On courses and job-hunting

It's been a while since the last blog post, I've been busy with the course.

I'm loving it; the course is fantastic and seems to have real career prospects afterwards, the people are lovely and the majority of lecturers seem to have a decent regard for human life forms. I feel more like an adult that I did at Derby- yes it was fun, but I always felt a little bit like I was still at school. At Manchester I get responsibilities and expectations placed upon me, but the emphasis is on you taking control. If you miss a lecture it's no skin off their noses, you're the one paying and losing out. As a result, the maturity level is higher.

This makes it sound incredibly uninteresting and lacking in life. In contrast, I have made friends really quickly, I have the chance to experience the attitudes and hear the opinions of a multitude of cultures and nationalities and I still get to hang out with the cool kids and occasionally pass notes during lectures.

Unfortunately, I'm struggling to find a job. Luckily I have some savings but they are dwindling fast. I estimate I can afford 4 months rent if I don't eat, never use any electricity and avoid paying council tax or bus fares.

I've applied for between 40 and 50 jobs over the past few weeks, out of which I have 1 interview which has been cancelled and re-scheduled for next week. It's a bit of a way to go for work but work is work. It's working in a cafe so the pay will be low and the career experience limited unless I can persuade the owners to let me try out my new business skills out on their livlihood. Nah, I won't be holding my breath for that one either.

2 weeks to go

I start my course on the 22nd of September. I'm in a flap because I still have no idea whether my loan application has been successful or not. If the worst comes to fruition I suppose I can switch to a part-time studentship and get a full time job instead of working part time.

Tomorrow I have an interview with a temping agency for a collections position for a solicitors; apparently the role is far more relaxed than my previous similar role which is a relief. Fingers crossed I get it. It's only for 4 weeks, but if I impress them they may want to take me on full-time, and 4 weeks work is 4 weeks work however you look at it.

Meanwhile, my flatmate-to-be is applying through clearing to do some developmental or social Psychology which is great. We're trying to find just the right flat, but the nearer I get to term starting the more useless I become. Just yesterday I managed to write down the name of the street we needed to find wrong, and became quite annoyed at myself when I realised, an hour too late, that I had totally invented the spelling. No wonder we got lost.

I'm starting to get nervous now. It really can't be that hard, can it?

Fundraising Ideas

The funny thing about this situation is that considering the course is at the Business School, I feel I should have a natural business intuition.

So why am I having difficulty coming up with the money?

I've approached several of the largest companies nationwide only to receive a polite but firm "No, sorry we have our own graduate training scheme." I've tried my local education authority. They sounded very pleased to hear from me, then revealed that postgraduate funding is only available for PGCE students. I've approached the university and the deadline was in May- which was before I got my act together this year and even thought of further study.

I worked out that I can do it easily if I take out a career development loan for £8,000 and work 15 hours a week at £9 an hour; so I contacted my old team leader at the bank and she said she'd send details of how to get back in. Of course the question does remain... how do you do a 35 hour week at university, 15 to 20 hours at a mind-numbing and incredibly depressing job and write papers that make sense?

The alternative is to have a sale, auction off bits and pieces such as the sandstone artwork that got me into uni aged 18.

I could auction off my time, e.g. for cleaning or general handiwork. My neighbour already needs the bay window roof sealing properly.

I have a vague knowledge of style (despite my own dress sense) and can put together looks on paper for people. £5 a pop?

I can chauffeur people in my battered Punto as long as the price of fuel doesn't continue rising, and they don't mind the outside of it looking a mess. Somehow, this one stinks of being a non-starter.

I could sit in a bathtub of beans and give a portion to charity- or milk and make my pale, pale skin even paler.

I could canoe for miles as an endurance thing, or join an incredibly fit friend on a training run- just for the sponsorship and so that everyone could have a laugh at me.

I could busk in the town centre; the slight problem being that I can't sing (I'm flat) and can't play any musical instrument. Perhaps the triangle?

I could organise a fundraising night, with entry costs contributing to my fees and negotiate a percentage from drinks sales, perhaps even have a sale there.


Hell, I could even do my own photo-shoots with people. Of course, I'd do hair, make-up, styling and photography, but charge only a fraction of the fee professional studios charge. It would be a bargain basement deal for the cash-strapped in need of pampering for an afternoon.

What do you think?

A few weeks later...

Back on Planet Manchester after being away for two weeks in Sweden- I've made a decision.


Previous to the holiday, I went to visit Hull. They have offered me a full scholarship, which includes a full fee waiver and £9,900 towards living costs. The university is lovely, a real mix of the old and new. The lecturers seem pleasant and knowledgeable, and overall I left thinking that unless some hugely fantastic offer came along I'd be spending the next year doing my Postgrad studies there.

As is usually the way, offers come with brilliant timing. When I arrived home from Hull I found a message from Manchester Business School informing me of the offer to study there.

Cue massive stress, much discussion and re-reading the course descriptions.

Still without a decision and with a deadline of the 15th of August to make it, I went on holiday. I should probably add at this point that said holiday was booked a while previous to these adventures.

After clearing my head, sending some directed mails from the local library (and mastering the Swedish required to do so), I settled on Manchester.

The good news is that it's a highly acclaimed university with strong links to innovation centres. I'd get to spend more time in a city I love (and know), and can visit my parents regularly for feeding when funds are tight.

The bad news is that funds will be tight. The fees alone are £7,000, and recommended living allowance is £9,050.

Formalities

In a bank, everything is formal. Everyone is polite, customer service orientated- even to each other- in theory. In a call centre in a bank, it's every dog for himself. So much so that when I was in need of the help of one of our complaints team to provide information regarding the arrears status of one of the customers (we rarely, if ever, communicated with any team outside of our own) I sent him a very polite e-mail which started "Dear Mr xxx" and ended "Regards, etc."

The e-mail was as a result of instructions from a senior colleague so to avoid any problems I copied her into it. Within five minutes she (and the rest of the department) were laughing at my formal, polite, restrained language.

As far as I'm concerned though, this kind of communication is one to be observed until the people communicating are at a sufficient level of understanding that they can drop the proper English and reply "Ta!" instead. To that end, all of my job applications, university applications and queries have been addressed in this way.

I really hope that's normal...


In other news, Manchester today acknowledged my application, so I now have a direct contact with the school. In sending my references one of my lecturers accidentally gave me an alternative project title to the one I'd completed. I don't particularly fancy standing in an interview and being asked "So, tell us about your relaxation light unit" and correcting the mistake there and then with "Actually, it was a peak heat moderator, and took substantially more work to design" because it demonstrates that my lecturer couldn't remember my project.

I spoke to said forgetful lecturer today; he seemed unconcerned and took persuading to send a new letter. If I had done that there would be hell to pay. As it is though, I can't afford to annoy him just yet- I haven't received the correct reference.

Two Offers

I have two offers now for postgraduate study- one from Nottingham and one from Hull- both on the condition that they receive a satisfactory reference from the other of my listed academics. Along with a request for it to be sent, and a promise of a stupidly huge and expensive box of fresh coffee, I have also requested they both send another (glowing) reference for another application. The latest is to the Manchester Business School for a management course they run.

As for funding, I am still wondering how I'm going to afford this. One of my offers has granted me a full fee waiver and a sum for the year- not extravagant, but enough to live off (and that's all I need) if I take a place with them.

As soon as I have a clearer idea of exactly what options are possible, rather than just dreams, I will be straight on the telephone to find a sponsor. Failing that, the bank will be my friend.

"Yes Mr Bank Manager, in this economic climate, I need a loan of £x000 to live for a year and pay my fees. Yes I'll be working. Yes I won't be able to start paying it back until after I, fingers crossed, graduate."

I wonder if being an ex-employee of a certain lender might help with the interest rate? The fact that I left them over six weeks ago now has not deterred them from sending me packs and application forms to buy shares in their company at an employee price.


In other news, I suspect training as an emergency nurse might actually be more appropriate; one of my friends told me today that his young daughter and mother had been the victims of an armed attack. Thoughts are with the family, and thanks are owing to the fact that no-one got hurt. What kind of coward attacks a woman and small child?

Emerging- hopefully

Sometimes, life can get you down. We've all been there, all cuddled up with a duvet and good DVD and a large bar of chocolate.

But you can't hide under your duvet forever.

I've been huddled beneath mine for far too long, and it's got to change. The first thing that has to change is the way you view yourself, and I see myself as a very negative person- so I decided to do something positive with my time instead of just crossing my fingers that the next interview will be "The One."

You're now reading the blog of a designer. Admittedly, a volunteer designer. But she's a designer volunteering her skills for a charity in the North West aimed at promoting sustainable living. No matter how small, or in what form, I need my creative side to relax, to push myself in an alternative vein for a while. First job, design a pack for volunteers taking part through a local university, including all the inserts, title pages and a cover. I also have to figure out how to re-use old ring-binder files for this purpose too... and those are not easy to make look good.

After I complete that work, they are happy for me to work as a researcher too. This means I'll satisfy the curious part of me as well as develop contacts and gain experience in a wider field.

I'm also back on the hunt for work until I start my course in September (and obviously I'll need work during it as well). My to-do list is getting longer and longer, which is always a good move.

Annoyingly, whatever I apply for my mother turns her nose up at, and if I express any disdain at going on-site with my dad to do some labour he explodes, he thinks I think his work is beneath me. Unfortunately, balancing the expectations and emotions of the two of them is a battle in itself, and not one I can win easily. I think the only solution for me is to get a job that pays even minimum wage. It might not make them happy that I'm not saving the world signle-handedly right now, nor getting up to my armpits in concrete and paving- but at least they'd understand I would be making money and learning more skills.

Local government

Yesterday I spent an hour or so at the local council, discussing the building strategy and the use of various sustainability measurements.

I wanted to see if there was any scope for my exploring a career as a building services manager or architect and soon realised that the constraints and financial directives would drive me round the bend.

Even worse, both of the men who gave up their time to talk to me (buildings energy consultant and a building service manager) were so dejected about the lack of support from the council and government that they had given up trying to push for changes in buildings. They seemed frustrated with the lip-service paid to environmental concerns, the endless beourocracy and general lack of support for their work. They questioned why "Eco-schools" are being built which use more energy than the buildings used to previously house the schools.

I wondered how anybody could achieve anything in local government- these men seemed to have achieved nothing and were apparently unfulfilled in their careers.

Renewed Postings

Apologies for the long delay in posting anything new, a lot has been happening over the past couple of weeks regarding my grandfather.

Yesterday I was at his funeral in Banbury, a beautiful service and enlightening to say the least. I had never known how he had changed his path from farming to being one of the top Physicists at the Rutherford labs, nor had I know about his senior position at Searne. As far as I knew, he was simply happy in his work researching on a variety of topics.

Alongside this revelation, I met up with my Nanna's brother, Dr D. Jefferies; a man I have little recollection of meeting before. I must have been very young when we did meet because he certainly knew me. I found out that he was heavily involved in the early Environmental movements, was is responsible for bringing the Otter and Peregine Falcon, among others, from certain extinction. He also has over 200 papers published, his very first in Nature.

Earlier in the weekend a friend and I went for a short break to a log cabin (solar electric lights, wood aga and all the lights are LED's) and met her uncle, who upon hearing of my career aspirations and chatting with me all weekend, gave me his card to look up the company he works for.

What do they say about silver linings?

Guardian Blind Date Mock Interview

For the mildly curious, my Blind Date Interview is here.


For the lazy and technically inept, it follows here too:


Alice Wignall
Saturday May 17, 2008
The Guardian

Nina Fowler graduated in June last year from the University of Derby with a degree in product innovation and eco-design. Now she's interested in starting a career in the environmental sector, assisting industry in moving towards sustainable business and environmentally responsible techniques.

"I knew when I applied for my degree that was the kind of thing I wanted to do," she says. "I've always been very into environmental stuff and in thinking about creative ways of living so you can have a more sustainable and ethical life."

She opted for a fairly broad degree. "I didn't have a strong enough interest in pure science subjects," she says, "and the degree I did had creative aspects and a broad spectrum." She focused her studies on modules that related to the environment with a future career in mind. "Eventually I'd like to be supporting and encouraging business to make their processes more sustainable."

We asked Gary Parke, executive director of Evolve Energy, to mock interview Fowler for an entry-level job. "Our job is to deliver energy and carbon emissions savings," he says. "We generally work with large corporations with energy bills of over £1m." He explains that his company's work is motivated by both business interests and environmental concerns. "First of all, we did see a gap in the market," he says, "but the environmental factor is also a driver. Our clients want to see the evidence that we can save energy and cut costs. They are financially motivated but they also are drawn to the environmental message. It's part of our message that there is so much that can be done that both reduces energy use and saves money."

Similarly, Parke says his company is looking for people with a range of skills and interests. "Most importantly we're looking for people who are capable of problem solving, who are creative and innovative; who can sit down with our clients and figure out what the issue is for them and how we can solve it."

He also notes that the growth of "green" industries presents an immediate problem of a skills shortage which graduates can take advantage of. "There's an absolutely huge opportunity for people who are interested in this area," he says. "Nina is a classic example of someone with the right background in terms of a formal education who can see the opportunities in the job market. She's a fresh thinker and can bring a different perspective to a company."

Parke thought that Fowler has the right combination of conviction and practicality to make a success of a career in the environmental sector. "She's very honest, very open with her ideas," he says. "She's got very strong ideas and beliefs and she is able to communicate them, but she's not naive or arrogant about them. She would be a great person to work with clients, who can often be quite overwhelmed by the range of messages they're getting about sustainability, to talk to them, figure out what they're after and how we can deliver it for them."

He suggests that she could do more research into exactly what role she is interested in. "She will come across more clearly in interviews if she has a firm idea about that," he says. "But right now if you asked me if she was good raw material, I would say 'absolutely'."

Fowler says that she enjoyed the interview. "It was really good to meet Gary," she says. "He is obviously really passionate about what he does. From the point of view of the personal satisfaction he obviously gets from it, it's the kind of job I'd love to be doing." She also felt quite confident with the interview process. "I don't mind interviews too much," she says, "because I try to take time to answer the questions. I hope I came across well - I tried!"

Questions asked

· What are your qualities that you feel would best contribute to Evolve?
· Give an example of when you influenced the work of others. How did you achieve it? What were the outcomes?
· What are the main drivers for climate change?
· Which companies are exemplars in promoting sustainability? And why?

Scorecard

Appearance 8/10
Preparation 6/10
Employability 8/10

· If you are an undergraduate or recent graduate in need of a career blind date, send your CV to graduate@guardian.co.uk

Date Etiquette

Date or interview, it's always polite to follow up encouragingly if it was a good one.

I wrote to my Blind Date interviewer, thanking him for his time, expertise and enthusiasm. I might also have sneaked in a little note about the fact I would be over the moon working for a company like that.

Not very subtle, but since when did subtle get me anywhere eh?



In other news, I'm overwhelmed by the volume of people reading this tiny little blog- even if they are my mates and just nosy, or possibly just one person refreshing the page a lot.

A Blind Date

Yesterday I ironed a shirt, pulled on a pair of exceptionally uncomfortable heels, and headed down South, for what can only be described as a Career Blind Date. In fact, it is called by that very same name in the newspaper it features in.

The idea is simple: take one fresh faced graduate, match them with a company they might fancy working for (and that could tolerate such blind ignorance from an employee), let them meet and report on the results.

Considering I only wrote to the careers section of this paper for a brief idea of what I'm doing so wrong with my CV, I think I'm exceptionally lucky.

The company turned out to be one of those beautiful, inspiring places where ideas don't just happen; they get supported and nurtured, encouraged and spread until everyone is affected. Normally, interviews are fraught experiences, punctuated by the exclamation of a carefully constructed answer to an innocent sounding question. This interview was slightly different.

I'd like to put that down to my witty manner, my breeziness and general attitude, but the reality is it took on a distinctly relaxed air once it became clear the matchmaker had neglected to provide the interviewer with my CV. Normally, I take a copy with me to interviews to refer to should the conversation eer towards the less well-remembered antics of my career past- on this occasion I did not, making the careless mistake of assuming everything would be alright.

Once we passed the initial questions regarding qualifications, why I'd left the idea of design behind and what I hoped to do next, we started on the causes of the environmental problems, the apathy, the politics, the people, the glaciers, the solutions... and yes I am a cynic, and possibly highly naive in most of my beliefs. I tried not to come across as too strong, but honesty is always the best policy (there is no way on Earth I'm telling a lie in an interview, bad words always come back to bite you at the least opportune moment), and I suspect my youthful innocence and cold appraisal of my impressions were carried across without much hindrance.

Although it was only a mock interview, and the outcome for the interviewer was only to see what fresh graduates are like and for myself to get yet more interview experience and a little guidance, I really would like to work for a company like that.

Yes, it will be in print in the national press, all my shortcomings as a candidate and a nice full length photo should ant potential employer wish to recognise me to steer well clear, but I really do hope that if the article provides any job opportunities that they are with bright, enthused and driven people such as I met there. I hope there will be a place that I can use my head and share in the life of others to build a work community and make the changes I so desperately want to see.



I'm still dreading this article though.




As a side note: I know this is a blog about my hunt for a career, but I feel it would be heartless not to mention one of the drivers in my life. On the afternoon after this interview I received the call I'd been fearing for a while now- that my granddad had taken a turn for the worse and was not expected to last the night. Apologies to anyone who had to see me spilling my tea and crying in Euston station on Friday evening.

My grandad, Bob, is a warm and loving man, despite a difficult childhood. He married young to the woman he is still married to, and together they had two boys. I am his only granddaughter and my brother his only grandson. He worked extensively at the Rutherford labs, and traveled Europe with equipment for Searne. I have these wonderful photographs of him as a young man stood near the towering electron acceleration equipment he designed.

He has a brilliant mind and a fantastically dry sense of humour. He has doted on us without spoiling us, and now lies asleep on a morphine drip. Prostate cancer is a killer, no matter how old or how blessed a life you have lead. Please check regularly for any abnormalities.

Today I'm applying to a course I like the look of. Of course I've researched it, emailed lecturers and got some responses. I've filled in most of the form and my lecturers from the first degree have agreed to provide references.

All that stands between myself and the application flying off to a dusty admin's office is my Personal Statement. It fills most A level students with dread- this is what gets you noticed, decides whether potential tutors leap with joy or toss your application into an ever-growing pile of rejects.

I've already written one of these, quite successfully as it happens, four years ago. I'm an old hand at it, right?


Of course, it does help if the course description gives little clues as to what the lecturer wants to hear. Unfortunately, this particular lecturer chose not to reply to my attempts to draw him into discussion. He also chose not to write anything on his website about the course he teaches.



One thing that worries me about postgraduate study is financing it.

I'm working like a good little bee at the moment. It's full time in a £17,100 job a year for 4 months, plus bonuses. To get said bonuses which could be anything from £400 to £1500 a month I need to push my stats up. Unfortunately, I work as an arrears collector. This means that to get the bonuses (and avoid being put on disciplinary for being below standard) I have to be mean, hard and pushy on people; a particularly nasty job considering the credit crunch and the rising mortgage prices.

One option is to apply for postgraduate scholarships. As a British citizen, female and applying for courses in the Environmental sector, I qualify for zilch. Nada. Nothing. If I'd been foreign, male or studying social sciences (or all three) I'd have money thrown at me by our delightful government. But then I suppose foreign students bring foreign money into the country. Does it matter that they then take all those new skills and never come back?

My choice then, is to apply for a taught course and save up my earnings then take out a hefty career development loan (at an equally hefty interest rate) and be up to my eyeballs in debt until I'm 50- or 75 if I ever get on the property ladder or (shock horror!) take a brief holiday abroad.

The other choice is to get paid to study; which means get paid a measly sum (but supposedly livable on) to do research into something I find vaguely interesting. But would a specialist research not pigeonhole me? After a year of peering down microscopes and firing light at objects would I be employable in anything to do with the environment, or would I be forever resigned to living out my days in a dark laboratory continuing said research and passing on the knowledge to people who could actually make use of it?

Looking at an alternative to being told I'm too green/ inexperienced/ young/ arty/ not arty enough/ efficient (and no, that last one was not a joke entry), I went for a chat with the lecturers about Postgraduate study.

The first meeting was about a Geography based degree in Environment, which includes aspects of environmental decision making and legislation. Useful for a career, but doesn't half seem dry.

The second was a research course in materials. To be more precise, storage of hydrogen for fuel cells. At first I thought I was going to have far too little knowledge and experience in this area, but the lecturer at the head of the research still took me on a tour of the department. By the end, I was gripped. I wanted to be there, behind the spectroscope or whatever fantastic piece of complicated machinery you felt like picking. I wanted to make a new compound and try it out; fire electrons at it, pass gases through it and look at it under a microscope.

The only thought is where I would go after such a year. The options are further study, phd level and eventually have a load of impressive letters after my name and hopefully a couple of useful discoveries, or research for an engineering company. But what if I don't like it that much? Isn't all that time, money and energy going to be wasted?

Project Time Estimates

When starting a project, you usually estimate the time each task will take. You then see what tasks are dependent on the completion of others planned, and what tasks can be done simultaneously. After this, you devise a plan which makes the most of the resources available to you; gaining the maximum output in the least time and on budget etc etc.

In this case, the project is Getting Hired, the resources are the careers development unit at university and myself, the budget is variable depending on when I get paid, and the time? Well I estimated 6 months, maybe a little optimistically.

At first the project was running along smoothly- find a prospective job, apply, interview and await the response. Sometimes the job found me, with previously unknown agents picking my CV from a site, or seeing my portfolio and getting in touch.

One such job was with a huge company, massive in the technology field. They needed a European Energy Advisor who had knowledge of Product Design. I thought I was too young- at 21 you can hardly command your week very well, let along advise the mid to top level management throughout Europe of environmental legislation! Anyway, following a successful phone interview with the agent, a CV evaluation and another phone interview with the company, I was called down for a face to face interview. At this point there were between 5 and 10 candidates remaining, none of which had my limited experience. I traveled for 8 hours on public transport and sat in a very flash reception only to be caught out by... wait for it.... my age.

Which they knew beforehand.

They did seem impressed by my attitude though, a characteristic which later interviewers also reported as being professional.

A Brief History of the Hunt

I graduated last year with a degree in Bsc Product Design (Innovation & Ecodesign). It was a good grade, I won't brag but it was a First Class and I was the only one who received that classification.

Ever since then I've been searching for my dream job.

This is the story of my progression. Prospective employers shall remain nameless.