Hannah BlakeMAGAZINE JOURNALISM GRADUATE

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07908 781 078 honeyblake@msn.com

May 2011

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graduate jobs + careers advice + sector news + case studies + employer profiles +

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» accountancy Brave the jungle P.322011

» real world awards Where are you headed? P.29

Make a life, not just a living

100%

FRESH

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SPECIAL

» “we want to pay your

tuition fees”P.08

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Since we last took to the presses the graduate job market has steered its course, with some grads even welcoming the university fees rise because it could mean less competition for those prized careers in the years to come.But that’s all in the future, what is changing now is how employers relate

their two most precious commodities: graduates and cash.Hazel Blears MP recently deplored the 18,000 hours a week of

unpaid work interns do for Parliament as a way of keeping young people from poorer backgrounds for getting into parliament (full story page...NEWS). Whilst many graduates accept that unpaid internships are one of the prices they have to pay for their chosen career, Blears’ point applies to more than just politics. There are no means-tested loans to offset the cost of working for nothing for six months nor is there always the guarantee of a job at the end of it.

Bucking this trend are the subject of this issue’s Big Interview: KPMG. The professional services firm seems to have made the unpopular decision that great graduates are worth investing in and they’re taking the risk to do that, paying them from day one and even inviting returning graduates back to the student life to get the skills KPMG need.

I hope other firms copy KPMG in recognising that a degree is something that should be respected. I hope that unpaid internships see a decline in favour of early investment in graduate talent. But mostly I hope you enjoy another great issue of Real World.

Our Professional Services issue is here. Jon, Editorjon@realworldmagazine.com

EDiToRiALPublisher: Johnny Rich Editor: Jon MadgeSub-editor: Jen Clark Writer-Researchers: Hannah Blake, Alex Lane, Alice Lewis, Hina Shahzad, Tom StoreySALESAndrea Moretti

MARkETinG AnD DiSTRiBuTion MAnAGERJames Munday GRAPHiC DESiGnLuke Merryweather

CLiEnT SERViCES MAnAGER Marie Tasle

FounDER Darius norell

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no part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher. We cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs or for material lost or damaged in the post. The views in this publication or on our website are not necessarily those held by the publisher.

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Make a life, not just a living

At Real World we believe you should have a job that you want to get out of bed for. You should be doing something that’s going to inspire you, reward you and challenge you for the next 50 years. We help you do what you enjoy and enjoy what you do. We want to be the ones to tell you about the job opportunity that’ll change your life. And we want to help you to get that job and then succeed without limits.

Real World is more than just a magazine. We’re leaders in graduate employment research. We train people how to raise their game. Everything we do is about helping you understand your career, kick-starting it and developing it. After all, apart from sleeping, you’ll spend more time working than doing anything else in your life.

We want you to make a good living, but we also want you to make a good life in the process. No sugar-coating and no dry job jargon – Real World tells it like it is. Just the best facts, advice and opportunities.

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news*advice*strategiesNEWS

Over the last ten years, new graduates have been setting a trend for flocking to the South East in search of jobs after shelving their textbooks.

However, according to a report published by think tank The Work Foundation, graduates are now more likely to stay put after graduation. The report suggests that a lack of money in the public sector has put a damper on graduates’ mobility. As a result, more graduates are kept in areas such as Wales, North England and the Midlands.

For example, between 2001 and 2009 the number of graduates opting to stay in Wales after university increased, compared to a decrease in London over the same period. This new pattern has developed against a background of a decrease of 90,000 young people in employment in the last quarter.

Commenting on the report, Ian Brinkley, director of socio-economic programmes at the Work Foundation, said “Young people’s employment will not recover significantly until employers start hiring them again in significant numbers and that depends on the overall state of the economy. The government needs to look again at encouraging more apprenticeships and paid intern placements.”

After graduation, where are you going?

Finding ways to pay those niggling bills and meet your living costs while writing a dissertation or finding your feet on a masters course is always a bit of a juggling act.

Living on leftover beans is hardly ideal, but you also don’t want your CV to suffer when earning much-needed cash takes the focus off your studies.

A duo from Cambridge have hit upon a solution to this dilemma and launched a walking tour of their city and neighbouring Oxford.

Oxbridge Tours, as the company is known, was set up to give students a chance to earn some cash and also develop some great skills leading tours of the university cities. Who better to give a tour that includes the sites of the invention of the computer and the discovery of DNA than the next generation of engineers, medics or

cultural whizzkids?“We wanted to give something back

to Cambridge by showing visitors what a fantastic place this is to study in,” said Andrey Pronin, Director of Oxbridge Tours. Fellow founder and the company’s CEO, Christopher Dobbing added, “It’s really important to us that fellow students are able to meet the costs of studying and also meet their academic commitments. We restrict our guides to four hours per week during term time.”

Cambridge pair launch walking tours to meet the costs of study

There are few areas of life social media hasn’t dipped its toe into, and the trend is reaching job applicants.

Social media has become a part of job hunting in a big way, from business networking websites like LinkedIn to employers checking out future employees on Facebook. Now York St John University has taken the process a step further with an experiment on Twitter aimed at graduate job-seekers.

The experiment uses hashtags (flagged-up posts on a common topic) to make graduates easily searchable to employers. Graduates

add “#gradjobseeker” to the beginning of a message that describes them and where they want to work. Employers can then view all of these ‘mini CVs’ with just a click of a button, hopefully leading to better job opportunities for all.

Being Twitter, graduates would be limited to 140 characters per post - a challenge for fans of the lengthy CV.

Will you find your next job on twitter?

of UK graduates move away from their place of residence to get a job.

Source: Cutting the Apron Strings? The Clustering of Young Graduates and the Role of the Public

Sector published by the Work Foundation

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Are apprenticeships the new degrees?

The ever-returning issue of internships has reared its head again in recent weeks, re-posing the question of whether paying interns should become normal practice.

A report published last year by the CIPD showed the percentage of companies taking on interns rose from 13% to over 20%. Half of those paid their interns the national minimum wage.

But paid internships are still far from common. In Parliament, for example, unpaid interns put in an estimated 18,000 hours a week, a figure that helps explain Labour MP Hazel Blears’ recent criticism of unpaid internships in Parliament as a barrier to politics for poorer graduates and those who live outside London.

Her comments came in the same week as a Conservative party fundraiser was criticised for auctioning off prestigious internships for as much as £14,000.

Internships are in demand, particularly in the competitive world of politics. But is it fair to expect graduates to work for free in return for experience?

Chris Winstanley, head of marketing for website designers Basekit, put forward the argument for smaller businesses. He described internships as “An effective way to low-cost recruitment. As internships are often unpaid, they are cost-effective resources, who often place themselves in the pipeline of permanent employees by showing drive and understanding.”

Go to www.realworldmagazine.com/news for all the latest graduate news including:

What the latest budget means for graduate jobs• The rise of the international student•

Studying for an apprenticeship? If not, maybe you should be. According to City & Guilds, the vocational awarding organisation, apprentices are more likely to be employed than graduates.

Recent research found that out of more than 500 employers, 89% consider that for the next two years apprentices could be the key ingredient to their businesses’ success. Apprenticeships have become an extremely competitive market as vocational education is fast becoming the new way to learn and earn, due to an extra £1.4 billion in funding available from the Government.

Figures released last month by the Office for National Statistics show that unemployment amongst young people in the UK rose from 32,000 to 951,000, the highest it has been in over 20 years. The extra funding will allow businesses to run apprenticeship schemes, in the light of these increasing levels of unemployment. A particular emphasis has been placed on the South West as their extra funding will secure an additional 10,000 apprenticeship places per year until 2015.

Time for interns to get paid?

Correction: In an article in the last issue of Real World, on the NUS Graduate Extra card, we said it only costs £11. In fact the card is £30, which is still a great deal for all the money it saves you on meals out, nightlife and other essentials.

37%of employers pay their interns less than the national minimum wage

or not at all.Source: Internships: to pay or not to pay?

Published by the CIPD

Curriculum Vitae

Name: Hannah Elizabeth BlakeD.O.B: 12th January 1990

Address: 47 Rosebushes, Epsom, Surrey, KT17 3NTMob No: 07908781078

Email: honeyblake@msn.com

Personal Profile

I am in my third year of university where I am studying for a BA (Hons) in Magazine Journalism and Feature Writing. I consider myself to be a punctual, determined and amiable person who enjoys and thrives off the media, celebrity culture and current affairs of today. I’m quick thinking and confident when undertaking a creative task and I work well under pressure, completing any task given before the deadline as precisely to the set brief as I can. I can write creatively for any genre or audience and use available market research appropriately. I enjoy working independently or as a team, and I apply myself in a professional and organized manner.

Personal Development

During my degree I have explored a wide range of journalistic skills and design ideas suitable for work within the media environment. I have a good working knowledge of both PCs and Macs and programmes such as Microsoft Word.

My coursework has covered a variety of magazine markets including; travel writing, food writing, men’s, women’s lifestyle, fashion and teen magazines and more. This shows that I can write consistently for an intended audience successfully, no matter how much or little I currently know about each subject. I am able to do this through research, interviewing, and a determination to complete a brief to a high standard.

I have learnt how to write for print and online journalism. After a unit of Magazine Design, I have some knowledge of design programs such as Quark, InDesign and Dreamweaver and as part of my coursework created and edited my own teen magazine. Photography has been another skill I have learnt and I now have the ability to use a digital SLR and Photoshop, and have experimented with studios, lighting and props.

Work Experience

Work experience at Company magazine and Wanderlust magazine are arranged for May 2011.

Sunday Times Travel Magazine, 28th March – 8th April 2011

Real World Magazine, 7th – 18th February 2011

Famous Features, 24th – 28th January 2011

Company Magazine, 25th and 26th November 2010

Mother and Baby and Pregnancy and Birth Magazines, 8th – 19th November 2010

Inside Soap Magazine, 1st – 4th June 2010

Mother and Baby and Pregnancy and Birth Magazines, 17th – 28th May 2010

Previous Employment

Epsom College, 2009-2010, Domestic Assistant

The Stationary Office, 2008, Work Experience

Sainsburys, 2007 -2009, Checkout Assistant

Greenacre School Pioneer Magazine, 2007 – 2008, School Prefect

Education

Southampton Solent University 2008 - 2011BA (Hons) Magazine Journalism and Feature Writing (Currently in 3nd year) Greenacre School for Girls 1996 - 20084 A-Levels10 GCSE’s Grade A and above