So, I thought I’d share my thoughts and tips on starting your own business for any students out there who may be considering giving it a go…

With the well publicised challenges in the graduate job market and the popularity of ‘entrepreneurship’ on the rise thanks to shows like Dragon’s Den and The Apprentice, now is a great time to start a business.

1. The Idea – OK so I’m stating the obvious here, but having a good business idea is clearly a good starting point! However, it’s not as hard as you might think; you don’t have to invent a new product or come up with a brand new concept to start a business. Many of the best new businesses that are out there are simply about taking an existing idea, product, service and offering an improved version of that. Think about the challenges and everyday problems that people face – could you create or offer something better than what already exists?

2. Research - So you’ve got an idea – good start. Now it’s time to start testing the water and do some research. Is there a genuine need for your idea? What is the commercial potential? How will you generate revenue? Discuss your idea with people you trust, or better still, partner up with one or two friends (as we did when starting RMP). Your university should have an Enterprise office where they can offer you advice and a sounding board to help you get started.

3. Business Plan? For me, writing a 40 page in depth business plan is a waste of time. We wrote one back in the day and never looked at it again, and if I did, I doubt it would look anything like the business does today. Yes, you clearly need a plan of action to get started, but don’t waste your time writing pages and pages before you’ve even got started. You’d be better off getting out there and working on the business!

4. Start up capital - One of the many beauties of the internet and mobile technology is that you can start a professional looking business from your bedroom. Clearly it depends on the line of business you are going into, but for a few hundred pounds, you can get a simple website up and running which portrays a professional company. Ideally you don’t want to be giving away a stake in your business at this stage, so keep your eyes open for business competitions (such as Shell Livewire - who give away £1,000 every month to new start-ups) and speak to your Enterprise office at university who might be able to point you towards local funding for new businesses. If you require larger amounts of capital to get started, then you might want to consider angel investors or venture capital firms – be prepared to work hard for your money and you will need to be able to convince potential investors that they will see a significant return on their investment. Check out this really useful section on Startups.co.uk about raising finance.

5. The Admin - the less glamourous side of a start up business, but absolutely fundamental to success. Doing things the right way form day one can save days and weeks of hard work down the line and help to avoid any potential pitfalls in the future. Incorporating your business is a good starting point and is actually a quite simple process and only costs £18 on the Companies House website. I’d also recommend finding a good accountant who can advise and help on the financial/legal side of things. You’ll want to purchase any web domains that are relevant (again, only costing £5 – £10 for 12 months) – check out 123-reg.co.uk. Also on the to-do list should be the setting up of a business bank account – take your pick from the High Street banks, they all offer good business banking services. (We bank with HSBC but also should mention our friends at Barclays, who we also have an account with, after winning £50,000 in their ‘Take One Small Step‘ competition!)

6. Get out there! The company has been formed, the website is live, the bank account is open and ready for income – now it’s time to get out there and start networking, marketing and selling your product or service! Let the hard work and fun begin…

Recommended websites:

• Startups.co.uk - www.startups.co.uk/
• Smarta - www.smarta.com/
• Shell Livewire - www.shell-livewire.org/
• Bitsy - bitsythis.com/
• Enterprise Nation - www.enterprisenation.com/

I’m Chris (aka Wicko), one of the co-founders of this website and business alongside Ollie (the tall one) and Ali (the er, not so tall one.)

I hope you’ve been enjoying the blogs from the team so far, they make great reading and hopefully give you an insight into life in RMP and the characters we have here!

Over the next few months, I’m going to blog about the highs and lows of running a start-up, (not-so-)young business.

To get started, a little bit of background. Myself, Ali and Ollie are the first to admit we’re not your average wannabe ‘entrepreneurs’. If you’d have asked us when we were poor students back in 2003 what we were going to do with ourselves after Uni, we’d have probably all said “travelling, move to London, get a graduate job and go from there…”

So how did we end up here, 8 years (wow, that is scary) later, sat in our very own office in central London, looking out over the Thames, with a rapidly growing team and business? Good question.

Thinking about it, I reckon there are 6 key factors:

1. Three co-founders - Having 3 co-founders has many benefits. We’ve always got each other to bounce ideas off and share responsibility, discuss plans, there is always a decision made (2 v 1) and it helps that the 3 of us are great mates too. I’d always advise people thinking of setting up a business to do it with one or two mates.
2. Spotting a gap in the market  - We didn’t spot a gap first and then go about filling it, it was more a case of setting up RateMyPlacement and then quickly realising that this gap in the market around undergraduates and work experience then exploiting it!
3. Right place, right time - Placements, internships and student employability has become such a hot topic in the university/graduate recruitment world and we are in a great place to facilitate this shift in mindset towards earlier engagement.
4. Hard work and long hours - Since setting up RMP way back in 2007, it’s fair to say the three of us have racked up thousands of hours working on the business. We try and be first in to work every day and last to leave, a good mindset to have. The late nights, early mornings, and miles across the UK that we put in are certainly paying off now as the business continues to grow.
5. Evolving all the time - Another key aspect in our growth has been our ability to be flexible and evolve depending on clients’ needs and there is no better example of this is On-Campus Promotions, the latest arm of the business.
6. Working with great people - We’ve been fortunate to work with some great people during the past few years. Our first three placement students – Alana, Amy and Sam – made incredible impacts and contribution to the business during their time with us and our current crop are following in their large footsteps. Our superb recruitment and selection policy (!) seems to be working well – surrounding ourselves with great people has certainly been a major factor in the success of the business to date.

And maybe a seventh, having a lot of fun along the way – that is also a key philosophy of the business! (In fact, in a future blog, I will share with some of the ‘safe-for-work’ stories that have arisen out of RMP over the past few years.)

So that’s enough to get me started – next time I’ll blog about what it takes to get a business started and off the ground (and it’s not as difficult as you might think!). It’s now 5.45pm on a Friday evening, everyone else has gone to the pub and I’m still sat here blogging (alongside our trusty Design Guru Rus, I should add) so on that note, I’m shutting down for the weekend!

Cheers for reading – don’t forget to ‘Like’ this post!

Are you looking to fill a year in industry? Do you want to gain some much needed work experience to boost your career search? Are you planning a gap year and want to make it count?

Then come to the National Work Placement Exhibition on the 27 November at the NEC, where you can find answers to these questions and many more. The exhibition is an ideal forum to meet with top recruiters who are all hiring for work placements and find the experience to kick-start your career search!

Meet with top employers such as BAE Systems, Bunac, Cummins, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Exxon Mobil, Lidl, Mars, Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines, Walkers Snack Foods and many more!

PLUS, to give you that added advantage when applying for placements, don’t miss out on our CV clinic and FREE career and company presentations.

See www.work-placement.co.uk for more details.

As well as giving the website design a complete overhaul and bringing our web technology firmly up to date, we have also added a whole range of developments and new features to help our student users find their perfect placement or internship.

For a full overview of these new features, click here!

”Our latest blog said that we had another busy few months ahead and we’ve stayed true to our word – but as we always say, with hard work comes hard play!

The late trading team have just entered their busiest period and are full swing ahead with last minute pricing to ensure that all packages are sold, whilst product are busy preparing for the 2nd Edition launch of Summer 2012 brochures. The Cruise team have been busy managing changes to the Winter 2011 season and have also been preparing for the 2nd edition brochure launch in August.

We have welcomed two of the new placements students in the last month. Both Katie and Max have started their training in the Late Trading Team – replacing Dec and Jac who are taking up other positions in the company now that the contracted placement year has come to an end. We’ve had a few nights out to say hello and goodbye to the students, including a night in St Albans and a lucky night (for some) in Luton’s Casino!

The month of June also saw Tui’s “Big Event” summer party at Whipsnade Zoo. It was a fantastic evening enjoyed by all. Some entertainment of the event included an adult bouncy castle, a bucking bronco, a free bar, a tasty barbeque and a live band with a superb performance from our very own Managing Director Johan!!

Although we are entering the last few weeks of our placement, we are still spending time in other departments and developing our knowledge. Majority of the students have spent time with the After Travel department and have even had experience of listening in to live calls from customers – which can vary from querying lost property to making important complaints with the need of compensation. We all learnt how important customer service is and how important it is to please dissatisfied customers in order for repeat business.

With only 5 weeks left until our placement comes to and end, we’ve still got many things to keep us busy alongside our day to day jobs. We’ll be helping with the induction of the new placement students, making the most of spending time in other departments and last but not least making sure we do nothing embarrassing that could be used for our leaving speeches!!

Why not join Tui’s Facebook group for more information, just click the button here. You can also find out more from Anna and Karla at TUI Travel, as well as our other Guest Bloggers over the coming year!

Feel free to add your thoughts below! Would you like a placement at TUI Travel?

A different approach

At Ernst & Young, we provide assurance and advice to companies ranging from entrepreneurial start-ups to major multinationals. But what makes us so different isn’t just the size and scope of our global business; it’s the value we place on the strengths and abilities of the people we recruit. Our goal is to help students find careers they’re suited to; ones that they’re naturally good at. We developed the Strengths Factor game to give students an innovative – and interesting- way to find out more about themselves and what working with Ernst & Young is really all about. It’s interactive, fun and only takes a few minutes to finish.

Our game is a starting point that tests your ability to organise and multi-task as well as your persistence, mental agility, awareness and logic. The result is a profile of your strengths – which can help you look at your career options in a new and positive light.

Looking for potential, not just achievement

When you’re at university, you spend a lot of time focusing on a particular discipline or field. Your achievements are important, but finding out you have other abilities can be refreshing. We want to introduce you to opportunities you might not have thought about, or even just dismissed outright. At Ernst & Young, your strengths can help you start a career with us now.

Visit us and try out the Strengths Factor game. Don’t forget you can apply to our internships, scholarships and insight days from July 1.

To find out more and to apply from 1st July, click the button below!

Ernst & Young Placements and Internships

The number of UK teenagers applying to Ivy League and top state-funded universities in the US has risen sharply in the past few years, figures show.

Data obtained from seven prestigious US institutions reveals that a major drive to recruit UK undergraduates is starting to pay off.

One leading headteacher told the Guardian that the growing interest came partly from a belief among parents and pupils that “UK universities were creaking at the limits”.

Harvard has received 500 applications from UK students for undergraduate courses this autumn, a jump from 370 last year.

Meanwhile, the University of California, Berkeley, has had 166 applications from the UK, up from 130 last year. The university said applications from other European Union students had fallen from 343 last year to 281 this year.

Cornell University, which is part of the Ivy League and is based in New York, has seen applications from UK students rise this year to 197 from 176 last year.

Some of the universities count only the number of students who enrol on their courses rather than those who apply.

Enrolments from the UK to Yale, another Ivy League institution, have doubled in the last five years, with a large spike last year. In 2006, 15 UK students enrolled. This grew to 25 in 2009 and 36 the following year. Enrolments at Columbia, also in the Ivy League, rose from 164 in 2003 to 170 in 2006 and 178 in 2009.

At Indiana, one of the top-rated US public universities, there has been a modest rise in UK applications this year – from seven to nine. Other applications from the EU grew to 50 this year from 41 last year. At Princeton, another Ivy League institution in New Jersey, enrolments from the UK have more than doubled in the last five years, from 32 in 2005 to 77 in 2010. In 2009, there were 81 enrolments from the UK.

The cost of studying at an Ivy League university for a UK student can reach up to £37,000 ($60,000) a year. Most undergraduate courses last four years. Fees at state-funded universities are substantially lower, but it can be difficult to obtain a place without US citizenship.

Despite this, the headteacher of a leading public school, King’s College school in Wimbledon, south-west London, said he had noticed that interest in studying at US universities was growing.

Andrew Halls said the near-trebling of tuition fees was one factor: from autumn 2012, universities in England and Wales will be allowed to charge up to £9,000 in tuition fees each year. But Halls also said there was “growing disillusionment” among pupils and parents with what most UK universities could offer. “There is a bit of a sense that UK universities are creaking at the limits,” he said.

“Our 13- to 16-year-olds are talking about applying to US universities much more than they used to. There’s a feeling that [if you go to a UK university that is not Oxbridge], you may not get as much teaching as you would like. US universities emphasise the ‘whole man’. They love to hear about students playing the piano and other extra-curricular activities. They want a fulsomeness that Oxbridge and others seem distrustful of. Quite a lot of parents say that it is because of this that they are prepared to make a big financial sacrifice and pay for a US university.”

A report on overseas students in the US by the Institute of International Education found that in 2004 there were 8,274 UK students studying in the US. In 2009 this had grown to 8,861.

Lauren Welch, head of the advisory service at the US-UK Fulbright Commission, which encourages educational exchanges between UK and US students, said many US universities and colleges saw this year as “an unprecedented opportunity to recruit British students”.

“They know that tuition fees are increasing threefold in just one year and that places will be capped on places for UK students, and they want to take advantage of this chance to make students aware of the American alternative.”

Welch added that the profile of students who went to study in the US was changing. “They were primarily from greater London and the south-west and attended an independent or international school,” she said. “We are now seeing more and more students apply to the US from state and grammar schools and from a much wider spectrum of the British population.”

King’s College school is holding a conference – the American Dream – this September for headteachers and pupils to discuss applying to US universities.

Feel free to leave your comments below. To view the full article, visit the Guardian website by clicking here.

“Morning all.

So as the title suggests, I am into my last few weeks at Trigger. After a lot of packing I will be heading home for the summer and to start my dissertation prep and prep work for any group projects that I will be a part of in my final year.

My final weeks at Trigger will be spent on finishing up a new European site for one of our main clients (cannot name), touching up on some surveys that will be finishing shortly and concluding any leftover documentation for CO229 (placement module at University for this placement).

I haven’t done as much as I would have wanted in my final couple of months at Trigger but over the course of the entire 13 months that I have been within the company, I have learnt a significant amount within different areas of the business. What I have learnt at Trigger will definitely ensure I take on next year and my future career in a new light compared to how I approached things before placement.

Below is a list of the departments/areas that I have worked within over the past year:

• Testing
• Support
• Support development
• Development

As I will not be on placement through July/August I will be making sure that I get stuck in with finishing (well, starting) sullivandoesdesign.com properly. It will probably be built upon WordPress but totally revamped. It will allow people to see my full collection of previous work, see what I am up to (new blog) and request any quotes for work that they may want me to do. This will go live end of August, ready for the new University year. The new blog will outline what I am doing for my University modules so you can see how I am getting on as the year progresses.

Apologies for not providing as much content on this placement blog throughout the year as I would have wanted. The year has been very busy and I haven’t had that much time left to go into that much detail.

If you are at University and you are thinking of doing a placement, make sure you try your hardest to find one; you won’t regret it in the long run.

Thank you to anyone who has read my blog over the year and special thanks go to Trigger Software for allowing me to work within the company for 13 months.”

Any questions, queries for design work or anything, contact me.

E: aaron@sullivandoesdesign.com FB: http://facebook.com/sullivana

Feel free to leave your comments below!

‘Hi all. I realise it’s been quite a while since I last blogged so I apologise for the lack of updates. It’s been 10 months since I begun at Hays and the recruitment game back in August. To re-cap, working on the Investment Banking Operations Team has been helpful in more ways than one. To give a description of what it is I do, I thought I’d include a few key points from a day in the life of a consultant:

• Specialise in recruiting for the following, but not limited to: Trade Support, Settlements, Loans, Reconciliations, Data/Static Data, Securities/Stock Lending, Pricing/Valuations, Client Services, Payments/Pricing, Corporate Actions/Dividends and Funds.
• Gaining a theoretical understanding of financial products, both exchange-traded and OTC. Covering roles with the following asset classes: Securities (Fixed Income/Equities), OTC Derivatives, Futures & Options, Commodities and FX/Money mar
• Attracting new business in cold-calling new candidates; interviewing candidates from entry level to top-end management level, and advising on current market conditions and potential career routes.
• Attending agency briefings and client meetings in order to understand different business areas and recruitment needs; building and developing long-term relationships with new and existing clients.
• Sourcing new candidates through a variety of different methods; including online sources, and meeting and greeting at various networking events, outside of working hours.

From very early on I took it upon myself to dive into the deep end and get right into the thick of things. Interviewing candidates from entry-level to management/vice-president level has been great exposure. I have a huge responsibility, not only towards the organisation in the image that I portray to candidates, but also to the candidates themselves in regards to knowing my field; being able to advise accordingly on the market, career paths, managing expectations, preparing candidates for interviews, and building a long-term rapport. Having interviewed candidates on a daily basis, I’ve come to realise the power of questions; as a consultant, it’s my job to ask the right questions, and know when and when not to ask certain types of questions, or in fact how to phrase particular questions. Asking the right questions can be the difference between obtaining a key contact or lead on a new job & filling it, and not. This idea of influence is a key tool when used to effect. Having been in this position, I’ve had the opportunity to build long-term relationships with a wide array of candidates, not only of value to the organisation, but of value to myself given my long-term ambitions (a little shrewd I know but without this level of tenacity, it can be difficult to maintain resilience in recruitment, let alone the square mile that is the city).

This brings me onto my next point, and something I’ve referred to in my first blog. Long-term, I am aiming – let me correct that – more-so not settling for anything less than Front Office trading eventually, preferrably on the Commodities/Foreign Exchange side of things. Don’t get me wrong, I had my fair share of interviews etc. at leading Investment Banks before being offered the job at Hays (20 interviews in total, after 120 applications for a placement/internship, including various others). Reflecting back, reasons for not securing an internship directly in the Investment Banking scene was perhaps that I wasn’t aware of methods to portray the value I could add in enough depth. So that leads me onto the reasons for choosing to work for the Investment Banking Operations team here at Hays. Having impressed in two other interviews with different teams in the company, I knew this was going to be the team in which I would gain most out of, post-graduation – here’s why. Not only do I liaise with clients, i.e. line managers and on-site teams within the banks, but I’m in a position whereby I am able to build strong relationships with candidates who I can potentially place in a job. As you may be aware, reciprocity is a powerful thing. If you want to know the game of influence, ask yourself the right questions – ‘what is it that he/she wants that I could possibly help them with?’ Like I’ve said, as a consultant, it’s my job to ultimately get candidates working. So when a candidate (s) is reminded of my name after I have placed he/she in a job whereby they are utilising their previous experience and it looks to be something they can progress in, what do you think are their thoughts? Hence I refer back to reciprocity. As shrewd as it may seem, each candidate that I place is a potential connection, a connection to maintain good relations with even throughout my last year at Uni. So when it comes to graduation in 2012, my foot in the door may well lie with these key contacts that I’ve made. That’s also where the Mountbatten Internship Programme comes into play – but that is for another blog!

Much has been debated about the famous recruitment consultant, and I have to admit there are, like anything else, positive and negative opinions. Essentially, the ultimate name of the game for a consultant is to ‘fill jobs’, although there is alot more required of one to become an expert, a specialist consultant, in your field.

Regular contact with clients are a great way of getting to know our specialisms, the market, and generally what’s ‘hot’ in a job-market sense. Recruitment is very cyclical in that respect given that this information is fed back to our candidates in order for us to match job-seeker to job so to speak. I think it’s important to have a degree of intelligence and a fresh tenacity that would naturally be apparent in the younger workforce, i.e. 20-35. There exists a sales element is in the sense that I believe one must possess a certain flair when developing new business and generally ‘selling’ the benefits of using our business services. However, it’s important not to come accross as used-car salesmen, and rather portraying that we are consultants who know our markets/clients, and are able to display our specialisms knowledge – this way we are emphasizing our value to the market – ‘subliminally selling’ if you like.

With two months left to go, I’m draining as much value out of my position as I can in order to maximise my time left. Having been studying for the CFA Level 1 since January also (an exam with a 300-hour recommended reading time), I think my time has been utilised well in relation to long-term career goals. The market is picking up again following the hit that we all experienced during the consecutive Bank Holidays. So expect another update very soon whilst I keep plugging away, and I’ll leave you with a quote of the day: “To gain what is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else.” ‘

A great entry from Rishi, please leave your comments below!

We have been named in the final 3 of the Barclays ‘Take One Small Step’ Competition for London, which means we now have a 1 in 3 chance of winning £50,000 to help us grow the business!

And to win, we need your help! The winning company will be the one that has the most votes by 9am on the 27th June so we would really appreciate it if you could take a couple of minutes to visit the takeonesmallstep.co.uk website and vote for us!

Simply click on the button below, hit the ‘Vote for this entry’ panel on the right hand side and enter your email address. You’ll then need to click on the link in the automated email that you receive to ensure your vote is counted!

Click below to vote online and text too!

You can vote once online, as well as once via text message. Text RMP to 62555. SMS votes will be charged at your standard user network rate.