Employability What Employers Want Computer Science Yr1

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Employability - What Employers WantComputer
Science Yr1

• Sophie Charles
• Careers Adviser

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Aims of the session

• Be informed about destinations of Birmingham
  graduates
• Define what is employability
• Know what skills/ qualities employers want
• Identify ways of making yourself more employable
• work experience
• voluntary work
• part time/ temporary employment
• Know what resources are available

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Destinations Computer Science Graduates - 2001

• Permanent employment 59.7
• Temporary employment 4.5
• Employment overseas 4.5
• 68.2
• Higher Degree 13.4
• Other training 1.5
• 14.9
• Unemployed 13.4
• Not Available 3.0

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Destinations Computer Science Graduates - 2002

• Permanent employment 49.4
• Temporary employment 7.8
• Employment overseas 1.3
• 
  58.4(65.3)
• Higher Degree 14.3
• Other training 1.3
• 15.6
• Unemployed 22.1
• Not Available 3.9

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Graduate employment

• Trainee Chartered Accountant
• Civil Servant
• Graduate Trainee
• Youth Worker
• Customer Service Asst.
• Broadcast Engineer
• Administrator
• Scientist Bar Staff
• EFL Teacher Typist
• Teacher Catering

• Software Engineer
• Website Designer/Developer
• Systems Analyst/Engineer
• IT Technician
• Electronic Engineer
• Computer Programmer
• Network Specialist
• Help Desk Adviser
• IT Consultant
• Self Employment

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IT Graduate Salaries

• 2001
• Highest reported salary 47,000
• Lowest reported salary 19,000
• Mean 25,227

• 2002
• Highest reported salary 22,000
• Lowest reported salary 10,000
• Mean 17,833

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Upturn in the IT market

• The results reveal that the plummeting demand for
  IT skills in the UK seems to have bottomed out.
  At last, the recruitment climate for permanent
  staff is not getting worse - and for contractors
  it has begun to improve - which suggests that
  things should now start to get better. And
  those unfortunate IT professionals currently
  seeking employment can take heart from the fact
  that an upturn in the recruitment market at last
  seems to be on the cards.
• -Computer Weekly/SSL Quarterly Skills and Salary
  Survey 2003-

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Employability

• Task
• In pairs discuss the following question
• What would help you to get into a top graduate
  job when you finish your degree?

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University of Birmingham Alumni Comments

• A good quality degree
• Relevant work experience
• Work experience - paid/voluntary
• Relevant skills
• Contacts and networking
• Planning preparing for the future
• Doing some homework - research

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Employability

• Definition Skills needed to get and keep a job
• employability goes well beyond the simplistic
  notion of key skills, and is evidenced by the
  application of a mix of personal qualities and
  beliefs, understandings, skilful practices and
  the ability to reflect productively on
  experience (Yorke Knight)
• Demonstrate a combination of
• Academic work
• Personal skills and qualities
• Work experience
• Extra curricula activities

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Developing Transferable Skills

• Work Experience

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Advantages of work experience

• Beneficial to your studies
• self confidence, motivation, time management,
  putting theory into practice
• Clearer understanding about occupational choice
  and career management
• the opportunity to experience real jobs and
  identify what you want to do and what you do not
  want in work
• Personal development and maturity
• experience of working with different people, in
  an older and more mature environment, different
  from university

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• Development of skills
• practical and technical skills, communication,
  problem solving, interpersonal skills, project
  work, prioritising work time management,
  following instructions etc.
• Enhanced employability/ Offer of future
  employment
• employers would rather employ someone already
  tried and tested, and with an understanding of
  the world of work. (Eg. Shell - 50 of
  undergraduates who do work experience are offered
  a graduate job).
• Financial rewards

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Employer Perspective

• Employers want to see evidence of skills outside
  of your degree
• Trial run
• Part of recruitment process
• Target penultimate year students
• Interviews, Assessment Centres, Tests etc.
• Potential sponsorship
• Potential job offers upon graduation
• Attractive salaries, accommodation, expenses...
• Deadlines range from Oct -Feb/March
• Demand is highly competitive

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Importance Of Experience

• Just as the crucial success factor for a
  restaurant is location, location, location, the
  critical factor in IT is experience, experience,
  experience. Employers want evidence you have used
  your skills on real-life projects.Even if you
  retrain, you still need commercial experience to
  back it up Resource Manager at Key People.
• Computer Weekly June 03

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What employers want when recruiting work
placement students

• oral and written communication skills (67)
• degree subject class (63)
• other work experience gained
• technical skills/foreign language skills
• A levels/UCAS points
• a knowledge and interest in the company
• a genuine desire to work in the industry
• a good understanding and interest in the post
• extracurricular interests and achievements

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Opportunities for work experience

• Sandwich courses
• Industrial placement/ Internship
• Course-related projects
• Vacation/ Summer placement
• Vacation courses
• Casual vacation work/ part-time jobs
• Voluntary work
• International exchange
• Summer jobs abroad

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How to choose?

• Make some practical decisions first
• paid/ unpaid time duration (when, how long or
  how often) location eg. UK or abroad
• What will the work experience provide?
• Responsibility, project work, management
• Experience in chosen occupational area
• Work with a reputable employer
• Chance to focus on developing key transferable
  skills
• Add to your overall career development plan/ CV

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Making it Count

• Think about what you are doing and what you are
  learning
• Seek out opportunities to gain more
  responsibility and to demonstrate initiative
• Work effectively with others, build a rapport
  with colleagues and managers
• Become familiar with the company and the industry
• Keep a record and evaluate the development of the
  key skills required by the industry and employers
  you would like to work in upon graduation

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Where are the vacancies?

• websitewww.careers.bham.ac.uk
• Your department (noticeboards/lecturers)
• Work experience magazines - free publications
• Employer directories - KOMPASS, Yellow Pages etc.
• Work experience fairs
• International agencies - BUNAC, AIESEC
• Local newspapers
• Personal contacts
• Speculative letters to companies/ Company websites

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Voluntary Work

• Unpaid but provides scope for variety
• A range of opportunities
• writing bids for fundraising managing a budget
  organising events teaching training setting
  up a website or database producing reports
  being an advocate providing advice or
  counselling chance to learn a new skill.
• Millennium Volunteer
• www.bugs.bham.ac.uk/involve

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Part time/ temporary employment

• Aim for jobs
• directly related to future career choice
• that provide you with the chance to progress
• with a position of responsibility
• with a reputable company (if possible)
• Opportunity to demonstrate transferable skills
• reliability, good time keeping, team working,
  interpersonal skills, customer service skills,
  time management, working under pressure and more
• www.bugs.bham.ac.uk/jobzone

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Demonstrating Relevant, Transferable Skills

• Complete Handout

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Application Form Questions

• "Describe a situation where you had to work
  effectively as a member of a team. What was the
  team's aim? How was the team selected? What was
  your role?"
• "Describe a significant piece of work or
  achievement that shows that you have excelled and
  sets you apart from other graduate applicants
  (300 words max)

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Skills employers look for AGR Survey

• Self-awareness - Understanding fully your own
  skills and weaknesses, your own work values and
  what you want out of working life.
• Self-promotion - Being assertive with others,
  speaking out when appropriate, arguing your case.
• Research skills for ideas and opportunities -
  Being patient and methodical in researching the
  choices open to you, identifying new
  opportunities, digging around for information.
• Decisiveness and action planning skills-
  Identifying options, assessing their suitability,
  choosing the best option, planning action, making
  decisions.

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• Teamworking skills - Being a constructive team
  member, contributing practically to the success
  of a team.
• Adaptability and flexibility - Changing or
  modifying your behaviour in response to changing
  circumstances or the needs/wishes of others,
  taking on new challenges/responsibilities without
  much notice.
• Negotiation skills- Holding discussions with
  others in order to reach a mutually satisfactory
  outcome, getting your arguments across without
  losing your temper, protecting your position but
  knowing when to compromise.

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• Networking skills - Feeling confident when
  meeting strangers, establishing a rapport,
  getting them to help you.
• Written communication skills - Expressing
  yourself well on paper, being persuasive, having
  a reasonable grasp of grammar and spelling,
  understanding what is required by the reader and
  structuring your content accordingly.
• Oral communication skills - Using speech to
  express ideas, give information and get your
  ideas across to another person.
• Presentation skills - Presenting ideas or
  information to a group of people effectively,
  using visual aids confidently, keeping their
  attention.

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• The most important
• were
• Motivation and enthusiasm
• Team working
• Oral communication
• Flexibility
• Initiative
• - A 2002 survey from the Association of Graduate
  Recruiters

• Employers saw the largest shortfall in
• Interpersonal skills
• Initiative
• Managing own development
• Business awareness
• Oral communication
• Problem solving

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Commercial Awareness

• Employers often spend quite a bit of time and
  energy with new graduates, who have just focused
  on the technology, to make them productive in the
  business environment. We are hoping, with our
  combination of business and interpersonal skills,
  to reduce that and to make the pain of
  transferring from academic to business life, a
  lot less. senior lecturer at Brighton
  University.
• We are trying to get those essential commercial
  and business skills into graduates before they
  join us technology services account
  manager at IBM.
• Computer Weekly Sept 03

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Careers Centre Events

• Work Experience Fair - Wednesday 28th January
• Employer Led Skills Series - Spring Term
• Work Experience Talks Skills Development
  workshops at the Guild of Students - Spring Term
• website www.careers.bham.ac.uk
• Careers Centre, 1st Floor, University Centre

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Action Plan

• Setting clear objectives will help you get the
  most out of your job or work experience. The
  objectives you set should be Specific,
  Measurable, Achievable, Realistic Timebound
• Plan your Easter, Summer Christmas holidays
  well
• Look for and apply for opportunities early
• Reflect on and record what has been learnt at
  work
• Write a CV and update it regularly