Employees are increasingly taking ethical considerations into account when deciding where to work. The expansion of the non-profit-making, environmental and charitable sectors means there are plenty of options for those who want to make a difference
Is money your main motivation? If so, the obvious place to make big bucks is in the City. You’ll have to sacrifice your work-life balance for a while but, if you like to work hard and play hard, the financial rewards will be worth it
When Richard Handover took over as WH Smith chief executive in 1997, few people expected the 53-year old to last long. Handover, who had been with the retailer for more than three decades, was regarded by critics as a time-server ill equiped to lead WH Smith into the Internet age. But Handover has confounded the
Mansur Khawar, 30, had tried his hand at a number of things – including writing, decorating, and pupil barrister – before joining headhunting firm Armstrong International in February 1998. He tells us why the headhunting business is the one that really stimulates him
Jeffrey Shesol, 30, worked as deputy chief speechwriter for US president Bill Clinton from 1998 – 2000. Before this he wrote books on political history and reviews and opinion pieces for magazines and newspapers. He also wrote and drew Thatch, a syndicated political comic strip that appeared daily in 150 US publications
Leslie Vik Waddell is a 27-year-old entrepreneur who has been making the news. Vik Waddell set up her own jewellery business after gaining a first class degree from Middlesex University. She has worked alongside British designers such as Vivienne Westwood. Setting up alone has been far from easy, but well worth the effort as she
David Wilkinson, partner at Ernst & Young, swapped large company directors for unknown entrepreneurs twelve years ago. He now runs the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and spends the rest of his time talent-spotting for the company’s entrepreneurial services
Simon, 24, is a business analyst with management consultancy Accenture (formerly called Andersen Consulting), having done a business and political science degree at Trinity College in Dublin. He has been working there since November 1999
Working in a political organisation Wesley Ball, 22, works for Britain in Europe, a cross-party coalition that exists to promote the European Union, the single currency and Britain’s part in European affairs. It also co-operates with Trade Unions in the voluntary sector. Members include Tony Blair, Robin Cook, Charles Kennedy and Michael Heseltine
Andy Leech, 25, joined Vodafone AirTouch after graduating three and a half years ago. He works in IT as a systems developer. With existing systems needing to be modified and new systems being brought in to cope with new advances in technology Andy says IT makes for an exciting career choice
Mike Caldwell is director of corporate communications at the world’s largest mobile phone company, Vodafone AirTouch. Caldwell set up the company’s press office when he joined the company at its Newbury HQ in 1991 and now oversees a department of 12. He counts his career highlights as handling the public relations (PR) side of Vodafone’s
John Steele, Human Resources director at British Telecommunications, talks about graduate entry at BT, and what it takes to be a successful HR professional
Michelle Burgess works as a public relations (PR) officer for Vodafone AirTouch Group Services. The company sponsored her through university and offered her a job once she graduated. She says PR is a growing industry – especially the telecoms sector – and offers great prospects for graduates who can write well and have good communication
Phillipa Phelps is technical manager, telecoms, for the world’s largest mobile communications company Vodafone AirTouch. She manages a team that plans ahead to ensure the Vodafone network has enough capacity to meet the ever-growing demand from mobile phone users. She works in a fast-moving environment – but that is the way she likes it
What’s your official title? Head of the Radical Multimedia Lab, BT. What do you do all day? I lead a small research lab looking at virtual reality and multimedia graphics.
Vicki Field, 23, is a graduate human resources (HR) officer on a two-year graduate training scheme with Vodafone AirTouch. She joined the company in October 1998 after graduating from Durham University, where she studied combined social sciences. Vodafone employs 100 HR professionals across the UK
Anthony Hedger, 22, is a graduate finance trainee with Vodafone Airtouch – the world’s largest mobile telecoms company. He says he gets a buzz from the commercial side of the business – looking for areas where the business can develop and grow. He told us how figures can be fun
Apostolos Sarantidis, 26, is a graduate trainee engineer with Vodafone AirTouch. He works in the radio development department – one of six departments within the company’s engineering wing. He told us what attracted him to a career in telecoms
Andy Hazell, 24, was taken on as a marketing graduate trainee by Vodafone in September 1999. Over the next two years he will be working across four different divisions to get an overview of the whole marketing process
Carol Armstrong, 24, graduated in 1999 with an MSc in Natural Sciences. As a result of a twelve-week work placement in the summer of 1998, she was offered a job at BT when she graduated
