New Year Careers Boot Camp

26 January 2015

This event was an all-day event opened to both postgraduates and undergraduates and covered topics such as Working in the UK, CV structuring and Mock Interviews and Assessment Centres. The topics covered were informational, interactive and, above all, enjoyable.

In light of this event being opened to the various programmes available at the Business-School we relished the opportunity of working with colleagues from different programmes. It facilitated inter-mingling, exchange of ideas and even networking: opportunities that were usually missed due to the hustle and bustle of academic life. We must say that the most challenging and gratifying part of the day was the Mock Assessment Centre. For this exercise we were placed in groups of five and given a task to complete in 15 minutes while being observed and critiqued by both the Student Development and Careers Teams.

On our first go of the exercise we did not get a good result since we lacked structure, took too long to make decisions and did not cohesively work as a team. On our second attempt at a different task we nailed it and our presentation went quite well. There were several lessons to take away from our defeat to triumph and we were asked to self-reflect on the ways we could improve our performance when in groups.

One important lesson learnt was focusing on the team’s goal rather than individual motives. We learnt that while employers look for leaders they also want team players and individuals that can adapt easily to sudden changes. It was truly a humbling and learning experience for us all. All in all the Careers Boot Camp event was a great way to start off 2015. It not only got our minds focused on job applications but it also highlighted how much self-learning needs to be done to become an exceptional employee.

The majority of us left the boot camp ready to face the many challenges ahead when job hunting. We sincerely thank the Student Development Team and the Central Careers Service for an awesome event and highly encourage students to attend their future events. Here’s some interesting things we learnt at the Careers Boot Camp when job hunting:

• When writing a CV, use it as a marketing tool. Don’t be afraid to honestly sell yourself to the potential employer.
• Times New Roman is now considered an out-dated font for your CV for many employers. Have a look at the Sans Serif fonts that are more modern and attractive.
• Ensure your CV is 1 to 2 pages at most. Don’t cheat on your borders! At assessment centres be aware of your body language, eyes are always on you. Unfold those arms!
• When working in groups contributing does not mean leading. It is ok to be assertively passive.
• Be cognizant of the time allocated to do a task. Structure is key to avoid delay.
• Although you may want to be the MVP at an assessment centre be a team player. Lessen the ego.