TRANSFERABLE SKILLS TRAINING: EMPLOYMENT OUTSIDE ACADEMIA

1. TRANSFERABLE SKILLS TRAINING:EMPLOYMENT OUTSIDE ACADEMIA Tim Reed T.M.Reed@kent.ac.uk Careers Advisory Service www.kent.ac.uk/careers/ www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

2. EMPLOYMENT OUTSIDE ACADEMIAIntroduction • What employers look for • The recruitment process • Making applications (CVs & cover letters) • The CAS at the University of Kent

4. Why is choosing a career so difficult? ALL JOBS which match your goals, needs & values & require your skills, qualities & qualifications in the desired location where there are prospects for the future

5. What is the ideal job?

6. What do Employers look for in Postgraduate applicants?

7. What do Employers look for in Postgraduate applicants? In general: • Interest in the job applied for • Good and consistent academic achievement (ability to learn) • Relevant work experience • Relevant skills • General skills in numeracy, communication, problem-solving etc • Specialist skills in IT, languages, science & technology etc • Evidence of participation • Good References

8. What do Employers look for in Postgraduate applicants? Rank the following: • Can be asked to undertake independent research • Honesty & integrity • Good time management • Ability to listen to others • Can integrate quickly into team • Ability to present ideas clearly (verbally & in writing) • Attention to detail & thoroughness • Ability to identify areas for change or improvement • Capable of learning new IT systems quickly • Negotiation skills

9. What do Employers look for in Postgraduate applicants? On appointment: • Honesty & integrity • Ability to listen to others • Can integrate quickly into team • Ability to present ideas clearly (verbally & in writing) • Good time management • Attention to detail & thoroughness • Capable of learning new IT systems quickly • Negotiation skills • Can be asked to undertake independent research • Ability to identify areas for change or improvement

10. What do Employers look for in Postgraduate applicants? After one year: • Ability to identify areas for change or improvement • Can be asked to undertake independent research • Negotiation skills • Capable of learning new IT systems quickly • Attention to detail & thoroughness • Good time management • Ability to present ideas clearly (verbally & in writing) • Can integrate quickly into team • Ability to listen to others • Honesty & integrity

11. Employability – what is it?www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/skillsmenu.htm • “...the combination of factors and processes which enable people to progress towards, or get into employment, to stay in employment and to move on in the workplace…” (Scottish Executive 2006) • “…the possession by an individual of the qualities and competences required to meet the changing needs of employers and customers and thereby help to realise his or her aspirations and potential in work..” (CBI, 1999) • “…a set of achievements- skills, understandings and attributes - that make individuals more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations…” (Learning to Work – SFC 2004)

12. Skills - from Psychology • Communication • Independent learning • Information technology • Numeracy (& Statistics) • Problem solving • Research methodology • Scientific methods • Teamwork • Use of quantitative and qualitative data www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/skillstest.html

13. Postgraduates’ Skills Applicants qualified to doctoral level usually have the following skills: ■ an ability to understand and create knowledge at the forefront of their discipline ■ an ability to conceptualise, design and implement projects for the generation of new knowledge and/or understanding ■ an ability to analyse a problem and generate creative solutions to it, drawing on existing knowledge and the gathering of new knowledge ■ an ability to work independently and under their own initiative ■ an ability to plan and deliver a large piece of work independently and over a long period of time ■ experience of cutting edge research skills and techniques. www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Employers%20Briefing_8pp_A4.pdf

14. Postgraduates’ Skills Doctoral study is also likely to facilitate the development of other competencies such as: ■ the ability to communicate complex ideas in both written and oral forms to a variety of audiences ■ an understanding of the principles of teamwork and the ability to collaborate with, and manage, senior colleagues ■ the ability to network and build contacts ■ an understanding of their own career goals and aspirations and how these may be realised given developments in the labour market ■ an approach to personal and professional development built on awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses and an understanding of when it is appropriate to ask for help. www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Employers%20Briefing_8pp_A4.pdf

15. Postgraduates’ Skills Depending on their experience/discipline they may also have the following competencies: ■ experience of working in partnership with industry or a non-academic organisation ■ experience of teaching and mentoring undergraduates ■ experience of health and safety practice ■ high level numerical and analytical skills ■ experience of working with a diverse workforce and being involved in international activity and collaboration ■ experience of leading people and teams ■ experience of liaising with industrial partners and knowledge transfer activity ■ the ability to secure research funding through persuasive writing ■ understanding of opportunities for commercialisation of their work and knowledge of IP issues ■ experience of communicating research and complex ideas to a wide variety of audiences including the general public. www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Employers%20Briefing_8pp_A4.pdf

16. Top 7 Postgraduates’ Skills Recruiting researchers: survey of employer practice 2009 (CRAC): • data analysis • problem solving • drive & motivation • project management • interpersonal skills • leadership • commercial awareness

17. Postgraduates’ Skills

18. EMPLOYMENT OUTSIDE ACADEMIA • What employers look for • The recruitment process • Making applications (CVs & cover letters) • The CAS at the University of Kent

19. THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS

21. Application numbers Application numbers and quality Main sources of applications Website Careers service University fairs Referrals Common themes in unsuccessful applications The university experience in applications Applications and motivation

22. Screening Purpose of Screening Overview of the application process Killer questions (essential work requirements) Application questions (including competency-based questions) Testing Additional screening tools

23. What is the purpose of screening? • Way of filtering out the less able candidates to achieve a manageable number of high-potential candidates • Opportunity for candidates to better understand the role and company and therefore self-select out of the process if they don’t think the fit is right

24. Overview of application process • Online applications dominate the graduate recruitment market • Having online applications now means the application form is integrated into the screening rather than being an isolated stage • Online also means more recruitment tools can be incorporated into the screening stage to gain more information on candidates and assist with selection • Application windows usually open in Sept/Oct and can close as early as April • Some programmes will close as soon as available assessment places are filled • If students are interested then they need to apply early or they might miss out

25. Killer questions(essential work requirements) • Entry point for the online application form • In 2010 campaign 50-100 applications for each Graduate position • Minimum criteria can include: • Proof of entitlement to work in UK • Minimum GCSE requirements (usually for English and Maths) • Minimum UCAS points or specific A level courses, e.g. 280 points OR Maths A level for Finance programs • Minimum degree classification and possibly role-specific degree subject • For some roles, a willingness to do shift work, e.g. working bank holidays, late nights and weekends. • Flexibility for location and possibly hold a valid driving license • Relevant work experience • Auto reject usually sent if minimum criteria not met • Most organisations do not offer feedback at this stage

26. Application questions • Education background • Work experience • Extra curricular activities and positions of responsibility • Competency-based questions with examples of the following: • Leadership • Teamwork • Impact on/ influencing others • General applicant literacy, e.g. spelling, punctuation and grammar. • Early notice of dyslexia or any disabilities to ensure any psychometric tests are fair – candidates need to be open and honest. Proven understanding of the role and personal motivation to join • Watch out for: • Inappropriate email addresses • Photos which detract • Proofing when cutting and pasting

27. Testing • Comes at various stages of the process • Allows recruiters to score candidates objectively • Focuses on specific behaviours and skill sets, e.g. numerical understanding • Behavioural/Personality tests help match to the company core values and behaviours, e.g. customer focus (regardless of role) • A Situational Judgement Test (SJT) allows recruiters to gain an insight into the candidates decision-making within the relevant environment: • SJT also gives candidates clear understanding of the role and kind of work situations they may encounter • Usually a minimum cut-off score • Psychometric testing, e.g. behavioural, verbal, abstract reasoning and numerical • Some organisations offer feedback on request at this stage • Fast response will improve chances of getting through to next stage

28. Additional screening tools • Employers use a range of additional offline screening tools before inviting to assessment centre, including: • Telephone interview • Face to face interview • Manager recommendations (if internal applicants) • Site visit

29. Recruitment confidence

30. EMPLOYMENT OUTSIDE ACADEMIA • What employers look for • The recruitment process • Making applications (CVs & cover letters) • The CAS at the University of Kent

31. HOW TO PREPARE A CV

32. CV Preparation • What is a CV? • Who do you send it to? • Do you need a covering letter?

33. What is a CV? • One of many ways to apply • Your marketing tool • A4 – sized • Flexible & targeted • Stylized: Chronological/Skills-based • Different in other countries http://www.prospects.ac.uk http://www.eurograduate.com/planning.asp

34. When is it used? • As the main tool for on-spec applications • When requested by an employer • In support of other application information • Never without a letter • via email as attachment • When your Referee needs more info

35. What does it contain? • Personal details • Academic background • Work Experience • Skills • Interests & achievements • Additional information • References www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/phdcvIT.htm

36. Wendy Stephens 06-02-84 • 15 Green Cross Road, Dover, Kent, DV2 3YZ. Mob: 07787970655 E-mail: wstephens5@hotmail.com • Education • 2006-2010 PhD in Computer Science, University of Kent • Thesis Title: Identification of Ambimorphic Modalities in Data Mining Systems (Funded by EPSRC bursary) Supervisors: Dr A. Turing and Professor A. Lovelace • Brief Synopsis of Research: Had it not been for local-area networks, the emulation of link-level acknowledgements might never have occurred. The notion that cyberneticists cooperate with highly-available modalities is often good. We instrumented a deployment on the KGB's network to quantify topologically scalable epistemologies's impact on J. Quinlan's study of Ambimorphic Modalities. Had we emulated Planetlab overlay network, as opposed to deploying it in a controlled environment, we would have seen degraded results in Data Mining. Reliable systems are particularly theoretical when it comes to embedded methodologies. It is always a significant objective but fell in line with our expectations. • A detailed synopsis is in the appendix attachedto this CV. • During my PhD I have also led seminars, supervised undergraduates in the laboratory and taken a course on "Effective Tutoring and Assessment". • Research Interests: My current research centres around the random behaviour of fuzzy epistemologies. • 2003 - 2006 BSc (Hons) Computer Science, University of Kent. • Upper Second Class Honours.Modules included: Structured Programming, Software Engineering (Including Object Oriented Theory), Networks and Communication Systems Group project on database design. I achieved well above average marks for this project. • 1996 - 2003 Folkestone High School • 2002 A-levels: Chemistry B, Computer Science B, Maths C • 2000 GCSE’s: 8 including Maths and English and German, all at grades A to C • Employment • 2009 - 2010 Research Assistant, Dept. of Computer Science , University of Kent, Canterbury, UKI work as part of Professor Andrews’ research group on the influence of replicated archetypes on complexity theory. My work involved testing the significant unification of evolutionary programming (SortesHeal), disproving that lambda calculus and erasure coding are regularly incompatible. • July 2005 - September 2005 Tesco (Shop Assistant) • Duties involved taking orders and stock control, generally dealing with customers and organising other assistants. I built a strong relationship with customers and staff.

37. Skills General skills in research project management and data analysis. Specific expertise and interests in: Computing Skills: Applications: Microsoft Office Suite, Internet Explorer, Paint Shop Pro, Dreamweaver and several e-mail packages. Programming Languages: C#, Java, Prolog, Perl, SQL, and HTML. Operating Systems: Unix, Windows Vista, Windows XP Teaching Skills: Postgraduate Demonstrator. Regularly supervise practicals for undergraduate students and have supervised the undergraduate research projects of 2 final year students. Have lead several seminars for undergraduates in the computer science department. Time Management It was important to complete my PhD within 3 years and this I did successfully. I also met without fail, the many deadlines in my teaching and supervisory duties. I have extensive experience of juggling different tasks and bringing these to a successful conclusion. Other skills Knowledge of research methodologies Statistical software: extensive experience with SAS. Data and information collection Writing and presenting reports Full current clean driving licence I have a reasonable understanding of written German. Interests I enjoy rugby and was a member of the Kent University Rugby Club. The latter involved participating in activities, such as raising money for charity events, for example, in RAG week. I also enjoy current affairs and travelling. References Dr Alan Turing (PhD Supervisor)Department of Computer Science University of KentCanterburyKent CT2 7NJ Professor Ada LovelaceDepartment of Computer Science University of KentCanterburyKent CT2 7NJ

38. Academic CV An academic CV by a PhD student applying for research posts follows a different format and can be longer than the conventional 2 sided CV. It might include: • A section on conferences attended (including presentations or poster displays) • Publications: chronological order, but if most recent not relevant use a subheading such as "Relevant publications". Other subheadings could include "Peer reviewed", "In Progress", and "Conference Proceedings". A long list of publications could be an appendix • A synopsis of your PhD at beginning or as appendix; • More than the usual two referees. One or more from postgraduate degree and one from employer/other individual commenting on personal qualities outside academic performance • Evidence of teaching/presenting skills such as leading seminars/practicals. Also administration experience, plus any record in attracting funding • List of scientific techniques used e.g. NMR, HPLC etc • Give evidence of IT, time management, project management and report writing skills • For research posts in industry mention contact with industry - placements • Another strategy is to produce a two side CV and then to put a synopsis of your research, conferences, publications and references on a third (and perhaps fourth) page.

39. APPENDIX Detailed Synopsis of PhD The research roadmap is as follows. Primarily, we explored the need for Smalltalk. We placed our work in context with existing work in this area. To answer this question, we demonstrated that interrupts are largely incompatible. Similarly, to answer this obstacle, we argued that although congestion control can be made collaborative, concurrent, and event-driven, the Ethernet and vacuum tubes are regularly incompatible. Many computer scientists agree that, had it not been for local-area networks, the emulation of link-level acknowledgements might never have occurred. This fell in line with our expectations. The notion that cyberneticists cooperate with highly-available modalities is often good . To what extent can write-ahead logging be constructed to realize this? While previous solutions are promising, none have taken the pervasive method we propose. Despite that conventional wisdom states this challenge is entirely solved by simulation of cache coherence, we believe that a different approach is necessary. The disadvantage of this type of method, however, is that IPv6 and Boolean logic are often incompatible. The disadvantage of this type of method, however, is that multicast solutions and link-level acknowledgements are rarely incompatible. Combined with e-commerce, such a hypothesis improves an analysis of vacuum tubes. We prove that Internet QoS can be made event-driven, robust, and wireless. The basic tenet is the deployment of the producer-consumer problem. Despite the fact that prior solutions to this obstacle are bad, none have taken the permutable approach we propose. While it might seem perverse, it is derived from known results. It should be noted that Herte runs in W(n) time. Therefore, we see no reason not to use e-business to emulate authenticated models. We question the need for the analysis of active networks. Despite the fact that conventional wisdom states this riddle is entirely answered by the refinement of SCSI disks, we believe a different approach is necessary. Although such a hypothesis is mostly a compelling goal, it fell in line with our expectations. This is a direct result of the construction of local-area networks. However, this solution is mostly satisfactory. Combined with checksums, such a claim deploys a novel methodology for the improvement of 4 bit architectures. Conferences, Presentations and Courses Attended Research Council Graduate School, November 7th - 12th 2006. Ergonomics Society Group Meeting, Nottingham, February 2005, presented poster. Publications/Conference Papers Turing, A., Andrews, J. & Stephens, W. Decoupling Markov models from suffix trees in scatter/gather I/O. Journal of Knowledge-Based, Optimal Technology 82 (2007), 57-60. Harris, I., and & Turing, A. Simulating consistent hashing using perfect methodologies in POT the Workshop on Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery (Dec. 2006). Babbage, C. & Turing, A.,. Visualizing the Turing machine using embedded archetypes. Journal of Embedded Configurations 25 (Nov. 2007), 85-102. Awards, Fellowships, and Grants EPSRC Research Bursary 2005 - 2008 Burroughs Wellcome Computational Equipment Grant, (2008 - 2009) NSC Travel Grant to FARO Advanced Study Institute, 2007 Professional Membership Student member of the British Computer Society

40. Tailoring your application • Emphasize relevant qualifications • Highlight key text/information • Focus on relevant skills • Research employer requirements and insert key phrases into your application • Cherry pick what you include! For example: • specific research or course module titles, work experience, voluntary activities, individual achievements, travel, IT skills, languages, sporting honours, positions of responsibility & egs of leadership, teamwork, flexibility, meeting/surpassing targets, communication, taking the initiative, problem-solving etc… • Keep a comprehensive list of all of these!

41. CV styles • Standard/Chronological • Skills-based • Computing/Online • Media • Legal www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htm

42. Hints on wording • Avoid personal pronouns where possible - “I’s” • Start with verbs wherever possible • Use short sentences & concise phrases • Focus on accomplishments • Refer to specific projects with quantifiable results • Use personal power words

43. Personal power words created instructed analyzed produced negotiated designed calculated maintained administered controlled reviewed observed consolidated delivered founded increased studied invented supplied detected programmed recommended distributed developed solved prepared installed selected arranged formulated solved started

44. Who do you send it to? • Named representative of organisation • Director/Manager of Personnel • Referees • OTHERS WHO REQUEST IT eg. Recruitment agencies, Sponsorship/Funding bodies

45. Common Mistakes! • Too long • Untargeted & disorganised • Contains errors/missspellings • Not accomplishments focused • Error examples www.createyourcv.co.uk/CMS/191_CV-Bloopers!.asp

46. CV Nightmares “Received a plague for colleague of the year.” “As indicted, I have over five years experience of working in teams.” “I am a loyal employee. Please feel free to contact me on my office voice mail.” Cover letter: "Thank you for your consideration. I hope to hear from you shorty!"

48. What is a good application? • Well-researched • Targeted • Accurate (content, speling, grammar) • Informative • Interesting • Easy to read • Enthusiastic

49. What about the covering letter? • One side of good quality A4 paper • Formal/conventional layout • Addressed to a named person • State position applied for & where advertised • Explain why applying • Convince the reader of your interest & suitability (egs!) • Give dates when available/can start • Sign off “Yours sincerely” (if sent to named person)

50. 15 Green Cross Road • Dover • Kent • DV2 3YZ • 18th May 2011 • Ms Verity Wise • Graduate Recruitment Manager • Great Big Bank Co. • Anywhere Street • London • SW1 • Job Reference Number 12345(state this if it is mentioned in the advert) • Dear Ms. Wise • I am writing in response to your advertisement in “Prospects Finalist" for Graduate Trainees and enclose my CV for your consideration. • I first became interested in retail banking through talking to a Kent graduate, currently in the second year of your Management Training programme, at the University Careers Fair. Since then, discussion with my careers adviser and with management staff at my local branch has confirmed my decision to aim for a career in this field. • Through my academic studies, I have been able to develop my interest in business together with my numeracy skills. While at University, I have also been able to utilise my skills in working with people through a variety of vacation jobs. My work as a research assistant was valuable in teaching me the importance of ascertaining client needs and providing clear and accurate information. • I will be available for interview if required at your convenience. I can be contacted at my address (above) and look forward to hearing from you. • Yours Sincerely • Wendy Stephens