It’s that time of the year again. The chocolate has been eaten, exams are looming, and whether you’ve already started applying for jobs/internships, or have yet to send off a single application, the question of what you’re going to do with our long summer is difficult to avoid.
Some people have already got their plans in place; I know people who are planning on spending three months back-packing or inter-railing, and people who are going back to the job they’ve had since they were sixteen.
The rest of us, however, are pretty much all in the same position: scouring the internet for jobs, sending off applications, and hoping for at least a couple of responses. Here are some tips for dealing with applications, interviews, and, unfortunately, rejection.
1) Don’t get worked up about interviews. Easier said than done, I know, but rather than going into an interview worrying that you’ll do something wrong, take it an opportunity to gain experience of being in an interview environment. My first interview was a bit of a shambles: I only had the email addresses of my references rather than telephone numbers (which was what they wanted), I didn’t know my building society roll number…although I felt better than the guy next to me, who’d forgotten all forms of photo ID: the one thing they stipulated was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to bring to the interview. Oops. However, two things are key here: firstly, that I got the job (so the week of beating myself up going over all of the silly things I said was unnecessary), and secondly, now that I know what they like you to have for an interview, I have a pack of papers sitting ready to take to any job interview, which includes everything I could possibly need, to make sure future interviews go more smoothly.
2) Secondly, have a think about what it is that you want to apply for. I know a lot of people who are applying for unpaid internships, because they’re a brilliant way to get your foot on the career ladder in an industry that isn’t offering jobs; at least not temporary ones for students. Personally, I feel it’s important not to feel forced into an internship. At the moment, I have no idea what kind of career I want, no idea what sort of industry I want to work in, and to be perfectly honest, would much have a summer job and get paid than do an internship, despite their popularity. A paid job vs. an internship is a completely individual decision. It’s important to decide what you want to do, what you feel would benefit you most, and – of course – what opportunities are available.
3) Don’t restrict yourself too much in terms of what you apply for. In the last few years I’ve applied for a job I thought I was overqualified for, and a job I thought I was significantly underqualified for. I was offered both of them. It’s important to be realistic with your applications (probably not much point applying for a position as a CEO at nineteen, unless you really are more qualified than the average teenager), but that doesn’t mean that just because a job you’re interested in states that applicants with experience in this field or that field would be desirable, that you don’t stand a chance. A qualification that they say is desirable, or preferred, does not mean that if you don’t have it, that they’ll immediately reject your application. Who knows – maybe no one else who’s applied has that qualification or experience either, in which case, you actually stand a pretty good chance.
4) Finally, and I can’t stress this enough, if you want advice or have questions about applying for jobs, whether it’s summer jobs, internships, or the ever important question of what you’re going to do after university, use the careers advice service!! The Bristol University Careers website is a brilliant starting point: have a browse at http://www.bris.ac.uk/careers/index.asp. The service also offers you the option of getting in touch with them and meeting with a careers advisor. You don’t have to have a huge, life changing plan to discuss with them: if you’re uncertain about anything, pop in and have a chat. Remember, Bristol University provides a huge host of services. If you think one of them would benefit you – use it!