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Welcome to your employability newsletter

Welcome!
It’s great to be back with the first edition of the College of Social Sciences and International Studies Employability newsletter for 2016/17. In the Employability newsletter is all the information you need to know about the bespoke careers activities that the College’s Employability team arrange for you. As you will read, we have been busy this summer finding lots of interesting alumni to come back and talk to you about a variety of careers. These are valuable networking opportunities so don’t miss out! The newsletter also covers some of the key careers initiatives that are open to all students. We have a section for you to contribute to, whether you are a brand ambassador with a message to get out, or a society that wants to advertise an event. Send details to us and we’ll do our best to feature your event. Finally, we continue with our series of alumni profiles from recent alumni with stories to inspire you about finding your own career path. I hope you enjoy the newsletter and wish you all the best for the busy start of term.

Julia Paci, Employability and Outreach Manager, SSIS

Upcoming Careers Events in the College

  • The Law on Data - exploring a career in this specialist area of law with Travers Smith

Date: Thursday 29th September

Time: 4:30 - 5:30pm

Venue: Streatham Court, Lecture Theatre B

The Law on Data is providing some interesting areas for career development. Travers Smith provides data protection advice to clients in a diverse range of sectors, covering retail, financial services, online start- ups, pension funds and insurance. Our speakers will provide insights in to this complex area of work and you will have the opportunity to ask questions about law and data.

For more information and to book onto this event, please visit: http://ex.ac.uk/aw2

  • What I did with my Politics and International Relations degree

Date: Thursday 13th October

Time: 5:30 - 6:30pm

Venue: Amory C501

Hear from an exciting panel of Politics and International Relations alumni as they speak about their career journey since graduating from Exeter. Our panellists will reflect on their own experiences of working in the charity, development and government sectors and share any tips and advice on how you can also get into their career sector.

For more information and to book onto this event, please visit: http://ex.ac.uk/axb

  • Alternative Careers for Law Students

Date: Tuesday 18th October

Time: 5:30 - 6:30pm

Venue: Building:One, Bateman Lecture Theatre

If you are not sure where you want your law degree to take you, come along to hear from our panel of alumni on how they have used their law degree to follow an alternative career in law. With experience in insurance, banking, Government, academia and working in the Middle East, this is a great opportunity to start exploring your options for when you graduate!

For more information and to book onto this event, please visit: http://ex.ac.uk/awC

Student Section

Exciting Job Opportunity:

“Great for my CV, friendly atmosphere, new friends and earning money too! If I enjoy my next part-time job has as much as this one, I’ll be happy!”

We are recruiting students to work on our telephone fundraising campaign in October-November. We are looking for 55 student callers with excellent communication skills and a passion for the University. No previous experience is necessary as full training will be provided.

Pay is £8.25 per hour and you will gain valuable skills through talking to former students who have gone on to do great things with their careers, raising money for fellow students and having lots of fun. Recent campaigns have been the most successful that Exeter has ever run.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday 5th October at 5pm. Please note that you need to have studied at Exeter for at least one term. Please click here to find out more information and apply online.

Questions? Email annualfund@exeter.ac.uk

Casual Jobs and Internships Fair:

Date: Tuesday 4th October

Time: 11 - 2pm

Venue: Forum

The fair is open to all students looking for work experience whilst they study. Come along to find opportunities such as part-time work on and off campus, internships in the local area and much more! For more information on who will be at the fair, please click here.

What's new in the Career Zone

Upcoming Events:

Employer Presentation - Johnson & Johnson

Date: Wednesday 28th September

Time: 6:00 - 7:00pm

Venue: Streatham Court, Lecture Theatre D

Come along to find out more about us and what opportunities are available for you.

For more information and to book onto this event, please visit: http://ex.ac.uk/axs

Employer Skills Session with Sky - Assessment Centres

Date: Monday 26th September

Time: 1:30 - 2:30pm

Venue: Queens Building, Room LT6.1

In this session we’re keen to cover preparation hints and tips, discuss a typical assessment centre set-up and give you as much guidance and knowledge as possible to help give you the best chance at securing your dream job.

For more information and to book onto this event, please visit: http://ex.ac.uk/axt

Global Showcase
If you are interested in either working or studying abroad during your studies or after graduation, do come along to this year’s Global Showcase which will be running on-campus from 31st October – 4th November. The Global Showcase will feature international employer presentations, interactive workshops and information about both working and studying abroad. It will also offer advice for International student studying here in the UK on how to make the most of your Exeter experience.

Alongside the Global Showcase, we will also be hosting the International Virtual Careers Fair from 31st October – 13th November. This is our opportunity to view all our international jobs in one online jobs portal for 10 days, 24/7. Jobs will be visible by sector and location so you can see in one click all that is available in the area or country that you are interested in.

You can find full details of all events and sign-up details at www.exeter.ac.uk/globalshowcase [Please note this webpage is due to go live on Friday 23rd September].

Alumni Focus: What SSIS Students do next...

Ben Chester Cheong (LL.B., 2014) Trainee Lawyer, Shook Lin & Bok LLP

1. How did your degree prepare you in terms of further study and your career?

The legal skills, the research methodology and the independent learning skills which I acquired at Exeter in the process of completing my dissertation prepared me tremendously for the LL.M. at Cambridge. The experience made me highly adaptable and able to learn new areas of law quickly.

I remembered attending several career events at Exeter with magic circle and other law firms. Partners from the law firms advised us to do well in law school and to be well-prepared for the interviews. They also offered a presentation on interview skills. I thought it was particularly helpful that the firm had some of the partners who previously studied at Exeter to share their own unique experiences.

Besides career events that I have attended, the law school also regularly invited ex-alumni as guest speakers to speak on their areas of expertise during the guest lectures and I found that particularly helpful as it provided an insight into the various career pathways and opportunities available to Exeter law students upon graduation.

2. Tell us about your training contract and future career plans

Singapore has a fused legal profession, so one would qualify as both a barrister and a solicitor at the same time. The process for qualifying as an advocate & solicitor in Singapore is slightly different for overseas law graduates. I am currently serving out my relevant legal training with Shook Lin & Bok LLP.

I applied for training contracts with various Singapore law firms about 1 month after I started out my LL.M. at Cambridge. It particularly helped that I was a first class graduate at Exeter and I achieved one of the top positions in my year. This helped to ensure that my applications were very competitive. I went through a Skype interview with the hiring partner which went very well and the partner made me the offer of a training contract after the call. I remembered being very happy on securing the training contact.

I intend to qualify as a solicitor in at least one jurisdiction and, at the moment, this would be Singapore. My long-term interest is to obtain a PhD in law. I think legal research/academic life is a highly satisfying and fulfilling experience. I have not thought of what area I would like to complete a PhD in, but I am certainly very interested in both corporate and public law.

3. What advice would you give to current students who may want to follow in your footsteps?

To do well in law school, one must read very widely and from various legal resources. For many law subjects, there are copious amounts of legal literature on it. My advice is not to stick with one textbook but to use various textbooks in tandem to expound and consolidate the learning process.

To improve understanding on a particular topic, read the journals as well as other textbooks. I personally think that the onerous reading lists reflect the demands of law practice. As a trainee, the hours are long and the workload can be heavy at times. Law school is a good training and preparatory stage for a legal career and if one can keep to the reading lists and prepare for all the tutorials and lectures, I think this would put them in good stead for law practice. The long hours that one has to put in as a law student is quite reflective of the reality of practice life and I think that law school is a good training ground in that aspect.

If you are interested in applying for an LLM like Ben, we have an upcoming event on 'How to apply for Law Grad School'. Details can be found in our events column above.