Internship vacancy – at the Careers Service

If you are a regular reader of this blog you may already be familar with the Manchester Graduate Internship Programme (MGIP). I just want to highlight a vacancy for an Information Assistant that has just gone live as it is to work in my team :). I am one of the people who will be shortlisting and interviewing the applicants for this post so I thought it might be useful to give you some tips to help you make a strong application.

The first thing you should do is find out as much as possible about the post and the employer. In this case start by reading the advert and have a look at the Careers Service website. Since this job is a front-line role it would be a good idea to pop into the Careers Service and look around. Even if you are a regular visitor looking at the place and thinking ‘do I want to work here, what would the job involve, can I do this?’ will give you a different perspective. My colleague Sarah Mallen who is recruiting with me and myself are always very happy to talk to prospective applicants either in person or on the phone if you want to ask any questions or find out more.

A couple of extra facts:

• The advert mentions that the job can provide useful experience for anyone wanting to pursue a career in information or careers, which is true. However we are also very happy to consider applicants who do not have firm plans or just want some admin experience as long as they have the skills we need – where better than a careers service to work while thinking about your future!?
• The internship is for 1 year. However there may be the opportunity to extend the contract beyond this point.

Once you have a clear idea of what the job involves you will be able to decide what experiences and skills you should highlight in your application. We are a Careers Service and part of our job is to advise students and graduates on their job hunting so we will be looking for evidence that you can learn about this yourself so that you will be able to pass it on!

Every application should be tailor written for each post. Use the information on our website and downloadable handouts to help you create a good CV and covering letter. Provide evidence of your skills. It’s not enough to just say you have good customer service skills – give me an example. Your CV should not merely be a list of what you have done, it should convince me that you have the skills I am looking for. This may mean giving more detail about your part-time job than your degree, sometimes that’s what you have to do – just because your degree was the main focus of your life for 3/4 years it does not mean it is always as relevant to a prospective employer as a casual job for a few hours a week. Try to think from the shortlister’s point of view and provide what they need to know.

Your covering letter is every bit as important as the CV. This is where you need to tell me why you are applying for the post. Motivation is usually the bit that is missing from applications that I receive – don’t assume that the fact that you are applying is proof enough that you want the job, I would much prefer an employee who enjoys what they are doing than someone who is just doing any old job for the money.

The closing date is 8th August. Unlike some recruiters we will wait until after this date to begin shortlisting so if you are interested take your time to write the best application you can, remember you can get advice about your draft on the drop-in session. We won’t hold it against you if you use the services on offer at the Careers Service to help you get a job with us – in fact we will be impressed if you have experienced the Service as a user as it will help you empathise with clients! If you mention that the draft is for a job in the Careers Service we will make sure that the person who advises you is not going to be involved with the selection for the job.

Good luck!