NOW is a great time for many graduates preparing for a career in science.
With more job vacancies about than there鈥檚 been for years, unemployment is
dropping fast. University students due to graduate in 2000 have particularly
bright prospects. Recruitment managers are out and about touring the university
campuses and making presentations to undergraduates. The recruiters鈥� aim is to
attract applicants for the desirable vacancies that they have to offer.
More than twenty recruitment fairs are due to be held around Britain this
autumn. They offer a rare opportunity to compare one firm with another. If you
hope to attend one of these fairs, ask the organisers who will be exhibiting.
Then you can thoroughly research whichever firms interest you and maybe find out
about their vacancies. Come the event, though, be sure to take with you a
curriculum vitae or a completed application form from your target firms. These
will provide recruitment managers with information about you and provide useful
talking points to ease any discussions.
Oil companies are more in evidence as recruiters this year than last. Esso
says it expects to have 50 vacancies for new graduates to join its three-year
development programme. BP is actively recruiting and expects to have around 30
vacancies for new graduates, and Shell is also on the recruitment trail.
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The rest of the energy sector is also recruiting strongly. British
Energy鈥攖he nuclear power part of the electricity industry鈥攊s in
search of physicists, electronic and electrical engineers, materials scientists
and those with IT skills. In this it is joined by BNFL, London Electricity and
Scottish Power.
The pharmaceuticals industry is presently in restructuring mode and Glaxo
Wellcome is among those companies that have recently announced redundancies.
However Glaxo Wellcome, the newly merged Astra Zeneca, Boots and others claim
that they are actively recruiting next year鈥檚 university leavers. Astra Zeneca
is also seeking applications from research, analytical and process chemists, as
well as students expecting to graduate in pharmacy or environmental and
biological sciences. Glaxo Wellcome is fishing in the same pool but says it is
in the market for good mathematicians and medical statisticians.
The public sector also has many good opportunities to offer. The Defence
Evaluation and Research Agency, which says that it is the largest community of
scientists and engineers in Europe, is seeking to fill up to 500 vacancies for
鈥渁nalytically minded, innovative graduates鈥�. Meanwhile, the Government
Communication Centre and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) both
require electronic engineers, software engineers and computer scientists. The
GCHQ, which has around 150 vacancies to fill, recently announced a sponsorship
scheme for technologists in the penultimate year of their degree course.
Telecommunications and information technology are by far the greatest source
of jobs. Computer manufacturers, telecommunications service providers and
software houses are extremely active in their search for talented employees.
Recruits with skills in Windows NT, C++ and Visual Basic are currently among the
most sought-after prospective employees. The ability to design and manage web
sites is becoming increasingly important and e-commerce is growing at a dramatic
pace. But the industry is expanding so fast that many employers are prepared to
train recruits from scratch. BT, IBM, Oracle Corporation and Research Machines
are among the leading recruiters. Software and systems houses including EDS,
Logica, Sema and Computer Sciences Corporation are all seeking talent.
Demand for electronic engineers is intense, especially, though not only, for
those with knowledge and skills in radio frequency applications. A range of
companies are attending recruitment fairs in search of these engineers,
including Phillips Semiconductors, Marconi Communications and Hewlett
Packard.
Andersen Consulting, Pricewaterhouse-Coopers Management Consultancy
Services and several other management consultancies, including Deloitte Touche
are looking for trainees in the software market. Some of these organisations,
including Andersen Consulting, recruit what they consider to be the brightest
and best across all degree disciplines and put them through their own thorough
training programme before assigning them to project teams working directly for
clients.
The teaching profession remains very short of scientists, especially
physicists and chemists. The Teacher Training Agency has been attending most
careers fairs recently in the hope of persuading more graduates to take a
postgraduate certificate in education, which is the main route into teaching
science in a secondary school.
Manufacturing companies are also putting great effort into their recruiting
campaigns. Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, Mars and British Steel are among the
array of firms that are currently visiting universities. Some of these organise
Christmas vacation courses to attract applicants. These events, which are
usually held in a hotel, include presentations from young employees in a range
of departments as well as participation in case studies representative of
different activities within the organisation.
More organisations than last year are using aptitude tests鈥� especially
those measuring verbal, numerical and diagrammatic reasoning鈥攚hen
recruiting. This development is not confined to the software industry. Some
companies, including BP, test first and use the results of the tests to decide
whom they will subsequently interview. Others test and interview candidates on
the same occasion and consider the results of both exercises when they make
their hiring decisions. The use of assessment centres in selection situations is
also expanding. More firms are asking applicants to make verbal presentations,
take part in discussion groups or be tested for their understanding of a case
study. Many require candidates to participate in a writing exercise.
All in all the present job scene is full of activity. It is a time to think
carefully about what you want to do and could be qualified to do. Research
organisations that you would consider working for and take the trouble to make
good applications. Do all this and job offers could soon be coming your way.