Graduate Jobs: Where to Find Them

Leaving university is a really daunting prospect, especially with an English and/or Creative Writing degree, as it isn't necessarily specific to one type of career.

However, once you figure out the route you want to go down, you will find that the skills you've learnt can be applied to almost ANY career.

To make things a bit easier - as it can be overwhelming trying to find jobs - I have compiled a list of graduate job sites where you can find a job specifically for graduates.

1. graduate-jobs.com

This jobsite is the 'biggest independent graduate job board in the UK'*, and it gives you the option to search for jobs based on sector, location, industry and degree, as well as having different internships advertised.
There are 4,714 recruiters registered with graduate-jobs.com, and these range from international business such as BAE Systems to small independent business.

2. Prospects

Prospects is the 'UK's official graduate careers website', and not only advertises jobs but also offers careers advice and postgraduate study options.

You can search through lists of graduate employers, work experience and internships, as well as simply searching through the graduate job search, where you select keywords, location and industry.

3. reed.co.uk

This jobsite is more of a general jobsite - advertising a variety of jobs requiring a variety of qualifications. However, it does have a Graduate Jobs section, and currently there are around 15,000 jobs advertised.

Like with the other sites, you can search by specialism, industry and location, but you can also search by salary, full-time and part-time and the type of employment (i.e. permanent, temporary, contract, etc).

4. Guardian Jobs

Although the website is not specific to graduate jobs, there are a large amount of jobs advertised specifically for graduates.

You can filter by industry, employer type, job function, location, salary and listing type (i.e. job vacancy, volunteering, graduate scheme, etc), which makes finding a job specific to your wants and needs a lot easier.

5. GradJobs

This jobsite is specific to graduates, therefore, there is a high volume of jobs available. As well as being able to search for graduate jobs specific to industry, location and salary, the website also enables you to search for Recruitment Exhibitions, which again are specific to industry, location and job role.

6. milkround

In addition to having graduate jobs, and search options such as industry and location, it also offers advice, news and the option to search through specific employers and industries.

7. totaljobs.com: graduate

Like with the Reed website, totaljobs.com is usually more of a general jobsite for people with a variety of qualifications, however, they have a 'graduate zone' where there are currently around 12,000 jobs being advertised.

The website offers tools and advice, and is also affiliated with Postgrad.com, where you can find a number of post graduate options.



If you decide to directly approach employers without applying for a vacancy, it is worth looking at The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers, registering is free of charge, and you can find a list of the best employers in Britain for graduates in 2013-2014.

It is also worth mentioning that there is a wide range of employers who offer graduate schemes, and although competition is often high for these jobs, remember you will have a degree that's not career specific, but instead gives you a vast amount of applicable skills and attributes that would make you a valued member of any company!

Finishing Your Degree - Other Options

It is well known that many English Literature degree students will start a career in teaching, however, if you feel that teaching is not for you, there are other options for you to consider.

In fact, the skills gained from your English Literature degree are marketable in most career areas, and there are lots of options for you once you have completed your degree.

Just under 60% of English Graduates are in employment six months after graduating, a fifth are in full-time further study, with a further 7% combining work and study. 

What do English Graduates do After University?

English Graduates find opportunities with many different employers, public and private sector organisations such as the National Health Service (NHS), educational institutions, local and national government, financial and legal firms, and voluntary and charitable organisations employ English graduates in a range of roles, including administration, research, finance and general management.

Other typical employers include publishing companies, advertising, marketing and public relations agencies and media organisations. The retail, leisure and tourism sectors also typically recruit English graduates.

Editorial assistant

Editorial assistants provide assistance in all stages of the publication of books, journals, magazines and a broad range of publicity materials. They support senior editorial staff in the administration of the commissioning, planning and production of publications.

The level of responsibility and the range of tasks vary depending on the size of the organisation and the type of publication. The editorial assistant role is the usual starting point for careers in editorial work. Progression to more senior roles such as features editor or commissioning editor may be possible once the necessary skills and experience have been acquired.
Typical work activities

Editorial assistants perform a range of administrative and editorial tasks necessary to get publications published. They act as the liaison for the many people involved in a publication, from the receipt of texts from authors through to the handover to production staff.

You can find more information about the roles and responsibilities of an Editorial Assistant here.

Lexicographer

Lexicographers write, compile and edit dictionaries for both print and online publication. They may work on one of the following types of dictionary:
English for native speakers;
English for learners of English;
technical, e.g. law;
bilingual, for native speakers or learners of English.

English language lexicographers monitor and record uses of language and use databases to interrogate a wide range of evidence. They consider both the meaning and usages of words and compile definitions in a structured manner.

Lexicographers writing definitions for English learner dictionaries also take into consideration the difficulties learners have with learning English. Bilingual lexicographers translate words and expressions, rather than defining them.

Lexicographers edit, proofread and check the accuracy of their own and others' text, and perform editorial tasks. They reassess existing entries and use evidence and judgement to identify and consider possible new entries.

You can find more information about the roles and responsibilities of a Lexicographer here.

Magazine Journalist

Magazine journalists research and write news articles and features for a wide variety of periodicals, including consumer titles, business journals and trade publications. Magazines have a defined readership and focus on a specialist area or interest.

Magazine journalism can cover a range of disciplines, such as writing, sub-editing, and designing.

Increasingly, magazines are also being produced for other media, especially the web. Knowledge of the concise writing style needed for the internet and search engine optimisation are very useful skills.

There are currently around 9,000 magazine titles in the UK, according to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) . While there are plenty of opportunities, competition can be fierce when trying to secure a job in magazine journalism.

You can find more information about the roles and responsibilities of a Magazine Journalist here.

Academic Librarian

Academic librarians work in higher education, further education and research institutes attached to academic institutions. They may also be known as subject librarians and they manage, organise, evaluate and disseminate information, providing support to members of an academic community including students, researchers and lecturing staff.

Academic librarians may be responsible for a specific academic subject, developing specialist knowledge and other functions, such as resource ordering, loans, specialist collections, ICT systems and library projects.

A main role involves facilitating and supporting learning by teaching information retrieval skills to students and staff within classrooms or virtual learning environments. Academic librarians spend considerable time working with electronic resources, involving database management and web page development. The role is also very customer-focused.

You can find more information about the roles and responsibilities of an Academic Librarian here.

These are just a selection of the options available after completing your degree, and you can find more options by following this link.

Options With Your Subject.

You can also find Graduate Jobs by degree here.

Finishing your degree - TEFL

It is close approaching that time where third year students will be finishing their degree, but it is also advisable for first and second years to explore all the options an English degree can provide you with. A popular choice amongst graduates is the Teaching English as a Foreign Language option which gives you the opportunity to teach English all over the world to students of all ages in a foreign country. There are many different routes into doing this but the most popular is the TEFL course provided by many online courses or colleges throughout the UK.

You will have to pay for the course, but they are often reduced throughout the year so if you keep an eye out you can pay for the course reasonably cheaper than the original price as low as £50. To complete the course as an online course it usually consists of 150 hours study time, with final assessment usually including an assignment and a test. There are many different online providers of the course and this may vary from each one. The most important thing to consider if completing the course online is to ensure that the website you are choosing to do the course with have certified by an awarding body and provide an official accreditation or certificate for the course as you will need to have this to work abroad.

Another way of completing the course is the classroom option which is usually run over the period of one or two weeks in which you will be in a classroom environment taught by a teacher, or if you choose the intensive course option this will involve long classroom teaching hours usually over one weekend.

For more information see:
www.go-tefl.com
www.tefl.com
www.jobs.ac.uk/careers-advice/working-overseas/1028/guide-to-teaching-english-as-a-foreign-language-tefl/

Finishing Your Degree - PGCE

It is often hard to decide what to do after you have finished your degree, and although it may not seem like it, there are lots of options - both career wise and in further education.

An obvious and popular choice with English Literature students is to study for your PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education).

The PGCE differs from Undergraduate teaching courses as it mainly focuses on developing your teaching skills, rather than the subject you intend to teach, and for this reason, applicants are expected to have a good understanding of their chosen subject(s) before training.

PGCE courses are available at Universities and Colleges throughout the UK. This link will take you to an A-Z Index of UK Institutions offering PGCE courses:

A-Z Index of UK Institutions Offering PGCE Courses.

The courses usually last for one year full-time, or up to two years part-time and you may be eligible to receive funding while you train for your PGCE. Find out about funding for postgraduate teacher training in England by following this link:

PGCE Funding Information

You must have a UK undergraduate degree or a recognised equivalent qualification to study for your PGCE, and you also need a standard equivalent to a grade C in GCSE English and mathematics, and if you want to teach primary or Key Stage 2/3 (ages 7-14), you must also have a standard equivalent to a grade C in Science GCSE.

PGCE applications are made through a system administered by UCAS, and the UCAS Teacher Training website is the portal through which you can search for a provider and make your application.

Find out more about making your application

Search for a PGCE course on the UCAS Teacher Training site.

Generally speaking, UCAS Teacher Training accepts applications from November to June for courses starting the following September or October. 

To guarantee that your first choice of course provider will consider you, you need to apply as early as possible.

You can find more information on your PGCE on the Department for Education website,

Department for Education - PGCE

Dissertation Advice!

Doing a dissertation can be a very scary prospect, the process is long and working independently is often just an easy way for you to become a master of procrastination!

So, to give the students who are doing their dissertations - and those who will be in future - a little boost, here are some key points for writing dissertations, followed by the websites they are from and some other useful sites for you to use.

1. There will be one day, probably a couple of months before deadline, when you will freak out, doubt your entire thesis and decide to start again from scratch. You might even come up with a new question and start working on it, depending on how long the breakdown lasts. You will at some point run out of steam and collapse in an exhausted, tear-stained heap. But unless there are serious flaws in your work (unlikely) and your supervisor recommends starting again (highly unlikely), don't do it. It's just panic, it'll pass.

2. If your dissertation supervisor isn't right, change. If you don't feel like they're giving you the right advice, request to swap to someone else – providing it's early on and your reason is valid, your department shouldn't have a problem with it.

3. Think of a dissertation like a series of linked essays; each chapter is self-contained and has its own purpose, but they all connect together to contribute to the argument of your dissertation.

4. You don't have to start with the introduction – start at the chapter that seems the easiest to write – this could be the literature review or methodology, for example. Alternatively you may prefer to write the introduction first, so you can get your ideas straight. Decide what will suit your ways of working best - then do it.

5. If you're feeling overwhelmed, try identifying the one thing that you need to do next; often this will logically lead to further steps, and you'll be able to get started again.

6. Start with what you already know. When writing, pretend to tell someone the story. Then write the story. You may actually find it useful to record your own voice as you tell yourself the story so you can play it back as you write.

7. Keep full records of all your reading. Referencing tends to be marked very strictly in dissertations, and you can save yourself a lot of time and effort if you assemble the reference list / bibliography as you read, rather than leaving it until the very end of the process. (You can easily delete any sources that you do not ultimately use.

8. Plan for plenty of time to edit and proofread your drafts, and remember to allow time for binding.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2012/may/02/dissertation-top-ten-tips

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/study_advice_dissertations.htm

http://www.nus.org.uk/en/advice/your-study/dissertations/survive-the-dissertation-deadlines/

As well as the above websites our University website has some really useful advice on http://www.cumbria.ac.uk/StudentLife/Learning/SkillsCumbria/AcademicWriting/Dissertationstructure.aspx. 

Creative Writing: 'Parade' by Alexandra McCauley

Alexandra is a third year studying joint honours in English and Creative Writing at the University of Cumbria. 

The following poem was awarded joint first in the University of Cumbria Andrea Pendlebury poetry prize.

Parade

We hear the ‘duddlum, duddlum’

of the lambeg drum

their arms swinging possessively

all the youngsters love to copy

all ages are marching in the band

keeping flags in their hands

and the stalls full of tack,

shiny plastic toys covered with the union jack

the roads are cordoned off by police

as the crowds flood the street

here they come, right incline

marching without a foot out of line

drunken protestants fight and curse

here for the parade, but no faith to the church

they yip and yo as King Billy arrives on the horse

every year the tradition is enforced

now comes the bowler hats and oranges sashes

loyalist men in black with handlebar tashes

the people line the route that the bands take

Granda taps his foot and to the sound the flutes make

a security announcement is made to the crowd,

there has been a bomb scare, everyone must leave now.

By Alexandra McCauley

University of Cumbria Drama Production - Romeo & Juliet

The final year degree students studying Drama, will produce and perform 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Dukes Theatre, Lancaster.

'Jealousy, betrayal, two families at war… Can true love conquer all?

Romeo and Juliet, one of Shakespeare’s earliest and most performed plays, is the archetypal tale of two star-crossed lovers, whose young-love and tragic deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families.

Join us as we recreate the greatest love story of them all.'


Performance dates start on the 22nd January, and end on the 25th January. The performances start at 7.30pm.

Ticket prices for Friday and Saturday are £10 (£8 conc), and for Wednesday and Thursday are £8 (£6 conc).

Lancaster Litfest: Charlotte Kovac, an experience.

This year Lancaster’s very own ‘Litfest’ reached its 35^th year of bringing together a plethora of poets, performers, writers and readers and celebrating literature. The entirety of Litfest is run by a small, yet enthusiastic team made up of Andy Darby (artistic director), Dawn Diaz (finance officer), Maria Major (marketing manager) and Claire Dean (interim deputy director). Alongside these was an army of volunteers, of which this year, I happened to be one.

My volunteer duties were basic, helping with the box office and tickets sales, showing people to their seats and generally being on hand and helpful when needed. Although these tasks seem small, without volunteers performing them, the event wouldn’t run as smoothly or successfully. It’s also a great and easy way of gaining experience if you want to be involved in literature events in the future.

The biggest perk of volunteering at Litfest is being able to attend the event after. I helped out at the ‘Short Stories: Wide Horizons’ event where Alison Moore and Aamer Hussein coincidentally both read out short stories relating to swans. Moore’s short story ‘The Egg’ had a cold and eery tone that captivated the audience with nervous anticipation. The story revolved around a man’s special collection of bird’s eggs, and one egg that has allured him, but has yet to collect. Moore’s descriptions of various birds’ eggs were beautifully detailed and accurate; her writing is meticulous in every sense. The ending was dark, haunting and poignant, something the audience will remember for a long time.

Hussein’s short story entitled ‘The Swan’ showed just how varied two stories relating to the same thing can be. ‘The Swan’ is a love story, based around Hussein’s own real-life experiences. The swan, lovingly named ‘Satin’ is the catalyst of the entire story, the man and woman often go for walks in the park where Satin resides and develop an unspoken relationship. The story tells us of how the two people flit in and out of each other’s lives, and has an interesting and unique ending.

Litfest is a great way of interacting with writers, whether it’s enjoying old favourites or being introduced to something new, as I was with Moore and Hussein. Litfest has been running for a long time, and should keep running and be a part of Lancaster’s culture scene as it is now. I do however feel that Litfest could be improved if it had more involvement from students, such as holding an event for students to recite their own works, or have alumni from both universities come and read at the festival. Overall Litfest is a great experience to be a part of and I would urge everyone to attend next year’s event, whether it’s in the role of a volunteer or as a member of the audience.

Volunteering at Bowerham Road Primary School by Maeve Lane

I am a 3^rd year English BA student at the University of Cumbria. I first looked into volunteering at Bowerham Road Primary School in my second year at university; September 2012. I looked into volunteering as it would boost my C.V and I was looking into doing a PGCE after university. To become a volunteer at the school I emailed them and was subsequently forwarded onto the volunteering co coordinator; Mrs Pollock. I met her and we discussed which age group I would like to work with, what experience I had and about me getting a CRB check, which is mandatory to work in a school. The school were very supportive in getting me my C.R.B and helped me with the process.

There are 2 teaching assistants, a teacher and me in the class I work in. I get on well with everyone and I do different jobs every day. These can vary from helping individual children on work they are struggling with in class, to helping to design displays for the classroom, to listening to children read. The days in which I volunteer have always been very flexible from the beginning and I volunteer for 6 hours a week.  Ms Pollock also helped me in becoming a tennis coach in America for 8 weeks during the summer 2013, through the company CCUSA.

I enjoy working at the school as it has given me valuable work experience and has taught be to organise my time between volunteering and university work. It has taught me to be patient and to think of more exciting ways to engage the children to work. I would highly recommend any trainee teachers and fellow students to gain as much work experience and volunteering experience as soon as possible. This will increase your chances of getting a job when you graduate.

The teaching experience has been very rewarding. It has given me an interest in working with children and potentially becoming a Primary School teacher in the future. It has also given me valuable experience of working. This experience will hopefully stand to me when I look for a job once graduating at the end of this year. 

English Society: Open Mic Night by Freya Gallagher-Jones

Freya is a third year student studying BA(Hons) English here at the University of Cumbria, and as head of the English Society, she reviews the first major event for the society this year. For more information on the English society see the Facebook page for updates, news and events. 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/English-Society-University-Of-Cumbria/253660334781253?fref=ts

“They have seen where you sit each day,

They have even seen where you buy those cigarettes,

despite you saying just the other day you’d quit,

They have seen your meetings,

both the ones people know about

and the others you’d hope to keep secret” - Extract from London Pigeons by Jake Tinsley

Like the disapproval of those London Pigeons, performing your own work in front of a large group of people can more often than not feel like the beady eye of judgement waiting to peck at the foundations of your art. And while the daunting prospect of the proverbial pigeon of criticism is what often drives many creative types to avoid publicly performing their work, it really needn’t.  For many of the performers at The University of Cumbria English Society 'Open Mic Night', found nothing but a warm, witty atmosphere, laden with pre-empted Christmas themed coffee and an audience of open minds.

The event took place from 6-8 on Wednesday the 30^th of October, and was held on the second floor of Market Street Starbucks, Lancaster; which was kindly lent out to the society, for free, after hours!

Students from the University of Cumbria and locals alike came to the first major event since their re-establishment last year. The event was arranged by the society's newly appointed Long Term Events Organiser, Jake Tinsley, and my what a mighty job did he do too. Around 40 people packed into the cosy coffee shop to watch around 16 diverse performances.

 The intent of the event was to offer a free, friendly public forum, in which people could perform. The range of performances varied between poetry, prose, improv, and dramatic monologues, however, basically any art form that required a relatively low amount of technical savvy was warmly welcomed. 

Many people chose to read out their own work, though we did have a dynamic reading from Livvy Stringer of a favourite poem; Carol Ann Duffy's Dementer . There was a fantastic range of genres and styles on offer; from Roz Stimpson's  intertextual children's story Buttons, Geraint Straker's beautifully crafted Sonnet sequence, Sonnets of the Seasons’, Rachel Strachan's short story Death Row,  and John Sharpe's dark and satirical epistolary reaction to Bram Stoker's Dracular titled The Crumb Correspondence. Athena Draper read her darkly comic and jovial short story One Girl and Her Satan. Sam Williams' performed an extremely witty and ironic piece Non-Sensical, his dry, humorous delivery leaving the audience rollicking in their seats. The hauntingly apt love poem Tonight was performed by Roxy Emery, who's performance had my attention locked throughout.

 Arguably, the most entertaining performance of the evening was Connor Simkins' gut-bustlingly, hilarious rendition of "The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe" from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. He narrated the story and requested 5 willing volunteers to come to the stage and act as the characters. But, as with any improv performance, the script itself was a mere backdrop to unplanned interactions between the actors, and provided a thoroughly entertaining piece.

All in all, the event was an incredibly relaxed evening, and a brilliant opening to a new tradition of Open Mic Night's from the English Society. I was certainly proud as punch to see the society do so well. The second one is set to be around the end of November so keep a look out!

Creative Writing: 'Time' by Rachel Strachan

Rachel is a third year student at the University of Cumbria, studying joint honours in English Literature and Creative Writing. 

Time

This smile has been fading
since the year of ‘92
Off his Lovable, caring lady
But if only you really knew.

My Dear Michael, I do wish
I could tell you, no detail small
But I’ll highlight our major parts
Right here, no time at all.

In my life I have never met
Such a charismatic man
Who truly lived everyday
and acted like Peter Pan.

He saw life as a gift
Every morning needed a smile,
We woke up bright and early,
If only it were for a while.

We’d dance into the night,
He’d bring me flowers in the day,
‘For you, my loveable caring lady’
That is what he used to say.

We loved, laughed and shared
Talked adoringly about future life,
We were together till the end
And at twenty he made me his wife.

Our house wasn’t all that much,
And we barely had a dime,
We made our house into a home
what we valued was our time.

We were blessed with our children,
Smitten by waves of love,
He taught them all they know
From the Earth’s ground, stars and above.

Grand kids completed our family
You were all his world, it’s true.
We still laughed, danced and cared
Before bed saying ‘I do love you.’

These are my dearest memories
I long for one more dance,
Only seems like it was yesterday
When he had me at first glance.

Every day I sit and wonder
How fast time passed us by,
Only seems like it was yesterday
I heard our first born’s cry.

The highlighting has been done,
Of my life spent with one man,
who treasured all In sight
and promised he was Peter Pan.

Even then his pride still shone
Though pain was seen in his smile,
We continued to wake up bright
But we haven’t now for a while.

In my dreams we are still dancing,
He’s still picking me flowers every day,
‘For you, my lovable caring lady’
I can clearly, still hear him say.

Rachel Strachan