Orientation: First contact

Nottingham Trent University has an excellent Careers Advisory Service with its own excellent website/database. Where appropriate, this website has full links to and references to these services. So why have our own website? This website is designed to be of particular interest to students studying for a degree or joint honours degree in International Relations. It thus aims to integrate an analysis of careers with the academic study of international relations and to reflect the interests and concerns of this particular type of student. The website is a companion and document store for students studying IR Careers Modules (available from 2002/3) but is also designed for independent use over the full time that you are studying IR. It is designed not just to encourage you to think about the practicalities and process of getting a job but also the (international) politics. It is divided, for your convenience, into different ‘routes’ which help to order the information and, hopefully, allow you to navigate easily to what you want.

Route One
Route One is about how to go about getting a job (how to ‘make it so’). This is a longer process than you might think and one that you should engage with even if you don’t know what career you want. It is about becoming the sort of person who someone would want to employ.

I was about 12 when I realised that I did not have the skills to become a professional footballer. Some skills are essential to a job. With the exception of Portsmouth FC all professional football clubs are represented by skillful players. Fortunately though, not all skills are innate (like ball-control or mind-melding for instance) and can be acquired through practice/effort. Acquiring skills will put you in a good position even if you’re not sure what you might do with them. And you need to begin by identifying what you’re good at and what you need to develop.

Armed with such skills, you also need to reflect upon certain things however. I was slightly younger than 12 when I realised that I was, in the words of Alexei Sale, ‘a bit of a communist’ and unlikely to follow through with my plan — formulated aged 7 — of joining the Navy. Of course nowadays you would probably term me a ‘Champagne socialist’ — or given wages in academia a ‘Cava socialist’ — but the point is my values would not allow me to work for such ‘fascist bullyboys’, although I should point out that several of our graduates have joined the forces.

Once you know what you’re good at and what you value in life, you’ll want to use this site to consider various job options. This site contains information on courses, work experience and jobs and links to other sites where such information can be found. Ultimately, for everything to come together you will need a cunning plan. How are you going to match your skills and values to the work that is available. It’s not an easy task, but one which is much better done incrementally. But whether you have arrived here at level one or level three, it would be best if you began your journey now; who knows in which strange new world you may end up if you are only prepared to go boldly enough.

Route Two
Route Two thinks more about the academic side of careers and employment. What kind of a world do we live in? What is globalisation and how is it affecting the nature of employment. Whether you plan to work for a Multinational Company, an NGO or as a diplomat, how will your work affect the world? There is no prime directive against interference — you can make a difference for good or bad! This route will thus contain information on firms and organisations. You don’t have to believe everything a company declares about itself; indeed you might wish to compare your own academic study of say MNCs with their own rhetoric.

This route also thinks about various non-work options. The merits of further study for example, either for its own sake or to supplement the skills you have acquired through IR with a particular vocational qualification. Another possibility (though this might also result from employment) is travel. As students of International Relations we are hopefully sensitive travellers, aware of issues of culture, the use of language and stark differences in income between global rich and poor; whether in Paris, France or Torres, Paraguay we will respect local traditions. This section theorises and thinks about these issues in some detail.

Route Three
Route ‘Three’ includes a variety of what are styled here 'Utilities’ where you will find fun and facts. There will be a chat section for both asynchronous and synchronous debate and exchange of information (linked to the IR webboard). This section will develop over time but will include inspirational stories, quizzes and interactive elements. As we get asked them, a section on frequently asked questions (FAQs) will build into a useful ‘bank’ for students to investigate. You COULD say this is where we’re putting all the stuff that didn’t fit anywhere else, but that would be harsh. This is a self-consciously free-form and fun time-out room to play and ponder a bit like a holo-deck. (no, I actually don’t know what I’m talking about either!!!).

Outline
Route 1
Route 2
Route 3