Geography Careers Hub
Topic outline
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Welcome to the Careers area for the School of Geography. This area will give you information on career options, application techniques, how you can improve your employment prospects and gain work experience and graduate job vacancies.
This area is maintained by the School of Geography Careers Consultant, Matthew Halfin.
See the Careers & Enterprise website to find out more about the support we offer you or drop in to see us, in IQ East Court, formerly Scape.
We offer 20 minute appointments daily. To book please either visit the Careers & Enterprise Centre (IQ East Court, formly Scape, Ground Floor on left past student enquiries) or telephone us on 0207 882 8533. Please watch the videos below to see how to find us and how to book an appointment.
To find out more about the range of careers you can consider after you graduate, you can click on the links below to find out what careers some of our QMUL Geography alumni are working in:
· Bronwen Eastaugh, Student Engagement Manager - view here
· Barry Lui, Senior Technology Consultant - view here
· Jim Biggin, Graduate Procurement Officer - view here
· Nick Hajdu, Founder of Navigate Video - view here
· Toby Arnold, Senior Environmental Underwriter - view here
· Chipo Meke, Management Consultant - view here
· Natalie Fairchild, Operations Specialist - view here
· Shajiyah Begum, Teacher of Geography - view here
· Farhasaad Shahid, Communications Associate – view here
· Jessica Houghton, Marketing Executive - view here
All the profiles can be found here.
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Name
Role
Conor Moloney
1991 B.Architecture University College, Dublin
2003 MSc Geography LSE
2011 Msc International Planning UCL
Urban Planner, Planning Policy Team, Haringey Council
Denis McFadden
2017 BA Human Geographay 1st Class
- Roger Lee Prize for academic achievement.
Member Support Officer, London Borough of Haringey
Parliamentary Researcher /Policy Adviser in the House of Commons.
Toby Sansom
2017 BSC Geography
2019 MSc Climate Change
Catastrophe Risk Analyst at Gallagher Re
Daniel Donaghy
2011 – BSc in Environmental Geography (2.2)
2020 – MSc in Real Estate (UCEM) (2.1)
Estates Manager, Concessions
Transitioned from HR & Recruitment
Connie Kimpton
2021 BA Human Geography
Graduate Scheme Allianz
James Tempest
Estuarine Geomorphologist (Jacobs)
Betsy Dillner
2013 Master of Arts Community Organising
Principal Director at the Social Change Agency
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Nevroz Fehimli was one of thirty-two QMUL students to win a place on the ColorinTech programme. ColorinTech is an organization working to advancin inclusion and equality in tech. Nevroz participated in the virtual ColorinTech programme, including sessions with professionals from LinkedIn, Microsoft, Cloudreach, Deepmind (Google) and Northzone Venture Capital. In this session, Nevroz shared her reflections on the programme and advice for students who are interested in similar opportunities.
About the speaker: Nevroz Fehimli is a 3rd year Geography student and Geography representative to QMSU.
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In this event, the Operations Director for a small charity shared insights about the hiring process in the charity sector. He reflected on what the hiring panel looks for in job applications and how to impress the panel at your interview. The event will take the form of a Q&A with Harry, chaired by Sydney Calkin. It will be recorded.
About the speaker: Harry Higginson is the Operations Director for Forward Thinking, a small charity that works in conflict mediation and resolution in the Middle East and North Africa.
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In this event we heard from some fascinating alumni from the school of Geography, who have embarked on a diverse range of interesting careers.
The panellists were:
- Katie Wahl, Fast Streamer at Civil Service Fast Stream
- Danial Naqvi, PhD student and co-founder of Bloomsbury Ethos
- Sumbul Siddiqui, Area Manager at Amazon
- Dina Morsy, Assistant Daylight, Sunlight & Rights of Light Surveyor at Avison Young
Arta Ramaj, Financial Analyst at Dun & Bradstreet
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To keep up to date with events please join QMCareers on Instagram
Also ensure that your student profile is up to date on Target Connect to get relevant events and vacancies sent to your inbox. -
The process of getting a good job when you graduate starts in your first year. When you apply for graduate jobs employers look for evidence from year one of transferable skills gained both from inside and outside your course and some professional work experience. It can sometimes be challenging to balance study and involvement in these things, so read more on the 'What to do and when' page to help you identify next steps that will work for you.
There are opportunities for Geography students to do volunteering and professional certification with London Citizens: read here for more information.
Hear what other students say about their experience of getting work experience and being active on campus in our film: -
Your Geography degree gives you a huge range of transferable skills, meaning that you can go into a variety of jobs - from those directly related to your degree to those totally unrelated. Read our options page and get links for where you can get further info by clicking the picture below.
You can also read the Careers & Enterprise industry guides to get an overview of different career sectors, the skills they require (how to develop these) and where to find more information.
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QM Jobonline: this lists over 2200 graduate job, volunteering and internship vacancies
Work experience hub: general information, ideas and tips for gaining work experience through paid and voluntary opportunities, as well as links to live vacancies
QConsult: team-based consultancy projects - working on a real life problem for a local business or charity
QRecruit: find QInternships for students and graduates, temporary work and QProjects opportunities.
Download handouts on job seeking in different sectors, from the environmental sector to marketing to charities and development.
Download the resources below for a list of websites where you can find volunteering opportunities, internships and directories of member companies who you can write to and set up your own work experience.
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For information and advice about interviews, networking, making speculative applications and assessment centres see the Resources page of the Careers & Enterprise website.
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This is example job description and related CV and cover letter, demonstrating how to tailor your application to each job description.
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Here are a collection of career case studies from QMUL School of Geography alumni, covering careers ranging from international development and teaching to marketing and recycling - and more!
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Careers & Enterprise is located in IQ East Court, formerly Scape. Across the road from the Queens' Building and to the left of the Sainsbury's Local as you cross the road. Visit us or give us a call on 0207 882 8533.
We provide a range of services to help you secure work and professional experience whilst you study and a job after you graduate, as well as advice and funding to start or grow a business We can support you in a variety of ways:
One-to-one appointments with a Careers Consultant or Application Adviser: book an appointment to talk about anything from finding work experience, graduate jobs, or further study opportunities to exploring your career options, getting feedback on your CV, cover letter or application form, or doing a tailored practice interview. Book up to a week in advance by calling 020 7882 8533 or in person.
Careers events: meet employers and find out more about different jobs from QMUL alumni at our fairs, workshops and panels. See www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/events for a full list of events and how to book.
Jobonline vacancies website: our online jobs board lists over 2,000 part-time and full-time jobs, internships and volunteering activities in the UK and overseas. Search www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/jobs
Work experience: find a wide range of opportunities for getting paid and unpaid experience, on or near campus, through our work experience hub. The hub includes opportunities available through our work experience schemes exclusively for QMUL students:
- QConsult – mini consultancy projects where you work in a small team of students from different subjects to solve a real-life business challenge www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/qconsult
- Microinternships - these are internships specifically for Humanities and Social Science students. They real projects for a total of 40hours over a specific number of weeks . https://www.qmul.ac.uk/careers/recruiters/micro-internships/ Visit the link to find out the timelines and recruitment for Spring and Summer terms.
- QTemps – paid temporary work on campus and in the local area for QMUL students and graduates https://q-temps.co.uk/
- QTaster - get involved in fantastic networking opportunities and increase your understanding and knowledge of the range of jobs you can do. https://www.qmul.ac.uk/careers/gain-experience/qtaster/
Enterprise: Got a project idea that you want to turn into a business? Or a business that you want to grow? Our enterprise support includes information, funding, one-to-one advice, workshops and networking with experts and mentors. See: www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/enterprise
Online information and resources: Visit the Careers and Enterprise Website
for more information about our services and how to access them, overviews of different career sectors, useful guides (e.g. on writing a CV or cover letter, preparing for interview, etc), practice psychometric tests and video interviews, DVDs on how to do well at assessment centres, and more.
To think about which stage you are at in your 'career readiness', take a look at our 'EAST' model to help you. Here you will find activities that you can do to progress you on your career journey.
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QConsult
QConsult is an award-winning employability programme that offers the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary team of five students on a real life consultancy or research project for a local business or charity.
At the end of your project, you present your findings and recommendations to your client organisation in a written report and verbal presentation.
You also receive wrap-around training at the start and end of your project, and support throughout.
Past projects have included: developing public awareness campaigns, completing evaluation reports, conducting market research and testing and reviewing digital advertising campaigns.
We're particularly keen for Geographers and Environmental Science students to take part, as your approach to problem-solving, logistical planning, research and surveys is often invaluable to a small, multi-disciplinary QConsult team.
Why take part?
- Gain valuable, tangible work experience during term time
- Improve your knowledge of different industries and sectors
- Receive support, training and advice on project management and presentation skills
- Get paid the London Living Wage for 20 hours of project work
For more information about the programme, please visit: http://careers.qmul.ac.uk/qconsult. For updates on the programme, please sign up to the mailing list at: http://bit.do/QConsult.
Meet some QConsultants:“I enjoyed working in an organisation as a consultant and being part of a team coming up with practical recommendations helping the organisation to perform better on the programme. Moreover, I loved the team I was working with and we successfully played on each other's strengths to give our best on the project.
This experience has definitely helped me with my career development giving me a feeling of working environment and helping me think of the kind work and environment I would like to be in the future. Moreover, it has given me the opportunity to start looking into career paths and relevant working experiences respectively.”
Mahrukh Khalid, Environmental Science student and QConsult alum
“The QConsult experience is one that I would highly recommend. As geographers, I think sometimes we do not appreciate how applicable our skills are in the working world. Collecting field data, writing reports and presenting were just some of the skills I had to apply on the project - all of which my degree at Queen Mary has fulfilled me with.
You're given support by an excellent careers team who are with you all the way, outlining strengths as well as areas in which you could improve. All in all, the QConsult experience gave me an excellent insight into the working world and has made me a lot more confident for applying for jobs in the future.”
James Ellis, Geography graduate and QConsult alum
SKETCHWe are currently working with Tower Hamlets council to get our first School of Geography SKETCH programme up and running.
Find out more about the aims and objectives of SKETCH. Watch this space as the first projects are developed. More to follow.
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Queen Mary Careers & Enterprise provides students and recent graduates with a range of support for their entrepreneurial ideas:Seed funding – students and recent graduates (up to one year) can apply for up to £10,000 of funding through our ‘Try It’, ‘Grow It’ and 'Build it' awards, with opportunities to apply each semester.
1-to-1 enterprise appointments – book an appointment by calling 0207 882 8533, or visiting us in the Careers & Enterprise Centre on the ground floor of the Queens’ Building, to get advice about developing your business idea. Whatever stage your idea is at we can meet with you and help you to develop it.
Access to experts – we can put you in contact with experts (from intellectual property to business accounting advice). Email enterprise@qmul.ac.uk and tell us what you need to know about.
Workspace – students can work on their businesses in the Qube, an on-site bookable space in the Francis Bancroft building.
Workshops – check our events website to book onto our practical workshops including business plan writing, pitching, cashflow, and marketing, run each semester.
Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) – international students with a credible business idea and relevant entrepreneurial skills can apply for endorsement from Queen Mary to stay in the UK under a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) Immigration Permission.
Entrepreneurial networks – join Queen Mary Entrepreneurs, or ask us for a business mentor and we can try to match you with a mentor from a local start-up to support you through the early stages of setting up your business.
For more details visit www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/students/enterprise
To find out about enterprise events visit: www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/events
