Schools HirEd - Spring 2013

contents Editor’s letter p3 Managing your money p4-5 National Careers Week p6-7 Revison, revison, revison p8-9 What’s your second language? p10 Rolls Royce p11 Spotlight on media p12-13 Working backwards to secure your future p14-15 The Review Room p16

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It’s not about being the best, it’s about being better than yesterday.

editor's letter Here is our second edition of the HirEd Schools ezine for this academic year and it’s jammed with top news, advice and employer information just for you!

At this time of year you will be required to think a lot about the choices you make for the future. Whether that is choosing your GCSEs or Alevels, to deciding which university to go to – if you choose to go at all – planning for the future is never easy. So we get you to do a bit of forward thinking by working backwards.

Do you have a second language? We talk of the benefits of being bilingual, as well as sharing revision tips and how to manage your money effectively before your school is forced to teach you come 2014. If you think a career in Media or Marketing might be for you, then check out our Spotlight article and see what you need to do to succeed.

What’s your school or college up to during the week of 4th – 8th March??

Well, in case you didn’t know, it’s National Careers Week. So see what events are on that you can attend on you campus or look into hosting your own!

And last but not least, we share the art of small talk. Networking is a big deal, so learning how to open conversation with someone new and keep that conversation going to build a sustainable relationship is important – find out more by checking out The Review Room.

We hope you enjoy this edition!

Happy Reading!

Jackie www.brightfutures.co.uk Telephone: 01242 236415

*If you don’t have a society at your school then set up your own!

Contact Ruth Thomas at ruth.thomas@brightfutures.co.uk and we can get you started right away!

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Do you think your school should equip you with skills for life outside of the school gates? Managing your money is probably one of the most important and practical skills you will need throughout life. Whether you are good at math or not, knowing your credit from your debt, and your wages from your taxes is essential.

Schools will soon be seeing financial education being made statutory for the first time from 2014 and embedded into the national curriculum.

There are many benefits to financial education and pupils will be taught “the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management and a range of financial products and services” as part of citizenship lessons, according to the Financial Times.

With a little while to go before it’s introduced, we have put together some top tips to help you manage your money in the meantime…

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1. Find a part time job to earn some extra bucks. It could be babysitting, waitressing or coffee shop job, or household chores, but always speak to your parents before you accept any job to get permission and advice.

2. Be money savvy. Do research before you buy anything, check out shop offers, use your age to bag some deals.

3. Set up a savings account and start depositing a bit of money each month.

4. Track your spending. Figure out what you’re spending your money on and see what you can cut down a little bit at a tiny on overindulgences.

5. Don’t fall for trends. Following trends is an expensive business. Try your best to hold out just a little longer to get a better deal on brand new products from clothes to technology.

6. Protect yourself from Fraud. You may be too young to get a credit card yourself, but someone who learns of your personal information and passwords can steal your identity apply for a new credit card under your name and make purchases. So stay safe, don’t click any links on suspicious emails and keep your social media platforms protected.

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National Careers Week (NCW) is a celebration of careers guidance and opportunities across the UK from 4th - 8th March 2013. With over a thousand secondary schools and colleges taking part last year, it’s likely your school has something lined up for you, so keep your eyes peeled!

Last year there was a whole host of services provided to students during National Careers Week which included careers fairs; daily drop-in workshops; employer visits; career cinema; subject focus sessions and more!

We have a number of schools in our Bright Futures network running events in and around this week promoting things like “The Ins and Outs of Apprenticeships”, careers in Media and the Arts, speaker presentations to enhance student aspirations, plus interview and communication skills, job hunting and leadership.

For more information about National Careers Week (NCW) please visit their website here:

www.nationalcareersweek.com or chat to your teacher or head of year to find out if your school is doing anything. If they’re not, then why not run your own event! Find out more about Bright Futures School Society here:

www.brightfutures.co.uk

QR Code to scan for the NCW website

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Revision, revision, revision, it seems never ending when going through school and university but unfortunately it is the key to success. But what is revision and how do we revise? How you learn will directly reflect which revision method is best for you.

We have a range of revision methods for you to try out before it’s too late.

Straight From the Book If you find it easier to kick back and get stuck into a chunky textbook then grab a few books from the library. Try to get books from a variety of different authors to understand your topic and also analyse what different authors say. Use sticky notes to highlight key pages to look back on and note down prompts to remind you of key sections.

Do ensure when reading that your room is well lit and that back ground noise is at a minimum so your mind is focused on the task and you don’t send yourself to sleep!

Mind-maps Mind-maps are great if you have a specific topic for your exam and you have to explore different areas within that subject. Put your topic in the centre of the page and branch off all the major concepts, topics, facts etc. Don’t hesitate to use pictures, notes, words or phrases to help you remember things. Mind-maps can be more effective if you use bright colours so invest in a few highlighters (up to three colours is effective), also ensure that the colours you use are colour coordinated to a specific topic or theme. Use one mind-map for each major subject.

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Revision / Flash cards This is a personal favourite of mine as you can revise on the go and the cards will fit in your bag or pocket, I also tend to get distracted easily so focusing on revision for hours can be difficult. Flash cards help to facilitate spurts of revision throughout the day.

Invest in some index cards, or cut some pieces of card into A6 sizes. The top tip with revision cards is to keep it short and sweet. Write a particular fact, statistic or description on one side of the card and put the question on the other side to prompt you to learn the answer. Also if there is more than one answer then best to use bullet points rather than paragraphs of text.

Audio Notes If you love the sound of your own voice I would highly recommend this technique, the great thing about audio notes is that you can record on your phone or a Dictaphone, play it out loud, pause and stop and also plug in head phone to listen in bed or on the go. It is important that you speak loudly and clearly so that you can understand yourself and also speak in an upbeat tone to motivate you to keep going.

Revision Games / Group Study This is perfect if you are a socialite because at the end of the day revision can be very boring, so instead of locking yourself away in your room invite your friends over (check with your parents first) and bring your revision cards over to test each other. Discuss relevant subject material, make links between the various topics you are studying and confirm between one another that what you are revising is useful, interesting and relevant. Highlight any knowledge gaps which you can then revisit later as a group or in your own time.

Summary • Ensure you revise in manageable chunks • Focus on recalling the core facts of your subject • Summarise the information you are revising • Make flash cards and create mind-maps to aid your memory • Draw pictures to use during your revision • Get your friends over for group discussion to combine your learning **Remember** The night before it is essential to eat and get plenty of sleep. Don’t spend all night revising, just briefly look over your notes and make sure you are organised for your exam, so have a couple of black pens, a pencil, ruler, rubber and any other stationary needed.

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With the UK’s official second language being Polish, plus claims that too few schools are teaching Mandarin Chinese and apparently “hampering young people’s prospects and putting the UK economy at risk” (stated The Independent), we thought we would feature an article covering what the benefits of a second language are.

We live in a highly multicultural world, so much more than a mere decade ago, therefore learning a second language isn’t just great on your CV or to help you out ordering food on your annual holiday, another language can prove invaluable in your job hunt and also in your local community too. On top of these great positives, studies have suggested that learning another language results in students achieving greater divergent thinking, creativity as well as cognitive development when compared with monolingual children. Not to mention that is also teaches tolerance, understanding and patience, plus empathy and consideration.

When it comes to your career, with the economy’s increasing globalisation, having a workforce that can interact across cultures is essential – making

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anyone fluent in more than one language in high demand by employers big and small. Learning a second language will help you and your company to conduct business in countries that may not have been previously considered as viable markets, quite literally opening up a whole world of possibility!

If you’re choosing your GCSEs or Alevels then we would seriously recommend taking on a language if at all possible. If it’s a little too late in the day to change or you are almost ready to leave school and embark on your career then you can look at your local college for evening classes or a private tutor. If university is your next step you may have a number of optional modules you can take to fill your course criteria, taking a language module may be a possibility, all you need to do is ask!

Rolls-Royce

Visit us at the UCAS CareerZone in London 27 February to 1 March

Join us on Stand F at the UCAS CareerZone roadshow, London Olympia, between 27 February and 1 March 2013 and we’ll show you the wide range of career opportunities we have available for school

leavers and graduates – the kind of opportunities that provide a real head start in your career.

As well as share the passion we have for our work, we’re eager to learn about your

company profile

We’ve enabled land-speed records, designed the world’s most environmentally friendly ships and developed turbines that generate power wherever the world needs it. In short, Rolls-Royce’s technology has underpinned some of the most spectacular achievements on land, at sea and in air.

aspirations. After all, it’s our passion for excellence that separates us from the competition and we hope the same innovative spirit will drive your future too.

To find out more about the range of opportunities available, please visit:

www.rolls-royce.com/earlycareers 11

Pursuing a career in media is one of the most popular and therefore competitive school and graduate career areas. There are various areas that are covered under the media sector, these include, TV, Radio, Advertising, Publishing, Journalism and Theatre.

It’s no secret that they are facing particularly tough times through therecession and the dramatic change of the digital revolution has had a huge impact on the industry.

The internet has laid down a level of expectation with the public for accessing media – ultimately people expect everything for free; reading news online for free, downloading music for free, and watching TV online for free. Plus, the added pressure of not hiring unpaid interns has had a big affect on who, or even if, they hire at all.

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Here are our 9 top tips to helping secure your success in the media industry...

1. Plan early. Securing practical experience will be a huge asset to your application. So look at presenting a school radio show, joining or setting up a film society, and grow your portfolio of articles that you have had printed/featured if you’re looking into journalism 2. Prepare a media specific CV. You need to tailor your CV to every role you apply to regardless of the sector but media is even more necessary and also feature 3. Be prepared for a tough journey. There are no guarantees in this industry so you need to pull out all the stops if you want to succeed.

4. Industry health check. Always be alert to what is going on in your chosen field. Is it dying a death or is it thriving? Make sure you focus your attention where there’s some worth and al ways keep your ears to the ground for any emerging or growing industries you can apply your skills to.

5. Learn to Network. Talking to people is the most important way of getting noticed in this industry as a hell of a lot of vacancies are filled by people who know people. Visit companies, ask if you can do some work shadowing, attending sector specific networking events and mingle.

And most importantly, keep in touch! There is no point in taking a business card and then never following up on the conversation.

6. Secure Experience. As a result of your networking, make sure you secure some practical experience – you won’t get far without it. Always keep your eyes peeled for opportunities, competitions, insight and open days, talks and workshops. Some companies may still take on unpaid interns, so if you have the capacity to do it then why not, but don’t be treated like a slave and always get your parent’s permission before conducting any job or internship.

7. Be assertive. Don’t take no for an answer and don’t be afraid to just walk into the office of the company that really inspires you, or to pick up the phone and call a newspaper editor and ask for a chance to shadow them for a day. But there is a fine line between being assertive to being a pest, who is rude or arrogant – make sure you get it right!

8. Top up your skills. Learning new software skills like Photoshop, Dreamweaver and InDesign will boost your proposition to any employer and add value to what you can offer.

9. Don’t give up – expand. Stay open-minded to the opportunities around you. A temp job in the finance industry may not quite be what you were looking for but they too need people to manage their media and marketing. Once you’re in it’s a lot easier to move function and build your network from within. Keep on top of and understand the market, follow who is doing well and how you could work for them. Be flexible to new industries and different job titles.

Last, but not least... Good luck!

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There are a great variety of subjects being offered and delivered to pupils right across the UK, but are they the ones you think you’ll need to fend for yourself in the future? Are they the ones that will bag you that dream job, or secure your place at university? Making the right decision on the modules and courses you choose is an important part of your future and could hinder your chances of getting to where you want to be if you make the wrong choice.

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If you already have an idea of the kind of career you want after school why not work backwards to see what you need to get there? If you know what they require, it can help you map out your route now to ensure you get there with ease.

Check their general entry requirements, do they require a degree or

do they have a direct entry for school leavers? Can you do an

apprenticeship to avoid the big student debt from going to university and get paid whilst training on the job? Each route will have different requirements for entry, find out what they are, then take another step backwards.

If you need to go to university, what degree do they expect you to have and do they have certain universities that they accept applications from, or are they fairly open to diversity? You can then narrow down to the degrees typically accepted and find out what is required to get on that degree course at that particular university. The same with the entry level roles straight from school, do you need a minimum of A-C in English, Maths and Science, plus some experience in IT? Or do you need to have studied Biology or Chemistry at Alevel, achieving a minimum B grade?

By finding out what the requirements are for each step it should bring you back to your GCSEs and Alevels and help you choose the right subjects for you. It may seem a bit tedious, and no one is expecting you to have your life mapped out from the age of 14 onwards, but if you can do a little research into the jobs you think you might like to do, then it could ease the stress on your decision making process and make sure you are doing courses that are right for you, and not what someone else thinks you should do.

To find out more about universities and courses, careers and entry requirements, there are a number of sites you can look at, we recommend: (Click on the link below to be directed to relevant page)

• UCAS • UniStats • The Complete University Guide • Prospects • AllAboutCareers

Even if you do find you are on the wrong course or you’ve chosen the wrong path, you can always change. People move from sector to sector, company to company and job to job. It’s all about transferable skills, so if you know you are developing a range of skills that will be beneficial to any career, then you’re on to a winner no matter what you decide to do.

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The Fine Art of Small Talk

by Debra Fine For as long as we remember we are told not to talk to strangers, yet starting a conversation with someone you don’t know is essential when you progress through your life and your career. Whether it’s on your first day in your new job to make friends, or your first networking event to build contacts to start your own business, talking to strangers is something that does require a bit of confidence, plus a few tricks up your sleeve to get people to warm to you and get the conversation going.

‘The Fine Art of Small Talk’ by Debra Fine is a great book for just that. She has an array of useful conversation starters, tips to engage people’s attention, move into a group or approach someone already in a conversation – either socially or professionally. The book is really easy to read, with the ability to flick in and out of it at your own leisure, picking up loads of tips as you go, and without having to read the whole book before you can unleash yourself to the networking world.

Get it now at WHSmiths from £7.19

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