1. The Stages of your IY
As presented by previous Industrial Year Students

2. Alex
• studying G401
• Worked for AREVA GmbH
• Nuclear Power Technologies
Company
• Based in Erlangen, Germany

3. Helen
• MEng Software Engineering
• Worked for CERN
• Particle Physics Research Labs
• Based near Geneva, Switzerland

4. Connor
• MEng Software Engineering
• Worked for Renishaw plc
• Metrology & Spectroscopy
Engineering Company
• Based in Wotton-Under-Edge

5. Jade
• Studying G401
• Worked for Amadeus Germany
GmbH
• Develop innovative travel solutions
• Based in Bad Homburg, Germany

6. Why an IY?
• Relevant Experience
• Some of us have only been in the educational environment before now
• Earning Money
• Save money for future
• Afford life experiences
• Networking
• Training
• Future employment

7. The Stages of getting an IY
• Looking for placements
• Application
• Interviews and Assessments
• Getting to the Job

8. Looking for Placements
• IY Websites (gradcracker)
• Check big companies’ websites…they may have opportunities on their careers
page
• Careers service and departmental career lists
• CHECK YOUR EMAILS
• Don’t just apply for companies you’ve heard of
• and the ones you haven’t heard of…research!
• Or even just drop an email to companies and ask around friends, and talk to
3rd years and above!

9. The Application
• Don’t Panic
• You will fail….again….and again…and again
• But just keep trying
• You can still get offered a job in April, May, June…

10. Assessments
• Online Assessments
• Stay away from distractions
• Don’t worry about not finishing them, they’re there to test you to
your limits
• Technical Interviews and Code Challenges
• Look for them online, and get an idea of what they’ll include
• Get the question idea and algorithm down…
• …the rest is trivial, and you’ve still shown you’re a structured
worker who understands the problem

11. Telephone Interview
• Have signal
• Don’t be scared to ask the department if you can use a landline
• You can even ask for a private room to take a call in
• Don’t worry if your signal cuts out…the company will probably call
you back!
• Put on a shirt for skype interview…act like you’re in the room with
them, even if there’s no video feed.

12. Assessment Days
• If you are on an assessment day, stay calm; you’re probably the
top 10-20% of applicants already!
• Just know what the position should entail and research it before
you go there
• Treat it like a networking event
• chat with current staff, your interviewers and your competitors
• Play nice
• they’ll be looking to see you work well with your competitors

13. In-Person Interviews
• Have something non-tech related to talk about
• With evidence…”I like games” isn’t good, “I run ACOG gaming
events” is
• And something non-course related that IS techy
• Put some stuff on GitHub, make your own website, join the robotics
society…
• Research
• Know the company, know the industry, and know your own course

14. You’ve been given the offer!
• Congratulations!
• But don’t feel like you have to sign straight away
• there could be better choices, or some clause that makes you
uncomfortable
• Decided you’ll take it? That’s the hard part done…now make sure you’ve got
• a house
• How will you get there, and get around once you are there?
• Look at your wage…what can you afford after tax and expenses?

15. If you’re going abroad…
• There will be a few more things to worry about
• Getting out there will be more expensive and you can bring less
• Housing will be different (ask your future employer to help)
• Look at your wage to living cost ratio
• Bank accounts are not fun, and neither are exchange rates
• people can help though

16. And since you are
abroad…

17. Erasmus
• You’ll need to apply early
http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/international/study-abroad/erasmus/
• It will help with money to get out there, and they offer support for
language learning
• It requires legwork from the employee, the university and
yourself…
• …but people are always accommodating, and it’s worth it!

18. The Language
• Learning a language will help in work, your social life and future
employment
• It will be frustrating at first, but push through
• Many towns have a university that offers cheaper lessons for
European students
• Having a social group with nationals and other learners can be a
massive help

19. Travel
• Take advantage of your new geographical location and disposable
income
• experience new cultures and traditions
• many places will be easier and cheaper to reach, relish the
opportunity

24. You can contact us after today at
afs10, clg11, heh14 or jhe2
or through the abercompsci facebook group
Any Questions?