Enterprise week [week 8]

‘’Telling it like it is’’

During the enterprise week the university organised inspirational events, which where run by Enterprise Insight, a coalition of businesses, charities, education bodies and government. One of the events I attended was called ‘’Telling it like it is’’. This was a presentation put together by previous students which included questions and answers at the end. It was held on the campus of Buck’s new university and lasted a couple of hours. The event was all about previous Bucks university students sharing their experiences good and bad, working in the marketing communications industry and how this related to what they learnt from their degrees. The previous students gave advice which helped current students use the available resources at university to make the best use of what is available to us as a student, such as help with C.V/ cover letter as well as job vacancies on the university website.

Influence on my career aspirations

This event was very useful to me as it provided a lot of information and advice that will be relevant to me when I graduate. From this event I realised that being at university in this period of time with the recession was a good decision as jobs are very competitive. Therefore being at university is a good opportunity for me to gain academic knowledge. I learnt a lot in terms of where to go and what to do to improve my chances of getting a good job when I graduate. They advised us to have a strong C.V by researching what exactly the company wants; I could do this by reading the job description and specification, which would give me a clear picture of who the company is looking for.

They recommended that we turn to our advantage how what we have studied is relevant to the job role the company requires. For example by mentioning I organised a fundraising charity event for marketing I could say I learnt to make eye catching/colourful posters/ leaflets/ website and advertised in the local paper, shops schools and I contacted organisations to make donations for the raffle prizes etc. This would show that I have skills that are required for some marketing roles. They emphasised the importance of gaining some work experience in the sector we wish to have a career in, as this will show that I actively tried whilst studying to gain the skills that are required.

This event gave me relevant information which was current; I used this advice to help me find a job, I went away with my questions answered as the students gave me all the advice I needed to improve my chances of starting the career I want. Before I attended the event I was not really sure how to start applying for jobs, after I knew the first thing to do was improve my C.V where it was lacking. I also realised that it is hard to find a job with me being in full-time education; however I could use my spare time by improving my chance, gain experience by doing voluntary work, as this would defiantly look good on my C.V.

Overall for me the event was a success as it changed my attitude and approach to finding my desired career path. It made me want to achieve after seeing six students who did exactly that, they gave me the confidence to sell my self well. Before the event I felt that I didn’t really have the experience to apply for the jobs that I wanted to do, the students where in the same position but they tried and succeeded. I realised that if I show any company that I am motivated to learn and willing to try I have a good chance of getting the job. I have since been trying to get some voluntary work with well established organisations as I can learn a lot from them