Get a job!

Get a job! In this day and age, getting that all important graduate position is often easier said than done.

A report in The Telegraph states that graduate unemployment is currently riding at a 20 year high, and that as many as 20% of graduates are without employment; not to mention the numbers of graduates who are in under-employment.

How can you make sure you're not one of the unlucky 1-in-5?

First of all, get some work experience on top of your degree. According to High Fliers, a third of this years graduate vacancies are expected to be filled by someone who has already worked for the organisation. This could be in the form of an internship, a temporary or part-time job, or a sponsored placement during a sandwich course. There is some concern that internships are exploitative but, as I've said before on this blog, what's the alternative? There is no point in disadvantaging yourself on a socialist principle. Try and find some sort of work experience. If you're yet to start your degree, then seriously consider a sandwich course. If you've already graduated then sign up to a temp agency and get some proper experience under your belt and onto your C.V.

Talking of C.Vs, always make sure yours is up-to-date, available, and more importantly, can be tailored to each job you apply for. According to Give-a-Grad-a-Go, graduates make many simple mistakes on their C.V. which stand them at a disadvantage. Read the article, it really is good advice.

And that leads me on to employment organisations. As well as Give-a-grad-ago, there are also lots of other specialist graduate employment companies, like Milkround.com. Even if they haven't got any jobs posted which you fancy, if you sign up for email alerts or like their Facebook pages, you get some really good advice which could help you to be more employable.

If you want to stay in academia, maybe get yourself a masters degree (this could help make you stand out over other graduates too), then try http://www.jobs.ac.uk/. For those students that are good enough, universities offer paid studentships. These tend to pay at least fees, and often a stipend which is tax-free, and around the £10,000 to £15,000 a year mark. Some of them include teaching duties as part of the deal, boosting your experience too. Even if you don't intend to stay in academia full-time, it'll tide you over for another year, keep you busy and, you never know, it might lead to something big.

From the perspective of someone who's been in a position to hire people, I offer one small, but effective tip. If you have an email address like hotlips69@yahoo.com or similar, please please please register something more sensible to put on your job applications. You are a grown-up now, please act like one. There are numerous other graduates fighting for the job you want, don't give someone else even the smallest excuse to put you on the 'no' pile.

Also, one more. Occasionally step out of your comfort zone. I have read too many job applications where someone's dissertation topic was based on their university, other students, their friends. The ones that really stood out for me were the people who had researched and worked with groups like older people, disabled people, the homeless or other socially marginalised groups. So stop arseing about and get some real life experience, or at least show you want to experience it.

Anyway, good luck in your job searching. It is tough, though not impossible. Think quality not quantity when applying, and don't be afraid to do something menial rather than holding out for something better. Experience is experience and you never know where it might take you.

All the best.

My money saving tips for students - Part one

With rising costs for students, like tuition fees, rents and transport, the debts that students find themselves in at the end of their courses are rising too. Some things you can't avoid shelling out for, but there are economies to be made and money-saving skills to develop which will help to minimise the debt and will help out in later life aswell. Below are a selection of my tips to help students save money.....

1 - Shop around. Things like contents insurance can be expensive but don't accept the first quote you are given. Go to a broker. They work on a commission basis but get exclusive access to deals which could save you money. Even better, go online and use a comparison site like www.confused.com. Just make sure you are getting the right amount of cover so you can replace your items should the worst happen. Don't under-estimate the value of your essential equipment or you'll leave yourself vulnerable.

2 - Team up with others. Buying in bulk can often get you a better deal, so gang up with your housemates. Food isn't getting any cheaper and cooking one meal for your whole house instead of four or five individual meals will save all of you some money. Get together and cook something nice for you all, rather than getting a take-away. Even if you do this just one night a week, the savings soon add up. Take it in turns to cook, give each other points like on Come Dine with Me and make it fun.

3 - Coupons, coupons, coupons. I know it's a very old-lady thing to do but look out for money-off coupons in the local newspaper and online. Stash them away for things you buy regularly, and remember to use them - they won't save you money stuck in the drawer - get them out! Remember - Nans know best.

4 - Buy used. You don't need brand spanking new everything for your room. There are plenty of charity shops, second-hand stores, and online sites where you can buy used items at knock-down prices. Try good old e-bay for smaller items, gumtree.com for bulky items from local sellers and, of course, theBookPond.com for your essential textbooks.

5 - Sell your stuff when you're done. Don't be lazy and throw it away just because you can't be bothered to take it home with you. You have a couple of weeks between your last exam and returning home so use this time to turn your stuff into cash. Put up ads to attract interest, or take it to a second-hand shop and see if they'll buy it from you. You might not get very much, but every little helps. You'll also be doing your bit to save the planet.

More to follow when I think of them. If you have any money-saving tips to share, please add them below, or email us at joanne@thebookpond.com and we'll include them in the next instalment.

Internships - are they worth it?

I was watching a feature on BBC News this morning about the exploitation of students by using them as interns. It made me consider my own position as a graduate and how my experience has helped me to progress. I went to university as a mature student. I was 26, which is only 8 years older than most of the other students in my year, but I had a house and mortgage, a husband, and nearly a decade of work experience over pretty much every one of my peers.

http://www.internaware.org/ Intern Aware are a campaign group who want all interns to be paid the minimum wage for the work that they do. I think this is a noble idea, but whether it would work in practice is debatable. After all, there are enough unemployed people at the moment who could do what the interns do with no support, and will bring their own experience to the role. This would mean the people with experience get more experience, and those with no experience get left even further behind. The only way in to any company would be to replace someone who is retiring, and the government are even stopping the 60-somethings from jumping ship too early.

The world of work is changing all the time. When I started work at the age of 15 (in 1992 whilst still at school) and before the introduction of the minimum wage, I was paid a pittance but it kept me busy, gave me some spending money and, more importantly, meant that I had solid work experience before I'd even left school. This experience enabled me to gain an apprenticeship after I'd finished my A-Levels. Again, it was poorly paid but it provided training and experience and I soon moved on up, earning good money for a few years. Each step on the ladder helped me move up to the next one. Internships are a relatively new concept to the UK, but they are simply another step on the ladder. Yes, they may be exploitative, but what's the alternative? No-one wants to be the one who's got all the qualifications and no experience. It's a labour-buyers' market at the moment, and all experience is good experience.

At the moment, I am unable to commit to a full-time graduate position for personal reasons, which is probably just as well considering the tough competition among graduates for the few jobs there are available. I am very jealous of those foot-loose graduates with no mortgage and no children who can afford not to earn a wage for a short while. My advice to you is to get all the work experience while you are in a position to do so. This position of no job and no other commitments might not seem so advantageous to you, but trust me, there is plenty of time left. If you get the chance to do an internship in the meantime, grasp it with both hands, and enjoy it and learn from it. Onwards and upwards.

What a difference a day makes

Now I wouldn't say we didn't have faith in theBookPond project - we always knew it was a fantastic idea, but its fair to say we have been pretty deflated by the lack of interest in the site and we were beginning to question our own instincts, however.....

On the 2nd July, the site was featured on the BBC's Click! technology programme. Click! goes out four or five times over the weekend, and is available to watch on the BBC website for a whole week. On Saturday morning I was more than pleasantly surprised to find we had a spot on Webscape with the lovely Kate Russell, and since then things have been a bit mad.

We have had a surge of interest from like-minded students, and from businesses. The site has had a flurry of activity including students registering and listing books from all corners of the UK. We are much pleased. We have been overwhelmed with the lovely messages people have taken time and effort to send us. We have had everything from 'good for you' messages of support, to recommendations for improvements. We have had many people telling us they are telling all their friends about us, which is fab because the more people know about the site, the more useful it becomes.

We would like to say thank you to Click! for featuring us, and for their accurate interpretation of the site aims, and for the enthusiasm shown. It really came across well on screen and is a credit to the superb production crews a world-leading corporation like the Beeb employ.

Soon, we will be launching our poster thingy-me-bob, hopefully incorporating the recommendations that students have made, as well as other general improvements to the site itself. For now we are trawling through the numerous emails, and getting our heads round the numerous new books that have been listed.

So a massive welcome to all neew members, and a big thank you for all the support shown to us. We hope we can at least be useful, and if not, at least be interesting.