing. While men and women alike are liberated by the balance that work flexibility affords, women appear to derive greater value from it.

Getting on the right side of the digital fluency gap can change the picture for women—and their countries—in dramatic ways.

If governments and businesses can double the pace at which women become digitally fluent, we could reach gender equality in the workplace by 2040 in developed nations and by 2060 in developing nations.

Read the full report here

accenture.com

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It is becoming more and more important to have an online presence especially for anyone looking for a job, internship or placement!

70% of recruiters have turned down applicants based on what they have found out about them online. This statistic is in stark contrast with the 7% of job applicants who are concerned or worried about their online reputation!

This article contains our six top tips for maximising your profile on LinkedIn. By no means is this an extensive ‘how to’ guide but; it should provide you with some knowledge to help grow and develop your professional profile.

1. Be professional

Perhaps the most important thing you should remember about your LinkedIn profile is that you should always be LinkedIn is an incredible professional. Your professionalism should extend beyond your online tool that can be language. Your professionalism used to enhance your on LinkedIn also includes your personal brand and will profile picture, as this is often help create a professional the first thing anyone will see online presence. Many when searching for your profile. recruiters will turn to Twitter You should always use your full or Facebook if they cannot name – no nicknames – but you should try and be creative find you on LinkedIn so with your headline. This section being part of this network is automatically filled in for you could be the difference with your current job title if you between being offered a job choose not to personalise it.

or not.

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2. Use the hidden features There are lots of hidden lots features on LinkedIn that many people don’t know about. Some of those features include: • In one click you can export all of your connections and their email addresses onto an excel file which you can use to contact your network.

• You can customise your invitations on mobile devices to make your connection requests personal. Do not be fooled by the ‘Connect’ button that will send a standard request.

• You are able to choose whether you appear as yourself or Anonymous when viewing other profiles. This does have repercussions if you want to see who has viewed your own profile.

• On your profile, you are able to choose a personalised URL which you can include on your CV, business cards etc. This looks much better than the standardised link.

• You are also able to ‘Tag’ your connections into groups which

makes it easier when identifying where you met an individual (i.e. you can have tags for colleagues, clients etc)

3. Share your experience, not your job descriptions One of the most common mistakes that LinkedIn users make is that their ‘Experience’ section is often full of job descriptions.

Most, if not all, employers will be aware of what your role titles will involve. Instead, you should provide some detail of your roles – there is no need for in-depth job descriptions. Be careful not to make the mistake that most people make of just listing your activities. Instead you should focus on your achievements and responsibilities. You may wish to consider the following: • What did you contribute in each job?

• What skills did you learn or develop?

• What makes you different from all of the other employees?

• What were your key achievements or successes?

4. Link it to your CV

Employers will start questioning your experience if your profile doesn’t match your CV so be sure to include all of your work history on both. You should also include a link to your LinkedIn profile at the top of your CV – this will often guide recruiters to your page.

5. Be alive online Like many things, there is no point of having a LinkedIn profile if you are not going to use it fully and be active on the platform. There are many ways to ‘be alive’ on LinkedIn including sharing updates, liking posts, commenting on discussions, joining groups and publishing posts; to name just a few.

Don’t be fooled by the ‘All Star’ logo on the left hand side of your profile – this only indicates whether you have completed all of the ‘suggested fields’ on your profile. It takes a lot more than filling out your profile to become a true ‘All Star’. The suggestions above should definitely help in achieving this status.

6. Make yourself stand out

With over 400 million users on It is extremely important that your LinkedIn, you need to make sure LinkedIn profile is linked to your CV that your profile stands out. One - recruiters will often look at both. of the best ways to do this is to

use ‘Google Hotspots’ to increase your visibility. There are specific sections of your profile that Google uses when conducting a search. These sections include your Headline, Skills and Endorsements and your Summary.

Make sure that you use keywords in all of these sections to ensure that you are visible and at the top of your game!

LinkedIn is one of the most valuable tools you will ever use throughout your career. The opportunities to develop your profile and professional network are endless. This guide will help you to start maximising your profile but there are lots of other ways to engage with the platform.

The best way to discover LinkedIn is to spend time and explore it yourself!

EXPLORE ENGAGE & ENJOY! If you have any questions related to anything contained within this document or about LinkedIn in general, please do not hesitate to contact Mark O’Neill at MyKindaFuture at:

mark@mykindafuture.com

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HR and the Early in Career Recruitment Process

Human Resources, or HR as it is known, refers to the set of individuals that make up the workforce of an organisation.

HR plays an important part in the success of a company and is also the area responsible for people development and the acquiring of skills and learning, alongside ensuring the work environment is a safe and productive one.

At Santander there are a number of different disciplines that form the overall HR area including Business Partnering, Rewards, Talent, Learning, Employee Relations and Engagement, and Pensions.

Regardless of the area you are most interested in, it is all about helping people reach their full potential and finding smarter ways to work and progress. Our Graduate and Intern offering allows you the chance to sit within these areas for 4 6-month rotations to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of how HR works at Santander and also allows you to get involved in exciting projects and essentially helping turn ideas into action across the business and driving an environment where everyone counts.

Recruitment often ties in very closely with HR, with the process of employing new starters looking to HR for governance and a fair opportunity for all. Recruitment is the attracting, selecting and appointing of candidates to a role within a company and often involves making an application, completing tests and attending interviews.

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The process at Santander for our Graduate and Intern programmes require you to apply online, where you will fill out an application form and sit a short situational based test. Once through this step, you will be asked to complete an online test, and if you are successful, you will be invited to talk to a member of the team in a Candidate Care Call. The final step in our process would be to attend Assessment Centre. Throughout the process the team will be on hand to offer advice and tips on the best way to prepare and how to structure your examples to emphasise your skills and experience.

Whilst our current offerings for our 2016 cohort have come to an end, we will be starting our recruitment drive for the 2017 cohort in September – feel free to visit our website below for information about all of our business areas for our Graduate and Intern programmes.

www.santanderearlyincareer.co.uk

Opportunities with MyKindaFuture University Relationships Executive

MyKindaFuture is a unique and award-winning platform that connects the UK’s biggest and best employers with the youth market and education sector by connecting young people with employers. We have a wealth of experience working with students from schools, colleges and Universities and we are looking for a new member to join us, supporting our network of student led Bright Futures Societies at Universities across the UK!

Undergraduate Placement Year based in Waterloo, London

Bright Futures Societies are student run employability and skills societies operating in over 40 Universities, and this year we are celebrating the Societies 40th year of existence. The aim of our societies is to help students become more employable through skills development sessions and networking opportunities with a range of organisations, helping them to inform

(Salary dependent on experience)

The Opportunity Helping students realise their potential is what we are passionate about and we have created a 1 year placement opportunity for someone to join our team to do just that!

We are looking for an independent, inspiring individual who wants to work in a constantly evolving environment and believes in our goals.

You will be working as part of the team that supports all of our student led societies ensuring they develop and grow both personally and as a committee, by offering them advice, support and guidance relating to their society outreach and activities.

You’ll enjoy our innovative and open office environment and you’ll become an integral member of our dynamic and ambitious team. You’ll get plenty of opportunity to put your skills to good use and develop more, working with Bright Futures society members and ambassadors on a daytoday basis and at national events and conferences.

If you are interested in empowering our student leaders, boosting employability and would seize the opportunity to gain a year in industry experience then we’d love to hear from you.

Please contact hannah.wiltshire@mykindafuture.com for a full job description

COMPANY PROFILE

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984.

Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, the Mac and Apple Watch. Apple’s three software platforms — iOS, OS X and watchOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Apple

About Apple Apple Store Sales and Customer Service Opportunities The Apple Store is a retail environment like no other — uniquely focused on delivering amazing customer experiences. And we’re looking for incredible individuals to connect consumers and businesses to our amazing products. Apple Store employees are unique individuals whose varied talents and experiences bring value to the way they connect people with Apple. So whether you’re analytical or creative, tech savvy or a people person, the Apple Store provides an ideal opportunity to challenge yourself.

To find out more visit: www.apple.com/jobs/uk/

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Civil Service Fast Stream

Progressive Minds Apply The world is changing. New trade routes are being pioneered.

New centres of wealth are emerging. Regulation has a greater impact than ever. In this rapidly evolving climate HSBC is committed to setting the benchmark for banking and we’re looking for progressive minds to join us.

COMPANY PROFILE

We need forward-thinking, driven, perceptive students and graduates to help our customers realise their hopes, dreams and ambitions.

This means people who are dependable, open to different ideas and cultures, and enjoy being part of a team. People who have the potential to become the future leaders of HSBC. We offer internships and global graduate programmes in many parts of the world, in Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, Global Private Banking, and Retail Banking and Wealth Management.

At every stage of your journey, you will learn and discover new skills in our diverse, values led culture.

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We’ll be there to help guide and encourage you to explore new paths, as well as provide the opportunities for you to connect with customers, colleagues and the communities in which we operate.

Joining one of our internships or global graduate programmes will be the start of a rewarding career in banking.

We aim to be the world’s leading international bank. We’ll achieve this by recruiting talented students and graduates who share our vision and can lead us into the future. Valuing difference is a core principle at HSBC. We know that we achieve more when we bring people together, in business and

in communities. Ours is an inclusive environment that supports flexible working, treats people with respect and welcomes different opinions.

We focus on doing the right thing, and delivering long-term sustainable value to our clients and communities.

A world of possibilities awaits you.

www.hsbc.com/careers www.facebook.com/hsbccareers

Lucy

Lucy says she’s been able to achieve a huge amount over the three years that she’s been at KPMG. “I’ve been working in a variety of teams and sectors, giving clients insights and advice to help protect them from risk and improve the way they operate. I’ve learnt a lot about KPMG and the wider consultancy sector – as well as developing all sorts of business skills. I started off working in data analytics before moving on to Cyber and the McLaren Alliance team. Just recently I’ve moved to our Financial Services Technology Risk team. My day-to-day role varies – I could

Click here for:

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be doing everything from having meetings with senior people at the clients’ offices through to working on bids and proposals at KPMG.” She’s particularly proud of the positive impact her work can have for clients.

“We advise our clients on technology – what they have in place and any potential updates – and this advice can make a real difference to improving how they operate.”

She also has internal clients.

“I had the chance to work on a project that involved looking at our own cyber strategy. It meant working closely with the Head of Cyber Security within the defence sector. That kind of exposure was a great opportunity for me to develop new skills.”

COMPANY PROFILE

“I chose to join Technology Risk Consulting because I knew I’d get a great mix of client work and training.

I was also fascinated by the idea of using technology to protect and support different clients,” she says.

“Cyber Security was totally new to me when I joined KPMG, but there’s been loads of training to help me learn quickly.”

KPMG

Having studied Economics and Politics at the University of Bristol, Lucy wanted to challenge herself with a career in technology. KPMG gave her the opportunity to turn her passion into an accelerated career, and she’s made the most of every opportunity since. she’s been on the committee of NextSec – a UK networking group for young professionals working in cyber security and information risk management.

She’s also part of KPMG’s leadership team for BeyondMe – a nationwide initiative that matches charitable projects with businesses.

“There are so many opportunities to get involved in things at KMPG. You can really push yourself here – having never picked up a rugby ball in my life before, now I’m the Ladies Captain for KPMG’s touch rugby team! I’m a member of the running club too, and of KPMG’s Network of Women (KNOW).”

And Lucy’s top tip for making the most of life at KPMG? “KPMG gives you the opportunity, it’s up to you what you make of it.”

Lucy has also been busy outside of her day-to-day role. For example,

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Click here to view our Technology opportunities.

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Civil Service Fast Stream

‘Wake me up….when September starts’

COMPANY PROFILE

Although we are now closed for applications for Analytical Stream, we can now start to look forward to the opening of all our schemes again in September!

As well as our Analytical Stream (Government Economic Service, Government Operational Research Service, Government Statistical Service, Government Social Research Service), you’ll be able to apply to the Corporate Stream which consist of the following:

• Central Departments • Diplomatic Service • Houses of Parliament • Science & Engineering • Commercial • Finance • European • Human Resources • Government Communication Service • Digital & Technology • Project Delivery

If you feel ready for the Fast Stream, don’t wait until September – why not explore our website and feel fully prepared for when the applications are open.

To see our full range of schemes, including information about each one, please see our website at:

www.gov.uk/government/ organisations/civil-service-fast-stream

Click here for:

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Our website also has blogs from Fast Streamers about life in the Civil Service and their experiences on the programme. There is also detailed information about the application process and the types of roles you could potentially undertake.

YOUTUBE

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

See www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-fast-stream for more in-depth information on any of the streams.

We take the brightest graduate minds and give them the opportunity to flourish. Marketing.

Retail Management. Property.

Merchandising. Digital. HR. Logistics and Supply Chain. A business like ours offers a whole world to explore. Bring us your talent and we’ll help develop and shape it so, as our business transforms, so will your career.

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LINKEDIN

Your training will be challenging.

Our expectations will be high.

But we’ll invest in you to make sure you meet them. Early responsibility, engaging projects and the chance to see your chosen business area from many different perspectives are all part of our offer.

We cater for undergraduates too. Our Business Placements are the ideal way to experience what it’s like to work at the cutting-edge of retail across a number of disciplines.

COMPANY PROFILE

In the fast-moving world of retail, no business is evolving, expanding or as exciting as M&S. We have big plans – and you could be part of them. We’re expanding internationally. We’re ahead of the curve on our digital offer. We’re rejuvenating our fashion lines and building on the runaway success of our food offer. It’s an exciting story; be there as it unfolds.

M&S

As an M&S graduate, you’ll occupy a special place at a high-street retail icon. You’ll be a future leader of our business. Your ideas will inspire where we go next.

Your talent will thrive as you help take us forward into the future. It all starts here.

Applications for 2017 will open later this year. However, if you’d like to discover what a career at M&S could do for you, please message us via WhatsApp on 07834 335603.

Or visit our website to find out more: careers.marksandspencer.com Twitter: @MandSTalent LinkedIn: Marks and Spencer

Wherever you join us, we can promise you one thing: in our business, you can go as far as your potential and commitment will take you.

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You can find out more about our programmes by visiting; www.marksandspencergrads.com

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Santander

Thinking about what comes after University life?

Take the next step with Santander Early in Careers!

COMPANY PROFILE

It’s the time of year when most students start thinking about their next steps, whether that be another year of study, coming face to face with the world of work or embarking on an Intern/Graduate scheme.

In the Early in Career team, we’re planning for a successful campaign to bring on board individuals to join our Santander family and build a successful long-term career with us.

Currently we have both Graduate and Intern opportunities ranging across a number of business areas for those individuals who want to continue developing the skills they have learned during their studies and also be challenged through contributing to projects, such as around building new digital platforms, and creating new relationships.

Our Internship opportunities provide a really great snap shot into what it is like to work for Santander and dependent upon performance, also offers the chance to be given a place on the Graduate programme without having to go through the

assessment process again. Not only does this relieve any pressure to complete interviews in the final year of your university life, it allows you to focus all of your efforts on obtaining the best results in your degree.

Our Internships last for 10 weeks over the summer and the feedback we have had from the latest Interns is that they were surprised as to how much they were able to learn about Santander in the time that they had in the business, how much responsibility they were given on projects and how many people they were able to meet and network with. The Internship has opened up many doors for the students helping them to understand what the world of work is all about but also giving them a flavour of what else was to come if they moved onto the Graduate programme and we’ve seen the highest numbers of Interns move onto our Graduate programmes this year, for this very reason.

Should you choose to stay onto a Graduate programme with us, you will have a number of developmental opportunities as well as advice and guidance throughout the programmes from knowledgeable colleagues who know what you’re going through.

You will have the chance to take part in our CSR project, supporting our charity of the year, which is a great opportunity to build a network of fellow graduates that will influence the rest of your career.

By the time you’ve finished your programme, you’ll have earned an industry-recognised qualification in your area – such as a CIOBS, Professional Banker Diploma, ACCA or CIMA.

Click here for: For more information on the programmes please visit our website below:

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www.santanderearlyincareer.co.uk

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About us:

Training A training contract at Ashurst will move your mind beyond technical knowledge of the law.

Ultimately, we want to help you become a thought leader with a reputation for clear, perceptive and influential advice – a professional in whom governments and leading businesses the world over can place their trust.

This isn’t an easy route to take.

You’ll need to become a shrewd negotiator, have an ability to read both balance sheets and behaviours, and become a commercial strategist with a deep understanding of specific industries.

Our training contract will start you on that road. We will plan closely with you four seats of six months each, that will broaden your world view and hone your talents. At least one seat will be in a finance practice and we will also encourage you to join an overseas office or go on secondment to one of our most valued clients.

Who we’re looking for?

We expect a lot of ourselves – and so, as you would expect, you will need to be comfortable with challenges and pressure. You should also be able to express yourself confidently on paper and out loud,

whether that’s among your team or in a client’s boardroom.

FIRM PROFILE

We take exactly the same approach with our people: we’re interested in understanding each other, finding new and better ways to bring out each individual’s talents, and simply enjoying the interaction with other high-calibre, down-toearth people. It’s a strong, shared culture that will enable you to apply your intellect, develop yourself and thrive as an international lawyer.

Ashurst

With 27 offices across the world’s leading financial and resource centres in Europe, AsiaPacific, Middle East and the USA, Ashurst offers the scale to attract global mandates. We operate at the cutting edge of the financial, resources and infrastructure, corporate and new economy markets, offering advice that’s as commercially astute as it is technically accurate in diverse areas of law including disputes, competition, M&A and finance. It’s that incisiveness that makes us different from other elite firms: we share our client’s ambitions and the depth of our insight allows us to cut to the heart of their issues with speed and clarity.

Alongside all the hard work, we also have fun. We’re incredibly proud of our culture: we thrive when we’re collaborating; we care about our standards of client service; we’re willing to explore ideas and be accountable for their success; and as people, we’re good company.

We will expect all of that from you, too.

Next steps...

The best way to learn what it’s really like to work at Ashurst is to meet us at an event or join one of our vacation schemes. Have a look at our website to find out which scheme would be best for you. The below will also give you an insight into what your life could be like as an Ashurst trainee:

Click here for:

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For more information visit: careers.ashurst.com

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Be > You Imagined Accenture

Bring your talent and passion to a global organisation at the forefront of business, technology and innovation. Collaborate with diverse, talented colleagues and leaders who support your success. Help transform organisations and communities around the world. Sharpen your skills with industry-leading training and development, as you build an extraordinary career. Discover how great you can be. Visit accenture.com/ukgraduates

COMPANY PROFILE

As one of the world’s leading consulting and technology organisations, we achieve amazing things for our clients every day – whether that’s increasing profits, gaining a greater market share, redefining strategies, working with new technologies or offering better customer experiences.

In short, we examine a client’s organisation, work out how best to improve it, and implement agreed actions to bring about positive, lasting and profitable change. For us, it’s not just about coming up with the big ideas, it’s also about successfully delivering and implementing them.

To manage the broad spectrum of challenges our clients face, our business needs to be diverse, which is why we’ve set up our organisation across five business areas: Accenture Strategy; Accenture Consulting; Accenture Digital; Accenture Technology; and Accenture Operations.

This has enabled us to deliver some ground-breaking solutions; such as the RBS 6 Nations Championship app that delivers in-game statistics direct to your phone; technology that changes millions of lives, such as biometrics passport readers; visit accenture.com/ukicreds to

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Visit: accentureukcareers/posts

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FACEBOOK

discover more of the surprising and innovative things we do every day to make people’s lives better.

There are a variety of ways you can join us at Accenture.

Whichever programme you join, you’ll enjoy the perfect mix of intensive training, expert support and live project experience.

So why not make the most of your talents. Get the variety and scope of opportunities you deserve. Be an integral part of projects that impact the way the world thinks, works and plays.

Enjoy the responsibility that helps you get ahead, fast.

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INSTAGRAM

We are on the lookout for over 100 Graduates who are seeking a role with real responsibility to join us this August.

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Do you want to be involved in: • Writing bids to secure us exciting new projects (Graduate Bid Author) • Improving business processes which allow us to make innovative industry advances (Graduate Business Improvement Engineer)

We offer a 3 year Graduate Development programme to accelerate your career and enable you to achieve your potential both during and after the Graduate Development Scheme.

COMPANY PROFILE

You may just think of hard hats and construction sites when you think of a large Engineering Solutions provider such as Costain but we have a range of roles for students like yourselves that don’t necessarily require a degree in Engineering.

Costain

Not just for Engineers!

• Highlighting risks to the business and achieving Certified Membership with the Institute of Risk Management (Graduate Risk Co-ordinator)

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Interested in finding out more and applying?

Please visit www.costain.com/careers to search and apply for your future role.

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Accenture

COMPANY PROFILE

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