Careers
It pays to start thinking ‘what next?’ before actually going down.At some point during your studies you will need to begin thinking about what
career to pursue after finishing your course. And it's never too early to do
so! You may, for example, want to do an internship in the summer of your first
or second year at Oxford to explore an option further, or perhaps, you may
simply need to talk to someone about what's out there for you to do! The
best place to which we can point you is the Oxford University Careers
Service, which is located at 56 Banbury Road (near St. Anne's and St.
Antony's Colleges).
Oxford University Careers Service
Regardless of which country you are from, the Careers Service can provide you with help and support. It is a free service for all current students at the University. In addition, once you've completed your course, you can continue to use the service for up to four years and stay in touch remotely (via the Internet, email and telephone) throughout this period. The Careers Service, as the name suggests, provides careers guidance and information; runs a series of careers skills, information and recruitment events throughout term time; and has a library of useful information on areas such as working in different countries, working in different professions, and all aspects of further study, including funding. It also advertises hundreds of permanent and temporary job vacancies on its web site to help you find a suitable opportunity for vacation work or work after you complete your course.
Career Advice
Career Advisers at the Careers Service can help you in a number of different ways, whatever stage of thinking about your career you are at. They can offer you:
- Support to help you investigate your skills, motivations and interests;
- The opportunity to explore different occupations;
- A sounding board when you come to make tough career choices; and
- Advice throughout the application stages for a job.
You can have an individual discussion with a Career Adviser by simply calling into the Careers Service and signing up for a short session with the Duty Career Adviser. You can use this time to discuss your ideas, get feedback on your CV or applications, or get help working out what to do next. If you need more occupation- or industry-specific help or simply more time to discuss your ideas, the Duty Career Adviser can then refer you to a particular Career Adviser for a longer discussion. Alternatively, you can book a longer session with a Career Adviser yourself. Simply call or ask at the Reception.
The Careers Service also maintains what is known as the Oxford Careers Network. This is a database of alumni who are willing to share their experiences and talk about their job and career with current students who are still exploring their options. You can access this database online at the website of the Careers Service. It is searchable and very easy to use. Needless to say, once you graduate, you too can help future students by joining this network!
International Careers and Job Opportunities
At the Careers Service you can find a host of reference books and information files on working outside the UK. Among other things, they include advice about applying for jobs, attending interviews and tailoring your CV or resumé for employers in particular countries. Some may also contain lists of where jobs in other countries are advertised and are well worth a browse as is the work experience and graduate vacancies database, which is accessible and searchable online at the Careers Service website. Via this website you can also access EXODUS and GoingGlobal, both of which provide country-specific information and are very useful online resources for finding jobs outside the UK.
In addition, the Careers Service maintains contact with a wide range of employers, and is increasing its work with international recruiters. A number of multinational and other companies often come to Oxford to make recruitment presentations. The Careers Service also collaborates with other UK universities and institutions to host international recruitment fairs, the most recent of which were held in Hong Kong and China. At the same time, it also advertises nation-wide recruitment events held by other agencies, usually in London, and is, thus, an enormously useful resource to tap into during your stay here in Oxford.
Student societies
A number of international and multinational companies also advertise events through various national and cultural interest-related student societies. Some of these societies organize careers presentations and recruitment events themselves. In addition, there are a number of occupation and industry-related societies, such as the Oxford Management Society, Oxford Investment Club, and Oxford Entrepreneurs to name but a few, which can be a useful resource, especially if you already know what you want to do or if you want to explore a particular career option further.
Participation in student societies and clubs is generally a good way to gain and improve skills, such as leadership and teamwork, many of which are sought by employers today. Besides, getting involved in them is fun!
Advice on working in the UK
The Careers Service offers an enormous variety of resources about jobs in the UK, which are similar and in addition to the resources it has for finding them in other countries. However, as an international student and citizen of a country other than the UK, you are subject to visa conditions and work regulations different to those that apply to home students. The Careers Service has limited information about work permits and regulations for international students. If you want know more about working in the UK either during or after your studies, Careers Advisers cannot provide you with immigration or visa advice.
Instead, for such advice, we suggest looking at the website of the University's International Student Advisory Service and contacting them by email at international.office@admin.ox.ac.uk or calling (01865) 270105 to find out more. The UK Council for International Student Affairs, more popularly known by its acronym, UKCISA, is another very useful resource for similar information. It is a national advisory body, which provides international students with independent advice and information about a variety of issues, including working in the UK during and after studies. Visa and work regulations for international students constantly change, and are different for nationals of different countries! We cannot emphasize to you how important it is to abide by them and get the best possible advice from the most appropriate and knowledgeable sources.
We also suggest keeping a keen eye out for the occasional panel on visa and work regulations that the OUSU International Students' Campaign organizes, as well as any information sessions organized by the International Student Advisory Service. These typically include presentations by qualified professionals, who are knowledgeable and qualified to give you the necessary information and advice. One of the easiest ways to make sure you know when such events happen is to sign up to the mailing list of the OUSU International Students' Campaign at the Freshers' Fair or by emailing internationalstudents@ousu.org.