Archive for July, 2012

Hoping to join the Civil Service - or just wondering what to do with your skills when you graduate?  Think Faststream!  Come along to a friendly session where you can learn all about the UK Civil Service’s graduate recruitment scheme.

Scottish-based Faststreamers will talk about their work in areas such as DWP, DfID and the Scottish Government, the experience of being on different “streams”, and give you an inside story on the highs and lows of being on this competitive, intensive programme.  There will also be a Q&A session.

The next recruitment round for the UK Government’s Faststream graduate scheme will be open from September to November 2012.  The events are:

Wed 10th October 2012, 2pm - 4pm, Glasgow (Europa Building, Argyle Street), details and to register

Wed 17th October 2012, 2pm - 4pm, Edinburgh (Thistle House, Haymarket Terrace), details and to register

Registration is mandatory.  Please give your full name when registering as this is required for security.  Spaces are limited, and available first-come, first-served.

For more detail about the faststream, please see the Cabinet Office website.

Are you interested in communicating science to a young audience?  Lab in a Lorry needs volunteers with a scientific background for events across the North West of England and Scotland during school term time.

Lab in a Lorry is an interactive mobile laboratory which gives young people aged 11-14 the opportunity to explore science through open-ended experiments.  Volunteers guide the students through the experiments (optoelectronics and medicine, sound and resonance, light scattering and colours, oil and viscous liquids) and make sure everyone gets involved through hands-on experience.

You would be asked to oversee an experiment for the day. You will be sent all the background material in advance and on the morning of an event you receive full training on the lab.

Volunteers are asked to commit to a minimum of one full school day, but you can do as many days as you like.  In return you’ll have a rewarding and unforgettable experience, receive some IOP (Institute of Physics) freebies and be awarded affiliate membership to the Institute of Physics for a year.

For more information,  tour details and to register visit Lab in a Lorry.

The OU Careers Advisory Service’s online forum on ‘How to make an impact with your CV’ is running from 2nd - 27th July 2012.   It is designed to help and support OU students through the intricacies of putting together an effective CV.  The forum will be moderated by professional careers advisers and will also utilise expertise and experience within the OU student community, by enabling the sharing of ideas, advice and best practice.

The forum is an excellent chance to address a whole range of CV-related topics such as:

• Types of CV you can use
• What employers are looking for on a CV
• How to start a CV from scratch if you haven’t got one
• What to put in a covering letter
• How to disclose a disability in a covering letter

Whether you need to put together a CV from scratch or brush up an existing one, this is the forum for you.

The forum is on the Careers workspace - you’ll need your OU username and password to access it.

We look forward to seeing you there.