Category Archives: Career Sector

Hebe, Theatre and Performing Arts

English, Theatre and Performing Arts, ,

Hebe, a second year English student, interested in Theatre and Performing Arts was assigned a Performing Arts Programme Leader at The House, Plymouth University. This mentor graduated from Exeter in 2005 with a BA in Drama. From 2007-2010 he was an associate lecturer at Exeter College and then 2010-2013, he was the Co-Founder and Director of the Bike Shed Theatre.

guadalajara-theatre-1531334

Hebe said he felt like he’d achieved his objectives through the Career Mentor Scheme. Here’s a few that he mentioned:

  • It improved my personal skills – confidence building, listening skills for graduate employment
  • My mentor helped me gain professional experience to build my CV and helped me develop professional contacts and access networking opportunities
  • My mentor helped me gain insight and informed me about what I needed to do to get in to the career I’m interested in as well as pointing out good and bad aspects of the industry
  • My mentor helped me gain insight into further education/ professional courses related to my profession

What was the highlight of the scheme for you?

My mentor introduced me to Exeter Phoenix’s short film commission and helped me complete my proposal form and prepare for an interview. This was greatly useful as my application was successful and will be really helpful, in terms of adding relevant work experience to my CV and learning more about the industry I intend to work in. I do not think I would have learnt about this opportunity, let alone have succeeded in my application, without the Mentor Scheme.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

It is definitely worth applying for as it offers so many opportunities, from gaining advice about particular sectors to learning how you can enter specific industries. The mentors are always willing to help with any advice, and the fact you can learn about a job sector from someone who has experienced it, is great.

 

Michael, Banking and Financial Services

Banking and Financial Services, economics, , ,

Michael, a second year Economics student at the time, was interested in going into the Financial Services sector and applied for a mentor in this industry. He was matched with a Director at EY. This mentor graduated from the University of Exeter with a BA in Economics and Politics in 1997. Between 1997 and 2002 he worked as a Manager in Fraud Investigation at PricewaterhouseCoopers, before working at Credit Suisse as a Global Head Securities Customer Onboarding from 2002 to 2010. He then joined HSBC in 2011 as the Global Head of KYC Data Remediation.

mmichael

Michael, having completed the scheme, let us know some of the highlights of the scheme for his career development.

He told us that he improved his personal skills, made a future professional contact in his mentor and developed his interview techniques – these being just a few examples of what he achieved by participating in the Career Mentor Scheme. Michael particularly highlighted that he increased his “knowledge of finding internships and work experience in this sector”, something incredibly useful considering how competitive the financial industry can be to get into.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Meeting my mentor in London and seeing the EY offices was a good experience and getting the insight into interviews in the industry; as well as having a practice interview with my mentor was an invaluable experience.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Gaining an insight into my chosen profession.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

Make sure you choose your mentor carefully to ensure they’ll be the most applicable to your career and that you make the most of the time as part of the scheme.

Charlotte, Education, Teaching, Research

Education Teaching and Research, Geography, ,

Charlotte undertook the Career Mentor Scheme in November 2014, during her first year at university. She is a geography student who was interested in pursuing a career in education and research, which allowed us to match her with the Head of Employability Services at the University of Exeter. This mentor’s main responsibility is to lead various teams through a period of significant change, to meet the professional development needs of 16,000 students and key staff groups, across 3 locations, to significantly improve graduate employment outcomes in order to place Exeter amongst the best UK universities for graduate skills development and employment.

graduation-1311237

Through the scheme, Charlotte was able to get an insight into the profession she was interested in and obtained job hunting resources which helped her further determine the path of work, which she wanted to take upon graduation. She pointed out that finding out about both the good and bad aspects of the profession was really beneficial as well, and that she was able to build up her personal skills which will help her employability in the future.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

I enjoyed meeting my mentor for the first time at the event organised by the Career Zone. There was a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere and it was a good way to get to know each other before fully taking part in the mentor experience.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

I gained a lot of advice on how to develop my own personal skills and relate them to my professional development.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

Don’t be afraid to be honest about what you want to gain out of the experience as you never know what expertise and knowledge your mentor may have beyond their current profession that could be of interest to you.

Kathryn, Science

Psychology, Science, ,

Kathryn, a final year Psychology student, was interested in going into the Scientific Research and Development sector and applied for a mentor in this industry. She was matched with a UX Research Consulant at cxpartners. This mentor has recently moved from academic research into user experience research in the private sector.  Her main role is to carry out research on technological problems and to suggest solutions and designs to improve the experience for users by making the interaction simpler, effortless and enjoyable.  11139355_10155516572190181_484725343416135809_n

Kathryn gave us an insight of the benefits of the scheme to her career development:

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Getting reassurance throughout the year when I didn’t get a graduate scheme or bouncing ideas off them about what I really want to do.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Insight into the different roles Emma had had and whether I was suited to them; guidance with career paths and graduate schemes.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

Do it – you will gain so much from just a few emails, whether it is reassurance, advice, networking opportunities. It will all help you even if you don’t realise it at the time.

Gabrielle, Politics and Government

Politics and Government, Psychology, , , ,

Gabrielle participated in the Career Mentor Scheme during her first year. Interested in politics and government she was matched with the Head of Corporate Services at Dorset, Devon and Cornwall Community Rehabilitation Company. This mentor’s main responsibilities included corporate services and business development for the CRC, acting as an Executive Board Member and was Secretary to the Board. He was a member of the Parole Board in England and Wales at the time and had previous experience as a probation officer.

PP Gabrielle

Having met in person multiple times, Gabrielle felt her objectives for the scheme had been met. She was able to improve her personal skills, gain professional experience and an insight into both the good and bad aspects of the profession. She shared some of the ways the scheme was beneficial to her:

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Being able to get an insight into the different range of professions I can do with my degree and having the opportunity to network with professionals and gain an understanding of how they chose their own career pathways.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Insight into my chosen profession.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

The Career Mentor Scheme allows students to gain insight and practical understanding of what they can do after their degree. It can either reinforce your notion of a particular job or completely change your views. It is definitely a worthwhile programme, and I would strongly recommend it.

Emma, Purchasing and Procurement

Geography, Purchasing and Procurement, , ,

Emma participated in the Career Mentor Scheme during her second year. Interested in purchasing and procurement, Emma was matched with a procurement officer for Cornwall Council. This mentor, an alumnus of the University of Exeter, is interested in sustainability, environmental management and climate change. At the council, his main responsibilities were developing and delivering the Council’s Responsible Procurement Programme which governed how the council considered agendas such as environmental sustainability, safeguarding and equality and diversity in their purchasing. At the time, he was also working on the procurement of Children’s Social Care Services and had launched the Cornwall Supplier Development Programme.

Both Emma and her mentor felt that their main objectives had been achieved through the scheme. Emma felt her confidence in applying for graduate jobs had grown, she had successfully developed professional contacts and gained an insight into the field. This mentor felt that he had given back to the university through the scheme and was pleased to have facilitated her work experience at TFL.

Headshot(eb457)

Emma shared some insights into the ways in which the scheme was beneficial to her:

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

I enjoyed being able to visit my mentor at his place of work as I was able to get a feel of his working environment and meet colleagues in relevant sectors to discuss potential career opportunities.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Through my mentor I have acquired two weeks work experience at Transport for London (TFL) in June and so hope that this will be one of the most useful outcomes of my mentoring experience. Also the recommendation to go to IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment) networking events has been another useful outcome of this mentoring experience.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

The career mentor scheme provides a unique and invaluable opportunity to engage with a professional within a sector of the job market which interests you. It is a way of gaining an ‘inside account’ of what skills you will need, what employers look for in applicants and also the upsides and downsides of working in such a sector. Not only this but there is the chance that your mentor may be able to provide you with some form of work experience, something which is greatly valued in the current job market. I would therefore strongly recommend taking this opportunity.

 

Joel, Defence and Public Protection

Defence and Public Protection, Politics and International Relations, , ,

Joel was interested in a career in Defence and Public Protection and wanted to get an insight into the profession. He therefore applied to be mentored by a Civil Servant at the Ministry of Defence. Working at the Ministry of Defences since 2003, at the time of their partnership this mentor’s main responsibilities related to project management, ministerial and parliamentary business and International Relations.

parliament-1240976

Joel had set a number of ambitious objectives at the beginning of the scheme and managed to achieve all of them, including gaining work experience and developing his interview techniques.

What was the highlight of the scheme for you?

Going to the Ministry of Defence in Bristol for work experience was very enlightening.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Work experience, networking and understanding what it takes to get the job that I want and other non-academic skills I would need.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

Use every opportunity you get to learn, from their mistakes and successes.

Flora, Media, Publishing and Journalism

English, Media Publishing and Journalism, , , , ,

In the beginning of her second year Flora successfully applied to the Career Mentor Scheme and was as a result matched with a Features Editor at GQ. After graduating from a Sociology degree at the University of Exeter, this mentor was first a freelance journalist, writing for the Telegraph, the Observer, Classic Cars and Autocar. Between 2011 and 2014 he was a Senior Writer at BBC’s Top Gear Magazine.

Guardian Profile Picture

The mentoring partnership was really helpful to Flora. She received help from her mentor with application forms, learned more about the next steps after graduation and developed her networking opportunities. This mentor also managed to arrange some work experience for her at GQ.

What was the highlight of the scheme for you?

My main highlight  – work experience at GQ – is yet to take place. I will be working with my mentor for those 2 weeks during August.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

I’ve gained an insight into journalism, and my mentor has been particularly keen to help me prepare for my application to do an  MA in Journalism.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

It’s an excellent way of gaining an insight into your chosen sector.

Deziree, Banking and Financial Services

Banking and Financial Services, economics, law, , , , , ,

Studying towards a degree in Economics and Law, Deziree was keen to get into the Banking and Financial Services. She participated in the Career Mentor Scheme and was mentored by the Managing Director at Barclays Bank.

1.

Deziree told us more about the advantages of the scheme.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

I had the great opportunity in meeting with my mentor face-to-face early into the scheme. It had really given us the chance to ‘break the ice’ and get to know each other outside our email and text message exchanges. Finding a job is a daunting task for every University student, so I was very happy to have been paired with a mentor who had faced the same qualms as I did towards entering the employment pool. It was truly inspiring to hear his work experience from the best (investment) banks around the world, whilst keeping me aware of the pros and cons of each job. My mentor was also kind enough to provide me a list of resources to nurture my commercial awareness and knowledge into financial events.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Perhaps learning in particular what the ‘compliance’ job role really entails has been very useful. Despite my embarrassing lack of knowledge on the profession, my mentor had been patient in explaining in depth of what the role not only requires, but also its benefits and disadvantages. His advice had certainly fuelled my desire to learn more about the job and even determined me to pursue a role in compliance.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

I highly recommend joining the Career Mentor Scheme for any student, be it to gain a deeper insight into an industry, receive support in work placement applications or even to chat with a professional. Just from my first meeting with my mentor, I had already received so much useful information into the processes of securing a career and had my many questions about my future in the financial industry answered!

Simona, Accounting and Auditing

Accounting and Auditing, economics, Modern Languages, , , ,

Simona wanted to pursue a career in the Accounting and Auditing sector. As part of the Career Mentor Scheme she was mentored by a Non-executive director at BDO LLP. After completing his BA History and Politics and MA Modern European History with French at Exeter, this mentor also completed ACA and FCA. In 2005 he completed PMD at Harvard Business School.

20-euros-1237948

Simona shared an insight into how the Career Mentor Scheme was useful to her.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

I enjoyed having constant personal support, whenever I needed it, and having it tailored to what I needed at the time. For example when I had an interview coming up, I just emailed my mentor and we set up a skype call where he coached me through it.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Getting one-on-one insight into the industry, being coached through an assessment day and interview.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

I would highly advise it! I think it’s one of the best ways, aside from interning, to prepare for the professional industry while at university.