No relevant experience, no internship planned, Going into 3rd year. What do I do?

Same position as you. In third year and have limited work experience or internships, aside from things I did before coming to university.

I've applied for graduate schemes that are less competitive and have somewhat positive results, although nothing has been confirmed yet.

If all else fails I will likely move abroad and do a TEFL course or working holiday visa in Canada or New Zealand.

Reply 2

Original post by AIex4

Hi,

I'm about to finish the second year of my BSc Economics and Accounting degree at a decent uni (top 30). The problem is I have no 'relevant' work experience and I have no internships/placements planned. I've worked in retail and I'm part of a uni society, but I'm afraid that these aren't going to be enough to help get me a job out of uni. I was hoping to break into the finance industry (maybe tax/audit etc) or accounting, or maybe even government economics, but I feel like missing out on internships has really hurt my chances at this. If anyone has been in a similar position, please give me some advice on what you did or what you think I should do?

Thanks

Hi. I'm a Chartered Accountant and do recruit graduate accountants - plus have plenty of friends who do the same. Could you expand a little on your experience in retail and what you do in the university society?

Oh, and did you apply for internships and if so how did you get on with the applications?

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

OP

Original post by ajj2000

Hi. I'm a Chartered Accountant and do recruit graduate accountants - plus have plenty of friends who do the same. Could you expand a little on your experience in retail and what you do in the university society?

Oh, and did you apply for internships and if so how did you get on with the applications?

Hi,

I worked for a local cafe in the summer between my first and second year, and worked at Holland and Barrett while doing my A-levels. I'll be the treasurer for a sports society at my university over my third year. I actually got to an assessment centre (final stage) for a placement year which was for Audit, but it fell through. Apart from that I've applied to as many opportunities as I can but I haven't heard anything back yet, I'm still waiting on a few.

Reply 4

OP

Original post by Thisismyunitsr

Same position as you. In third year and have limited work experience or internships, aside from things I did before coming to university.

I've applied for graduate schemes that are less competitive and have somewhat positive results, although nothing has been confirmed yet.

If all else fails I will likely move abroad and do a TEFL course or working holiday visa in Canada or New Zealand.

This is what I'm worrying about, i've heard that graduate jobs are extremely competitive now. Good luck with the TEFL course if that is what you decide to do

Reply 5

Original post by AIex4

Hi,

I worked for a local cafe in the summer between my first and second year, and worked at Holland and Barrett while doing my A-levels. I'll be the treasurer for a sports society at my university over my third year. I actually got to an assessment centre (final stage) for a placement year which was for Audit, but it fell through. Apart from that I've applied to as many opportunities as I can but I haven't heard anything back yet, I'm still waiting on a few.

Cool - if you got to the assessment centre does that mean you got through the aptitude tests? Any work lined up for this summer?

Which part of the country will you be looking for work in?

Reply 6

OP

Original post by ajj2000

Cool - if you got to the assessment centre does that mean you got through the aptitude tests? Any work lined up for this summer?

Which part of the country will you be looking for work in?

Yeah I got through the aptitude tests, got down to a final 5 at the assessment centre but I didn't get the role. I've applied to internships in my area for this summer, I'll probably just go back to the cafe job if I can't find one. It's up north, closest city is Leeds but it's about 45 minutes on the train, which is what makes it even harder for me to find finance internships...

Reply 7

Original post by AIex4

Yeah I got through the aptitude tests, got down to a final 5 at the assessment centre but I didn't get the role. I've applied to internships in my area for this summer, I'll probably just go back to the cafe job if I can't find one. It's up north, closest city is Leeds but it's about 45 minutes on the train, which is what makes it even harder for me to find finance internships...

Good luck with your applications. I'll try to write some notes tomorrow.

Make sure you do something this summer which augments your applications. Work in busy team environments is always good. Absolutely avoid doing nothing - as a fall back charities, summer resort work etc should be on your radar.

Reply 8

OP

Original post by ajj2000

Good luck with your applications. I'll try to write some notes tomorrow.

Make sure you do something this summer which augments your applications. Work in busy team environments is always good. Absolutely avoid doing nothing - as a fall back charities, summer resort work etc should be on your radar.

Hi, thank you, and thanks for the advice, i've been looking into volunteering work and I'm going to call or email pretty much anywhere I can to try to get some shadowing work.

Reply 9

Thisismyunitsr

Original post by AIex4

This is what I'm worrying about, i've heard that graduate jobs are extremely competitive now. Good luck with the TEFL course if that is what you decide to do

Graduate jobs are competitive because there are more graduates than there are job in this country. This has been happening for the last 20 years so it is not a new phenomenon.

I would also seriously recommend looking into apprenticeships.

Reply 10

0le

21

Original post by AIex4

Hi,

I'm about to finish the second year of my BSc Economics and Accounting degree at a decent uni (top 30). The problem is I have no 'relevant' work experience and I have no internships/placements planned. I've worked in retail and I'm part of a uni society, but I'm afraid that these aren't going to be enough to help get me a job out of uni. I was hoping to break into the finance industry (maybe tax/audit etc) or accounting, or maybe even government economics, but I feel like missing out on internships has really hurt my chances at this. If anyone has been in a similar position, please give me some advice on what you did or what you think I should do?

Thanks

Internships can be useful but not having one will not prevent you from getting a job. You have done a lot of good things already and you are correctly asking the right questions (what should I do after my degree?) and at the right time.

You already have a few extra curricular activities. These are fine. What you may want to do from here is:

1.

Start applying to jobs at the beginning of your third year

2.

Mention transferrable skills, which you gained from those extra curricular activities and university projects, in your CV

3.

Demonstrate and write achievements in your CV where possible, rather than statements alone, i.e. instead of saying "Played chess at university society club", say "Reached finals of chess tournament at University society club".

Reply 11

Original post by AIex4

Yeah I got through the aptitude tests, got down to a final 5 at the assessment centre but I didn't get the role. I've applied to internships in my area for this summer, I'll probably just go back to the cafe job if I can't find one. It's up north, closest city is Leeds but it's about 45 minutes on the train, which is what makes it even harder for me to find finance internships...

I know that area pretty well - I might be able to come up with some suggestions if you let me know where you are and which university you are studying at.

If you got through the aptitude tests you know you are well set. Getting a relevant internship would be great - a year in industry even better - but I think the summer schemes can sometimes be a bit overvalued. The reality is that you don't learn a lot during that time - it doesn't really count as 'experience' when people review your CV. A good scheme can lead to an offer of graduate employment so that certainly something you can aim for - its a multi week interview process.

Often when applying for jobs you are asked to display competencies both on application forms and in interviews. In a lot of ways busy 'real' jobs help more in demonstrating your aptitude. Thats why I suggest retail or hospitality type work. These should give plenty of strong examples of working in a team, dealing with difficult customers and colleagues, working for a manager etc.

It is also important to come across as a busy, energetic and involved person. Thus you do want to focus on having proper experiences each summer as a minimum plus some hobbies and interests you can talk about. Likewise, showing that you have a real interest in the profession can help. A good way to do that is to visit your university careers office and attend a few short sessions (generally between one day to a week long) with relevant employers so you can note these on your CV.

As noted above - you want to be ready to apply for grad jobs with great application forms and being prepared for aptitude tests as soon as the jobs open for applications in September. These are not university applications. Applying early can make a real difference.

Reply 12

Proxenus

21

i have never worked by managed to get into 26 assessment centres. the key is to use a skill based cv and also lie about a society project. for example i said i was part of a porject that builds solar powered light source using plastic bottles. i reheased it so mnay times it was real in mmy head

Reply 13

Thisismyunitsr