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Rejection can feel genuinely devastating. But before you retreat into your tear-stained hovel to plot a new, anonymous life as a subsistence farmer in rural Australia (not that there's anything wrong with that!), consider this: Some of the world's most successful people have failed - sometimes more than once.

We've put together a list of indisputably successes, from movie stars to scientists, who experienced massive failure before they found fame and fortune.

Weaker people might have given up. Instead, these folks remained focused on their goals.

Scroll on to see the underdogs who went on to change the world.

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29 famous people who failed before they succeeded

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Rejection can feel genuinely devastating. But before you retreat into your tear-stained hovel to plot a new, anonymous life as a subsistence farmer in rural Australia (not that there's anything wrong with that!), consider this: Some of the world's most successful people have failed - sometimes more than once.

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Celebrities Discuss Their Favourite Career Advice | My Worst Job

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When I started this series on vocation last week, I thought it would be just a two part series. However, the more I pondered the topic and dug into the research, the more fascinating the subject became and the more insights I felt impressed to share with you. Finding one's calling encompasses so much of a man's life, and can be a large source of anxiety for men. Since this is such a vital topic, I've decided to expand it into a four part series. Here's what we'll be covering in the next few weeks:

Part II: The Myths and Realities of Vocation. One of the great stumbling blocks to finding one's calling is not understanding what one really is. Today, we'll hopefully give you a clearer picture of what a vocation means.
Part III: Why Pursue a Vocation? Not every man is convinced that finding one's true vocation is even an important pursuit, believing that simply doing a job and supporting your family is manly enough. Here we'll discuss why finding one's calling is so vital and why it's a worthy endeavor to undertake.
Part IV: How to Find Your Vocation. Knowing what your vocation is isn't that difficult, it's really a matter of recognizing and dispensing with the excuses we make not to follow it. In this article we'll talk about discerning your calling and what may be holding you back from embracing it.

Part II: The Myths and Realities of Vocation

When you're hunting for a wild animal, you need to know as much about it as possible-its habits, tracks, and patterns. You can't find something when you don't know what you're even looking for. Unfortunately, finding their calling is difficult for many men because of misunderstandings about what it really is. These are three common myths about vocations:

Myth #1: There is one specific occupation out there that you were meant to do-police officer, pilot, teacher, ect. This myth is similar to the idea that there is only one person in the world for you, your one true soul mate. Many men experience a great deal of anxiety when deciding on a job because they feel they must pick the one perfect career among hundreds of thousands and worry about making the wrong choice.

The reality: There are a wide variety of jobs that could become your vocation.

Myth #2: Vocations are limited to special or elite jobs. Doctor, writer, FBI agent, astronaut, minister, artist, actor, archeologist, musician and so on. These are the kinds of jobs kids dream of doing, and tend to be the only kind of jobs we can imagine being called to.

The reality: If this myth were true, where would that leave the world's insurance agents and cab drivers? Is office work and blue collar jobs just for the schmos who haven't figured out that they're wasting their lives away?

The answer is a definitive no. Almost any job can be a calling (conversely, any calling can become a job!). There are no higher or lower callings. It may come as some surprise, but the the delineation between jobs/careers/vocations that we discussed last week doesn't break down along professional lines. Instead, within every profession, 1/3 of the workers identify with each category. This means that 1/3 of doctors see their work as just a job, while 1/3 of garbagemen see their work as a vocation.
Myth #3: A vocation is synonymous with a job.
The reality: This myth really gets to the heart of all of our misunderstandings about vocation. A calling is not a job title or even a specific line of work. If that were true, once you were fired or retired or became disabled in a way in which you could no longer do your old job, you would cease to have a calling. This is decidedly not the case. Your calling is there when you're born and follows you into the grave; it precedes your job and outlives it.

So what then is a vocation?

A vocation consists of those unique birthright gifts you possess; they are the broad strengths that animate you. Your vocation is part and parcel with your life purpose. Or as authors Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro put it in Whistle While You Work: "Calling isn't our job, it's what we bring to our job." Let's repeat that: "Calling isn't our job, it's what we bring to our job."

Finding your vocation means finding the common thread in the things you love to do, the things that you're passionate about, the things you feel uniquely suited for.

Leider and Shapiro suggest what some of these threads, these gifts might be:

Building things

Fixing things

Investigating things

Making connections

Building relationships

Creating dialogue

Healing wounds

Adding humor

Persuading people

Organizing things

Selling things

Doing the numbers

Resolving disputes

Instructing others

Optimizing things

Making deals

Starting things

Designing things

Researching things

Seeing the big picture

Writing things

Solving problems

Awakening spirit

And there are many more. Which do you identify with? When you're exercising these gifts, you feel fulfilled, things click, you feel in-sync with the world and others, and you get the feeling that this is what you were meant to do.

On average, Baby Boomers changed jobs 11 times in their lifetime and that number will inevitably rise in this generation. In our rapidly changing world, you can't expect to have just one job your whole life. What you can count on is taking your unique gifts from one pursuit to another. And knowing what those gifts are can lead you to the opportunities that match your calling.

The Vocation Spectrum

Finding your vocation is very much like finding the person you want to marry.

I've been to quite a few weddings, and after the festivities, sometimes I feel like, "Well, good for them. That will hopefully work out." And sometimes I feel like, "Wow, it's amazing those two people found each other. They were clearly meant to be together. I just witnessed something powerful."

For any man, there are thousands of women with which he can probably make a very decent go of marriage. With general compatibility and a dedication to keep at it through thick and thin, a couple can have a fine marriage. For some, that is enough.

But marriage can be something more. My marriage is awesome; it's fun and and satisfying and joyful and easy. Every day and in everything we do, we have a good time together; I'm crazy about my wife.

Above I mentioned the myth that there is only one person out there with which you can find true love. But I actually don't discount the idea of soul mates. There isn't one soul mate for you on the whole planet, but there are a few people that are so special, so perfect for you, that they make you feel that way.

So it is with vocations. Because a calling isn't a specific job, it's your unique gifts and life purpose, this means that there are a wide variety of jobs that will be compatible with your call. It could even be the job you're in right now. Within a whole host of different jobs, you can choose to focus on the ways the job taps into your strengths and seek to maximize the opportunities you have to employ them. It may simply require a change in your perspective on things.

Those who see their work as a series of tasks and hoops they have to jump through feel they have a job; those who find greater meaning and purpose in their work beyond the mundane details see their work as a vocation.

A recent article about the closing of the last sardine factory in the United States illustrates the vocational attitude well:

"Ernie Beach, 55, who operates one of the plant's large pressure-cooker machines, which sterilize the sardines, said that few workers took advantage of company policy allowing them two free cans a day; he takes one home for his cat.

But like the others, Mr. Beach is proud of his work. "I'm not just the operator, I'm the maintenance man, the mechanic, I make all the adjustments, the calibrations," he said. " I'm saving lives here."

Mr. Beach could have seen his work as operating machines, or sanitizing sardines, but instead saw it as saving lives. He found a higher purpose in his work beyond his routine.

This is an inspiring thought, and attitude can go a long way in increasing your satisfaction with your work, but the truth is that maximizing your opportunities to employ your gifts and changing your perspective has its limits. Each job falls somewhere on the vocational spectrum; one job may employ your gifts 10% of the time, another 30%, and another 70%. If you feel called to teach others, the moments at your corporate job where you get to make presentations and impart information are the moments where everything clicks for you. But that's only 20% of your job and 80% of the time you're attending meetings and writing reports. If you became a teacher in a high school, that percentage would flip flop.

A job that taps into your calling 40% of the time is like the decent marriage. For some, those moments where things are clicking make the unpleasant aspects of the job, or the relationship, worth it.

But some men want more. They want to do work that taps into their calling 75-100% of the time, work that they feel they were absolutely meant for, work that fires them up on all cylinders. And they should feel that way. Why? Well, we'll discuss that next time.
Finding Your Calling Part I: What Is a Vocation?
Finding Your Calling Part II: The Myths and Realities of Vocation
Finding Your Calling Part III: Why Pursue a Vocation?
Finding Your Calling Part IV: Discovering Your Vocation
Finding Your Calling Part V: Obstacles to Embracing Your Vocation

Tags: vocation

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The Myths and Realities of Finding Your Vocation | The Art of Manliness

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When I started this series on vocation last week, I thought it would be just a two part series. However, the more I pondered the topic and dug into the research, the more fascinating the subject became and the more insights I felt impressed to share with you.

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"Blessed is he that has found his work! Let him ask no other blessedness."-Carlye

There are two great decisions in a man's life, two poles around which the first quarter of his typically life revolve: whom to marry and which occupation to pursue.

The latter is a question we face as soon as we are old enough to talk. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" is a query put to us by parents, teachers, and friends. In our teen years we are content to keep our plans vague and nebulous. But in college the pressure builds-we want to choose a major related to our future career. But we may still not know what career we're aiming for. So we change majors once, twice, and maybe more.

And then we graduate. Society says we have now entered the world of work and should be diving into our chosen profession. But even then, many of us aren't sure what profession that's supposed to be.

We typically have a better idea of what we don't want in a job than what we do. Not something mundane, something like what our dads did-long hours stuck in a cubicle feeling like a cog in a corporate machine, Maalox and scotch hidden in a desk drawer. After all, a third of our lives will be spent working; we'll probably spend more time at work than we do with our spouse and kids. It's no wonder we agonize over "what to be when we grow up"...even when we're all grown up.

We want a job that doesn't actually feel like a job. Something that uses our talents and brings us great satisfaction.

What we really want isn't a job at all; we want a vocation, a calling.

Three Perspectives on Work

There are three ways people look at what they do for work:

A Job. Those who see their work as a job are those who belt out " Everybody's Working for the Weekend " with great gusto. They live for breaks, for vacation. The job is simply a means to the end: a paycheck. They need to support their family/pay their rent, and this is the ticket they punch to do it. The job may not be terrible, but it offers the worker very little real satisfaction.

A Career. The careerist derives meaning not from the nature of the work itself but the gratification that comes from advancing through the ranks and earning promotions and raises. This motivates the careerist to put in extra time; work doesn't necessarily stop when they punch out. However, once this forward progress stops, the careerist becomes unsatisfied and frustrated.

A Vocation/Calling. A vocation is work you do for its own sake; you almost feel like you'd do it even if you didn't get paid. The rewards of wages and prestige are peripheral to getting to use one's passion in a satisfying way. Those in a vocation feel that their work has an effect on the greater good and an impact beyond themselves. They believe that their work truly utilizes their unique gifts and talents. This is what they were meant to do.

When it comes to life satisfaction and happiness, those with a job are the least satisfied, then those with a career, and those with a vocation feel the most satisfied. No surprises there. A vocation encompasses more than the work you are paid for; it taps into your whole life purpose. When you've found your calling, you know it- your life is full of of joy, satisfaction, and true fulfillment. Conversely, if you're living a life at odds with your vocation, there's no doubt about that either. You're indescribably restless; you wake up in the middle of the night feeling like you can't breathe, like there's a great weight on your chest; life seems to be passing you by and you have no idea what to do about it.

What Is a Vocation?

"The deepest vocational question is not "What ought I to do with my life?" It is the more elemental and demanding 'Who am I? What is my nature?'" -Parker J. Palmer

The etymology of vocation versus career is most revealing. The word vocation comes from the Latin word "vocare" or "to call." It denotes a voice summoning a person to a unique purpose. The word career derives from the Latin word for cart and the Middle French word for race track. It denotes quickly moving in a circle, never going anywhere.

Man was made to embrace his unique destiny, not soldier on as a hamster in a wheel. Or in the words of Lily Tomlin, "The problem with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat."

So if a vocation is something that calls to you-who is doing the calling? And how do you listen to its voice?

Have you ever noticed how much of children's personalities seen to come hardwired into them? Only a few months into life babies start showing a unique personality. Young children already have characteristics, inclinations, proclivities, likes and dislikes that follow them all the way into adulthood. It's pretty wild really. When I think about my siblings and I, I'm always amazed how three people who were born to and raised by the same parents, in the same place, could turn out so differently and take such different paths.

I believe the seeds of your true self are born within you. Author Parker J. Palmer calls these seeds "birthright gifts."

Your birthright gifts are what make you an entirely unique person, with a unique purpose and special talents you can give to the world and to others. Thus, the call comes from within you, not from without; it is a call to bring these seeds to fruition. These are the seeds of your true self, planted within you when you were born. You may believe that the seeds were planted specially by God, by chance, or even that you existed before this incarnation of yourself. Unfortunately, as we grow up, this true self gets buried by the influence and expectations of family, friends, teachers, and the media. We get sorted and labeled and placed into slots. Instead of listening to the call within us, we make decisions based on a need for approval, prestige, and security.

Embracing your calling means shutting off the voices of what others say you ought to do and living true to your real self. Not imitating dad or other men you admire. We take seriously everything but our own thoughts and beliefs-we drink up what our teachers tell us, what our parents tell us, what our ministers tell us. We eagerly lap up quotes from great men. We find these source of truth valuable, but dismiss our own insights and philosophy as hopelessly insignificant. But as Rabbi Zusya has said, "In the coming world, they will not ask me: 'Why were you not Moses?" They will ask me: 'Why were you not Zusya?'"

So how do we recover our birthright gifts and find our calling by living as our true selves? We'll cover that next week in Part II. Also, as I was researching this topic, I came across a great book from 1914 called Self-Culture Through the Vocation. It contains insights on vocation too good not to share, so in conjunction with this two part series, I'll be posting some excerpts this week and next. Stay tuned.
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Finding Your Calling Part I: What Is a Vocation?
Finding Your Calling Part II: The Myths and Realities of Vocation
Finding Your Calling Part III: Why Pursue a Vocation?
Finding Your Calling Part IV: Discovering Your Vocation
Finding Your Calling Part V: Obstacles to Embracing Your Vocation
Source: Let Your Life Speak by Parker J. Palmer
Tags: vocation

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Your Vocation: How to Discover your calling. | The Art of Manliness

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"Blessed is he that has found his work! Let him ask no other blessedness."-Carlye There are two great decisions in a man's life, two poles around which the first quarter of his typically life revolve: whom to marry and which occupation to pursue.

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https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/craigcampbell/familyman.html

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taking care of business lyrics - Google Search

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6DK3XRmhJI Taking Care of Business by Bachman Turner Overdrive.

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https://spinditty.com/playlists/Pop-Rock-and-Country-Songs-About-Working-and-Employmenthttps://spinditty.com/playlists/Pop-Rock-and-Country-Songs-About-Working-and-Employment

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Graduate jobs in social care | Prospects.ac.uk

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Take a look at what roles are on offer in the social care sector and which ones best match your skills and qualifications.

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Parveen A is an Administrator at Cambridge Regional College. She has a degree in sociology and law. In the future she would like to take up a career in law, but that's on hold at the moment because she's keen to start a family. "At the moment an admin job is good for me and I'm making the most of that."
Description
Personal assistants and other secretaries provide administrative and secretarial support to individuals, departmental or management teams within organisations.
Qualifications
There are no minimum academic requirements, although entry to professional secretarial courses typically requires GCSEs/S grades. NVQs/SVQs are available in Administration at Levels 2, 3 and 4.
Tasks

Acts as a first point of contact for a manager or team with colleagues and people from outside organisations, fields telephone enquiries, takes and passes on messages;

Arranges appointments, keeps business diary, organises travel arrangements, makes reservations and organises a variety of functions;

Opens, sorts, distributes and files correspondence (in hard copy and electronic) and deals directly with routine correspondence;

Uses appropriate software to produce correspondence, memoranda, reports, presentations and other documents from drafts, handwritten copy or by transcribing dictation;

Arranges and attends meetings, takes minutes and prepares records of proceedings;

Translates documents and liaises with overseas clients and suppliers.

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Morven C

Parveen A 00.01 My name is Parveen A and I am an administrator at Cambridge Regional College. My job involves general administrative tasks including filing, telephone calls, dealing with customers, generally looking after files, data entry, that's it really. 00.21 Whilst I was at school, I wasn't very interested in any of the compulsory subjects. I liked it when we got to Year 10 and we were able to choose more interesting subjects such as social sciences. I found it very interesting to talk about the world in different perspectives and things like that, and I had two very amazing teachers who I looked up to and who were very helpful and that's when I really kick started in learning. I really wanted to learn and progress because they made me want to do that. I don't know, they just inspired you to want to progress and really do something with your life and achieve their full potential. 01.09 I really enjoyed sociology, like I said. My teachers were great so I went on to university to continue in that field. I did a degree, a BA combined honours in sociology and law. Going to university was very interesting. I commuted so I don't think I got the full experience like other people did who were living at halls on the uni campus. They usually just partied and I didn't. I studied and then went home. So it wasn't as fun as it could've been, I think. 01.48 The only reason I commuted was down to my parents, because they didn't want me to go very far. If I had my own choice, I would've gone to Nottingham Trent to do law there, which I was accepted in as well. But just due to my parents and religion I decided to stay closer to home. Ultimately, I think, my parents have pushed me in the right direction because I would have settled for less and not achieved as much as I have. I wouldn't have gone and got a degree and things like that without my parents steering me in the right direction. 02.25 I know we all grow up thinking, you know, that they're always saying the wrong thing or they're not helping or they're against us, but ultimately, you do turn around and say, 'they were right at the end of the day. They were right in doing what they did'. 02.43 After having an arranged marriage during university, I decided that actually law wasn't my first priority and that I needed to do what I needed to do to get on and have a family of my own. So decided that, you know, at the moment an admin job is good for me and I'm making the most of that. A lot of people recognise how good I am and how bubbly I am and things like that, and I'm quite happy and secure in that. It's not just an admin job like people say it is. It's much more than that. You can make it much more than what it is. 03.25 I don't have a lot of hobbies but I really like to go shopping, seeing my friends, going out, watching movies, I like listening to music, over a whole range of music from cheesy pop to, you know, R&B, hip hop and even music from my own culture. 03.47 In five years I would like to be doing something within law. Hopefully I will have done the legal practising course which is what I originally wanted to do before I went into admin. So maybe practice as a solicitor or do some paralegal stuff.

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Parveen A 00.01 My name is Parveen A and I am an administrator at Cambridge Regional College. My job involves general administrative tasks including filing, telephone calls, dealing with customers, generally looking after files, data entry, that's it really. 00.21 Whilst I was at school, I wasn't very interested in any of the compulsory subjects.

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Paul P is a Detention Officer with Northumbria Police. He applied to join the police force after university, but poor eyesight let him down. He had corrective surgery but at the time that wasn't accepted. It is now, and so he was able to apply to be a detention officer. His ultimate goal is to become a police officer.

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Description
Prison service officers (below Principal Officer) direct, co-ordinate and participate in guarding inmates and maintaining discipline in prisons and other detention centres.
Qualifications
There are no formal academic requirements for entry but candidates must pass a pre-entry test and full medical examination. Basic training is followed by a 12 month probationary period during which further on-the-job training is provided. Background checks are required for entrants, and there are generally nationality restrictions and a lower age limit of 18 years.
Tasks

Escorts prisoners to and from cells and supervises them during meals, recreation and visiting periods;

Watches for any infringements of regulations and searches prisoners and cells for weapons, drugs and other contraband items;

Guards entrances and perimeter walls;

Investigates disturbances or any other unusual occurrences;

Escorts prisoners transferred from one institution to another;

Runs prisoner rehabilitation and support programmes;

Provides care and support to prisoners in custody including prevention of self harm;

Trains and supervises prison staff;

Reports on prisoners' conduct as necessary.

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Paul P

Paul P 0.00.00 Hi, my name's Paul P. I'm a Detention Officer for the Northumbria Police. A lot of people think my job's like a Prison Officer but what I've got to remember is that everybody's not guilty when they come in, they're only guilty after they've been to Court, so you've got to treat them as if you want to be treated yourself. The negative sides when it's normally to be honest with you, a Friday night is when you get a lot of the drunk and disorderlies in and a lot of aggressiveness and that's a side of society 0.00.30 and the good side bit is when you get somebody in there who you can see they know they've done wrong but they can actually errors of the ways and they actually ask for help about for how they can get out their predicament, whether it's drug advice, going to see a councillor which is provided or just wanting never to be in custody again basically. Well my parents always thought I'd join the Armed Services, just because it was the type of thing I played with, little plastic toy soldiers, probably my favourite toy as a kid. 0.01.00 But I think the aspect of when I got older basically not really wanting to be shot at which is the main reason why I didn't join the Services. So I think that's why I looked towards to something as active as the Police Force. At school I enjoyed school to be honest. I enjoyed the sports aspect, playing rugby, the socialising aspect and I enjoyed certain subjects, but made me personally if I'm interested in a subject I'll tend to do really, really well at it. 0.01.30 If I'm not, like for example, French and German, languages, I'm not interested and I won't do well in it. So I generally did, I did well in the aspects of geography and history. The turning point in making me instead of just being a whimsical fantasy of joining the Police, I mean doing something actually about it was university. 0.02.00 Before that I had a set of GCSE, A levels, university, get the job, get the house and university made me realise that it just wasn't for me, that the desk job aspect of it. At least it gave me a bit of a jolt, woke me up from a slumpish road I was going down. I looked into joining the Northumbria Police but found out that without my glasses on my eyesight wasn't good enough to join as a Police Officer. So I looked into getting eye surgery. After I did that at the time they wouldn't accept still that surgery cos it was new. 0.02.30 So since then I've done jobs as a salesman, doing that, I also spent six months away travelling to get the more life experience, through America and Australia. And then when I've come back I found out that they do allow the surgery now and that's why I started looking towards the career as a Detention Officer, to give me the insight to go for the ultimate goal as a Police Officer. 0.03.00 I'd say my father was a big influence for making me work hard to reach my goals, is because he struggled to become an accountant. He started off, he struggled quite badly at school. He had the same problem I do, if he's not interested in something he kind of just switches off. But he had to retake one of his years when he was younger and that kind of gave him the jolt, the realisation to become a chartered accountant which is, at the time was one of the hardest exams to go through. 0.03.30 With regards to people I work with, mostly with regards to some of the Police Officers who have been here for a long time, some are sergeants, when you hear the stories of what they've been through in the past, you respect the job they've done and the job they're doing for society at the home, it does make you, encourage you to want to, well for me personally to become a Police Officer, which is one of the reasons why I looked for the job as a Detention Officer, to get an insight into the organisation. 0.03.58

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Paul P 0.00.00 Hi, my name's Paul P. I'm a Detention Officer for the Northumbria Police. A lot of people think my job's like a Prison Officer but what I've got to remember is that everybody's not guilty when they come in, they're only guilty after they've been to Court, so you've got to treat them as if you want to be treated yourself.

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Frances has responsibilty for publicising the work of the Britten Sinfonia Orchestra. She studied music at University and is a flautist by training but realised that she was 'not one of the best'. She feels her job will give her opportunities in many areas of the Arts. She sees the most exciting part of her job as talking to the public and gaining feedback on the work of the orchestra.

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Description
Marketing associate professionals assist in the development and implementation of projects which aim to elicit the preferences and requirements of consumers, businesses and other specified target groups so that suppliers may meet these needs.
Qualifications
There are no formal academic requirements, although many entrants possess a BTEC/SQA award, A levels/H grades, a degree or equivalent qualification. Training is typically in-house, supplemented by short courses or professional qualifications provided by the Market Research Society. NVQs/SVQs in Marketing Research are available at Levels 3 and 4.
Tasks

Discusses business methods, products or services and targets customer group with employer or client in order to identify marketing requirements;

Establishes an appropriate quantitative and qualitative market research methodology and prepares proposals outlining programmes of work and details of costs;

Collates and interprets findings of market research and presents results to clients;

Discusses possible changes that need to be made in terms of design, price, packaging, promotion etc. in light of market research with appropriate departments;

Briefs advertising team on client requirements, monitors the progress of advertising campaigns and liaises with client on potential modifications.

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Frances M

Frances M Hello, I'm Frances M, I'm the Marketing and Development Assistant for Britten Sinfonia Orchestra. Every orchestra has a marketing department, it's essential really, because classical music in particular finds it very difficult to make money on the events and concerts, and so every ticket sale is absolutely vital. Well actually the most exciting part still comes down to being at a concert, and meeting our concert attenders. Talking to them and really getting a response from them about how they feel about Britten Sinfonia, and how they feel about the concerts, and actually seeing the work that we all do in action, and seeing the affect that it has on people. Music was always a hobby, it was always something that I was quite passionate about from a young age. It was only when it got to sort of, I guess, A-Levels when you really have to narrow down, and you have to think OK, what am I best at, what - where are my skills. And schools generally make you take all those tests where you try and work out, you know, what you're supposed to be, and I think it told me that I was going to be a baker - possibly because I liked cakes. When, you know, I do like cakes, but I don't want to be a baker! Up until about two months before I went to University I thought I might go and do Physics, 'cause I always kind of wanted to be an astronaut. Sounds a bit of a fantasy life really, but it would have been amazing and very hard work. But in the end, because guess I thought I had this talent, or I had something that shouldn't be wasted, I thought I'd go and do Music, and it really was the thing that I was most interested in. I wanted to be a flautist and - so to get to University, with playing the flute, in your mind you feel like yeah, this is really really good. And then I get there and there were so many good flautists it suddenly dawns on you that actually, if you want to be a performer, you've got to put in a lot of hard work. And you've got to practice four or five hours a day, and I think it's a kind of make or break moment for a lot of people. And then to find that actually you're probably not one of the best - it's, you know, it's quite gutting really. Finished University and went travelling for a little while, which was fantastic. I went on a trek with a group of sort of eleven other people, sort of across America, and travelled all around, absolutely amazing. At that point I was still very much thinking - having no idea what I wanted to do for a career - and I think those couple of months sort of just really allowing me to stay oblivious to the fact that I had to get a job. There was this nagging little voice in my head that kept thinking, you've got to at least try working in the Arts, because it's something I really care about, and it's something that would be very rewarding in the end. And so I made that leap, and I started as an Intern here at Britten Sinfonia. So it was an unpaid, voluntary position. Which was a bit risky, because you basically have to support yourself. And I was very very lucky, it was a bit of luck really, in that a job came up here at Britten Sinfonia, so I was able to stay on. A lot of people working in the industry do a lot of musical activity on the side, so they'll be in quartets, in orchestras, and I'm the same. I like playing, I like being involved in music, even though I come to work and I'm surrounded by - I think - I think I'm quite a varied person, I have - you know, I still go off and play tennis with people and, you know, go and see films, you know, it's still varied, but working for an orchestra does take up a lot of extra time. Thinking about the future has never been my strong point. I think - I definitely want to stay in the Arts, or at least work for a charity of some sort. I definitely need to be able to believe in what I'm marketing or fund-raising for. The experience that I've gained could take me in almost any direction in the Arts. And that's the best thing really, is that I do have a lot of options still open to me, and I don't have to feel like I've pigeon-holed myself into one career for the rest of my life. ENDS

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Frances M 00:00:02 Hello, I\'m Frances M, I\'m the Marketing and Development Assistant for Britten Sinfonia Orchestra. Every orchestra has a marketing department, it\'s essential really, because classical music in particular finds it very difficult to make money on the events and concerts, and so every ticket sale is absolutely vital.

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Marcus Sedgwick is a successful children's author. When he was young he was told he wouldn't be able to make a living as an author, and that left an impression on him, so much so that he did maths and politics at university. But then he got a job in a children's bookshop, "fell in love with contemporary children's writing" and remembered his childhood aspirations to become a writer. He decided to give it a try.

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Description
Job holders in this unit group write, edit and evaluate literary material for publication excluding material for newspapers, magazines and other periodicals but including scripts and narrative for film, TV, radio and computer games and animations; and translate spoken and written statements into different languages.
Qualifications
Entry is possible with a variety of academic qualifications and/or relevant experience. Postgraduate and professional qualifications are available and are required for some occupations.
Tasks

Determines subject matter and researches as necessary by interviewing, attending public events, seeking out records, observing etc.;

Generates and develops creative ideas for literary material;

Selects material for publication, checks style, grammar and accuracy of content, arranges for any necessary revisions and checks proof copies before printing;

Negotiates contracts with freelance agents and with buyer on behalf of writer;

Writes instruction manuals and user guides, technical reports, catalogues and indexes, prepares sales literature and writes technical articles for trade journals;

Converts documents or spoken statements from original or source language into another language;

Provides communication support for the hard of hearing or the visually impaired.

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Marcus Sedgwick

Marcus S My name is Marcus S and I'm a writer. The books I write are historical fiction in some ways but there's usually an element...most of them have had some element of fantasy in there as well, maybe a small, magical element as well. This is the starting point for the next book of mine that will be published. It started making me think about what happens when a gun is fired and the way a gun is a...it's a machine, if you like. It's a very perfect machine. It does one job and it does it very, very well. But then if you think about what a bullet does at the other end of its life, its horrible. It's an appalling thing, and I wanted to write a book that sort of captured those two sides of that. And all of that came from thinking about this little shell case. So it's an example of how a whole book can grow out of the smallest thing. I didn't really have a sense of being a writer when I was a child. In fact I think it was probably the complete opposite in that I think I got put off by it, because the only thing I can remember about being a writer was someone saying to me, 'you can't be writer. No-one makes money doing that'. And I think that actually stopped me doing it probably well into my adult life. I think I might have got round to it quite a bit sooner were it not for that. Because sometimes those little things that people say to you at the right moment can stick with you for a long time. So after A-levels I went to university and at university I did mathematics. And I'm laughing because I lasted precisely one year doing maths at university. When a whole year had gone by and I hadn't seen a single number anywhere, all I'd seen was Egyptian hieroglyphics, I decided it wasn't for me and I changed course at that point to politics, and I actually graduated with a politics degree. And the reason I chose politics was simply because, having got to university and spent a year getting established there, that was the most interesting course I could change to at the university that I was at, because they didn't have an arts faculty. But when I left university, I started to really begin to think about what I wanted to do and, to my horror, I couldn't get a job doing...I had a degree but I couldn't get a job doing anything at all. I don't know what I would have done if I'd have thought more carefully about university. I think in retrospect, you know, if I'd had more guidance when I was younger, there were courses that...by the time I graduated, there were courses like archaeology, art history, other things that I think I might have wanted to have done. But, you know, my time had gone by then, so that by that point, I was just thinking, 'well what can I get into now?' And still without a very strong sense of what I was going to do. But really the final catalyst in my career was accidentally, and I say accidentally, getting a job in a bookshop and it wasn't just any bookshop, it was specifically a children's bookshop. And it was there that I sort of fell in love with contemporary children's writing and started to think actually, 'I remember I did want to try and write once upon a time', and this made me think that I could actually have the right to go and do it. It's a very strange thing when your first book comes out and, don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful and amazing feeling, but the whole publishing process is a very slow beast, and so from the moment at which you write your story and someone says yes, they'll publish it, and then it's another probably eighteen months minimum that it actually appears in the shops, you've kind of had quite a long time to get used to it. So it was almost just really a bit surreal, but nonetheless wonderful, and the first time you see that new book in the shops, you kind of, yeah, it brings you up short a little bit. At the moment, I'm starting to try some other things. I'm developing a screen play that will be an adult film, and I'm starting to think about writing adult novels instead, because I just feel that's where I'm headed. I also want to try and get into writing graphic novels too because I think this is another new and exciting area to work in these days.

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Marcus S 0:00:03 My name is Marcus S and I\'m a writer. The books I write are historical fiction in some ways but there\'s usually an element...most of them have had some element of fantasy in there as well, maybe a small, magical element as well.

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Aiden Byrne is a project worker at a homeless hostel in Belfast. He gained a degree in Sociology before leaving Northern Ireland to work in the Carribean for two years - "I was an English language assistant so I was working with small groups, translating the lyrics of Bob Marley songs, or watching DVDs in English and explaining them to the students or doing projects about Ireland... it was a great experience". When his partner became pregnant Aiden returned to Northern Ireland and started working for the East Belfast Mission.

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Description
Workers in this unit group provide pastoral care relating to religious denominations, and a variety of welfare-related services including advice on benefits, health, disability and residential care not elsewhere classified in MINOR GROUP 323: Welfare and Housing Associate Professionals.
Qualifications
Entry is possible with a variety of academic qualifications and/or experience. Professional qualifications may be required for some posts. Background checks including a CRB check are likely to be required for those working with vulnerable adults and/or families.
Tasks

Advises on rights and entitlements in relation to benefits, health, discrimination and welfare;

Advises individuals and families experiencing problems about available resources to assist them;

Assists and liaises with professionals in social work, the probation service and related welfare areas;

Organises day, residential and home care services;

Helps to put together care plans and follows professional's care plans;

Maintains records and compiles reports on clients;

Keeps up to date with legislation;

Performs pastoral care duties, preaches sermons and conducts some services in accordance with the relevant faith or denomination.

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Aiden B

Aiden Byrne My name is Aiden Byrne and I'm a project worker at a homeless hostel in Belfast. The main thing it involves is sitting down with people, one to one and helping them to make positive decisions about their lives. You're dealing with people whose lives are very sad and you tend to pick up a lot of that and, and sometimes you can be dealing with challenging behaviour and so in that sense it is, it is hard and it can be emotionally, draining and stressful. It was never what I wanted to do but it's sort of slowly becoming what I want to do. My father he, he started off as a tradesman and when I was born he became a, a puppeteer and, and then an actor and a poet and he was in some television programme, there was a lot of praise, he was juggling on the streets at one stage, he was part of a juggling troupe and he had a sort of social conscience as well, always, you know, really strong values in that sense, too and at a certain point, I don't know, maybe fifteen years ago or so, he moved into community development and my mother similarly always had a strong social conscience and studied sociology and did a PhD in sociology and then worked in social research for most of her life. But because my mother did a degree I felt I picked it up in the family that I, I would do a degree, we'd all do a degree. You have to do a degree, there's no question, you're going to do a degree and it's going to be in something with um, there's no question of just uh going straight into the labour market and, and working. I found it boring, I didn't enjoy it. I didn't get up in the morning looking forward to it. I went to school, I saw it as something that I, I, I have to do and had to do well enough to, to do a degree. I had studied sociology in Dublin and had a degree in sociology and then I went to the Caribbean for two years to teach English. I was working twelve hours a week and I was getting nearly thirty Euros an hour and I had about four months' paid holidays during the year and, and for those twelve hours I was, well I, I was an English language assistant so I was working with small groups, translating the lyrics of Bob Marley songs, or watching DVDs in, in English and explaining them to the students or doing sort of projects about Ireland and Irish music and, and food and, and so on and so forth. And it was, it was, it was a great experience. I'd always wanted to travel and I was extremely lucky that this turned up. I came back from the Caribbean when my partner was pregnant and she's from Belfast so she wanted to live in the area and, and at that stage I had hoped to get a job directly related to my studies in sociology um but couldn't and I, I would have to do a masters in something more specific like research methods or policy or something like that and my friend suggested trying working with homeless people and specifically here, she'd worked here in Oxford House, so I said OK, I'll give it a shot. The day I found out my partner was pregnant would be a major turning point, that's when I decided that it wouldn't be OK to travel around continuously, or to do things willy nilly I felt that I couldn't balance that life with a family life, that I needed to, to get some sort of financial security.

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Aiden Byrne 0:02 My name is Aiden Byrne and I'm a project worker at a homeless hostel in Belfast. 00:07 The main thing it involves is sitting down with people, one to one and helping them to make positive decisions about their lives.

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We all know that when it comes to job hunting having a great CV is crucial to your success.

One of the biggest challenges that job seekers face is ensuring that their CV stands out from the crowd. When recruiters are trawling through hundreds of other applications, what will make yours better than the rest? Well, there are two key areas that you need to get right: content and formatting.

When putting your CV together you should ensure that it is clear, concise and easy to read. The golden rule is your CV should never be longer than two pages no matter how much experience you have. If you are applying for creative roles, it is now easier than ever to boost the design of your CV to both show off your skills and make it more visually appealing. While a plain word document is fine, doing more could set you apart from your competition.

If you want to get creative with your CV design, be sure to bear in mind your audience. If you are applying for a role with a forward-thinking design company then being imaginative with your CV is a great idea. However, if you are applying to join a more formal and traditional business then keep your design professional and use only subtle flairs to stand out.

Moving onto your CV content, it's important to show off the skills and achievements you have that relate to the role you are applying for. Including a personal profile is a great way to instantly show your potential employer that you are a great fit for the role.

Many job seekers, however, find it difficult to write about their strengths and successes without feeling like they are boasting. In everyday life, boasting is generally an unattractive quality that rubs people up the wrong way. So, how can you find the balance of selling yourself without sounding big-headed?

We're taking a look at some superhero CVs to give you inspiration on how to show off your own superpowers. Silver Swan Recruitment have created CVs for some of the most iconic Avengers. Take a look and see if they inspire you and give your job search mission a boost.

Spiderman

Captain America

Iron Man

The Hulk

Thor

Black Panther

Black Widow

Hawkeye

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CV Lessons From The Avengers: Show Off Your Superpowers

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We all know that when it comes to job hunting having a great CV is crucial to your success. One of the biggest challenges that job seekers face is ensuring that their CV stands out from the crowd.

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Avril Lee 115 My Street Mytown WX55 1CQ ajlee99@gmail.com 07777999888

Harry Smith Graduate HR director Big Company Ltd Woodcotes Business Park The Midlands MX9 6PQ

15th April 2021

Dear Mr Smith

Re: Logistics graduate scheme

I would like to apply for the logistics track of your graduate training scheme, advertised on the Prospects.ac.uk website. As requested, I am enclosing my CV.

I am in the final year of my geography degree, expecting a 2:1. Always intending to have a career in business, I have taken modules on the geography of business and GIS modelling. My final-year dissertation is on changing patterns in retail. During my degree, I have developed my analytical skills and ability to read, manage and present data. I have also become familiar with a range of business intelligence sources.

As you can see from my CV I have experience in:

Retail - moving from shelf stacker to checkout operator to team leader in my two years with Fresh Foods. I contributed to the store consistently being in the top five for the region by providing excellent customer service.

Warehouse operations - picking and packing to meet targets over the busy Christmas period.

I have also:

Worked in and led teams at Fresh Foods, on course projects and in sports.

Communicated with colleagues at all levels in retail and warehousing.

Solved problems as a team leader, ensuring staff cover and dealing with customer complaints.

Worked flexibly doing both early and late shifts and covering for absence, sometimes at short notice.

Managed my time when combining study with work and sport.

My semester in Germany exposed me to a different culture and improved my language skills. In addition, my voluntary work with young people has increased my resilience and ability to mix with people from all walks of life.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

(Sign your name here)

Avril Lee

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Avril Lee 115 My Street Mytown WX55 1CQ ajlee99@gmail.com 07777999888 Harry Smith Graduate HR director Big Company Ltd Woodcotes Business Park The Midlands MX9 6PQ 15th April 2021 Dear Mr Smith Re: Logistics graduate scheme I would like to apply for the logistics track of your graduate training scheme, advertised on the Prospects.ac.uk website.

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Video CVs are becoming increasingly popular with jobseekers wanting to stand out from the crowd. Rather than replacing traditional paper CVs, videos enhance job applications by providing employers with more insight into what an individual has to offer.

"A traditional CV outlines your skills, qualifications and experience, whereas a video CV enables an employer to get a feel for your personality," says Lisa LaRue, a career coach at CareerWorx.

"It's really just another tool in a jobseeker's toolbox," she continues. "Anything that can help you get noticed is worth trying."

But before you press record, we asked a group of experts how to create a video resume that will receive rave reviews:

When is using a video CV a good idea?

Whether you use a video CV or not depends on the sector, the role you're applying for and you as a person. Video CVs are a great opportunity to show your presentation skills and, according to Elizabeth Bacchus, career coach and founder of The Successful CV Company, they tend to be most appropriate when applying for creative or customer-facing roles in sales, media, marketing, PR and advertising.

But Simon Thompson, chief executive of VideoRecruit, believes that a recorded resume doesn't need to be restricted to certain sectors. They can be used "whenever you wish to make an impact with an employer," he says. "Purely having taken the time to prepare a video CV shows the employer you are prepared to go the extra mile to succeed."

How often are video CVs used?

Meet The Real Me, a website that helps jobseekers make and share video CVs, was established in 2009 and has so far helped more than 10,000 candidates record video CVs.

But it's only during the last 18 months that the use of video CVs has increased dramatically. Marc Fels, owner of the website, suspects this is largely due to the fact that "webcam availability is so widespread and broadband and mobile connection speeds are so good, the quality of the CVs is really good".

VideoRecruit, which launched in 2012, allows users to create recruitment profiles with or without video. On average, those with a recorded CV are clicked on 7.6 times more than those without. "People are intrigued to see video CVs as they are new and more visually communicative than a paper CV," says Thompson.

What makes a successful video CV?

"Video CVs come in many different formats which express individuality - that is one of the best things about them," says Thompson. "There is no set rule for creating a video CV, whereas paper CVs tend to have a set format."

However, there are some things that good video CVs have in common. For a start, they're best when they're between one and three minutes long.

"There is a lot you can say in 60 to 120 seconds," advises Bacchus. "Introduce yourself clearly and tell the viewer why you're the right person for the job. Remember you only have a few seconds to engage them - then you have to keep them interested," she says. End with something along the lines of, "Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my CV," she advises.

Body language is also important. Maintain eye contact with the camera and have a "happy, cheery disposition", says Fels.

And it's important to dress as though you're attending an interview. "I would suggest wearing a suit if you are seeking a formal position for which you will be expected to dress formally, but to wear casual clothes if the environment you are seeking to join is more relaxed and creative," says Thompson.

What are the common mistakes to avoid?

Filming in an untidy environment, not speaking clearly and shuffling paper, are some of the most frequent blunders.

"The biggest mistake to avoid is having a script 'off camera' that you refer to while recording your video," says Fels. "It is really obvious if you look away from the camera to read notes."

Try to approach recording your video CV in the same way you would a face-to-face meeting, he adds. "Don't do anything you wouldn't do in an interview."

Is there anything else to bear in mind?

Video CVs provide recruiters with the perfect opportunity to reject you before they have even met you.

"Your social class, ethnicity, weight, and age can all be gleaned from the first 10 seconds of watching you. You need to be pretty confident about the value you bring to employers when you create a video CV," warns Carla Cotterell, founder of UK CV Experts.

"Some HR managers are extremely nervous about video CVs because of the potential employment legalities around perceived discrimination," adds Bacchus.

All in all, the experts we spoke to agree that, if you believe you have something unique to offer and you can communicate this on film, then providing employers with the option to click on a link to a video CV may just give you an edge over other applicants.

In the words of CareerWorx's LaRue: "It could be worth a shot".
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more content and advice like this direct to your inbox, sign up for our weekly update and careers ebook. Topics

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Video CVs are becoming increasingly popular with jobseekers wanting to stand out from the crowd. Rather than replacing traditional paper CVs, videos enhance job applications by providing employers with more insight into what an individual has to offer.

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Emotional intelligence and empathy are essential for customer-facing roles and employers are increasingly seeking candidates with emotional intelligence. This is particularly true for roles that will involve working in a team, which covers the majority of graduate jobs.

Emotional intelligence is all about understanding what might be going through someone else's head, without them having to explain it to you. This skill enables you to second-guess other people's reactions, and will help you build constructive relationships. It is very much linked up with communication skills. However, it is also important for leadership and teamwork.

Emotional intelligence examples

This trait is most likely to be tested at the interview and assessment centre stages of the application process. Rather than asking you for evidence, assessors will observe your reactions and attitudes to different situations and how adept you are at dealing with them. Empathy and emotional intelligence is all about being sensitive and making sure people are happy.

Exercises where they are observed:

In-tray and leadership exercises

Situational judgement psychometric tests

Group exercises.

How do I phrase it on a job application?

Do say: 'I was forced to make a decision between two team members for a particular role. They were both quite keen and while I chose the most suitable candidate, I made sure they both felt valued.' - This suggests that the applicant has an understanding of how emotional intelligence might be applied in a business situation. They have stuck to their priority of assigning the right person, but they have also ensured that the team is happy and will function well.

Don't say: 'I once reduced someone on my team to tears, but pushing everyone hard got results.' - Employers will be looking for constructive examples of you using this competency. The applicant has undermined their relationship with the third party - not something an employer would be impressed by.

How to develop emotional intelligence

The best way to gain emotional intelligence is to take on a role that involves plenty of regular human interaction. A lot of volunteering roles are relevant here, particularly those where you are working with the disabled or vulnerable on a regular basis. You could look into getting involved in volunteering through the #iwill campaign, which promotes social action among young people aged between 10 and 20.

You might also be able to build up these skills as part of a part-time job. This is most likely to happen when the job involves working with other people, whether they are staff members or customers. It may be that you swapped shifts with someone so that they could attend an important event, even though you would have preferred not to. Complaints handling is particularly relevant for this skill.

These skills can also be built up when you are involved in student societies, particularly sports clubs or drama groups. In each case emotions can run high and a bit of sensitivity in the right place can make the difference between the society working well or failing.

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Emotional intelligence: what it takes to work with others

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Emotional intelligence and empathy are essential for customer-facing roles and employers are increasingly seeking candidates with emotional intelligence. This is particularly true for roles that will involve working in a team, which covers the majority of graduate jobs. Emotional intelligence is all about understanding what might be going through someone else's head, without them having to explain it to you.

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With students trying to do anything and everything to make themselves employable, it is important to use research and evidence to help focus their efforts, says the AGCAS president-elect
Are there any challenges facing careers services right now?
One challenge is that some of the discourse around employability only tells half the story. I would say that our careers and employability efforts need to provide students with assets and structure. We need to help our students to gather collateral in the form of knowledge, skills and experiences and develop insight, purpose and direction in planning for the future beyond graduation.

Unfortunately, the second half of the equation can get lost among all the noise about employability, which tends to focus on the first. Career choice and planning can get relatively little attention, yet research shows that these are actually key factors in graduate and by extension, institutional, success. I sense that this is starting to change now since the publication of the Department for Education's 2017 report Planning for Success and the huge amount of evidence generated by Careers Registration.
Why might students dislike the term 'employability'?
Employability can mean different things to different people. To me, employability means being capable of making well-informed plans for the future and having the ability to execute them in a changing world.

We can get bogged down in the semantics, but there is some evidence to suggest that employability is a turn-off word for students. They can see employability as a buzzword and a bit overly corporate and impersonal.

To use a bit of my own jargon, employability is abstract, career is personal. I'm aware of instances where large careers services have gone through a rebranding process and asked their students what their new organisation should be called and the students have said something to the effect of, 'please, don't call it employability'.

On the other hand, I heard an example very recently where the same was said about 'careers'. Employability is a political reality and part of the environment in which careers services need to operate.

Whatever the terminology, students need to be supported into rewarding and fulfilling futures and institutions seek to be successful in this crucial area. I would argue that it isn't hard to see the practical benefits of making sure that we get across both halves of the careers and employability story.

For example, we sometimes see engaged students, having heard all this rhetoric about employability, get the idea that they need to be constantly working to make themselves more employable in an abstract sense because in this context, the perceived alternative is to be unemployable in an abstract sense. Meanwhile, they also need to ensure academic success.

From our point of view, it would be much less stressful for some of those students if there was more emphasis on developing a clearer idea of a direction so that they could manage their time and energy in a more structured and productive way.

How do you relay research into practical policy and methods of engagement with students?

As far as engagement with students goes, we do a lot of work with Careers Registration. I lead a HEFCE Learning Gain project in this area. This is a process by which we gather simple but important data about students through the formal enrolment process.

We gather it when they first enrol and again when they re-enrol each year. Careers Registration gives us live data, about the students we have right now, as distinct from Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) data, which is very useful but essentially retrospective.

This is very important for student engagement because it enable us to understand current students' starting points and journeys and tailor our messages and support accordingly. A nice example is where some of the institutions with Careers Registration have a way of ensuring that as soon as the student puts something, they get something back. In these cases, when the students clicks the button to register, they receive automatically generated but tailored responses, based on the information that they have provided to suggest what they should be doing now and how the Careers Service and others can help them.

Crucially Careers Registration enables us to reach students who might otherwise be unengaged. For example, a student responding along the lines that, 'career planning hasn't been on my radar, I haven't thought about it at all' can be reassured that this is an entirely normal starting point. We can illustrate that there are hundreds of other students in the same boat and that we are happy to start from there, because we have expert staff who are trained to do exactly that.
You're preparing graduates for jobs and roles that don't exist yet. How do you do it?
We pay a lot of attention to labour market trends. That's part of our job and I'm sure that the new Luminate platform will really help us with this. At the same time, left-field, disruptive changes are inevitable.

A key part of our role is to help students and graduates develop career management skills so that they are equipped to face challenges in their future careers. Change is a nailed-on certainty.

One of the areas we must improve is in ensuring that students are fully aware of the options available to them. Currently 82% of Institute for Employers (ISE) members do not specify degree subject. The UK graduate market is unique in this regard.

Most students don't know this. Looking at the Careers Registration data drawn from biological sciences, for example, shows us that many of these students are only aware of a narrow range of options open to them. Meanwhile, we regularly have employers telling us they want more science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) graduates, yet many of these students don't even realise that they could work for them.

In careers-speak, we could improve outcomes for some of these students through an emphasis on 'opportunity awareness'. Sharing this with the relevant academic colleagues is key to success and having the data to illustrate the issue helps with those conversations.
What about engaging with staff?
In my experience, the most productive relationships are based on partnership working between academic and careers staff, where there is mutual respect and understanding between two sets of experts who may have different professional drivers, but both want the best for the students. An issue for our profession can be a reticence on the part of some careers colleagues to see themselves and present as experts, even though they are.

A good evidence base helps. Around the country, colleagues are making greater use of Careers Registration, DLHE and engagement data to support evidenced-based conversations that provide the rationale for directing scarce resources to where they'll make the most difference, as in the biological sciences opportunity awareness example.

Data can be significant in myth busting. If colleagues in an academic department have a particular idea of what it is their students might be interested in and they've had that idea for a long time, then data from students themselves can be critical in understanding how things are now. These conversations are not always comfortable if they challenge long-held assumptions, but it is better to share the up-to-date evidence and act on it.
For Bob Gilworth's take on the new Graduate Outcomes survey, the launch of the Office for Students and what it's like to lead one of the largest careers services in the world, see part one of this interview.

Author

Michael Grove

Information analyst

Prospects

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Bob Gilworth on graduate employability and career planning

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With students trying to do anything and everything to make themselves employable, it is important to use research and evidence to help focus their efforts, says the AGCAS president-elect Are there any challenges facing careers services right now? One challenge is that some of the discourse around employability only tells half the story.

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Everyone fails in life, and failure can be a crushing experience. The only thing that separates successful people from the rest is how they respond after they fail.

When facing obstacles, you have to decide if you're going to let them be the excuse for your failure or if you're going to make them the story behind your success.

"There is no failure. Only feedback." -Robert Allen

When you adopt the right attitude, failure is a great teacher. Failure interrupts your routine and gives you an opportunity to explore new solutions, but only if you have the right attitude.

Psychologist Albert Bandura conducted a study that showed just how great a role our attitudes play in the face of failure. In the study, two groups of people were asked to complete an identical management task. The first group was told that the purpose of the task was to measure their management abilities. The other group was told that the skills required to complete the task were improvable and that the task was merely an opportunity to practice and improve. The trick was that the researchers made the task so difficult that all participants were bound to fail, and fail they did. The first group-feeling like failures because their skills weren't up to snuff-made little or no improvement when they were given opportunities to repeat the task. The second group, however, saw each failure as a learning opportunity, and they performed at progressively higher levels each time they attempted the task. The second group even rated themselves as more confident than the first group.

Just like the participants in Bandura's study, we can either view our failures as reflections of our abilities or as opportunities for growth. The next time you catch yourself wallowing in the self-pity that often accompanies failure, focus on what you can control: your attitude.

Some of the best lessons in life are also the toughest to accept and to adopt the right attitude toward. These are the lessons that challenge your flexibility and willingness to learn. When we don't embrace them soon enough, the lessons we learn turn out to be harsh ones.

The first step is always the hardest. When you want to achieve something important, that first step is inevitably going to be daunting, even frightening. When you dare to make that first move, anxiety and fear dissipate in the name of action. People that dive headfirst into taking that brutal first step aren't any stronger than the rest of us; they've simply learned that it yields great results. They know that the pain of getting started is inevitable and that procrastination only prolongs their suffering.

Good things take time. Success, above all, requires time and effort. Author Malcolm Gladwell suggested that mastery of anything requires 10,000 hours of tireless focus. Many successful people would agree. Consider Henry Ford, whose first two automobile businesses failed before he started Ford at the age of 45, or author Harry Bernstein, who dedicated his entire life to writing before he finally landed a best-seller at the age of 96. When you finally do succeed, you realize that the journey was the best part of it.

Being busy does not equal being productive. Look at everyone around you. They all seem so busy, running from meeting to meeting and firing off e-mails. Yet how many of them are really producing, really succeeding at a high level? Success doesn't come from movement and activity; it comes from focus-from ensuring that your time is used efficiently and productively. You get the same number of hours in the day as everyone else, so use yours wisely. After all, you're the product of your output not your effort. Make certain your efforts are dedicated to tasks that get results.

You will always have less control than you want. There are too many extenuating circumstances in life to control every outcome. You can, however, control how you react to things that are out of your control. Your reaction is what transforms a mistake into a learning experience and ensures that a victory doesn't send your ego through the roof. You can't win every battle, but with the right attitude, you can win the war.

You're only as good as those you associate with. You should strive to surround yourself with people who inspire you, people who make you want to be better. And you probably do. But what about the people who drag you down? Why do you allow them to be part of your life? Anyone who makes you feel worthless, anxious, or uninspired is wasting your time and, quite possibly, making you more like them. Life is too short to associate with people like this. Cut them loose.

Your biggest problems are mental. Almost all our problems occur because we time travel: we go to the past and regret things we've done, or we go to the future and feel anxious about events that haven't even happened. It's all too easy to slip into the past or jet into the future. When you do, you lose sight of the one thing that you can actually control-the present.

Your self-worth must come from within. When your sense of pleasure and satisfaction are derived from comparing yourself with others, you are no longer the master of your own destiny. When you feel good about something that you've done, don't allow anyone's opinions or accomplishments to take that away from you. While it's impossible to turn off your reactions to what others think of you, you don't have to compare yourself with others and you can always take people's opinions with a grain of salt. That way, no matter what other people are thinking or doing, your self-worth comes from within. Regardless of what people think of you at any particular moment, one thing is certain-you're never as good or bad as they say you are.

Not everyone will support you. In fact, most people won't. Some people will inundate you with negativity, passive aggression, anger, or jealousy, but none of this matters, because, as Dr. Seuss said, "Those that matter don't mind, and those that mind don't matter." We can't possibly get support from everyone, and we definitely can't spend our time and energy trying to win over the people who don't support us. Letting go of the opinions of people who don't matter frees up time and energy for the people and things that do.

Perfection doesn't exist. Don't seek perfection as your target. It doesn't exist. Human beings, by our very nature, are fallible. When perfection is your goal, you're always left with a nagging sense of failure that makes you want to give up or reduce your effort. You end up spending your time lamenting what you failed to accomplish and what you should have done differently, instead of moving forward, excited about what you've achieved and what you'll accomplish in the future.

Fear is the number one source of regret. When all is said and done, you will lament the chances you didn't take far more than you will your failures. Don't be afraid to take risks. I often hear people say, "What's the worst thing that can happen to you? Will it kill you?" Yet, death isn't the worst thing that can happen to you-the worst thing that can happen to you is allowing yourself to die inside while you're still alive.

Bringing It All Together

Successful people never stop learning. They learn from their mistakes and they learn from their triumphs, and they're always changing themselves for the better.
What other harsh lessons have shaped who you are today? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. About the author:
Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning co-author of the #1 bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0 , and the cofounder of TalentSmart, the world's leading provider of emotional intelligence tests and training, serving more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies. His bestselling books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in more than 150 countries. Dr. Bradberry has written for, or been covered by, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Harvard Business Review.

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Harsh Lessons That Will Make You More Successful

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When facing obstacles, you have to decide if you're going to let them be the excuse for your failure or if you're going to make them the story behind your success. "There is no failure. Only feedback." -Robert Allen When you adopt the right attitude, failure is a great teacher.

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It's 2017 and with so much technology at our fingertips, there's much more job seekers can do than fire out application after application. Nowadays, sending your CV to hundreds of employers isn't your only option. You have the power to take your job hunting efforts a lot further.

Once you've created a fantastic CV, you should be uploading it to online job boards and recruitment websites to boost your chances of finding that dream role. But how can you make sure that your CV is seen by the right people?

How recruiters and employers search CVs

In order to find relevant candidates for their roles, recruiters will use sets of keywords to find CVs. These keywords usually include the desirable skills, industries and qualifications that are given in the job description.

If the keywords that they are searching for don't appear on your CV, then it won't be shown in their search results. This is why it is so important for you to include a range of words that are associated with your role, or desired role, in your CV. You don't want to miss out on hearing about a fantastic opportunity!

How to get your CV seen online

In order to make sure that your CV is appearing in recruiter search results, you should:

1. Use descriptive words that are relevant to the type of role you're looking for

2. Ensure that your skills are clear for anyone reading your CV

3. Include relevant industry keywords - Recruiters will often be looking for individuals with specific industry experience. If you've already got some fantastic experience within an industry and want to continue working within that industry, then be sure to include words that are associated with it.

4. Do not simply list your skills - Writing a bullet-pointed list of your skills doesn't prove to a recruiter that you have them. It's better to include your skills within sentences that talk about your responsibilities in your current/previous roles. Keep your sentences concise but do try to explain what you did and how you did it. For help with the skills section on your CV click here.

5. Don't go overboard - If you're CV isn't concise and easy to read once recruiters have found it then you're not going to get much further. Adding relevant keywords should never compromise the quality of your CV.

6. Keep your CV updated - Recently updated/added CVs tend to appear first in recruiters' search results. It's well worth making improvements and adding any additional work experience to your CV where you have uploaded in online.

TOP TIP: Even if you are relatively happy in your current job, it may be worth you keeping your CV registered and updated online. While you may not be looking, a fantastic opportunity may pop up that you would never have known about otherwise.

Uploading your CV to CV-Library

Hundreds of recruiters use CV-Library's extensive database to find relevant candidates for their roles. Uploading your CV is quick and easy and once you have an account you can also create a profile that employers view.
Upload your CV here >
Bringing it all together

Job seekers put a lot of time and effort into perfecting their CVs, but they don't always make the most of it. Finding a new role, and a fantastic one at that, is rarely easy so you should do everything you can to boost your chances of finding relevant jobs.

What are you waiting for? Get out there and upload your CV!

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Once you've created a fantastic CV, you should be uploading it to online job boards and recruitment websites to boost your chances of finding that dream role. But how can you make sure that your CV is seen by the right people?

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Any time you deliver training to your team, you need to know how effective it's been. Are your people putting their learning into practice? And, is it positively impacting their role and the wider organization?

Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Training Evaluation Model can help you to answer questions like these. You can use it to objectively analyze the impact of training, to work out how well your team members learned, and to improve their learning in the future.

In this article, we'll explore Kirkpatrick's model and how to apply it. We'll also consider situations where it may not be appropriate.

Understanding Kirkpatrick's Four Levels

Donald Kirkpatrick, former Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, first published his model in 1959. He updated it in 1975, and again in 1993, when he published his best-known work, " Evaluating Training Programs."

Each successive level of the model represents a more precise measure of the effectiveness of a training program. It was developed further by Donald and his son, James; and then by James and his wife, Wendy Kayser Kirkpatrick.

In 2016, James and Wendy revised and clarified the original theory, and introduced the "New World Kirkpatrick Model" in their book, " Four Levels of Training Evaluation." One of the main additions is an emphasis on the importance of making training relevant to people's everyday jobs.

The four levels are Reaction, Learning, Behavior, and Results. We look at each level in greater detail, and explore how to apply it, below.

Level 1: Reaction

You want people to feel that training is valuable. Measuring how engaged they were, how actively they contributed, and how they reacted to the training helps you to understand how well they received it.

It also enables you to make improvements to future programs, by identifying important topics that might have been missing.

Questions to ask trainees include:

Did you feel that the training was worth your time?

Did you think that it was successful?

What were the biggest strengths and weaknesses of the training?

Did you like the venue and presentation style?

Did the training session accommodate your personal learning styles?

Were the training activities engaging?

What are the three most important things that you learned from this training?

From what you learned, what do you plan to apply in your job?

What support might you need to apply what you learned?

Identify how you want to measure people's reactions. Many people use employee satisfaction surveys to do this, but you can also watch trainees' body language during the session, or ask for verbal feedback.

Analyze the feedback, and consider the changes that you could make in response.

Level 2: Learning

Level 2 focuses on measuring what your trainees have and haven't learned. In the New World version of the tool, Level 2 also measures what they think they'll be able to do differently as a result, how confident they are that they can do it, and how motivated they are to make changes.

This demonstrates how training has developed their skills, attitudes and knowledge, as well as their confidence and commitment.

To measure how much your trainees have learned, start by identifying what you want to evaluate. Training sessions should have specific learning objectives, so make those your starting point.

You can measure learning in different ways, depending on the objectives. But it's helpful to measure these areas both before and after training.

Before the training begins, test your trainees to determine their knowledge, skill levels and attitudes. Then, when the training is finished, test your trainees a second time to measure what they have learned, or measure their learning with interviews or verbal assessments.

Note:

As a manager, you need to hold people accountable for improving their skills, and to offer them the support they need to do so.

Level 3: Behavior

This level helps you to understand how well people apply their training. It can also reveal where people might need help. But behavior can only change when conditions are favorable.

Imagine that you're assessing your team members after a training session. You can see little change, and you conclude that they learned nothing, and that the training was ineffective.

It's possible, however, that they actually learned a lot, but that the organizational or team culture obstructs behavioral change. Perhaps existing processes mean that there's little scope to apply new thinking, for example.

As a result, your people don't feel confident in applying new knowledge, or see few opportunities to do so. Or, they may not have had enough time to put it into practice.

Be sure to develop processes that encourage, reinforce and reward positive changes in behavior. The New World Kirkpatrick Model calls these processes "required drivers." If a team member uses a new skill effectively, highlight this and praise him or her for it.

Effectively measuring behavior is a longer-term process that should take place over weeks or months following the initial training. Questions to ask include:

Did the trainees put any of their learning to use?

Are trainees able to teach their new knowledge, skills or attitudes to other people?

Are trainees aware that they've changed their behavior?

One of the best ways to measure behavior is to conduct observations and interviews. Another is to integrate the use of new skills into the tasks that you set your team, so that people have the chance to demonstrate what they know.

Tip:

Managers need to be closely involved at this stage, assessing and coaching their team members in making behavior changes.

Level 4: Results

At this level, you analyze the final results of your training. This includes outcomes that you or your organization have decided are good for business and good for your team members, and which demonstrate a good return on investment (ROI). (Some adapted versions of the model actually have a Level 5, dedicated to working out ROI.)

Level 4 will likely be the most costly and time-consuming. Your biggest challenge will be to identify which outcomes, benefits, or final results are most closely linked to the training, and to come up with an effective way to measure these outcomes in the long term.

Modern trainers often use the Kirkpatrick model backward, by first stating the results that they want to see, and then developing the training that is most likely to deliver them. This helps to prioritize the goals of the training and make it more effective.

Here are some outcomes to consider, depending on the objectives of your training:

Increased employee retention.

Increased production.

Higher morale.

Reduced waste.

Increased sales.

Higher quality ratings.

Increased customer satisfaction.

Fewer staff complaints.

Make a series of short-term observations and measurements to check that changes in behavior due to training are making a worthwhile difference to your team's performance. The New World Kirkpatrick Model calls these "leading indicators."

Potential Pitfalls of Kirkpatrick's Model

Kirkpatrick's model remains popular, but it should be used with care. The basic structure is now more than 60 years old (despite its many updates), and the ways that people learn and organizations operate has changed radically in this time. Even the term "training" has been largely replaced by "learning and development."

Today, other, non-formal methods of workplace training are often more popular and effective (as shown by the 70:20:10 model). And, with the rise of personalized, user-directed learning, formal training is becoming less prominent. Kirkpatrick's model is not necessarily suited to this new approach to learning.

Another drawback is that Levels 3 and 4, which arguably yield the most useful information for the business, are time-consuming, resource-intensive, and expensive to implement. So the model may not be practical for all organizations, especially if you don't have a dedicated training or HR department to conduct the analysis. And, it's not ideal for all situations, such as one-off training.

Most importantly, organizations change in many ways, and these changes affect behaviors and results, as well as training. For example, measurable improvements in retention and productivity could result from the arrival of a new boss, or from a new computer system, rather than training. Or it could be a combination of these.

Kirkpatrick's model is great for evaluating training in a "scientific" way, but with so many possible variables, Level 4 may be limited in its usefulness.

Tip:

The New World Kirkpatrick Model seeks to address some of these challenges, by encouraging trainers and organizations to incorporate evaluation as part of the training design process.

Key Points

The Kirkpatrick Four-Level Training Evaluation Model is designed to objectively measure the effectiveness of training. The model was created by Donald Kirkpatrick in 1959, with several revisions made since.

The four levels are:

By analyzing each level, you can gain an understanding of how effective a training initiative was, and how to improve it in the future.

However, the model isn't practical in all situations, and measuring training effectiveness with it can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, so it should be used with caution.

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Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Training Evaluation Model: Analyzing Training Effectiveness

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Any time you deliver training to your team, you need to know how effective it's been. Are your people putting their learning into practice? And, is it positively impacting their role and the wider organization? Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Training Evaluation Model can help you to answer questions like these.

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Working in the UK after completing your studies

The Tier 1 (Post-study work) scheme allows some international students to work in the UK following the completion of their studies. Full details are available from the UKBA website.

Professional bodies

ACCA
www.accaglobal.com

ACCA is the largest international accountancy body with nearly 300,000 members and students in 160 countries

The Chartered Insurance Institute. From qualifications to employment opportunities.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Information on careers in Human Resources.

Recruitment / information

Internships

Interview and assessment advice

Volunteering

Postgraduate information

FindAMasters.com
www.FindAMasters.com

A guide to MBA , LLM , MSc , MA , MEd , MRes and MPhil programmes in the UK

Target Courses
targetcourses.co.uk

Information about studying in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Portugal

Special interests

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The Tier 1 (Post-study work) scheme allows some international students to work in the UK following the completion of their studies. Full details are available from the UKBA website. ACCA www.accaglobal.com ACCA is the largest international accountancy body with nearly 300,000 members and students in 160 countries The Chartered Insurance Institute.

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After years of lectures, seminars, essays and exams, graduates want to see their careers take off. Those crazy student loans better be worth it and once university if over, you'll be looking for a role that suits your personality and rewards you well.

The current graduate job market is positive and salaries have increased. So what can you expect to be earning as a new graduate in 2018?

What we say

As a graduate recruitment consultancy, we have the pleasure of offering jobs to graduates every week. We've assessed the average graduate starting salaries that we've seen so far this year and the average for our graduates is £21,000 with offers ranging from £18,000-£23,000. Naturally, the starting salary that you can expect does vary based on the type of role you apply for, the location it is based in and the experience you already have.

We're pleased to see that the majority of our graduates also have their salaries reviewed and increased within 6 months of starting their roles.
Search and apply for graduate jobs here >
What the job sites say

Leading graduate job board, graduate-jobs.com, estimates the average starting salary for graduates is £19,000 - £22,000. This is based on the hundreds of graduate roles that they see being advertised on their site.

TotalJobs report higher advertised salaries, with Graduate Trainee roles on their site offering salaries anywhere between £21,000 - £37,000. The highest paying industry for graduate trainees is the property sector and the lowest is education.

Do bear in mind that the top end salaries usually require you to already have relevant experience.

What the research says

High Fliers' research suggests that the average starting salary for graduates in the UK is £30,000. However, given their research only covers the largest graduate employers in the UK, this figure will only apply to a small minority of graduates.

What your subject says

What subject you studied at university can also have an impact on the salary you take home afterwards. We've put together this infographic so that you can see how your subject measures up.

Average Graduate Salary UK - Full Subject List

If your subject wasn't featured in the infographic above, you should be able to find it in this comprehensive list.

Accounting - £22,828

Aerospace engineering - £27,820

Agriculture - £20,800

American Studies - £20,228

Anatomy, Pathology & Physiology - £23,036

Anthropology - £20,124

Archaeology - £19,448

Architecture - £20,956

Creative Arts & Design - £15,184

Aural & Oral Sciences - £24,076

Biological Sciences - £19,760

Building - £25,740

Business & Management Studies - £24,336

Celtic Studies - £21,788

Chemical Engineering - £31,824

Chemistry - £23,088

Civil Engineering - £27,716

Classics & Ancient History - £21,892

Media Studies - £18,928

Complementary Medicine - £25,792

Computer Science - £25,480

Creative Writing - £16,796

Dentistry - £34,840

Drama, Dance & Cinematics - £17,940

East & South Asian Studies - £17,472

Economics - £29,068

Education - £23,660

Electrical & Electronic Engineering - £26,416

English - £19,708

Food Science - £22,100

Forensic Science - £19,500

French - £21,100

General Engineering - £29,068

Geography & Environmental Science - £23,348

Geology - £22,284

German - £23,348

History - £20,800

History of Art, Architecture & Design - £20,956

Hospitality, Leisure, Recreation & Tourism - £19,240

Iberian Languages - £21,060

Italian - £21,684

Land & Property Management - £24,336

Law - £24,492

Librarianship & Information Management - £23,920

Linguistics - £19,552

Marketing - £21,788

Materials Technology - £26,000

Mathematics - £25,896

Mechanical Engineering - £28,236

Medical Technology - £25,272

Medicine - £25,792

Middle Eastern & African Studies - £21,736

Music - £18,044

Nursing - £24,700

Occupational Therapy - £22,204

Optometry, Ophthalmology & Orthoptics - £18,304

Pharmacology & Pharmacy - £22,724

Philosophy - £21,892

Physics & Astronomy - £26,312

Physiotherapy - £23,036

Politics - £22,568

Psychology - £19,032

Russian & East European Languages - £26,052

Social Policy - £20,384

Social Work - £22,776

Sociology - £19,812

Sports Science - £19,334

Theology & Religious Studies - £20,332

Town & Country Planning and Landscape Design - £23,608

Veterinary Medicine - £29,224

Don't get hung up on your salary

Earning plenty of money is great, however, there's no point in earning £30,000 a year if you dread going to work every day. It's important to find the balance between what you enjoy, what you earn and the other benefits on offer.

What's important is different for each of us, so try to make the best decision for you. If you change your mind later, you can always learn from your mistakes and look for a graduate role that is better suited to you going forward.

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REVEALED: What's the Average Graduate Salary in the UK for 2018?

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After years of lectures, seminars, essays and exams, graduates want to see their careers take off. Those crazy student loans better be worth it and once university if over, you'll be looking for a role that suits your personality and rewards you well. The current graduate job market is positive and salaries have increased.

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This article was written in collaboration with EY . Find out more about roles and opportunities available at EY by heading to the Opportunities tab of the Debut app.
Many of us have heard the phrase 'career path', but few know what that actually . Rarely is the route to success as easy as following the yellow brick road (lucky Dorothy had that signposted for her).

In fact, before you pull up Google maps and try to plot your course (alright we know that's not quite how it works, but stay with us), we reached out to some inspiring EY employees to talk us through their journey to success in the finance industry - and they very kindly obliged.

So, before you start spinning in circles unsure which direction to turn, have a read of what Shivana Maharaj, Director - Transaction Analytics, Kemi Lawson, Manager - Valuation and Business Modelling, Gillian Whyte, Manager - Audit, and Nilesh Dosa, Manager - Financial Services Advisory, had to say about their very own long and winding road to career contentment.

Let's start from the very beginning...

And the beginning, for some people, is already pretty clear. A company's culture is such a significant consideration when it comes to applying and joining a firm - and luckily businesses with the best culture can be identified before even joining.

As Gillian notes of her attraction to EY, "it was clear that culture was key" from the very beginning; "it was a very welcoming environment without seeming forced." Nilesh also picked up on the "people-focused culture" from his early interactions with the company.

But it's not just a company's culture new graduates need to keep an eye on. Some people may not have a set idea of where their career path is headed - and that's ok. EY in particular are aware that not everyone has a set path from year dot - and in fact welcome candidates from a range of degree backgrounds.

*Recalculating route*

One of the other key misconceptions around 'career paths' is that once you've started down one route, you can't change direction. In fact, many companies (EY included) encourage employees to move into different sectors and actively pursue different opportunities within the business throughout their career.

Graduate schemes are all about what your "strengths and weaknesses" are, as Gillian notes, and there's no way to know them for sure without trial and error so you can "progress and improve along the way."

Companies recognise the importance of allowing employees to try their hand at different things in order to grow and develop both personally and professionally. Companies like EY provide "a supportive atmosphere to ask questions and to learn from people really dedicated to great client service", Kemi states, helping individuals to better realise which path is right for them.

A bumpy ride

However even with the above, having to make a U-turn / not knowing your east from west when it comes to planning your career are all common. For many, the initial transition from university to working life can be one of the biggest false-starts.

Nilesh says: "It was different and required me to change, and like anything new, required some getting used to. However being on a grad scheme, where you are with others who are making the same change, really helped."

The truth is there is no one straight-shot to career success, particularly for women in what are traditionally male-dominated professions. There are often challenges to be overcome but many companies are working to give women the support they need to forge their own path in what can be difficult terrain.

Some strong advice from Kemi on making this transition is to "start working on building a supportive peer group and diverse network straight away. Identify some mentors who can really help you to develop your career."

EY are a prime example; they ensure entry-level employees are given the support they need to succeed. Shivana says "EY offers everyone so many opportunities to grow and develop both personally and professionally", while both Kemi and Gillian want to highlight the "supportive atmosphere" and "significant number of opportunities" open to all, respectively.

Co-driver

But if there's one thing guaranteed to ensure the perfect career road-trip, it's having the right company at your side acting as co-driver. Picking an employer that's going to support your transition from further education into the working world is paramount. As already stated, EY are supportive of candidates joining with any degree background; you may not realise it, but the skills gained whilst studying a humanities, social sciences or STEM degree transferable and valuable in the business world .
Connect with Debut on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more careers insights.
Similarly it's important to seek out a company that invests in diversity initiatives to help support all employees on their journey - and Nilesh goes as far to say that "EY is the most diverse firm that I have worked for." Companies need to have initiatives and programmes in place to help support all their employees from every kind of background if they want to foster an environment of diversity and collaboration - and EY has this in abundance. In fact, Shivana sits on the Steering Committee of the Future Leaders Programme, Kemi is "part of various recruitment diversity initiatives" and Gillian is part of the EY Women's network.

Final destination

Ultimately, it's important to remember that there is no 'right' career path - some follow the traditional routes and others forge their own way to success, but everyone takes an unexpected detour at some point. The most important thing to remember is that with a company such as EY by your side, you'll never get lost en route.

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4 leaders from diverse backgrounds tell us about their career paths

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This article was written in collaboration with EY . Find out more about roles and opportunities available at EY by heading to the Opportunities tab of the Debut app. Many of us have heard the phrase 'career path', but few know what that actually .

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A notable piece of research was published at the end of 2017, and it takes the millennial 'snowflake' rhetoric to pieces.

Researchers Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill - looking at sets of students across 30 years in the US, Canada, and here in the UK (circa 40,000 students in total) - found a notable increase in 'perfectionist' traits: what a student expects of themselves, of others, and what they believe is expected of them by society. For a generation commonly portrayed in some parts of the media as avocado-eating, selfie-crazed technophiles who take everything to heart, this study has set the millennial cat amongst the proverbial pigeons.

Millennials are the generation that some media loves to hate, but their Achilles heel may in fact be that their expectations - both of themselves and of others - are significantly inflated compared to earlier generations. Those of us who are working with students and recent graduates will need to consider this as we shape the support on offer to this generation.

How we embark on teaching, coaching, supporting and working with our next generation of colleagues could have a tremendous impact on the chances of each individual realising their potential. With the recent announcement of a governmental review of post-18 education that could see yet another policy yo-yo on degree fees, it seems prudent to consider this new reality right now.

Three types of perfectionism

Firstly, let's separate self- from socially-prescribed perfectionism, and look at the three types discussed in the study:

Self-oriented perfectionism, whereby individuals have high to unrealistic expectations of themselves

Socially-prescribed perfectionism, whereby individuals perceive their social context to be excessively demanding, and so they must display perfection to secure approval

Other-oriented perfectionism, whereby high to unrealistic standards are imposed on others

This second type of perfection should have us all listening up, because it is the most significantly increased across the generations of students, and also the most frightening. Linked to longer term 'depressive symptoms' such as stress and anxiety and - most concerningly - suicide ideation, it could be argued that this type of perfectionism is linked to our neoliberal education system and, unsurprisingly, to social media. Other culprits may include overbearing parenting styles and the rise of 'competitive individualism' - the growing preference for individual activities around personal enhancement over community activities such as team sports.

With schools think meritocracy versus social mobility, whereby students who have a lower attainment are equating their (comparative) lack of success amongst their peer group with a (lesser) innate personal value. With social media, think FOMO (fear of missing out) and filters, and a constant exposure to the seemingly perfect lives of others. With universities, think of students who feel like they did not gain a place at an elite university because they didn't have ballet lessons bumping up their UCAS points - a heart breaking revelation linked to the social mobility agenda.

A cross-generational issue

Even if you disagree, it doesn't stop there. Forget millennials for a second and remember that schools are still potentially nurturing these perfectionist pressures in children. And social media? Well that's just for the millen... oh, wait. Social media already has its tendrils deeply embedded in our multi-generational society. Everyone from our newborns to our nans has a Facebook account, so the dark side of 'perfectionist traits' are unlikely to be confined to a single generation. With universities simultaneously being huge employers of multiple generations and the 3+ year home for many millennials, they are hotbeds of this societal challenge.

The immediate and obvious difficulty is the stigma around mental health, so let's just make sure we're all on the same page. The millenial generation is expecting more of themselves, they are not less resilient. They are more interested in work/life balance than high salaries. They are often deeply cynical of our political structures and financial institutions. And why shouldn't they be? Most were raised through a financial crash, yet we can't move for expenses scandals or pay gaps. Newspapers cite median starting salaries of £30,000, but the majority of graduates start on £10,000 less than this. They're bound to be frustrated if they vote Lib Dem and get Con-Dem. If they vote Grime4Corbyn and get Austerity4May. If they vote 'stay' and are forced to 'leave'.

Aspiration meets expectation

Clearly there needs to be a delineation between the role of the NHS and the role of a HEI when considering serious mental health issues, but with funding challenges on both sides the line has blurred. However, it's hugely important that our sector takes responsibility not just for raising aspirations, but also for managing expectations and cultivating confidence.

Students often face failure for the first time when applying for placement or graduate jobs, and there is a need for more support around mindset to ensure that students have the tools to pick themselves up again and not attribute their first major failure to their innate self-worth. We are already inflicting an expectation gap with the employers photographed for glossy admissions brochures and the unrealistic salaries frequently pitched by the media, so sharing the real stats in these areas is crucial.

By the same token, employers of students and graduates need to consider the impact of differing generational attitudes in the workplace and how their learning and development provision can support these individuals and of course there are a breadth of policy challenges to consider, as discussed in WonkHE's podcast for University Mental Health Day.

Naturally there is no silver bullet, but we can keep working to raise awareness around the evolving realities of graduate employment and destinations. We need to stop chasing the Times Top 100 tail, which is merely reinforcing the myths that these individuals will need to have debunked when they join the workplace, feeling like a failure because they're not working for a big brand.

Interestingly, graduates who thrive in the workplace can typically demonstrate or articulate three key things. The first is self-awareness - they can identify their approach to work and when they are at their most effective. The second is a variety of skills and experiences and how they were acquired, and the third is a support network or key individual that kept them on track.

So, ensuring we are arming young people with a coherent picture of the world of work, and the confidence to navigate it through coaching and mentoring, might mean their first hurdle doesn't put them off the rest of the race.

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Generation P (for Perfection) | Wonkhe | Analysis

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A notable piece of research was published at the end of 2017, and it takes the millennial 'snowflake' rhetoric to pieces. Researchers Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill - looking at sets of students across 30 years in the US, Canada, and here in the UK (circa 40,000 students in total) - found a notable increase in 'perfectionist' traits: what a student expects of themselves, of others, and what they believe is expected of them by society.

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Clinical psychologist Meg Jay shares practical ways to overcome whatever life throws your way.

Clinical psychologist Meg Jay ( TED Talk: Why 30 is not the new 20) doesn't like the idea of bouncing back from adversity. "People do not feel understood when someone says, 'Wow, you really bounced back from that.' They don't feel seen in all of their complexity, in terms of how hard it can be,'" she says. Instead, Jay likes to describe resilience as a heroic struggle. "It's really a battle, not a bounce," she says - an ongoing process that can last for years.

Jay has spent close to two decades studying adult development and listening to the stories of people in her clinical practice. Along the way, she's learned important lessons about resilience, which she shared in her new book, Supernormal, and in a Facebook Live at TED's NYC Headquarters in November. One key takeaway? "Resilience is not a trait. It's not something you're born with. It's not something you just have," she says. We've distilled her essential tips for how you can become more resilient.

1. First, recognize that your struggle is valid, no matter what you're struggling with.

Don't be ashamed of what makes you stressed. "A lot of people say, 'Well, I wasn't in a war...' They have to learn what the most common adversities are and see those as being legitimate chronic stressors."

2. Then realize the ways you're already resilient.

"You may not have alcoholism or drug abuse in your home, but I'm guessing you've been through something. Think about, 'What were the three toughest times in my life? How did I get through those things?' You probably already know something about being resilient."

3. Don't wait for the situation to fix itself.

"Resilient people tend to be active copers. They say, 'What am I going to do about this?' versus, 'When will I be released from this?' It may not be solved overnight, but every problem can be approached somehow."

4. Know your strengths and use them.

"In general, resilient people tend to use the strengths they have. For different people, those are different. Some people have a great personality. For other people, it's smarts or some sort of talent or a real work ethic. They use that to grab onto, to get through whatever's in front of them."

5. Don't try to do it alone...

"One of the biggest predictors of faring well after an adversity is having people who cared. One thing that resilient people do is they seek support. It doesn't have to be a therapist; it could be a best friend or an aunt or a partner. Resilient people actually use other people - rather than not let themselves need them."

6. ...but know that it's okay not to tell everyone.

"Increase the number and quality of your relationships however you see fit. For some people, that will be, 'There are two people in the world who know all of what there is to know about me.' For other people, they'll want to be known by a bigger community. Love is very powerful, and love is love. The brain doesn't know one kind of love versus another. It just processes when it has a positive experience with another person. Get out there and feel like there are people who see you and understand you and who care - that's it. It doesn't matter where you're getting that."

7. Find your favorite way to take a mental break.

"Many people use fantasy or books, or dive into their hobbies, or hang out with their friends to take a mental break from a situation that they cannot solve overnight. You may not be able to fix that problem, but you can protect yourself from feeling overwhelmed by it. As an adult, you can do the same: read a book, pick up your Frisbee, hang out with your friends, turn off the news alerts on your phone. There's a lot in the world right now that feels overwhelming. Resilient [people] fight back where they can, but they also learn to take a mental break."

8. Be compassionate with yourself and realize all the ways adversity has made you strong.

"People who face some adversity in their lives become stronger. Of course, it depends on a lot of other factors - how big is the adversity, how much support do they have, how did they cope - but by learning to cope with stress and having that experience, we gain confidence and we gain preparation. I think sometimes we forget that. You see how you're broken rather than how you're strong. Focus on the resilience and see yourself as someone who is even better prepared for life than the average person because you've already lived so much of it."

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8 tips to help you become more resilient

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Clinical psychologist Meg Jay ( TED Talk: Why 30 is not the new 20) doesn't like the idea of bouncing back from adversity. "People do not feel understood when someone says, 'Wow, you really bounced back from that.' They don't feel seen in all of their complexity, in terms of how hard it can be,'" she says.

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Recruiters are struggling to find candidates with the right skills despite the large number of applications for each job. Discover what skills employers are looking for and how you can sell them on your CV

Your degree will have provided you with subject-specific and transferable skills. It's important to be able to reflect on what they are, and where you gained them.

According to Manpower Group's The Talent Shortage survey, 77% of global employers are having difficulty recruiting. In the UK, it's 80%. The top five in-demand skills areas were:

IT and data

engineering

sales and marketing

operations and logistics

customer facing and front office.

In addition to these specific areas, employers in the survey reported difficulties in finding employees with these transferable skills:

reliability and self-discipline

creativity and originality

critical thinking and analysis

reasoning and problem solving

resilience and adaptability.

Here are some other skills that employers look out for when taking on new recruits.

We're looking for ambitious graduates

Apply to join one of Europe's leading food processing companies

Effective communication

How clearly you put across your ideas and your ability to listen to others is an important skill for any job hunter to demonstrate. Employers will be keen to see how you build rapport, persuade and negotiate.

Use your CV or application form to outline specific written and verbal examples of when you've put these skills into practice. This might be any public speaking you've done, or writing for a student newspaper, for example. Show how you tailored your message to the target audience.

Resilience

This refers to your ability to deal with setbacks, and is something that graduate employers have increasingly started to consider. How well do you cope with stressful situations or when something goes wrong? How do you react to unexpected changes or problems that occur during a project?

You aren't expected to be unaffected by these events, but you need to be able to show that you react to them positively and are able to develop strategies to deal with them.

Commercial awareness

Also known as business acumen, this is all about understanding how an industry or particular organisation works - where it sits in the market, who its competitors are and having knowledge of current developments in the field.

To exhibit commercial awareness, you'll need to show you've done your research on the company and the sector it sits in. Membership of a professional organisation or relevant work experience can also be used to illustrate this skill.

Take a few minutes to answer the Job Match quiz and find out what careers would suit you

Leadership and management

Even if you're not applying for a management position, you'll still need to demonstrate to employers that you have the potential to motivate and lead others to achieve common objectives. It's also important to evidence the skill of self-management - demonstrating a situation where you've managed your own time successfully.

On application forms, detail situations where you've had the opportunity to plan and coordinate tasks during your degree or in extra-curricular activities such as university clubs and societies. The ability to solve problems and conflicts is always highly valued by recruiters.

Planning and research skills

To accomplish certain work tasks, you may need to come up with a suitable strategy and plan of action. This could involve seeking out relevant information from various sources. How you analyse, interpret and report these findings is what's important here.

Highlight the relevant skills you've developed during your degree - reading around a subject and analysing that information before writing an essay, for instance, or interpreting the results of a scientific experiment.

Adaptability

Organisations want to stay competitive, so it's essential to show employers that you're able to adapt to new situations and learn new skills in the workplace. Possessing this skill also tells employers that you're a good leader who handles challenges well.

To evidence this in your application you could use examples of a time you've learned new skills or processes at university, or an instance when you've adapted to a new or challenging situation in your part-time job.

Teamwork and interpersonal skills

Most graduates will have had the chance to work in teams during their time at university and in part-time jobs or work placements. Employers will be looking at your individual contribution towards achieving common goals.

This isn't just about times when you've led a team successfully, but also when you've been an effective team member taking instructions and direction from somebody else.

Find out how to incorporate these skills into your application forms by looking at example questions and answers.

Relevant work experience

It's not just about showing you have the necessary skills. Having some relevant work experience is also important to help you stand out in a competitive jobs market and demonstrate to employers that you're serious about the role.

For advice on how to secure a placement and make the most of the opportunities available, see work experience and internships.

Find out more

Written by Rachel Swain, Editorial manager

Prospects · June 2023

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Find out what skills you'll need to highlight on a CV, cover letter or job application to make yourself stand out.

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Using online platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn to create profiles and engage in networking is an effective way to impress employers and boost your chances of landing a job

With High Fliers' The Graduate Market in 2017 report confirming that graduate recruiters continued to increase their use of social media during 2016/17, there are no excuses not to be well-connected - as you could end up losing out on opportunities.

Googling yourself and seeing what comes up in the search is a good place to start, suggests Rachel Basger, graduate talent manager at The Hut Group. 'Lots of employers are using social media to advertise roles, target potential employees and check out applicants.'

Why you should build a personal brand

Nik Hewitt, head of social media at Tank PR, explains that the way students present themselves online is of keen interest to employers.

'We're all brands now,' he says. 'You can learn a lot about people by the way they conduct themselves online. Would you recruit someone with an incomplete LinkedIn profile and no picture? What does it say about someone and the way they might organise their professional life?'

By creating strong profiles, coordinated across all the main platforms, you'll find that recruiters may get in touch with you. So manage your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram accounts correctly and you'll be well placed to reap the career rewards.

As it's a highly creative medium, you're perfectly fine to provide an insight into your personality, putting forward your ideas, opinions and interests. You can also use sites like YouTube, Vimeo and any personal blogs to present yourself to potential employers.

Rhea Chatterjee, The Hut Group's talent business partner, describes how the company targets students with particular interests relevant to our brands, such as, fitness, beauty, blogging, gaming, fashion etc. 'Understanding more about an individual's passions outside of academia and work is a vital part of our recruitment.'

While most people have a Facebook account for personal use, Rachel poses the following interesting questions: What does your profile say about you? What are you posting? What conclusions could someone draw from these posts?

Indeed, Nik reveals that it's becoming common among recruiters to look at social profiles to learn more about potential employees before an interview. 'The world can see what we're up to, what we read, what we like, what we share, our interests and our embarrassing moments.'

When considering what put into the public domain, remember that what you publish can be used to prove or disprove claims that you've made in your CV and cover letter, or during an interview. You'll therefore need to give a positive representation of yourself, in the knowledge that potential employers will be viewing your profiles.

Once an interview is over, you'll still be expected to remain engaged - maintaining this connection throughout the recruitment process. 'Even after the interview, I know recruiters who check Twitter as standard practice to see if the candidate commented about the meeting afterwards,' says Nik.

Rachel also stresses the need for students to check that their accounts don't contain any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors, while taking the time to ensure that everything's accurate and up to date.

Choose a sensible email address and consistent username alongside an appropriate current image for each profile, which should be made publicly visible. You can then link to other platforms that you're using professionally.

Rhea describes how your various social media accounts can be used to track important updates and receive the latest news from companies that you've an interest in working for.

'Social media is a great forum for finding out more about organisations prior to interviews,' she says. This is because the information gathered can be used to come up with insightful questions to demonstrate to the interviewer that a particular employer is a priority for you. It gives you a sense of the company culture and how you might fit into that.

Most recruiters' graduate schemes have a specific presence on social media. Rob Farace, senior programme lead, resourcing, for the NHS Leadership Academy, reveals that you should follow all of the channels your preferred scheme operates across - or you could end up missing out on vital information.

'We use our social media channels to share helpful and informal advice with candidates about all stages of the selection process.'

Rachel offers advice on using LinkedIn as your online CV and a crucial networking tool:

Write a compelling headline that makes you stand out from the crowd. Get across your expertise in your chosen career and state why you're unique.

Use your biography to let recruiters know what type of role you're after and share your current location with them. You can then list your course, key modules, dissertation, work experience, interests, hobbies and key accomplishments - but be selective, as some part-time jobs may not be relevant.

Use the 'LinkedIn Groups' feature to find people sharing job leads in your local area.

Look at people you admire to find out what they did to get where they are. You can then search similar profiles and companies.

Follow companies and ensure your contact details are listed, making it easier for potential employers to get in touch.

Further guidance is available at your university's careers service. The University of Leeds, for example, offers 'LinkedIn Labs' that help students to create their profile and network.

You can also visit Prospects' LinkedIn profile.

3 tips for getting a job through Facebook

Create two profiles - research suggests that recruiters are now using Facebook to search for prospective employees in the same way they use LinkedIn. It's therefore worth having two profiles - one personal and one professional, with the former being your private space.

Provide detail - your professional profile should offer employers a comprehensive insight into what you can offer them. Include details of your education, work experience and skills, while taking into account appropriate keywords.

Get involved - you should join relevant groups, and 'like' the companies that you're interested in.

Find out about the latest opportunities by keeping up with Prospects on Facebook.

How to use Twitter for job hunting

Follow accounts - following relevant companies will help you to get a better feel for their brand, so find accounts that are influential in your chosen industry. They'll keep you up-to-date with the latest news and help you to make like-minded connections.

Search for opportunities - make use of Twitter's search tool using specific keywords and hashtags. General terms such as #jobsearch work well, and Twitter's popularity in the media and internet, marketing, advertising and PR, and charity and voluntary work sectors make more specific searches worthwhile too.

Get involved - tweet about work experience, reply to posts from other people regarding related topics and retweet posts from relevant accounts.

Be sure to follow @Prospects for the latest graduate opportunities.

Find out more

Written by Daniel Higginbotham, Editor

Prospects · June 2017

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Using online platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn to create profiles and engage in networking is an effective way to impress employers and boost your chances of landing a job With High Fliers' The Graduate Market in 2017 report confirming that graduate recruiters continued to increase their use of social media during 2016/17, there are no excuses not to be well-connected - as you could end up losing out on opportunities.

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No advice, no judging, no nagging. This site features students talking honestly about their own uni experiences so that you can make up your own mind ...have a browse, search by keyword or take a More about this site

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Ludwig Ramsey is a Watch Officer in Fire and Rescue Services. He is an outreach officer: "I go and try and make links with the community so we can provide a better service to the people." He had wanted to be a firefighter from childhood when he saw a rescue. "The fire service turned up they did such a good job, you know, it just left an impression on me - where you can help people was, you know, where I wanted to be."

Data powered by LMI For All
Description
Workers in this unit group co-ordinate and participate in fire fighting activities, provide emergency services in the event of accidents or bomb alerts, and advise on fire prevention.
Qualifications
There are no formal academic requirements, although applicants to fire control roles must demonstrate basic literacy and numeracy, keyboard and communication skills. Applicants to fire-fighter roles must pass psychological, physical and medical tests. Some Fire and Rescue Services operate direct entry recruitment processes to managerial operational roles. There is a minimum age limit of 18 years for entry to fire-fighter and control operator roles.
Tasks

Inspects premises to identify potential fire hazards and to check that fire fighting equipment is available and in working order and that statutory fire safety regulations are met;

Arranges fire drills and tests alarm systems and equipment;

Travels to fire or other emergency by vehicle and locates water mains if necessary;

Operates hose pipes, ladders, chemical, foam, gas or powder fire extinguishing appliances;

Rescues people or animals trapped by fire and administers first aid;

Removes goods from fire damaged premises, clears excess water, makes safe any structural hazards and takes any other necessary steps to reduce damage to property;

Attends and deals with bomb alerts and accidents involving spillage of hazardous substances;

Advises on fire safety measures in new buildings;

Supervises a watch.

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Ludwig R

Ludwig R My name is Ludwig R, job title is I'm watch manager A with Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service. I was on a station, on an actual fire station but now I'm based at headquarters with Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service where my role is an outreach officer where I go to the community and try and make links with the community so we can provide a better service to the people we serve. When I was young the road I lived in a couple of my friends lived about five doors down. Well, they had a fire and we saw the whole fire develop in front of us and they couldn't get out and, you know, all we were doing was shouting orders at them saying, "Get up higher, higher," you know, sort of going up to the third floor until they got onto the roof but when the fire service turned up they did such a good job, you know, it just left an impression on me that I thought," Yeah, that's the type of job I would like to do" because, you know, being in a situation where you're helpless to being in a situation where you can help people was, you know, where I wanted to be. I went on to take A Levels but I didn't complete them because I applied to join the RAF Fire Service so I joined the RAF Fire Service and did a few years, about five or six years with RAF. I thought I was prepared because I was in the, I did do a little bit of time in the Air Cadets so I knew a lot about the RAF before I actually joined. But when I joined the RAF I did face a lot of racism and that's one of the things which really I wasn't prepared for and really had a detrimental effect on me and most of my life, the rest of my life, really. I'd never come against it before and I came, obviously pockets of racism when I was growing up because I was growing up in London but what I didn't face was when I joined the RAF actual the system being against you as a black person in the forces and, you know, at first I found that very difficult to handle. Well, I mean, it was frustrating but at the same time where I was, I was at RAF Odiham where I spent most of my time in the RAF and we had a number of black individuals there. They weren't the same as me, fire fighters, they were in different careers but they were suffering in the same way and so a lot of the time we met, we chatted and just talking to them helped me to think that I'm not the only one going through these problems at the moment and that was enough to help me through the time I spent in the RAF. When I joined Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service I didn't know anything about recruitment process, about the tests or anything. But because I did the time in the RAF that helped me so much, you know, one of the tests was hose running. When I was in the RAF the Corporal who used to call, give me all the grief and all the problems, one of the things he used to do was, like, punishment drills, we used to run out hose all morning so when I had to go and do the test and they said, "Right, you've got to run out 10 lengths of hose," I'd done mine and everybody else hadn't even done half of theirs but 10 for me was nothing. You know, so that helped me in that way. I think he'd be proud of where I am now and especially as when I was growing up, you know, if you were black you couldn't get into that profession. It was a very difficult profession to get into and actually making it through these barriers at the time I did. ENDS

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Ludwig R 00:00:03 My name is Ludwig R, job title is I'm watch manager A with Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service.

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Morven C helps customers at Irving Railway Station. She broke away from an abusive relationship and trained as a manager of an entertainment complex. "The confidence that I built up with that job was phenomenal. It was amazing and again knowing that I could provide for my daughter being a single Mum was an amazing feeling as well." Then her former boss persuaded her to move to join her at ScotRail.
Description
Rail travel assistants issue, collect and inspect travel tickets, provide information and assistance to railway passengers, operate train doors, and perform a variety of duties on station platforms in connection with the arrival and departure of trains and the movement of goods and passengers, and on trains to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers.
Qualifications
There are no formal academic entry requirements, although entrants are required to take a medical examination and have normal colour vision. Training is provided off- and on-the-job. NVQs/SVQs in Rail Transport (Passenger) are available at Level 2.
Tasks

Examines and collects tickets at the ticket barrier of a railway station;

Helps with passenger enquiries and makes announcements over a public address system at stations;

Loads and unloads mail, goods and luggage, operates lifts and hoists and drives small trucks;

Assists passengers with special needs to board and leave trains;

Attends to the safety, welfare and comfort of passengers on trains and manages train crew;

Checks control panel operation before start of journey, operates train door controls and signals to driver to start or stop train;

Inspects and issues tickets on trains, deals with passenger enquiries, and takes charge of goods being transported on train.

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Morven C

Morven C My name's Morven C and I work at Irving Station. I deal with all sorts of questions all day to do with the running of trains, journey times, ticket prices. The booking office is mainly customer orientated and they get first priority. When I was at school I wanted to be a marine biologist and a deep sea diver. The reason was was my uncle worked in the American Navy. It was amazing the amount of stories he could come back with to tell us and it just inspired me so much. It was always something I wanted to do. The stage I stopped thinking at it was probably the middle of high school. I kind of changed my direction. It's very difficult when everybody else is out hanging about and you've got to do your studies. I would say that, I mean, I did get diverted from my studies quite a few times. I got my standard grades but I never stayed on to do my highers which I regret very much because the peer pressure is [get out of the house and stuff and maybe left] and you just kind of want to go down that road with them. My first job was in Jeanster and it was a retail shop and it was a Saturday job and it was my cousin that got me it because he was the manager of the shop. To me it was really good fun but on a serious note, I was coming out with a good wage at the end of it so I think the experience made me want a job even more. Being in my first job it was like I knew that I had to go and do this but I knew I was going to have my free time as well and then the money at the end of it was just, so you just felt like a big woman kind of thing at that age. Because all your pals were getting like pocket money off their Mum and Dad and you would just go to your wee bank to lift your money out your wee bank book. I went into bar work after I had Amy at 18 and then I went into security. The reason being was I was in an abusive relationship and I wanted...when I got out of it I wanted to get myself back to being me and the respect I got back from that and the confidence that I built up with that job was phenomenal. It was amazing and again knowing that I could provide for my daughter being a single Mum was an amazing feeling as well. And I just kept on bettering myself. And I went to join Escape and that was like a big entertainment complex. When I got there they asked me if I wanted to train as a manager and my mentor was Julie. She trained me up and everything and then she left to actually joined the railway, believe it or not. So, Jules left, I got made up to manager. I done it for about a year and a half and Julie and I kept in contact. So, she was working for First ScotRail at the time. She said, "Why don't you come and work for us?" So, I went for it and I got the job. In 10 years time I see myself hopefully well moved up the ladder away from the booking office side. I mean, the booking office side is a great, great job, it's very well paid, but I think in myself I don't want to stay there, I want to move up. I quite fancy going for a driver's job. So, again, it's the studying stuff there so I think I'd study beforehand, before I tried to apply and so I think I'm trying to make up for, yeah, definitely trying to make up for leaving school early and I think I'm doing ok. ENDS

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Morven C 00:00:02 My name\'s Morven C and I work at Irving Station. I deal with all sorts of questions all day to do with the running of trains, journey times, ticket prices. The booking office is mainly customer orientated and they get first priority.

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Guy P is an HR manager for East Belfast Mission. He has a masters in electrical engineering and a degree in theology, but still found it difficult to find a job - "...which was a bit scary for me actually cos I thought I've all these qualifications, I feel like I've got all these skills and I couldn't get a job anywhere. I think I was maybe about six months before I finally got a job... Being honest with yourself is sometimes one of the most difficult things possible because you want to please your mum and dad or you want to please your friends or because you perceive that this type of career has higher status and higher rewards".

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Description
Human resource managers and directors plan, organise and direct the personnel, training and industrial relations policies of organisations, advise on resource allocation and utilisation problems, measure the effectiveness of an organisation's systems, methods and procedures and advise on, plan and implement procedures to improve utilisation of labour, equipment and materials.
Qualifications
There are no pre-set entry standards, although entry is most common with a degree or equivalent qualification. Off- and on-the-job training is provided and professional qualifications are available. NVQs/SVQs in relevant subjects are available at levels 3, 4 and 5.
Tasks

Determines staffing needs;

Oversees the preparation of job descriptions, drafts advertisements and interviews candidates;

Oversees the monitoring of employee performance and career development needs;

Provides or arranges for provision of training courses;

Undertakes industrial relations negotiations with employees' representatives or trades unions;

Develops and administers salary, health and safety and promotion policies;

Examines and reports on company and departmental structures, chains of command, information flows, etc. and evaluates efficiency of existing operations;

Considers alternative work procedures to improve productivity;

Stays abreast of relevant legislation, considers its impact on the organisation's HR strategy and recommends appropriate action.

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Guy P

Guy P My name is Guy P and I'm an HR manager and I work for East Belfast Mission. One of the things about HR is that you get to be involved in everything in the organisation. I would select staff, we're involved in interviews, we're involved in induction stuff, we're involved in, in any sort of staff issues that are going on throughout the working life of an employee, even to the point where they maybe leave your organisation. I grew up in a mixed marriage, uh my mum's Protestant, my dad's Catholic so I think very thankfully now, looking back on it, at the time I didn't appreciate it. There was always a debate in our house about faith and about theology and about the bible and this, this was just a, a daily conversation. I think one of the pivotal moments of my own development was in growing up and realising actually I needed to find out for myself what is it I believe. My dad works for the Department of the Environment, basically he sweeps roads, he digs ditches, he lays flagstones, he is brilliant with his hands and he practically built our house and knowing that I didn't have the same physical strength as him really drove me towards books. My mum was a housewife for, for years. Before that I think she was a saleswoman selling a magazine. So she can talk the talk. In school I came away with uh four Cs, three Ds and an F in my GCSEs. Uh all I was really interested in I think was playing the guitar and I quite thought I would like to do sound engineering or cameraman and I'd even gone to the BBC, my mum had took me down one day to Belfast, knocked at the door of the BBC and said, here's me son, he'd quite like to do something to do with cameraman or sound engineers, is there somebody we could talk to and we'd even gone, you know, and did that and I went to a careers adviser whose nickname was Spike and I remember him, he had a beard and he had a fleece on and he loved canoeing. He threw a look at my results, shook his head and said, mm well maybe electronic engineer might be the sort of general field that you might want to go and I sort of thought, well is that the same thing and he went, well yeah, kind of is. Working as an engineer down south for an American company that manufactured hard disk drives for computers. Did that for a few years. Decided that there was parts of the job that I absolutely loved, the problem-solving element, elements. The bits of the job that I found frustrating were the personalities and so I supplemented that with volunteering and I would volunteer for the YMCA and I'd volunteer for my local church and a few other places like that. All of this led me back to the same questions that I'd been going on, since I was young, who is god, why are we here, where does this sense of right and wrong come from, so that, that was what led me back to uh the sort of spiritual role model in my life, my pastor at the time. I talked to him about it and he eventually suggested, well have you ever thought about, you know, studying theology? It might not maybe answer some of your questions but it'll at least help you to find the right questions to ask. I finished bible college and I had a degree in theology. I at that time had a masters and a degree in electric and electronic engineering and couldn't get a job anywhere. Which was a bit scary for me actually cos I thought I've all these qualifications, I feel like I've got all these skills and I couldn't get a job anywhere. I think I was maybe about six months before I finally got a job and I took the first job I could get and that was a job working for the Inland Revenue, tax credit office. Being honest with yourself is sometimes one of the most difficult; things possible because you want to please your mum and dad or because you want to please your friends or your peers or because perceive that this type of career has higher status and higher rewards and higher gains. The advice that I would give is to try and identify what your gut instinct is and have courage. END

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Guy P 00:02 My name is Guy P and I'm an HR manager and I work for East Belfast Mission. 00:07 One of the things about HR is that you get to be involved in everything in the organisation.

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Helping black and minority ethnic (BME) people to progress in their careers at the same rate as their white counterparts could add £24bn to UK economy each year, a government-backed review has found.

The report into race in the workplace found recruitment processes, a tendency by managers to promote people similar to themselves and, in some cases, outright discrimination had all held back workers from BME backgrounds.

The report's author, businesswoman Ruby McGregor-Smith, called on employers to come clean about their lack of diversity by publishing a breakdown of their workforce by race and pay band. She urged the government to make such reporting law if employers do not do it voluntarily.

"We don't need to write another report in a year's time. We just need to do it, or legislate," she said before the review's publication on Tuesday.

"The time for talk on race in the workplace is over, it's time to act. No one should feel unable to reach the top of any organisation because of their race."

McGregor-Smith, a Conservative peer and former chief executive of the facilities management company Mitie, was asked to conduct her review by the former business secretary Sajid Javid.

Her findings lay bare the scale of the challenge if the government and employers are to help workers from minority backgrounds have the same opportunities as their white counterparts. It found the employment rate for ethnic minorities workers was only 62.8% compared with 75.6% for white workers of 75.6%.

While 14% of the working age population were from a BME background, they made up only 10% of the workforce and held only 6% of top management positions. People from BME backgrounds were also more likely to work in lower paid and lower skilled jobs despite being more likely to have a degree, the report found.

McGregor-Smith, who became the first Asian woman to run a FTSE 250 company when she took over at Mitie in 2007, said her own experience had shown there was little diversity at the top of British business but she was still surprised by the extent of both conscious and unconscious bias uncovered by her report.

Employees reporting that they have been overlooked for promotion

She said there were some organisations that stood out as promoting more inclusive workplaces with schemes such as mentoring and training courses that help tackle bias and she called for those to be highlighted in an annual best 100 employers list. But there was no one sector that was ahead on tackling a lack racial diversity.

"It's everywhere. I'll go to a big business event and I realise there's not anyone who looks like me," said McGregor-Smith.

Her review seeks to make an economic case for more diverse workforces, estimating that GDP would be 1.3% higher - equivalent to about £24bn a year - if BME individuals were immediately fully represented across the workforce in the same proportions as white individuals.

She emphasised that there was also a moral case for more inclusive workplaces but said that making the business case would spur employers into action. The report also highlighted research showing that companies with more racial diversity were more likely to enjoy higher-than-average financial returns.

One of her key recommendations is for the government to provide free online training to help people recognise and change any biased attitudes they might have - often without realising it.

"Overt racism that we associate with the 1970s does still disgracefully occur, but unconscious bias is much more pervasive and potentially more insidious because of the difficulty in identifying it or calling it out," her report says.

"Race, gender or background should be irrelevant when choosing the right person for a role - few now would disagree with this. But organisations and individuals tend to hire in their own image, whether consciously or not."

She also called on the public sector to set good examples on hiring, mentoring and promotion and to ensure that when government contracts are awarded they go to bidders who show a commitment to diversity.

In its response to the review, the government said it would not move straight away to legislate on the reporting of racial diversity and instead preferred a voluntary system. But it did not rule out laws in the future.

"We ... believe a non-legislative solution is the right approach for now, but will monitor progress and stand ready to act if sufficient progress is not delivered," the business minister Margot James wrote to McGregor-Smith.

The review's key recommendations

* Employers with more than 50 staff members should publish five-year targets on diversity, nominate a board member to deliver them and report against the targets annually.

* If employers do not act voluntarily, government should legislate to force organisations with more than 50 employees to publish a breakdown of their workforce by race and pay band.

* Government should provide free, online unconscious bias training courses to help people identify where they might be behaving and thinking in ways that act as a barrier to a more inclusive workplace.

* All organisations should ensure all employees have unconscious bias training.

* Employers should ensure proportional representation on long and short lists for jobs, and reject lists that do not reflect the local working age population. The report notes the proportion of working age people from a BME background in London and Birmingham is already more than 40%, with Manchester not far behind, and says that workforces in those cities should reflect that.

* Job specifications should be drafted in plain English and provide an accurate reflection of essential and desirable skills to ensure applications from a wider set of individuals.

* Larger employers should ensure the selection and interview process is done by more than one person, and should ideally include individuals from different backgrounds.

* The charity Business in the Community should publish a list of the top 100 BME employers.
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BME career progression 'could add £24bn a year to UK economy'

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Helping black and minority ethnic (BME) people to progress in their careers at the same rate as their white counterparts could add £24bn to UK economy each year, a government-backed review has found. The report into race in the workplace found recruitment processes, a tendency by managers to promote people similar to themselves and, in some cases, outright discrimination had all held back workers from BME backgrounds.

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Dispelling the myth that Muslim women can’t be career-orientated

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Dispelling the myth that Muslim women can’t be career-orientated

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Copyright © 2010-2018 Stylist

Visible Women

Written by Salma Haidrani

Salma Haidrani is a multi-award winning writer and journalist. She writes on women's rights, social issues and contemporary faith. If she closes her eyes, she's back on a Miami beach at sunrise.

'Trailblazing Muslim Women' celebrates the achievements of Muslim women in the workplace. Stylist speaks to some of the women featured in the photos.

When we think of Muslim women, the mainstream media rarely celebrates them as career-orientated. Myths abound of them supposedly feeling too 'trapped' to work or having to 'pick' between their faith and their career.

And when Muslim women do make history, like Australia's first female MP, the narrative is framed as "breaking boundaries", "stereotype-defying" or their career trajectory is framed as one that's overcome abuse or violence.

These clichés motivated London-based creative Zainab Khan and freelance photographer and videographer Maaria Lohiya to launch 'Trailblazing Muslim Women'. The first photo series of its kind, it celebrates and showcases the lesser-known achievements of Muslim women in the workforce on their own terms.

Featuring 21 portraits of Muslim Londoners from diverse backgrounds making strides in their respective industries, including a 'squad' shot, participants include entrepreneurs, a documentary maker and a musician.

The 'squad shot' is in part inspired by similar shoots popularised by the likes of Vanity Fair and The Hollywood Reporter's roundtables. The annual erasure of Muslim women - and women of colour more generally - in these photos was integral to Khan and Lohiya's motivation.

"We're here and if you don't want to represent us, we damn well won't sit and wait for you"

"I've always looked up to them but there was never enough representation, enough women like me. I wanted young Muslim girls to learn to be themselves unapologetically and be inspired by powerful, amazing women like the ones part of this project," Khan tells stylist.co.uk.

"It's time we stopped waiting for a more honest space in the media and make that ourselves," Lohiya adds.

With the project part of a broader shift of collectives reinventing tired narratives of British Muslim women, such as Project Ribcage and Change The Script, it's never been more pressing to celebrate their achievements, given that Muslim women are already at a disadvantage in the workforce.

In 2016, the UK Women and Equalities Committee found Muslim women were three times more likely to be unemployed than women generally. Those in the workforce face multiple challenges: many feel they have to prove they don't conform to stereotypes, while others dread being told to uncover their hair or face unemployment, a concern that feels particularly pertinent after last March's controversial ruling that headscarves can be banned at work.

Particularly poignant is the shoot's celebration of the diversity of Muslim women when the community has long grappled with anti-blackness. After all, as Khan says: "Islam transcends culture, ethnicities and nationalities."

Ahead, participants discuss their experiences of taking part in the shoot, why it's so important and the impact this might have on young Muslim women.

Raifa Rafiq, 24, creator and co-host of the Mostly Lit podcast, trainee lawyer and writer

It's important that Muslim women - who are often portrayed as either oppressed or an 'exotic' Instagram make-up guru - are shown to be successful and impactful in the world. I would have loved to see a photo series like this growing up. When you don't see anybody that looks like you occupying those spaces, you start to wonder whether you're worth it. You get used to being the one person not being seen.

Had I seen women like me who were black, Muslim and who wore the hijab in the mainstream media, it would have done wonders for my self-esteem. Seeing fellow black Muslim women [at the shoot] allowed me to look at how our successes can be normal.

I hope this 'new normal' extends to other black, Muslim women. The shoot stands up and says 'look, we're here and if you don't want to represent us, we damn well won't sit and wait for you. We'll do it ourselves'.

We do need role models that aren't just bloggers or fashionistas. When Muslim women are mostly judged on their appearance, it's great to see how they redefine that appearance through blogging and fashion.

But it's important that Muslim women are allowed to define themselves without attention on their appearance. Having a daughter of my own, I'd like to think that she sees women achieving in different ways as she grows up. And that includes quiet ways, off-camera ways - there are so many.

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This shoot shows that there are mothers, daughter and sisters who can still be true to their faith and have exciting, vibrant and successful careers without needing to compromise who they are. When I was younger, a shoot like this would have opened my eyes to the numerous possibilities and avenues [open to me] and removed any worries I had about my future.

Muslim women need to remove any glass ceiling that we may have curated in our heads. I hope that when young Muslim women see this, they'll realise that they have the tools to succeed - all they really need to do is believe in their potential.

Saraiya Bah, 28, poet and cultural producer

I've been very fortunate to be taught from a very young age that faith and career go hand-in-hand. I come from a long line of Muslim women who are multiple business owners, home owners, work within the corporate world and still fulfil their obligations to their faith.

Within the Muslim community, black Muslims are marginalised and don't receive the same recognition for accolades and praise in comparison to their Arab or Asian counterparts. This, coupled with the rife anti-blackness we experience, can make you feel alienated or that your accomplishments don't count.

The most memorable aspect of taking part in the shoot was the amount of passers-by who looked at us with smiles on their faces. There are a lot of times where Muslim women feel weary about interactions with the general public, especially when there are tragic terror attacks. Although you know that you're not responsible, you feel like you're being constantly judged. So to see them shout out a compliment was a nice memory.

The advancement of the digital age has made the documentation of Muslim women's achievements more accessible. But do I feel there should be more opportunities to celebrate them? Of course.

Nadia Javed, singer, songwriter and guitarist in The Tuts

I front a female band in a genre and industry dominated by white men. It's important to show the world that Muslim 'rock chicks' like me do exist. I'm shocked to see how few Muslim girls actually play instruments and go into musical careers.

We need more Muslim role models to inspire other girls, empower them and make them believe that they can do things outside of the norm and that there is a community of support.

We're a long way from having decent representation of Muslim women. But that's one advantage of social media: we can control our content, we have our own platforms and can reach out, follow and support other Muslims. I'm already seeing a change.

Alia Alzougbi, 38, storyteller and educator

This is a story we don't often hear and when do hear it, it's tokenistic, almost as if a Muslim woman is exceptional for the work she is doing. Trailblazing Muslim Women stretches people's imaginations about who can inhabit which role. With this project, the possibilities of 'who does what' are stretched.

I hope this shoot will provide a fresh perspective for those who believe we're restricted in our lives and daily careers. But I don't believe the responsibility lies with us to rectify how the wider public views us. No matter what we achieve, many will still see us as oppressed because we practice Islam and/or cover our hair. To each their own. But if someone hasn't come across positive representations of Muslim women before and is influenced for the better by this shoot, that's great.
Stylist's Visible Women campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of women who've made a difference, celebrating their success, and empowering future generations to follow their lead. See more from Visible Women here.

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The photo series dispelling the myth that Muslim women can't be career-orientated

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skip to main content Stylist logo Open site navigation Close site navigation Copyright © 2010-2018 Stylist Visible Women Written by Salma Haidrani Salma Haidrani is a multi-award winning writer and journalist. She writes on women's rights, social issues and contemporary faith. If she closes her eyes, she's back on a Miami beach at sunrise.

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Have you ever been caught off guard with a question in an interview? A competency-based question could well have been the culprit. These questions typically require the candidate to demonstrate they have the right skills for a role by using a previous experience which showcases those skills in action. For example, the interviewer might say, "describe a situation when you resolved a conflict within your team" or "tell me about a time when effective time management skills were the key to success."

In the heat of the moment it is easy to panic and give an answer that is unstructured and misses out the key details. This is where the STAR technique might be useful.
What is the Star Technique?
Put simply, the STAR technique means giving a response to a question based on:

Situation: set the context for the story

Task: what was required of you?

Action: what did you actually do?

Result: what was the outcome?

"Using the STAR technique in an interview allows you to break your response down in a logical way," explains David Cairncross, director at Hays Recruitment.
How can you prepare for an interview using the STAR technique?
Preparing for an interview normally means sitting and thinking about the questions you might be asked and then how you will respond - an interview using the STAR model is just the same, says Lianne Lambert, HR consultant at Lighter Business Solutions.

"Candidates need to think about the skills and behaviours that they are likely to need in the role they are applying for and then consider scenarios where they have demonstrated these skills," she explains. "No interview is entirely predictable but you will thank yourself for spending some time thinking through the situations faced during a career and what skills those situations demonstrate."

Remember that not every situation you talk about has to have had a glowing outcome, Lambert stresses, because in reality, not all endeavours are successful but that doesn't mean you can't learn from them.

"If there is a scenario that demonstrates the skill being assessed but, due to factors that were beyond the control of the candidate, the outcome was not what was hoped for, this scenario can still be used in a positive way."
Putting the STAR technique into practice
Here are two examples of how to use the STAR technique in an interview.

Example one: A candidate for a project manager role might be asked, "Tell me about a time you were forced to take charge of a high-pressure situation". Bev White, managing director of career services at Penna, a global HR services group, gives the following hypothetical answer:

Situation: "My colleague was suddenly hospitalised and I had to pick up a significant project, with no briefing, that was launching that week"

Task: "I had to get up-to-speed with the existing team, introduce myself to the client, shuffle my existing workload and successfully launch a website for the client"

Action: "I organised a briefing with my whole team in order to get up to speed and worked through a timeline of urgent and non-urgent actions, assigning people to each. I then explained the situation to the client and assured them they were in safe hands. I also kept everyone in the loop twice a day with a current status of activity"

Result: "We managed to successfully launch the website, the client was very happy with the end result and my colleague that was hospitalised could recover knowing all was in hand. It united the team and I've proven myself to be a reliable member of that team"

Example two: A candidate going for a role in HR might be asked,"Tell us about your biggest failure. How did you recover and what have you learnt from that incident?"

Sue Alderson, director of Azure Consulting, a management consultancy specialising in people issues, gives the following hypothetical answer:

Situation: "Taking on a new role, I inherited a disinterested and underperforming team member."

Task: "It was my job to bring them onboard with the rest of the team and get them to perform at the same level as colleagues."

Action: "I initially tried to use peer influence to achieve my aims, before moving on to discuss performance during team meetings."

Result: "Unfortunately, the individual left the team and the company. However, what I learned was that I should have addressed the situation more directly at an earlier stage and been clearer on what my expectations were of the individual and their contribution to the team."

Image: Tony Hallas/Science Faction/Corbis

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guardian jobs advice on how to use the star technique in an interview

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Guardian Jobs advice on how to use the STAR technique in an interview | Guardian Jobs

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Have you ever been caught off guard with a question in an interview? A competency-based question could well have been the culprit. These questions typically require the candidate to demonstrate they have the right skills for a role by using a previous experience which showcases those skills in action.