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Summer Career Festival

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Summer Career Festival

Summer Career Festival

The University of Leeds hosted its Summer Career Festival from 7th to 10th of June Virtually. The Festival provides students with a platform to meet with the employers and get an idea about the job opportunities that they offer. Perla, Amber, Pragya, Nikhil and Harini had the chance to attend the different events, to provide you with a variety of experiences and insight from feeling confident in your work, to current job availability and effective communication with employers. 

Perla 

Event: Imposter Syndrome Advice & Support Panel

Even though I have attended a one to one session with a company, I decided to focus my contribution to this blog on the panel talk I attended, titled “The Imposter Syndrome Advice and Support”, since I have experienced Imposter Syndrome in my past roles and even now. Imposter Syndrome consists of experiencing anxiety or low self-esteem at work, despite having the skills and talent to meet the demands of the current or previous roles. It has been really difficult for me to be an international student and look for graduate jobs in the UK. Even though I have had the opportunity to work in other countries apart from my home country, there are times where I feel like I do not know everything I am supposed to know and that I am a “fraud” or not good enough to have a successful career in the UK. I have a professional tutor and mentor provided by the university who have helped me when applying for jobs and have made me realize a lot of the qualities I have that will be valuable for employers in the UK. Regardless, I decided to join the panel to get an external perspective and to get to know about other people’s experiences. 

I found the panel approach really interesting, since it was hosted by the Careers Centre and had the participation of employers such as NatWest, Infinity Works, and Shark Ninja. The employers shared which type of support they offer their employees and candidates who suffer from Impostor Syndrome, so they are able to retain talent. Moreover, the employers also discussed how they have personally felt like impostors before because they have shifted to a different role, industry or even because of their gender. One of the statistics shared that made an impact on me, was that women are 36% more likely to get hired than men but that is because they tend to only apply for roles when they meet all of the requirements, in comparison to men who tend to apply when they only meet 60% of them. This made me think of my current job search, when I do not feel confident enough most of the time and start doubting about what I can do or learn to do. I now know this is not a feeling exclusive to international students, and that it is okay to be new to something. This does not mean that I am less capable than UK students, more importantly, employers mentioned that in most graduate roles they do not expect that candidates know how to do everything and that most of the time, they will provide training. Something else that I learned during the panel was that if I do not have a skill that is mentioned to be desirable in a job description, I could think of alternative skills that could also be desirable in that job but that are not written. This could help me stand out and show my full capabilities to potential employers and show them how I could contribute to their organization. 

I am grateful to have this type of event organized by the Careers Centre, it makes me feel supported and understood during my work search. Additionally, it is enriching to have employers to not only talk about their organizations, but also about their personal experiences because it made me realize how everyone was in the same position as I am now and they have been able to build a successful professional career. I would definitely recommend other students here at the University of Leeds to get involved in this type of event and to look for help from the Career Centre when needed. 

 

Amber

Event: Working at Leeds University Union Schedule

Located in the heart of the campus, Leeds University Union (LUU) exists not only to ensure that students enjoy their time at Leeds but also offer different types of jobs to students. During the webinar in the Career Events, Barney Anderson, the Senior HR Officer at the University of Leeds Union, mentioned that they offer over 350 student roles which provide a great opportunity to learn and develop employment skills for life while ensuring that students' academic studies are not affected. As an international student, Leeds University Union appeared to be a relatively easy and familiar starting point for a career. This is one of the main reasons I attended the Working at Leeds University Union Schedule during Career Events.

During my job search, I also pay extra attention to the organisation's work culture since I believed that the work cultures that aligned with one's values would allow employees to contribute more and build better relationships with colleagues. LUU's work culture is about inclusivity, fun and a focus on learning and development. Barney Anderson also noted that previous experience doesn't necessarily matter, it's the candidate that matters. That is to say, LUU is a diverse team and inclusive in spirit, and they welcome everyone with an open mind. Based on what Barney Anderson mentioned in the webinar, I have summarised the following benefits of working at LUU:

  • A great opportunity to learn and improve your transferable skills and to take them with you into future career opportunities.
  • A diverse selection of roles: ranging from part-time work in Cafes and Bars to Events management and Student Advice Services, they have roles to suit most interests.
  • A thriving and engaging workplace where employees are at the centre of the organisation and are constantly striving to improve.
  • Great employee perks including generous holiday entitlement, flexible working arrangements, guest list to union gigs, as well as staff socials…
  • An opportunity to meet people, make new friends and get involved!

The majority of the roles offered at LUU are in the Café, Bar and Retail Outlets. If you want to find part-time and flexible work, internships, projects and holiday jobs where you can earn while you study, you search through Joblink. The Union will also ensure that there are opportunities for students to develop, such as taking on Supervisory roles as well as providing them access to shadowing opportunities with other departments. If you are a recent graduate or looking for your next career move, Jobs at the Union lists their current vacancies, as well as details about the recruitment approaches.

 

Pragya 

Event: Are There Any Graduate Jobs? Talk

As a recent graduate, one of the career events that instantly caught my eye was ‘Are there any graduate jobs?’. Finding relevant employment after graduation is something most students look forward to, but the current Covid climate has detrimentally impacted the current job market - or so it seems. This talk hosted by Charlie Ball, an expert on graduate jobs, aims to debunk such myths that prospective students, current students and graduate students may have. 

The pandemic resulted in massive job losses, an estimate of 770,000 people became unemployed. However, as scary as that statistic is, none of these people were graduates. 2020 actually saw an increase in the number of graduate jobs, and has helped create a more understanding and flexible environment amongst employers. This is particularly important for a lot of us students who may be worried about being unable to obtain work experience during the pandemic. But as Charlie Ball mentions, the focus is now more on mental health through teamwork and support, which if students are able to demonstrate through their personal experience of dealing with the pandemic, it will add to their strengths. This, in addition to a thriving job market, creates a favourable atmosphere for applicants. Thus, vacancies in all major employment sectors are at 95%, if not above pre-pandemic levels. Another factor students must pay attention to is the sector they're in. Arts for instance was heavily hit by the pandemic and continues to be heavily furloughed at 40%. Whereas vacancies in manufacturing are three times higher than pre-pandemic levels. Student employers on a whole are now heavily recruiting; the backlog created by the Covid lockdown has resulted in a spike in employers trying to catch up and recruit actively.

Not only Covid, Brexit has had a positive impact on industries as well. The hospitality sector for instance is now focused on employing individuals in the UK due to the free movement restrictions of EU workers, and as the Covid lockdown eases, restaurants, pubs and hotels for instance are all up and running. Leeds in particular was hit heavily by the pandemic which has spurred concerns about job losses and insufficient vacancies, but Leeds is also one of the cities that has recovered strongly and is open to student graduates. Engineering, healthcare and financial services are in short supply right now, and thus graduates this year and in the following years will face a very healthy labour market to enter into. Moreover, the shift to remote working has also created opportunities for individuals to carry out their roles despite being in a different city, country or continent in my case! Many employers are now opting for a hybrid work environment with a mix of remote and in person working, so an individual in Leeds can easily commute to their job in London once a week, and spend the rest of their time working from home. This not only allows for the employer to diversify and improve their workforce through UK graduates, but present international students with opportunities that weren’t available in earlier years.  

Thus, although things are not back to normal, and there are job losses, the graduate student market in particular is booming and for us, as students of the University of Leeds, we have a healthy labour market, and eager employers looking to employ us. 

 

 

Nikhil

Event: 1 to 1 with 'Ecobee'  

As international students we always wonder, are there any job opportunities available for us? Leeds University Union has it covered by helping us in giving an insight of the available opportunities and also get an idea about a particular company’s expectations and experience. The Summer Careers Festival is a series of Virtual Events organized by the Careers Centre to help students discover opportunities in Yorkshire, the UK, and globally. It is a career fair where you can book 1-2-1 meetings and group sessions with a huge range of employers who are looking to hire. There are over 160+ employers with live vacancies in multiple fields. If you are looking for an internship, placement, or a graduate-level job, then the Summer Careers Festival is for you.

There were many opportunities available, but I found my interest in connecting with the company Ecobee. Ecobee designs intelligent thermostats, cameras, and sensors. I was very much interested in knowing more about the company and getting insight into what technologies they are using to develop their applications. I was able to get a one-to-one appointment with a software developer working at Ecobee. This was a great opportunity for me to know about the company, the technologies, available opportunities, and their working experience. You need to be prepared with your questions to get the fullest out of this opportunity. I have summarized few key questions to be asked to an IT Company based on my experience from this event:

  • What is the company about? (Though you have done your homework, it is always good to know about the company through its employees)
  • What are the technologies used? (Helps to know and improve your technical skills)
  • What is the general team size?
  • What are the opportunities currently available? (If relevant to your profile, get to know more about it)
  • Locations of the available opportunities.
  • Which team and technology do the employer you speak to work in?
  • Get to know more about the work experience of the employer in detail.

My experience was great speaking to the Software Developer at Ecobee. I was able to grab answers for all the above questions and get a complete insight into the company and available job opportunities. I was very happy that I did not miss this opportunity of attending this event organized by the Careers Centre. This event is not just about the job opportunities, but a great chance to know about the organizations and employer's personal experience.

 

Harini 

Event : UK Careers day 

When I arrived at Leeds and attended my first Career session, the counsellor stressed on one main aspect of job search – Networking. Job markets are like an iceberg, the vacancies that are posted are just the tip, there is an entire area that is under water, it is through this networking students untap these hidden vacancies. With that lesson in mind, I attended the one-on-one sessions with employers on the UK Careers day. The UK career day was part of the Summer Career Festival for students to connect with employers directly without any middleman and talk to them about the job opportunities and requirements for the roles they are interested in.

I was fortunate enough to meet a bunch of Leeds Alumni and had an opportunity to connect with them about my career path. The best part was students were able to connect with them through LinkedIn as well, making it easier for them to clarify any queries that might arise later. I connected with around 8- 9 companies and one company had an alumnus from my very own department. Career fairs are the platform to discover and connect with Alumni who are at great positions at a company you might be interested in. Having gone through the same process of job search, they are a great asset when it comes to networking.

As an international student we might require sponsorship for our visas and not many companies offer it. So many students tend to waste their time applying for companies that don’t sponsor international students. So, to solve this career fair is a great platform to talk to the employers directly, clarify the same. This one-on-one session actually helps in reducing our burden of scrutinizing companies for jobs.

To sum up, this event has widened my horizons and eased my job search process. Not just easing my search but also helped me build and strengthen my network in the job market. 

 

The wonderful events hosted by the Careers Centre catered to students all across the university and not only showed us the different opportunities available to us, but also made us feel more confident about our future prospects. The University of Leeds hosts many such events and we look forward to attending more of these to further our employability and enhance our skills.