Amy Wiggins and Natalie Smith Careers and Employability Service University of Kent
What support can you get from the Careers and Employability Service? Options after graduation Careers with Animal Science Job searching CVs Covering letters Application forms
Website: www.kent.ac.uk/ces Social media: www.facebook.com/ukmemployability
www.twitter.com/ukmemploy
Appointments Email:
[email protected] Telephone: 01634 202983 Careers Employability Award
Employment related to animal science
Further study
Volunteering Travelling
Employment in a different sector
In pairs/threes write down as many jobs as you can think of that are related to animal science.
0:01 0:02 0:03 0:04 0:05 0:06 0:07 0:08 0:09 0:10 0:11 0:12 0:13 0:14 0:15 0:16 0:17 0:18 0:19 0:20 0:21 0:22 0:23 0:24 0:25 0:26 0:27 0:28 0:29 0:30 0:31 0:32 0:33 0:34 0:35 0:36 0:37 0:38 0:39 0:40 0:41 0:42 0:43 0:44 0:45 0:46 0:47 0:48 0:49 0:50 0:51 0:52 0:53 0:54 0:55 0:56 0:57 0:58 0:59 1:00 1:01 1:02 1:03 1:04 1:05 1:06 1:07 1:08 1:09 1:10 1:11 1:12 1:13 1:14 1:15 1:16 1:17 1:18 1:19 1:20 1:21 1:22 1:23 1:24 1:25 1:26 1:27 1:28 1:29 1:30 1:31 1:32 1:33 1:34 1:35 1:36 1:37 1:38 1:39 1:40 1:41 1:42 1:43 1:44 1:45 1:46 1:47 1:48 1:49 1:50 1:51 1:52 1:53 1:54 1:55 1:56 1:57 1:58 1:59 2:00 End
Keeper – Wingham Wildlife Park Keeper - Cheetah Rehabilitation Centre Pet Advisor Animal Helper - Dog’s Trust Veterinary Assistant Animal Technician – MidKent College Zoo Keeper – Howletts Wild Animal Park
Nature conservation officer Science writer Animal nutritionist Farm manager Animal technologist Animal nutritionist Animal care worker Animal technician Assistance dog trainer Countryside officer Countryside ranger Dog handler Farrier Horse groom Horse riding instructor Ornithologist
Pet behaviour counsellor Riding holiday centre manager Riding holiday leader RSPCA or SSPCA inspector Veterinary nurse Zookeeper Zoologist Dog groomer Fish farmer
www.prospects.ac.uk https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk http://www.animal-job.co.uk/#Latest_Vacancies http://www.biaza.org.uk/careers/Vacancies/ http://www.prospects.ac.uk/gap_year_opportunities.htm Organisation websites e.g. http://www.rspca.org.uk/inaction/careers/-/article/EM_Careers Speculative approach
Curriculum Vitae (Latin: the course of one’s life)
An outline of a person’s educational and professional history
What is the purpose of a CV?
• •
To inform the employer about your education, work experience, skills and interests To ‘sell’ these qualities and to persuade the employer to invite you to interview
When an employer asks for a CV When an employer states ‘apply to…’ without specifying the format When making speculative applications
On average how long does a recruiter spend looking at a CV? a. b. c.
0-30 seconds 30 seconds – 1 minute 1-2 minutes
Look at the job advert for ‘Biological Field Technician’. You will be given two CVs and you will have 20 seconds to look at each one and decide which one you would invite to an interview.
End 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
End 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Which one did you choose and why?
•
•
It is not ‘one size fits all’, you need to tailor your CV to each position you apply for.
Research the company. Do they have a mission statement or core values? What will they be looking for in you? Check the job description/person specification.
Name (as a heading rather than ‘CV’)
Address
Telephone number
Email address Make sure this is a professional email address, not
‘
[email protected]’
Start with the most recent
Don’t forget your current study Mention relevant modules You might like to mention top marks
You don’t have to put your grades on if you weren’t happy with them
Include the years of study
Primary school not needed
Education and Qualifications 2011 – Present
University of Kent BSc (Hons) Animal Science (Predicted 2:1) Modules include: Animal Adaptations, Clinical Animal Behaviour, Conservation and Wildlife Heritage. Highlights include: • African safari field trip. • Project at Howletts Wild Animal Park.
2009 – 2011
Maidstone Grammar School A-levels: Biology (B), Geography (C), Spanish (C)
2005 – 2009
Wrotham School GCSEs: 8 GCSEs grade A-C including English and Mathematics
Dates, name of company, position, location.
Don’t just list your duties – sell your skills and provide evidence. Which skills are relevant to the position/company you are applying to?
April 2010 – June 2011
Sales Assistant
Museum of Kent Life, Maidstone
• Delivered excellent customer service as demonstrated by my mystery shop result of 91% and by receiving ‘Sales Assistant of the Month’ award three times. • Achieved a sales result of 5% above my target illustrating my advanced selling skills, as well as my determination to succeed.
What examples can you give from your work experience? If you have no paid work experience, give examples from voluntary work or from your course
created instructed analysed produced
negotiated designed calculated maintained administered controlled reviewed observed consolidated delivered founded increased studied invented supplied detected programmed recommended distributed developed solved prepared installed selected arranged formulated solved started
Choose interests and activities which can demonstrate skills relevant to the job such as: • Team work • Organising • Commitment • Your intellectual abilities • Your personality • Your artistic ability
Ideally, one academic and previous/current employer.
Ask permission from your referee and let them know what position(s) you’ve applied for.
Use relevant references if possible.
You can say ‘references available on request’ rather than including contact details if you wish.
The first visual impression of your CV is important
For standard CVs, use plain white A4 paper
Do not double side
Keep your CV to one or two sides of paper
Check your spelling
Use bullet points and bold font but in moderation
Formatting – make sure it’s consistent
Size 10-12 font (depending on font style)
Clear font e.g. Arial, Calibri
2:1, not Two One or 2,1
Use short, concise sentences
My hobbits include - instead of 'hobbies.'
I have good writen skills.
i am a prefectionist and rarely if if ever forget details.
I hope to hear from you shorty.
In my spare time I enjoy hiding my horse.
Restaurant skills: Severing customers
Never send a ‘naked’ CV!
1 side of A4 – similar to a UCAS personal statement
Opening paragraph – motivation for the job
Followed by skills and experience developed through study, work experience and paid work
‘Matching up’ with job description
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/covering_letters.htm
STAR
Explain a time where you have worked successfully in a team…
Situation
During the summer vacation of 2012, I volunteered for Kent Wildlife Trust in their marketing department, working in a team of four people.
Task
We were asked to develop a social media page to promote events and volunteering opportunities.
Action
Result
I had the responsibility of researching which platform would be best for this type of marketing, and presented my findings to the group. We chose to create a Facebook page. Having found that pages with regular picture uploads receive more views and have more followers, I took on the role of Picture Researcher. I ensured each team member had the photographs they needed for their posts. By the end of the summer, our Facebook page had 240 followers, event attendance rose by 10% and we recruited five new volunteers through the Facebook page.
www.kent.ac.uk/ces
[email protected]
