Careers Newsletter – Spring Weeks 5 and 6: Win £2000, work in Europe, volunteering opportunities, work experience and more

/ as821

Careers Newsletter – Spring 2014, Weeks 5 and 6

In this issue:  

  1. Do it! Last chance to apply for a Summer YSIS placement – closing Monday Week 5
  2. Your York Award application – what happens next?
  3. YSIS Plus workshops – open to all, boost your knowledge of the education sector 
  4. YSIS Student Management Group – recruiting now
  5. First years: get started on your career now!
  6. Finalists: it’s NOT too late!
  7. £2000 for ‘Envious’ Ideas – have you got what it takes to plan an exciting new venture?
  8.  ‘Trial of Two Cities’, York-London Team Challenge
  9. Working in Europe – drive to recruit more UK graduates 
  10. Careers events – employers, York Award courses, Careers briefings
  11. Make yourself more employable – get an internship!
  12. Do you want to go on to postgraduate study but aren’t sure about funding?
  13. Caught our eye this week: presentation for PhD students
  14. Do it! Last chance to apply! Community Placements Deadline 13 February
    … and more

1. Do it! Last chance to apply for a Summer YSIS placements – applications close Monday Week 5
Don’t forget to apply for a YSIS Summer term placement by 5pm, Monday Week 5 (3 Feb).. A YSIS placement provides you with the opportunity to volunteer in schools for a 10-week placement of half a day each week. Visit the Do it! webpages to find out more and apply.

2. Your York Award application – what happens next?
So you’ve burnt the midnight oil to get your York Award application completed by the deadline – but what happens next? When will you find out if you’ve progressed? What happens if you are asked to resubmit– does this mean you won’t get the York Award?  Read all about the next stage of the process.

3. YSIS Plus workshops: Special Educational Needs & Assessment for Learning and Thinking Skills
Do you want to gain more knowledge about the educational system? Are you interested in working in the education sector or becoming a teacher? Learn about Special Educational Needs on Wednesday Week 5 (5 Feb) 4 pm, C/A/102,  and Assessment for Learning and Thinking Skills on Wednesday Week 6, (12 Feb), 4 pm, AEW/003. To download the programme for the rest of term visit our Startit! Pages.

YSIS Plus workshops are run throughout the Spring term by education experts from the Local Authority and Teach First. Find out about current practice and learn useful techniques and methods to take away with you, You can attend any workshop – and you don’t need to have been previously involved with YSIS.

4. YSIS Student Management Group – recruiting now
Could you support the daily running of YSIS and support other students as they complete placements? Are you interested in project management and finding out how volunteering schemes work? Keen to develop your team work skills, communication and presentation skills? Join the YSIS Student Management Group!

The YSIS Student Management Group help ensure that YSIS runs smoothly throughout the year, assisting at YSIS events and supporting students throughout the placement process. The Student Management Group is a very social group, who have regular meals out together and enjoy eating lots of biscuits on drop-in shifts!  Email ysis@york.ac.uk to express an interest in joining this fun and dynamic group! Deadline Week 6, (Friday 14 February).

5. First years: Get started on your career now
Graduation may seem a long way off if you’re a first year undergraduate, but starting to think about your career now will make things less stressful in your final year, and give you an advantage in a competitive market.

Here are some quick things you can do now to get started on your career:

  • Understand the skills you already have, to make the most of your course and time at York, and prepare for application processes. You can use My skills in the ET (Employability Tutorial) to do this.
  • Find things to do while at York: volunteering, internships, student activities, free courses and more. This is good for your CV, your skills/experience, and will impress recruiters. You can use Things to do at York in the ET to do this.
  • Think about your priorities. This can help you to decide what to do after graduation, and to sense-check any ideas you have. Have a look at My priorities in the ET.

6. Finalists: it’s not too late!
If you are in the final year of your course or are a taught postgraduate on a year long course, you may be thinking about life after York. It is not too late to start planning your career, but the sooner you do this, the better.

You can use the ET (Employability Tutorial) to get started. If you are not sure what you want to do yet, look at Options after graduation. If you need some help deciding, look at How to choose a career. And if you are almost there, you may find How to take the next step useful.

7. £2000 for ‘Envious’ Ideas – have you got what it takes to plan an exciting new venture?
Plan ENVY (Exciting New Ventures at York), our annual Business Plan Competition, is now open.  In addition to the first prize of £2000, additional £500 category prizes will also be awarded!

Want to enter, but need help with ideas and completing the form?  No problem… just attend one or more of the free workshops.  The first workshop, on generating ideas, will be held on Thursday 13 February (Week 6).

For more details and to download the business plan template, visit the Plan ENVY page of the Careers Enterprise website.  Deadline for entries is Friday 9 May 2014 (Summer Term, Week 3).

8. ‘Trial of Two Cities’ – York-London Team Challenge
A student team challenge with the chance to pitch to a leading entrepreneur and win a trip to London!   The challenge is announced at a briefing session on Monday 17 February, 5.30pm (Week 7).  Teams can be formed at the briefing session, so individuals interested in taking part should also attend.

Teams have a few days to come up with ideas which are pitched on Thursday 20 February to leading arts entrepreneur Michael Jacobsen.  Two teams will then be selected to take part in a London challenge, which includes a drinks reception and networking event at PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC).

Information about this and other enterprise funding, events and competitions, can be found on the Enterprise pages of our website.

9. Working in Europe – drive to recruit more UK citizens to work in EU institutions
If you are interested in a career in public service and working outside the UK, a career in the EU could be what you are looking for with the current drive to recruit more UK citizens. Recently a member of the Careers team went to visit the European Commission in Brussels to find out more. Read about the visit and find out how you can work in Europe.

10. Careers events in Weeks 5 and 6
For full details of venues and booking please log into Careers Gateway

  • 3 February 4.30pm: The Art of Leadership (weeks 5-8)
  • 4 February 1.00pm: Applying for further study – for those considering a Masters or PhD
  • 5 February 1.00pm: Project Management (online) – an introduction to the principles of project management
  • 5 February 4.00pm: Special Educational Needs (YSIS Plus) 
  • 10 February 1.00pm: Employability and Commercial Awareness with PwC
  • 11 February 4.00pm: Group Facilitation Skills – this course is designed for any student with an interest in leading groups
  • 11 February 6.00pm: English Alumni Event – Meet graduates now working in a variety of roles. There will be a panel Q&A followed by the chance to network
  • 12 February 2.00pm: Realise Your Strengths with EY
  • 12 February 4.00pm: Assessment for learning and Thinking Skills (YSIS Plus)

11. Make yourself more employable – get an internship!
The Student Internship Bureau (SIB) advertises internships exclusively for University of York students throughout the year on Careers Gateway. Whether you are looking to develop a particular skill or looking to improve your overall employability many past and current students have found their internships an invaluable experience. To find out what internships are on offer and how to apply, log into  Careers Gateway and search by organisation “Student Internship Bureau”. Keep up to date with the latest projects as they are advertised, by liking our SIB Facebook page.

12. Do you want to go on to postgraduate study but aren’t sure about funding?
Lots of students are interested in further study after an undergraduate or Masters degree, but often the issue of funding courses is confusing. You can make a start finding out about funding here and more about what to consider if you are thinking about continuing your education.  If you want to find out more come along to our “Applying for Further Study (Masters or PhD)” briefing on Tuesday 4 February (Week 5) in V/123 (Vanburgh).

13. Caught our eye this week
How to get a job after your PhD – video broadcast presentation from jobs.ac.uk

14. Do it! Last chance to apply! Community Placements Deadline 13 February
Looking for a regular volunteer role? Interested in heritage, environment, charities or with young people? York Students in Communities is offering a range of exciting individual volunteering opportunities most to start in April 2014 with organisations including National Trust, York Museums Trust, SNAPPY and Friends of St Nicks Field. To find out more and to apply visit: www.york.ac.uk/careers/communities/doit

The deadline for applications is Midnight, Thursday Week 6 (13 February)

 15. Information about Careers: