Summer down by the
River Wear, Durham.

Welcome to the Summer 2013 edition of the DUBS Alumni Network e-newsletter.

The Alumni Relations Team would like to offer our congratulations and extend a warm welcome to those newly graduated members of the DUBS Alumni Network! To ensure that you are able to access the great package of alumni benefits and resources available on our website, please contact the Alumni Relations Team to request your Member ID.

For those looking to secure their next role, you will be aware that it can sometimes be more about “who you know rather than what you know”. This is where building your network of contacts is becoming increasing important. Career expert, Amit De’s, article ‘Supercharge Your Job Search through Networking’ offers some useful tips and hints on how to use this network to its best effect. You can expand your own professional network by joining our DUBS alumni LinkedIn and Facebook groups.

In this edition, we focus on career resources and support with articles such as '10 Minutes With....' to get noticed by top employers!' and 'Questions to ask at an Informational Interview' aimed at aiding those looking for a job. For those alumni in employment looking to build upon their existing skills, we feature articles on the Business School's new set of Executive Programmes and the 'Top Tips for Salary Negotiation'.

Also in this edition are our usual features including our pick of international job opportunities and our upcoming events listings featuring our D8 master-class events hosted in USA, Canada and India as well as our upcoming DUBS alumni reunion weekend in Durham.

For those considering working or studying abroad, the Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre (CEEC) web pages offer opportunities through a partner organisation, Prospects. Prospects produces useful information about working and studying in more than 50 countries across the world in its ‘Country Profiles’ section. This is just one of the worldwide information resources you can access as alumni of Durham University.

As always we hope you find this e-newsletter interesting and informative. Your feedback is invaluable. We look forward to meeting many of you in the coming months during our trips to Toronto, New York, Mumbai, Washington, San Francisco and New Delhi.

The Alumni Relations Team

'10 Minutes With...' is also a valuable recruitment tool.

Use '10 Minutes With....' to get noticed by top employers!

'10 Minutes With...' is an educational website designed to help students and graduates understand the true nature of different jobs and identify the career paths that most suit them.

One of the most important things when planning a career is to research the options that are available in the market. This includes exploring a variety of career opportunities and researching the day-to-day realities of different roles. As a student it is not always easy to gather this information and choices are often made with very little insight into the true nature of different jobs. '10 Minutes With...' allows students and graduates to learn directly from the voice of professionals in the fields. The interviews are designed to highlight the unique elements of various positions, including skills requirements, development opportunities, challenges, rewards, earning potential.

Organisations also use '10 Minutes With...' as a channel to source candidates from the top universities and business schools. To enable your profile to be viewed by potential employers you must allow for your profile to become "visible" to companies, this will occur when it is 80% complete.

For more information or to set up your '10 Minutes With...' profile please visit the 'Sectors' section of the alumni website.

Visit our complete range of eBooks here.

Top Tips for Salary Negotiation

When negotiating your salary package it’s important to know your market and market value. Research and understand what the normal market rate is, what the spectrum and range of salaries are for your field of expertise and where you fit within that spectrum.

• Find out about salaries of people in similar roles at your new company, or individuals who hold equivalent positions at your current/previous organisation.
• Call up different recruitment agencies to find out what salaries the employers they work with usually offer to candidates.
• Consider what elements of the package are important to you and find out what areas are negotiable (e.g. salary, shares, options, hours, vacation time, etc.).
• Find out who the budget holder is - our boss or someone else (e.g. HR) and focus on building a relationship with them.

DUBS Alumni Network members can access the full eBook ‘Get Paid Right, from the Start!’ on the ‘Webinars and eBooks’ section of the alumni website. There is also a range of webinars on topics such as ‘Making a Career Change’, ‘Networking for Success’ and ‘Getting into Senior Roles’.

Read the Spring edition of the TopMBA Career QS Global eGuide here.

TopMBA Career eGuide Spring 2013- MBA Jobs & Salary Trends

The Spring edition of the ‘TopMBA Career QS Global eGuide’ brought to you by QS Global Workplace is now available to read online. If you're in the throes of your job search, having spent either 1 or 2 years at the Business School, standing out to employers is a priority. This season’s eGuide aids readers with some handy tips including how to innovate your CV and, in the process, effectively showcase yourself and why targeting MBA employers early is a sure way to reap invaluable rewards.

Aditionally this issue contains the QS Top MBA Jobs and Salary Trends Report on page 12 detailing all the job opportunities and worldwide hiring trends for MBA graduates. All registered students and alumni may access the 2012/2013 Jobs and Salary Report by logging into their Global Workplace account.

Visit the website to view the full range of Executive Masters programmes here.

Durham University Business School introduces its new Executive Programmes

Offering blended learning solutions that meet true professional development needs, our programmes deliver immediate high-impact results for the individual and the organisation.

Aimed at managers who want to enhance their skills and knowledge, the following MA programmes are now recruiting to start at the end of September 2013:

• Executive MA in HRM
• Executive MA in Management

Combining academic rigour with real-world business relevance, our thirty-month programmes offer world-class management education. All instruction is provided by leading members of Durham faculty at the frontiers of business and management knowledge. Both programmes are delivered via a combination of residential workshops in Durham and online instruction through our state-of-the-art virtual learning environment, enabling participants to fit their learning around their life.  Moreover, with access to careers support services, professional development activities and a dedicated Personal Tutor, participants will be guaranteed a truly world-class executive education experience throughout. 

These could be the perfect developmental programmes for you, or your colleagues.

For more information about our Executive Masters, including how to apply, click here.

Read the latest careers tips and news in our Careers Newsroom. 

Questions to ask at an Informational Interview

Informational interviews are a great way to build a picture of an occupation, company and/or industry. They are also an excellent opportunity to expand your network and practice your interview technique.

However, unlike a normal interview, the emphasis will be on you to run the meeting and you will be asking most of the questions. It’s a good idea to think about the topics you want to discuss and plan the questions you’re going to ask.

Topics could cover areas such as what the work is like for the person you’re interviewing, how to get into the field, the state of the industry, salary ranges, required skills and experience, the culture and other contacts.

Whatever you decide to ask, make sure your questions reflect what you are genuinely curious about and whatever you do, don’t ask for a job.

To read the full article and for a list of example questions visit the Careers Newsroom in the ‘News’ section of the alumni website.

To view these resources you must be a registered member of the DUBS Alumni Network. To request your member ID contact the Alumni Relations Team.