STRIVE Festival programme

M O N D AY 1 1 M AY – F R I D AY 2 2 M AY PROGRAMME OF EVENTS

INTRODUCTION In our most recent students’ survey, employability was ranked as the top priority for students currently studying.

With this in mind, your VPSI has created STRIVE festival!

It is never too early to start thinking about your career so whether you are in your first or final year, there will be something at this festival for you. STRIVE festival will run over two weeks from Monday 11 – Friday 22 May, with each day containing a different selection of events, all designed to help improve your employability.

All content is available online and you can attend as many of the sessions as you would like.

We have specialised employability sessions, confidence building and goal setting workshops on offer and individual alumni and successful leaders takeovers spread throughout the week so there is something for everyone!

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FESTIVAL OVER VIEW

NETWORKING If you sign up to any part of this festival, we will email you offering to source a contact within your chosen industry.

This will be your opportunity to network with someone already working in your chosen, or a similar field and ask any questions you may have.

SUCCESSFUL LEADERS’ Q & A Our successful leaders’ Q & As will be an opportunity for local successful leaders to talk about their experience and career as well as giving students tips and advice on how to “make it” in the business world.

Each successful leader will be speaking individually, giving you the chance to ask any question you might have whilst they are on an Instagram takeover.

The schedule for these can be found on the next page.

ALUMNI Q & A Our alumni Q & As will run in a similar format but tell closer to home success stories from our graduates, again from a range of industries, giving tips and advice on how to succeed after graduating from university.

Each Q&A will be run by the alumni as an Instagram takeover and the schedule of these can be found on the next page.

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TIMETABLE

11 12

WEEK 1 JOBHUNTING WORKSHOP noon - 1pm

M O NDAY

T UE S DAY

13 14

M O N D AY

Managing Director of Cerub PR – Successful leader Q&A and IG takeover 1 - 4.30pm

CV WRITING WORKSHOP noon - 1pm

CONFIDENCE WORKSHOP noon - 1pm

PAULA BOLTON PANEL Director of Franklin James Group – Successful leader Q&A and IG takeover 1 - 3pm

15 F R I DAY

GEORGIA GLOBE PANEL Film & TV alumni – Alumni Q&A and Instagram takeover 1 - 4.30pm

USING YOUR BUCKS AWARD noon - 1pm

RHONA NOEL PANEL Dance alumni – Alumni Q&A and Instagram takeover 1 - 4.30pm

CERI JANE HACKLING PANEL

W E D NE S DAY

T HUR S D AY

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WEEK 2

19 20 21 22

TIME MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP noon - 1pm

T U E S D AY

INTERVIEW SKILLS WORKSHOP noon - 1pm

W E D N E S D AY

GOAL SETTING WORKSHOP noon - 1pm

T H U R S D AY

NETWORKING SKILLS WORKSHOP noon - 1pm

F R I D AY

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WORKSHOPS

11 MONDAY

JOB-HUNTING This session will cover: • • • •

Application process and feedback Finding the right vacancy Recruitment agencies Employer research

noon – 1pm

13

W ED NESDAY

CV WRITING This session will cover: • • • •

What should and should not be in your CV How to make the most of your experience How to present it Common mistakes

noon – 1pm

19 TUESDAY

TIME MANAGEMENT This session will cover • • • • •

How well do you use your time?

Managing potential time stealers Prioritising your time Learning to say “no” Goal setting

noon – 1pm

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WORKSHOPS

20

W ED NESDAY

INTERVIEW SKILLS This session will cover • The importance of feedback • Understanding the questions • Preparing for an interview • Having the right answers • How to act on the day noon – 1pm

21 TH URSDAY

GOAL SETTING This session will cover • Planning and taking actionable steps • How to focus effectively on a goal • Working out what to achieve • Reaching your goals noon – 1pm

22 FRIDAY

NETWORKING SKILLS This session will cover • How to communicate effectively • Using your social media • Finding your confidence • Influencing skills noon – 1pm

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WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHT

18 MONDAY

USING YOUR BUCKS AWARD This session will cover • Make your experiences work place relevant • Enhance your employability prospects • Do you have graduate attributes?

• Showcase your success • Interview skills Every time you participate in an activity with us, be it volunteering, a skills session or securing a committee role, we have a record of it and are now able to collate these records to really showcase your involvement through the Bucks Award.

The Bucks Award is divided into sections with the idea that by the time you leave university you have something in every section – a completely achievable goal due to all the free opportunities you have access to thanks to the Big Deal. Even if you don’t have every element covered, we want you to be able to talk about your experiences in an effective way that can be relatable to the career of your choice.

We are also offering Bucks Award one to one sessions, which are a chance for you to articulate your experiences which can help with preparation for writing your application or attending your interview. If you are interested in one of these sessions, please contact sutraining@bucks.ac.uk. noon – 1pm

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SUCCESSFUL LEADERS Q&A

CERI-JANE HACKLING Ceri-Jane Hackling is MD and founder of Cerub PR which provides services to clients across the UK to help them raise their profile and engage with audiences through the media.

After working at various companies in London, being fired and made redundant a number of times, Ceri-Jane moved back to Buckinghamshire to take up a role at a PR agency in High Wycombe. After being made redundant – again – she decided the only way to avoid being made redundant and fired was to start her own business. After 17 years it seems that so far, she was proved right! Ceri-Jane will be talking about overcoming adversity, finding the positives and how persistence is key.

Ceri-Jane will be joining us on Tuesday 12 May, 1 - 4.30pm for a Successful Leaders Q&A talk, and Instagram takeover!

PAULA BOLTON Paula Bolton is a Director of Franklin James Group ltd.

“This year (2020) I was elected by Santander to be part of their Breakthrough Women Business Leaders’ Mentoring Programme. Thousands applied, and they chose 21 mentors to help support Women in Business.”

Paula will be joining us on Thursday 14 May, 1 - 3pm for a Successful Leaders Q&A talk, and Instagram takeover!

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ALUMNI Q&A

GEORGIA GLOBE I’m Georgia Globe a graduate from Bucks New Uni. I studied Film and TV Production from 2014-2017, graduating in September 2017. After finishing my course, I struggled trying to find a job within film or TV, so continued with my part time jobs over summer.

A month after Graduation I finally secured a 6 week contract with a production company shooting a show for the BBC at Pinewood Studios.

From there, I did a 2 week placement at the ITV Daytime show This Morning in December 2017, which pretty much launched my career. After that placement, I did a few freelance jobs over the next 6 months, including working on Dancing On Ice, Blind Date and the pilot for the BBC1 show The Hit List. Until, I got the job as Office Runner on This Morning.

Whilst on the show, I worked my way up and I’m now a Researcher. I have worked on This Morning for nearly two years. I’m excited to be involved in this takeover as I wish I could have asked all my questions to someone similar to my age in the industry back when I was at university!

Georgia will be joining us on Friday 15 May, 1 - 4.30pm for an alumni Q&A talk, as well as an Instagram live session!

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ALUMNI Q&A

RHONA NOEL I am a Dance and Performance Graduate from 2017.

Following on the dance and performance career path, I carried on training and dancing within my field.

Working on a range of dance jobs. As well as gaining experience within events working for the Students’ Union, working as a Student Experience assistant.

I then went more into the admin side of dance and became the Personal Assistant to a choreographer and creative director. This let me work on my fitness career goals whilst still learning and developing in this job.

Fast forward to today, I am now a professional Dance Fitness Instructor and the Director of my own company; Rock it with Rho ltd. We specialise in creating tailor made dance fitness and aerobics sessions, that motivate and inspire you to want to take part and get fit and set some achievable fitness goals in a fun and very welcoming and positive environment.

Rhona will be joining us on Monday 18 May, 1 - 4.30pm for a Successful Leaders Q&A talk, and Instagram takeover!

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EMPLOYABILITY TIPS

INTERVIEW TIPS • Research the organisation before your interview and be clear on the responsibilities of the role.

• Dress appropriately and arrive in plenty of time!

• Don’t be afraid to ask for a minute if you need to consider your response and don’t lie!

• Prepare some answers to expected questions and some questions for you to ask at the end of the interview.

How is your experience relevant to the tasks of the role?

• Go to as many interviews as you can and always ask for feedback even if unsuccessful

CV/APPLICATION TIPS • Make it all about you and be concise yet descriptive • Stick to the facts – if you get to interview you’ll need to be able to talk about your experiences • Highlight your key skills and employment first and keep it relevant, not all experience may be interesting for the role you are applying for • Detail most recent experiences first and work backwards, remember volunteering is work experience • Check the Person Specification and make sure your statement or cover letter addresses each skill with a specific example.

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EMPLOYABILITY TIPS

SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILE MANAGEMENT • Having no profile at all may not be beneficial • Keep your profile professional, updated and relevant • Some people have two accounts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter - one social, one professional • Monitor what people share with you or tag you in – stay in control of your profile • When you post, think whether that post could impact you in the future

COMMUNICATION SKILLS • Actively listen to the other person and take time to give a calm and measured response • Avoid using judgemental, defensive or attacking comments and display positive body language • Maintain eye contact in conversations • Think before you speak, be confident in what you are saying and don’t interrupt the other person speaking • Keep correspondence professional, concise and to the point and remember to proof read before sending

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THANKS FOR COMING A LW AY S S T R I V E F O R M O R E