Employability Event at Southampton

The conference is aimed at all students – undergraduates and postgraduates. It includes sessions on summer placements, networking skills and an alumni panel, so there should be something for everyone.

Details are as follows:

Tuesday 16 June 2009
10.00 am – 4.30 pm
Building 2A, Lecture Theatre H

Thinking of studying for a PhD?

Call for Presentations and Posters

The School of Management PhD Students are proud to hold their Annual conference on Friday, 15th of May 2009 Room 3043 Building 2 The chosen theme is “The Craft of Research”.

Interested MSc and MBA students are welcome to attend.

Presentations can range from completed research papers to ideas which are still at the development stage. Further information is available from http://www.management.soton.ac.uk/research/phd-conference-2009.php

The Marketing team place a strong emphasis on integrating our PhD students into the Marketing Research Group. We welcome keen interest from applicants in any of the areas in the new ‘DNA of Marketing ©’. We look for the following characteristics in prospective PhD students:

• An ability to critically analyse current marketing theory
• An ability to link marketing theory and practice
• An ability to play a pro-active role in our research team
• Commitment and self-motivation
• Excellent time management and communication skills

If you would like to join our team, please contact whichever one of us best matches your own research interests. Your application should emphasise how your work will fit with and build upon the research we are carrying out here at Southampton.

Are you entrepreneurial and proactive?

The CBI and Universities UK have recently published a report on graduate employability called ‘Future Fit’.

The survey of 581 employers identified entrepreneurship and enterprise as being particularly important attributes that they looked for in their prospective employees. The report defines these skills as:

“An ability to demonstrate an innovative approach, creativity, collaboration and risk taking. An individual with these attributes can make a huge difference to any business.”

The benefits of successful employer-university partnerships are also highlighted in ‘Future Fit’ as the route to jointly improving employability in graduates. Many employers value work placements, while universities are keen to encourage more input from companies on campus. But ultimately, of course, the responsibility for driving your career rests with one key person – yourself.

78% of employers responding to the Future Fit survey cited an entrepreneurial mindset as important, and 72% said a “positive attitude” mattered. The University attended was given consideration by just 8% of employers, and a graduate’s degree results by just 28%. For those of you who are shortly to graduate, there is a clear message here that simply acquiring the qualification is only the start of the journey. What else have you done in order to stand out from the crowd? What does your online footprint look like to a potential employer? See my earlier posts on the use of LinkedIn here and managing your online brand here.

Guest Lecture on Social Media Marketing by Headstream

Last Thursday Tom Chapman and Natalie Kitcher from Headstream came to talk about their experiences of Social Media Marketing to Southampton University undergraduates studying Digital Marketing. They covered examples of their work for a diverse range of businesses including the Young Victoria film and Red Funnel Ferries.

As an experiment, I tweeted the event using the #headstream tag. If you do a Twitter search for #headstream you will see the entire conversation, but here are a few edited highlights from my notes as the speakers talked, and the backchannel comments and Q&As.

First a few comments from me…

lisaharris: #headstream Innocent Drinks crowdsourced ideas for a new drink from Facebook – via a poll to select favourites

lisaharris: #headstream see @YoungVictoria which has been very successful in engaging people with ‘key facts’ about the Victorian era

lisaharris: importance of analytics in measuring success and demonstrating value to the client #headstream

Lorraine invites a virtual guest to join us…

lwarren17: @jonhickman, we’re doing a live tweet-up in a marketing seminar here on #headstream

The virtual guests start interacting…

Jas: @jonhickman Some companies measure loyalty and trust through surveys and polls. #headstream

jonhickman: @Jas how do you feel about the effectiveness of that sort of research? Is the data good enough to demonstrate ROI to suit types? #headstream

Jas: @johnhickman Also watch out for brands as they start to position their social media efforts onto their front pages. #headstream

I bring in the virtual participants for questions and feedback…

lisaharris: #headstream any questions you would like me to pose to Tom and Natalie?

lwarren17: #headstream, we all went quiet when you gave us a space – just like a lecture! :>)). was interested to see Young Victoria link

Jas: @lisaharris What are Tom and Natalie’s thoughts on the recent social media experiment by #skittles? #headstream

lisaharris: thanks for questions – I have asked some of them and will feedback shortly, just wrapping up now #headstream

lisaharris: @Jas in response to your qtn about what happens after the campaign, that depends on for how long the client is prepared to pay #headstream

lwarren17: #headstream, raises interesting questions of managing on and off line interactions together in real time – super stuff

What is missing of course is the contribution from the student audience in the room…. we’ll try that next time! But if you were there and would like to add your comments to this blogpost, please feel free J

Many thanks to Tom and Natalie for their efforts!

Technorati Tags: Headstream,Twitter,University of Southampton

Looking for a job? Get started with LinkedIn

Maintaining a LinkedIn profile is becoming an increasingly important aspect of career planning and development at all levels. LinkedIn has over thirty-five million members in over 140 industries, from executives working for the largest corporates right down to one man bands. Simply joining and completing a basic profile is a good start – but doesn’t go anywhere near far enough. Building up a network of contacts, contributing to relevant groups, generating goodwill and giving and receiving recommendations is a time consuming process – and the more you engage the more activity you will generate!

New features are being added to LinkedIn on a regular basis so that it is now becoming an indispensable research tool both for job seekers and for companies looking to hire. For example, viewers of company profiles can discover:

• Recruitment messaging that helps HR teams appeal to candidates on a personal level
• Employee spotlights that introduce ‘birds of a feather’ peers
• Interactive polling that engages viewers on the page
• Video clips that showcase corporate culture
• Jobs with ‘company insider’ information that show how a job seeker is connected with the company and the job poster
• where people with similar backgrounds are working by searching for people with comparable skills in a target geographical area
• where people working at a particular company came from or go next

As well as researching likely employers, there are a few simple tweaks you can make to your own profile in order to enhance your personal brand and make it more appealing to recruiters:

• Maximise the value of your network by focusing on job searches that you are not more than two degrees away from. This means that you know someone who knows someone within the hiring company
• Use the status update to indicate that you are seeking a new role, and in what field
• Get LinkedIn recommendations from your colleagues. A strong recommendation from someone you have worked for is particularly powerful.
• Don’t forget the principle of reciprocity – help others within your network when they need it – not just when you want something from them! If your focus is on ‘taking’ rather than ‘giving’ you will not get very far
• Finally, remember that as with all things in life, you get out what you put in. Managing your profile and supporting your network is hard work, but ultimately rewarding

Technorati Tags: careers,LinkedIn

Book Review: Grown Up Digital by Don Tapscott

Based on a $4 million research project, Grown Up Digital investigates how the ‘Net Generation’ is beginning to redefine work, education and government. The book builds upon Tapscott’s earlier work Growing up Digital which showed how young people growing up with the Internet were starting to behave in a very different way from previous generations. Now turning 30, this generation is starting to make its mark in the job market and society as a whole, and so the generation gap is becoming increasingly significant, particularly within large corporations. The book is particularly timely given the recent success of Obama’s election campaign which highlighted the role of social technologies such as Facebook and Twitter in raising funds and in connecting with and engaging young people on a massive scale.

While some commentators have criticised the Net Generation for being apathetic, mollycoddled and anti-social (wasn’t it ever thus?!) Tapscott’s research provides a different perspective, arguing that prolonged exposure to digital technologies has led to faster reaction times, an enhanced ability to multitask and a healthy scepticism for the status and authority of traditional ‘experts’. He draws upon a number of personal stories to demonstrate that the Net Generation is actually focused upon innovation, collaboration and personalisation. Anecdotes from his own family members liven up the research results, but also lay it open to accusations of US middle class bias and not fully acknowledging the ongoing reality of the digital divide.

Tapscott does criticise the Net Generation – for only paying ‘continuous partial attention’ to what is going on around them, for having unrealistic expectations about the world of work, and for a lack of loyalty to companies. However, on the whole he is very positive about the prospects for society, and the book presents his arguments in a thorough but also an accessible way. One minor gripe concerns the rather inconvenient grouping of notes by chapter at the end of the book rather than inserting them into the text where relevant, but the lessons to be learned from the content make it well worth the effort.

Technorati Tags: tapscott,grown up digital

Free online marketing seminar

The biggest problem many marketers face today is how to keep up to date with the rapidly changing marketing practice being driven by developments in technology. Blogs, social networks and other user generated content online, makes ‘word of mouse’ an even more powerful and far-reaching phenomenon.

Lisa and Alan will provide an overview into the latest developments in web-based customer communications. We will also consider customer receptivity to online marketing and the implications of encouraging customer feedback, collaboration and product endorsement at the expense of controlling the marketing message.

Venue: School of Management, University of Southampton

Date: 16th December 2008. Registration from 4.15pm, starting at 4.30pm, finishing at 6pm

Cost: Free of charge

To book a place please phone Chris on 023 8059 8613 or email c.hopper@soton.ac.uk

Fish on Toast Networking Events

Some upcoming events that might be of interest to you:

1. Roger Saunders, UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION: Increasing your influence for business success.

When: Thursday 4th December, 5-7pm
Where: Bridge Bar, Students Union, Highfield Campus, Southampton

Roger Saunders provides training and support for a wide range of organisations on all aspects of inter-personal communication.

In this session, he will look at why communication skills are essential in business, and in any walk of life. He will discuss techniques from persuasion to NLP and look at how conversation works.

To find out more, have a look at his website ChoosingChange.org.uk

2. Professor David Jackson, Winchester E-Network: Web Analytics, An Entrepreneur’s Tale

When: Tuesday, 9th December, 6.30-8.30pm
Where: Winchester School of Art, LTA

For those interested in Web and Advertising Design, David’s presentation has an enormous amount to offer. He is Chief executive of Site Intelligence, a leading developer and supplier of Business Intelligence software systems to international blue chip organisations including Dyson, Open University, SAP, B&Q, Tesco, Boots, and Cancer Research UK.

Admission, drinks and buffet are free. Booking is essential at e-network.org.uk. If there is sufficient interest from Southampton University students it might be possible to arrange discounted travel to Winchester campus. If travelling to Winchester campus will be difficult for you please inform studententerprise@soton.ac.uk.

Thinking of starting a web business?

The National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE) is a government funded not-for-profit organisation that works with Higher Education institutions in England to promote entrepreneurship education and to provide business start-up support for students and graduates.

In partnership with Microsoft and Agitavi Research, NCGE will be offering the first national business start-up programme solely for final year students, post-graduates and graduates (of up to 5 years on) who plan to launch a web-based business based in the UK. The programme begins with a 3 day residential course held at Wokefield Manor in Reading, on 16, 17 and 18 December 2008. Fees, accommodation and subsistence for all 3 days are included for all participants.

The programme will take 30 participants from universities across the UK and provides support and training needed to turn their idea into a business. The programme is customised to suit the needs of each participant and individual 1-2-1 mentoring is provided free for 12 months through an online support system.

The programme is open to any final year student or graduate planning to start and base an online based business in the UK. It is also open to those who have just began to trade (started trading within the last 12 months).

To apply go to: http://www.flyingstartonline.com/fsprogrammes/upcoming/

For more information or to chat about whether or not the Flying Start Programme is right for you, please call the Programme Director, Lorna Collins on 07595 264 108 or email lorna.collins@ncge.org.uk, or contact David Benson at david.benson@ncge.org.uk or on 0121 503 2234.

Technorati Tags: Flying Start Programme

Check out the Entrepreneurs International Challenge

EPIC (Entrepreneurs International Challenge) is a five-day international entrepreneurship competition hosted annually by the LSE, bringing together bright, ambitious students from over 50 universities to develop and enhance their entrepreneurial thinking skills.

Formerly known as the Entrepreneurs’ Open Challenge (EPOCH), the event has been running for three years, attracting well-known entrepreneurial leaders such as Karan Bilimoria (CEO of Cobra Beer) and Charles Dunstone (CEO of Carphone Warehouse) to speak and share their professional experiences with students from across the world.

Inspired by the Apprentice, the two stage competition tests students on their Sales, Negotiation, Marketing, and Strategy skills in an entrepreneurial context.

Rules and Regulations:

1. All participants should be full-time registered students, either undergraduate or postgraduate, at the participating university.
2. All participants will compete in the preliminary round on the 14 of Jan. 2009 Participation is free of charge.
3. The top 10 teams from the preliminary challenge will participate in the EPIC finals which run from the 23th to the 27rd of February, 2009.

For more information check out: http://www.epochuk.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

or the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33173444145

 

Technorati Tags: entrepreneurs international challenge