STRATEGIES FOR JOB SEARCH IN LONDON

Fiona Tracey

Careers Adviser

London Metropolitan University

CONTENTS

• Why London?

• Employment overview

• Types of employers

• Methods of application

• How to enhance your chances

• Sources of vacancy information

• Useful addresses

What is so special about London?

• Huge range of opportunities in all fields

• Centre of financial activity: investment banks, financial institutes, accountancy, Stock Exchange, Insurance

• Media: advertising, film and television, marketing and PR, journalism

• Tourism, Retail and Hospitality

Types of application

• Blue chip companies/graduate recruiters - mostly online applications

• Small to Medium Size Employers (SMEs)- CV and cover letter or application form

• Speculative applications - CV and cover letter

• Newspaper adverts - CV and cover letter or application form

What is a CV

• Your marketing tool - often the first impression an employer gets

• An organised summary of personal details, education and experience, targeted to the specific position or company

• A chance to demonstrate your strengths and enable you to focus the readers attention on to aspects you want to highlight

How is it structured? • One or two sides of A4 - not a side and a half

• Reverse chronological order

• Tailored to the specific vacancy - the CV you use for banking will be different from a CV for waitressing or retail

• It must look professional - first impressions count!!

• Do not leave obvious gaps

What to include.• Personal details: name, address, telephone, Email,

date of birth

• Education - reverse chronological order, starting with current course

• Skills - IT, languages, driving license

• Experience - what to include and what to leave out

• Skills - communication, organisation, team, problem solving, negotiation

Education

2001-2004 London Metropolitan University

BSc(hons) Computing

-introduction to database management

-networks and telecommunications

-programming and data structures

Final Year Project: Implementation of an online test using Visual Basic 6 and Microsoft Access

1998 - 2003 Newham Sixth Form College

A level: IT C, Maths D, Bengali E

6 GCE passes including Maths and English

IT Experience2003 Newham Youth Centre

Student mentor/Team leader

Duties: supporting students in computing modules

assisting in organising support sessions for mentors

dealing with inquiries on a personal basis and via email

assisting in publicising the scheme in LBNewham

2002-2003 Best Training

IT Trainer

Duties: training students in Microsoft Office products

assisting in inductions and registration process

assessing student competence on Microsoft

handling all course queries

Additional Experience

May 2004 London Metropolitan University

Receptionist

July 2002 Marks and Spencer

Replenishment Assistant

1998 - 2000 W.H.Smith

Sales Adviser

October 1997 IKEA

Retail Trainee

SkillsCommunication

•researched, wrote and delivered class papers, both individually and as part of a team

•provided a consistently high level of customer service including handling all inquiries and complaints

Organisation

•worked part time while studying full time for degree, prioritising work and ensuring all deadlines were met

•set up a student chat room to enable sharing of ideas and discussing issues; marketed and publicised the chat room and generated sponsorship from university

Where to look for jobs• Newspapers: • The Guardian - media, sales, marketing, education, public

sector and charities• The Daily Telegraph - public sector and finance, sales and

marketing• The Independent - computing, finance and accountancy,

Media, sales/marketing, public sector and IT• The Times - education, legal, public sector, sales/marketing

and IT• Financial Times - business and finance

Useful addresses

•www.careers.lon.ac.uk/links

•www.sussex.ac.uk/cdec

•www.prospects.ac.uk

•www.gti.co.uk

•www.drjob.ac.uk

•http://GraduateCareersOnline.com

How to enhance your chances

•Get as much experience as possible

•Value the experience you have!

•Work on an unpaid basis

•Study for extra qualifications

•Do voluntary work

•Get involved in extra-curricular activities

•Network!