Becoming an Intern

Yes, at last some good news. I have been asked to stay on at the company where I have been doing work experience. Only this time as a paid intern! Before we get too excited, it's a rolling contract meaning that I could be dismissed at anytime and the pay isn't fantastic. But it's still money and, even more importantly, experience.

I have also had the opportunity to talk to a lot of other recent graduates, and all of us are struggling to find jobs. Even people that I spoke to who have masters at top universities are loosing out to those with experience. It does make you wonder, with the rise in tuition fees, whether it's worth going to university, purely from an employment point of view.

I have also had a good reception to my twitter (@kesowantsajob), with followers including Sky and Cisco Careers, so thanks to all you followers! I'll try tweet any pearls of wisdom, though I admit so far I've been pretty mute.

An Update...

Now that I've gotten used to working normal hours again, I am back in 'productive' mood and so here is my next post.

What I've been up to

• Work Experience - As previously mentioned I have been interning at a wonderful communications company. I find that it really makes a difference to a placement when people take the time to get to know you and show an interest in your career progression, and they have certainly done so there. The work has also been, for the most part, interesting and the company is inspirational in it's efforts to keep staff motivated, educated and feeling part of a team. I'll be sad to leave on Friday but I had a good chat with HR on Friday and we'll see if that leads to anything. Note to all: it's important to get the most out of interning/work experience: don't be afraid to ask people's advice or network with the higher-ups/HR. You never know, you may be in the right place at the right time.
• Applications, applications, applications - No, not the fun ones you get on your phone; the lengthy, headache inducing job applications that have become my life recently. I changed my approach to job selection this past week and I think I'm aiming more at Digital marketing/communication roles as I am more adept and interested in the social media aspects of marketing as opposed to the more traditional areas. I have also aimed my sights a little lower and been applying for some really amazing sounding internships, how I'll afford to live is another matter. Fingers crossed that something comes out of that.
• Cover letter - I have also rethought my cover letter strategy, but more to come on that matter in another post.... 

Stay tuned!

Yet more work experience

I have been somewhat slack in postings so far this week as I'm doing more work experience, this time at a really interesting and welcoming Comms company, so actually quite enjoying it. Don't worry though, coming soon are examples of my previous experience and strengths, stay tuned!

A breakdown of my Degree

When I tell people about my degree a lot of them ask, 'So is that a degree in Japanese Management?' No it wasn't, it was a two subject course split between units on Management and units on Japanese language or culture. 

For those of you who are interested here is a flowchart of my studies. 

My CV

Yes, here it is! I've taken out some of my contact details for now, but if you're interested send me an email and I'll reply with a full copy.

A change to the schedule

Well this post going to be a witty and informative segment about me, my career aspirations, qualifications, CV etc. However a few other things have happened today that warrant a mention.

1. London Green Marketing  - So I received an email today from someone at 'London Green Marketing' in response to a job that I applied for on reed.co.uk. The position was 'Events and Marketing Executive' and I was delighted to hear that I had been selected for an interview. As I have applied for so many jobs recently I decided to quickly go online to remind myself of the company and as I typed in 'London Green Marketing' the first suggestion to appear was 'London Green Marketing scam'. Yes, that's right. A scam. "But how?" I hear you ask. Apparently they get you in for an interview, which they then tell you went really well. Then they offer you the job and on your first day you go out for 'training' and guess what? It's door-to-door sales, hardly a role that can be described as "Events and Marketing Executive'. Not only that, if you do stick around for the job you have to call in your sales everyday on what turns out to be a premium rate number! So a massive thanks to all you people at London Green Marketing, life as a graduate job seeker is depressing and soul destroying enough without your rubbish recruitment techniques.
2. Bright Network - One bit of good news, I recently got invited to join the Bright Network, a recruitment agency site dedicated to finding new graduates like me a position that suits them. I got a phone call from a lovely girl called Jess in their offices today who talked to me about what I wanted to do, what I was up to, and my previous experience. Fingers crossed it leads to something, either way it's nice to know that there are companies out there that still care about keeping the cycle of graduate recruitment going. 

Coming Soon!

My CV and a bit more about me.