Healthy job prospects for postgraduate students
Postgraduate students nearing the end of their master’s degrees in subjects including Business Analytics and Management Science (BAMS), Operational Research and Maths have been finding out for themselves about the jobs market for graduates with their skills.
Shahab Hashemi who is completing his MSc in BAMS says he found the fair extremely useful: "It was good to talk to the experts and find out they are actively looking to recruit numerate graduates like me. I'm interested in several of the companies and want to know more."
The specialist recruitment fair was organised by the team from CORMSIS (Centre for Operational Research, Management Science and Information Systems) and Career Destinations at the University. Fifteen companies and organisations including British Airways, PA Consulting, RSA Group and dunn humby sent representatives to talk to the students.
"We often recruit University of Southampton graduates with analytical skills," said Seonaid Beaugeard from British Airways. "Last year around half of our intake in this area came from Southampton." She was joined at the fair by colleague Justine Jankauskaite; herself a graduate from Southampton with a MSc in Business Analytics and Management Sciences.
Kirsten Taylor and Matt Harris from B&Q, which is based in nearby Eastleigh, agreed they had frequently recruited from the University of Southampton and had been pleased with their new members of staff.
Also exhibiting at the fair were professionals from the advertising industry representing the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), the digital performance agency iProspect and Starcom MediaVest.
Dr Meko So from CORMSIS says companies value the opportunity to meet talented students who visit the fair and always ask perceptive questions about employment opportunities.