HELP WITH ICOULD SEARCHING

We’ve designed icould based on what you asked us for, letting you search on almost any career-related dream, dilemma or job, and much more besides. This powerful film searching is unique, and may take a little getting used to at first. Here are some tips to help you get started:

 

Quick search

Available on every page on icould:

  • You can enter simple keywords like ‘A-levels’, ‘dyslexia’ or ‘creative’ in the bottom right-hand Search icould stories box, then use the arrows for more results.
  • There’s no need to include words like ‘and’, ‘the’, ‘jobs’ or ‘career’ – icould is all about careers and jobs so every page may be offered to you!

 

Advanced search

Careers are about the bigger picture, all elements of our life, not just the job itself, so with icould you can build your own searches combining multiple keywords.

 

Advanced search allows you to search using up to two of the following tags:

  • Sector stories from people whose jobs are all in the same sector
  • Theme clusters of stories where a particular topic, issue or influence has played a significant part in the storyteller’s career journey. You may need to watch some way into each film in order to hear the part of their story that is relevant to theme.
  • Working lifestyle is no longer just ‘nine to five’, there is increasing flexibility in the way that people work. For instance, working at ‘weekends’ or ‘shifts’.
  • Interaction with others different jobs need different ways of relating to other people. For instance, some jobs require that we ‘work in teams’ or ‘help the public’.
  • Personal influences things that affect career choices and the storyteller’s career journey, like ‘love of sport’ or ‘parents’.
  • Jobs that involve being! we are not all the same, and different jobs need different skills and attitudes, like being ‘creative’ or ‘being organised’.
  • Job type information technology has led to many changes in how we work, where we work and even when we work. For instance, we may ‘work from home’, or be ‘freelance’.
  • Qualifications different jobs require different levels of qualifications and experience. For instance, some jobs need ‘lots of qualifications’, some need ‘experience’, others need both.
  • Education/work pattern careers hardly ever go in straight lines, for instance we may go straight from ‘school to employment’, or from ‘university/college to employment’ or perhaps into higher education as a ‘mature student’.
  • First job influence storytellers are often quite clear about what influenced their very first career decision, like their ‘parents’ or an ‘inspiring teacher’.
  • Education level this may have changed during a storyteller’s career, for instance they may have got a ‘degree’ or ‘FE qualification’ until later in life. It may have a direct influence on the job they currently do or indeed, it might now seem almost irrelevant in their current work.
  • Job location you can search stories by geographical area, like near where you live, but please remember that a story from another area of the country could contain useful and relevant information.
  • Gender self explanatory, but we have included this because for some people gender still does influence career options.

 

 

 

 

 

icould FAQs – everything else you need to know about watching and sharing icould career stories

 

What is icould?

 

icould is a free-to-use resource designed to give you access to a unique and continually growing film bank of real life stories. These stories are told – in their own words – by thousands of working people of all ages and from all walks of life. They talk of what their job entails, of how they got to where they are, of mistakes they’ve made and opportunities they’ve taken, of difficulties and setbacks as well as achievements. By freely sharing their knowledge and experiences on the web, icould storytellers can help others plan their own career paths, set their own life goals and work toward achieving them.

 

Why so much film?

The library of career film stories is at the heart of icould. We think that filmed stories give a real feel for how careers unfold and develop in ways that pages of print alone cannot. We have set out to represent the huge and diverse range of career opportunities in Britain today. Whilst we don’t claim to have covered them all, we are working on it!

If there are jobs which you would like to see covered in an icould story, please contact us at haveyoursay@icould.org.uk

 

Are icould stories scripted?

No. Each storyteller was prompted to tell their story through a series of questions in an interview which lasted approximately 25 minutes. Their story has been edited into a 4 minute film as well as a second, shorter film which contains the story highlights.

 

Who is responsible for editing icould videos?

icould retains editorial control over all icould videos.  Individuals and companies are not allowed to interfere with the editing of the content even if they have paid for or sponsored the films or section on the site.

 

And what about the authorship of your articles?

We have various types of article and contributors, which can be outlined as follows:

  • Impartial articles are labelled as being authored by icould;
  • Personal pieces are labelled with an individual’s name;
  • Corporate pieces are labelled with both a company name and an employee name.

 

Why can’t I access some areas of the icould website?

In order to benefit from all of icould you need to register your profile in mycould. mycould is free and activates the suggestion engines, psychometrics zone and it also enables you to watch and save favourite stories as well as take part in competitions and online discussions.

 

How do I activate mycould?

Activating mycould is easy. Simply click here or on the “˜Register’ button at the top of the homepage, fill in your details and you’re done.

I haven’t received confirmation that my mycould account has been activated.

mycould account activation happens automatically. On completing your registration you will be taken to your mycould profile and a login/password reminder will automatically be sent by email. If this email doesn’t reach your inbox almost instantly, you’ll probably find it in your bulk/junk email folder. If you still haven’t received it after a few hours log into your account to double check we have your correct details, or feel free to contact us.

 

I’m having trouble logging in. What could be going wrong?

To log into mycould, please make sure that you have:

  • activated your account
  • entered your username and password using the same case that you used for registration
  • cookies enabled in your web browser.

If you have lost or forgotten your password, you can get a reminder here. If you are still having trouble, please contact us.

 

Why does the story pause sometimes?

It may be due to your internet connection and speed. If you do not have broadband you may experience difficulties watching the career stories. Your computer may also experience problems if you’re downloading a large file and watching career stories at the same time. If you have a broadband connection, try closing some programmes and replay the story again. All stories have transcripts you can read too – just click the “˜Transcript’ button under the story player.

Why is there no film or sound?

You may not have Flash Player installed on your computer. You can download it free here. If you’ve already got Flash Player, it may be disabled on your web browser, so you’ll need to check your browser settings to enable it.

 

Why is there film, but no sound?

Your volume settings may need adjusting. First, check that the sound on the story player isn’t turned down – it’s located at the bottom right. If that’s not the problem you may need to adjust the settings on your computer by going to the control panel and selecting ‘sounds: speech and audio devices’.

 

Is there any legal information I should be aware of when using the films?

The short versions of icould stories are available through icould‘s YouTube channel. These are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unreported license.

 

Can icould advise me personally on what career to go for?

 

Alas not. We would love to but ultimately this is a decision that you must make based on a deep understanding of yourself, your desires and ambitions as well as your personal circumstances. Throughout the site we have provided links to other career resources to help with any ideas icould inspires.

Can I enter competitions?

Yes, as long as you are a registered icould user and live in the UK. icould aims to run a competition every month. However, each competition will be different and the terms and conditions, like age, may vary, so remember to check before you enter.

 

Will the competitions have prizes?

Yes, but again the prizes will be different for each competition. Wherever possible, icould aims to provide prizes that money can’t buy. Rather, they will help the winner(s) to further develop their career plans. For instance, a prize might be the opportunity to spend a unique experience day in a particular company or organisation and get the inside story of what it’s like to work in that company/sector.

 

I’ve got more questions!

Please contact us and we’ll be happy to help where we can.

Online safety

 

icould links to other websites which we believe are trustworthy and can help you plan your career. Nevertheless, the internet does carry risks and you need to understand and manage internet security for yourself.

To find out more about managing your online and mobile safety, you may find the following sites helpful: