Working to your own timetable, being your own boss, experiencing different industries, having a short term impact on high value projects, and the potential to earn big bucks.

The world of freelancing brings with it many benefits, but there are just as many downsides that also need to be considered if you’re looking to move towards this type of career.

Dispelling the myths
Like most thing in life, the grass always seems greener on the other side.

Read the rest of the article on the Monster website.

 You may come from any area of study - from Science, Technology and Engineering, to Art, Design, or Music.  You do not need any formal business knowledge and you can enter on your own or as part of a team.

To apply and to find out more, go to the West Focus website.  You can also sign up to attend a Bright Ideas Masterclass to get help in developing your ideas.

If you are interested, register soon! The closing date is Monday 12th December

• Monday 14 November: Absolute Beginners Day
• Tuesday 15 November: IP and Innovation Day
• Wednesday 16 November:  Women in Business
• Thursday 17 November: Marketing Maestros
• Friday 18 November: Make It, Sell It! Day

For more details and to sign up, go to www.bl.uk/bipc/global

In addition, The Net Location is running a social networking event for creative entrepreneurs on Wednesday 16 November with panel discussion, informal networking and a DJ. Advanced tickets cost £5.  For more details, a list of the panelists and to book a ticket, go to http://thenetlocationgew.eventbrite.com/

Winners’ prizes include laptops and all-expenses paid trips to New York, South America, Florida, South Africa and continental Europe and the final ten students in each Award will be invited to the Undergraduate of the YearAwards in Canary Wharf London on 13^th April, 2012 where the winners will be announced to national press coverage by The Rt. Hon Michael Portillo.

 To enter, go to http://undergraduateoftheyear.com/ and select your category.

Closing date for entries: 31 January 2012

We will link you to a successful professional who will help you with confidence, motivation, decision making and skills development. You need to be able to commit to meeting your mentor once a month over Semester 1 & 2 – usually in the mentor’s place of work.

We have been running mentoring schemes at the Career Development Centre for over 15 years, which are now open to all students at University of Westminster. By taking part, you will have a fantastic opportunity to develop your skills and explore different career ideas.

Why have a mentor?

–      To help and support people to manage their own learning in order to maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be. (Parsloe, 1992)

What will I get out of it?

–      We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. (Winston Churchill)

–      A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could. (Unknown)

–      I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. (Maya Angelou)

Apply NOW – interviews and training will be held in October. Don’t delay – apply today!

http://www.wmin.ac.uk/page-21331

Or email: f.gow@westminster.ac.uk

Mentoring is a long term relationship that meets a developmental need. A mentor facilitates growth in an individual by sharing the knowledge and insights that have been learned through the years. Put simply, mentors are people who help others to succeed.

• “A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.”  (Unknown)

We have been running mentoring schemes at the Career Development Centre for over 15 years, which are now open to all students at University of Westminster. By taking part, you will have a fantastic opportunity to develop your skills and explore different career ideas.

But don’t just take my word for it – this is what former participants had to say:

• “Improving my CV has made me more confident in my career choices and built confidence in myself both academically and socially.” (Student)
  
• “This is a great opportunity to come out of university with other skills rather than just qualifications.” (Student)
  
• “One of the greatest achievements so far is being able to deliver rewarding experiences and setting up contacts for my mentee to talk and gain experience from the world of work.” (Mentor)
  
• “I am so glad that I participated in the mentoring scheme. Before joining the scheme I didn’t really know where my future career was heading and I felt that I was lacking in guidance and confidence. I would strongly recommend this mentoring scheme because it is a rare yet beneficial opportunity at this crucial but often confusing stage of our lives as students.” (Student)

If you would like to have a mentor for Semester 1 & 2, please follow this link for more information and to download an application form.

http://www.wmin.ac.uk/page-21331

Your challenge is to get together a team of 4 students and identify a project that will get people in your university living more sustainably. You and your team will have to manage this project from start to finish and ensure that it has an enduring impact in your local community. The 10 teams with the best project ideas will be asked to put them into practice as well as attend an interactive, team–building weekend in October before the grand final in December where a panel of judges will select 1 winning team who will win the prize: a fantastic trip to the Arctic to go dog sledding in the land of the midnight sun

RWE npower are so confident that the students will develop these key employability skills from running their project, preparing for the competition, completing the team building weekend and going on the trip that we will guarantee to offer a summer placement for each member of the winning team.

For more information and to apply, go to http://www.npower.com/brightergraduates/future-leaders.html

Beating off stiff competition from finalists at LSE and University of Oxford, Andreea’s creative flair, passion for events and entrepreneurial streak have won her a month long placement at Enternships, and £1,000.  Congratulations Andreea!

Enternships.com offers internship opportunities with enterprising companies. Please note, the Career Development Centre does not offer or promote unpaid internship positions.

All entrants must have been in full-time education on 1st January 2011. For more information, including how to apply, go to the APG website.

Closing date for entries: Friday 26th August 2011.

Asking someone who has worked for Seedcamp, the London based early-stage micro seed investment fund and mentoring programme, as an intern, and has now joined a startup working on on a service for the future of video & communication, is probably the best interviewee to give us valuable insights. We met Jakob and asked him, what makes each day enjoyable?

“I am Jakob Marovt, student of life (and computer science on the side ). I also love startups, previously worked at Seedcamp and just recently joined one of their winners –Vox.io. Enjoying every single minute of the startup road so far.”

How and why did you decide to join a startup, and where did your journey start?

“I came to know the world of startups back in 2007 when a Slovenian company Zemanta won the first incarnation of Seedcamp. I have been passionately following the increasingly growing ecosystem, reading a lot, following interesting people on Twitter and around within the blogosphere, went to Silicon Valley in 2010 and become totally hooked on the startup idea. Been chasing the dream ever since.”

Vox.io is part of the Seedcamp family. Has your involvment in Seedcamp as an intern been a stepping stone?

“It has definitely been a big step forward for me. I have had a chance to meet tons of interesting people, seeing even more interesting ideas come to life from (almost) nothing and Vox.io kind stood out for me in a way. The possible upside here is amazing. And them coming from my home country, Slovenia, probably played a small part in the decision too.”

Jakob Marovt

You just recently joined vox.io. What are your responsibilities, and how would you describe an ordinary day in the office?

“Since joining Vox.io I have been closely involved in day to day operations, figuring out new ideas around the product, driving them from a sketch on the paper to a working version. I’m also responsible for most of the marketing and community relationship. We work a lot, but are not strangled to a specific working schedule. Everybody knows when there is time to put heads down and “hustle”, but also find time in between to have fun. It’s never boring at Vox.io HQ.”

Personally, what does it mean to work for a startup? What do you value the most?

“Freedom, (possible) big upside, team spirit. Most probably in this order of importance. I think that, especially in the early days of a startup, when the venture is still trying to nail down the product/market fit and has only a handful of employees, an individual really has freedom and vast opportunity to realize his ideas and be part of steering a possibly world-changing boat. It is an incredible, hard to describe feeling, when you feel you are part of something that could potentially have an impact, even for a bit, on lives of millions of people. That’s probably the thing I value the most.”

Do you need special super powers, or would you say that there are some folks who perfectly fit in this environment and some simply don’t?

“You definitely have to be willing to give up some things, but I personally think the positive aspects by far outweigh the negative sides. It is really important to clearly state the difference between startup founders and people working in startups: founders are really taking an enormous risk and have to be somewhat crazy to go down the startup path. Their employees, on the other hand, are sacrificing a bit of their spare time and, in the beginning, a small negative margin in the salary, but have a lot of power, freedom and are able to work in an inspiring, smart and dedicated team. If there are great founders to look up to and learn from, nothing can beat working for a startup.”

Speaking hypothetically, if you would be a graduate again wishing to work in a startup, where would you look for a job?

“I would probably go on Crunchbase and use their advanced search option to narrow down interesting startups in my area of interest and further go on their websites to look for job opportunities. Workinstartups.com is definitely positioned appropriately to disrupt this situation and make it easier for both startups and job seekers to come together. Wish you all the best on your path!”

Adding to my last question: Do you think that jobs in startups are sufficiently advertised in order to attract the smartest and most creative people? If not, what would be an ideal solution?

“Actually I see a huge problem here, which I have witnessed during my stay in London. Big, grey corporations, such as banks, insurance companies, hedge funds are very smartly targeting the best graduates, organizing meeting days at faculties, job fairs etc. Thus, a huge portion of the students can’t and don’t see beyond the mist of “safe, old school” jobs. That is a shame – people find themselves working and later hating big corporations, which don’t fulfill their early dreams and startups are left in a constant struggle to find the best talent. Hopefully, the winds will change soon.

Again, an initiative like Workinstartups.com could unite the startup community and organize special, at least monthly startup job fair events at universities, which would slowly, but definitely help spur the awareness and bring more talent to the “right companies” – the innovative startups of tomorrow.”

Where do you see yourself in 5 years – maybe starting own business etc.?

“I am heads down in Vox.io now and don’t think much about anything else. Will see where the road takes me, but I definitely see myself closely related to the startup ecosystem. Just can’t see myself doing anything else, I love it ”

Thanks for your time, Jakob, and all the best for you and your team!