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Hot Seat (process)* i. CV and covering letter analysed by recruitment experts. ii. 60 shortlisted candidates interviewed by three industry professionals. iii. Three students will go head to head on stage in a live final. iv. One successful student will be crowned the most employable student.
Plymouth University Careers and Employability Service, and our sponsor, FDM, invite students from all courses and all stages to take part in our biggest ever student interview competition and the chance to win £300.
IT’S BACK, BIGGER AND BETTER,
HOT SEAT 2011 Plymouth University founded Hot Seat in 2010 and is proud to offer our students such a realistic and comprehensive interview experience. Hot Seat was designed to prepare students for their first taste of a high pressure job interview prior to entering a competitive graduate marketplace. The Careers and Employability Service have bought together a diverse range of some of the UK’s most experienced careers, recruitment and HR professionals to offer you valuable experience and
feedback on your CV, covering letter, interview technique and how you perform under real pressure. WIN As well as the cash prizes for the top six students, including a £300 prize for the winner; last year students were able to showcase their skills and talents to a host of employers. 1st Place - £300 2nd Place - £100 3rd Place - £50 4th, 5th 6th - £25
The Process Round One - Apply Hot Seat Inc. is a fictitious company seeking to find “the leaders of tomorrow, who can make an impact today”. Your CV and covering letter will be put through an intensive shortlisting process and 60 students will be taken through to the next round. All students will receive detailed feedback about areas where they could improve or enhance their applications.
Round Two - The Interviews The first live interview round is one of the most authentic practice opportunities you’ll ever have before the real thing. We’ve designed a system where you’ll be interviewed by three separate employers before receiving feedback on how you performed. The interviewers feedback will help you identify what you do well and the irritating little habits you could leave behind! After your interviews, and the feedback from round one, we’re confident you’ll be well prepared for your next big interview.
Round Three - Live Finals All students are welcome to attend the live finals, where three students will be interviewed by a panel of judges in front of a live audience of employers, university staff and students. The live final will include talks from employers about what they look for in an interview, followed by the final round of interviews. Once the three interviews have taken place, SONY’s European Head of Operations, Stuart Pemble, will analyse the interviewee’s performance before the winner and cash prizes are presented.
Apply Now Anyone from any course and any stage can apply, but a maximum of 60 students will be shortlisted to the interview round. Click here to download the job specification and then email your CV and covering letter to employers.careers@ plymouth.ac.uk.
Everyone who attends will have a unique insight into the minds of a recruiter during interviews, and those who make the final have the unique opportunity to showcase their talent.
The closing date for applications is the 28th October. Successful candidates will be notified within one week of the deadline.
2011 Interview Competition Judges Kate Coppin Arcadia/Burton
Julie Anne Sunderland Harbour
Simon Reid Babcock
Hazel Gore Hilton
Samantha Lee Bond Pearce
Jenni Byatt Hilton
Andrew Morton Chartered Institute of Marketing
Maria Manning KPMG
Elle Gray Chicks Charity
Debbie Jayne Jayne Training
Rachel Rotherham Co-Operative Group
Debbie Clinton Pavilions/Theatre Royal
Ashley Hever Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Jackie Young Plymouth City Council
Martyn Flynn Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Louise Churchill PwC
Catherine Fry FDM Group
Lin Short Shire Hotels
Louise Raycraft FDM Group
Stuart Pemble Sony
Julia Green Foot Anstey
Louise Oldham Unlocking Cornish Potential
Final Round Judge’s Profiles
Samantha Lee - Graduate Recruitment Lead Samantha joined Bond Pearce in January 1997. With around 11 years HR experience, Samantha leads the firm’s recruitment team which involves all graduate recruitment and development activity. Her experience in recruiting and selecting graduates for training contracts at Bond Pearce spans the past 8 years.
Martyn Flynn - Talent Acquisition/ Training & Development Manager Martyn joined Enterprise Rent-a-car in 1997 on their Graduate Management Trainee program after graduating with a degree in Management Science. After successfully managing several branches across South Wales, Martyn moved across to the HR fields of recruitment and training, and he now oversee’s the recruitment process and the Management Training program across South Wales & South West England. Martyn’s role involves working alongside Universities helping to raise students employability skills, whilst also screening candidates, interviewing and running assessment centres. Louise Churchill - Student Recruitment Officer Louise has worked in PwC for just over 6.5 years and her role is to recruit graduates into the 4 offices in the West & Wales region - Bristol, Plymouth, Cardiff and Swansea. To ensure that PwC recruit the best talent Louise also manages 5 of the 7 target uni’s in the region: Plymouth, Cardiff, Exeter, Swansea and UWE to ensure PwC are on campus to provide students with the information they need about the firm and to improve their employability skills through our skills sessions.
EUROPE’S Silver Award Training Department of the Year 2010