Category Archives: Degree Subject

Jessica, Law and Legal Services

History, Law and Legal Services, ,

Jessica doing a Law degree was matched with mentor the Director of Legal & Insurance Services at the University of Exeter. A professional with a wide range of experiences, this mentor has previously worked at Bevan Ashford (now Ashfords) as an Associate Solicitor and at the University as as Contracts Manager.

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Jessica achieved many objectives during the six months in which she was mentored. She got help to prepare for her next steps after graduation,  received job hunting resources and help with application forms.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Meeting with my mentor to get to know about her career and the different sections of Law she worked through before getting to her current job.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Showing me how she got to her career has given me inspiration on how to get to this chosen career path myself. My mentor also gave me support and advice during my law internship in Singapore on how to make the most of it.

 

 

Rachel, Accounting and Auditing

Accounting and Auditing, economics, , , ,

Between May of her penultimate year and October of her final year Economics student Rachel was mentored by the UK/I Finance Controller at Unilever.

This mentor’s responsibility at Unilever is to lead a team of 80 people across all the key financial areas of the business. His has previously held various positions at Procter & Gamble, as a Financial Controller, Sales Finance Manager and Marketing Finance Manager. Prior to that he was a Tax Structured Finance Manager at Deloitte.

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Rachel discussed the advantages she got out of the scheme with us. Amongst other things their partnership achieved, Rachel received help with application forms and covering letters and developed her confidence to seek graduate level employment.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Learning about what my career mentor did and getting advice on how to get there myself.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Advice from somebody who works in the industry and can give advice on how to do well in interviews.

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

Make the most of the opportunity.

Stephanie, Education, Teaching, Research

Education Teaching and Research, Philosophy, , , , ,

Stephania, a Philosophy and Theology student was interested in going into teaching and was mentored by a Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University.

After graduating with a Politics degree from Exeter and completing a PhD in History, this mentor became a Lecturer and then a Senior Lecturer at the Department of History.

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Stephanie shared insights about her experience. She achieved many objectives, such as improving her confidence to seek graduate level employment and getting academic support. She also got information about the good and bad aspects of the profession and made a future professional contact in her mentor.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Being coached on how to make a good LinkedIn page and join academia.edu

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Being able to learn about the requirements in the sector.

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

If you have any questions about what the future holds for you and your chosen career then the career mentor scheme is worth doing. I am now so much more aware of the path I have to go down in order to achieve what I am aiming for.

 

Joshua, Mining, Environment and Natural Resources

Environment and Natural Resources, Geography, ,

Joshua, second year Geography student was matched with the Head of Energy & Environment at Bicton College.

This mentor has previously worked as a Section Leader Environment & Sustainability and Founding Associate at Catalys. Prior to that he was Head of Energy & Carbon Policy at West Midlands Development Agency and Partnership Development Manager at East Midlands Development Agency.

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Joshua had some really positive feedback to give on the ways in which the scheme was beneficial to him:

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Massively improved application techniques and had far higher success rate than prior to the scheme.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Someone in my desired sector who could give me information and tailor my applications to what companies desire from candidates. 

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

Definitely apply for somebody within your desired career sector, they can provide you with both insight and personalised application tips for that sector.

 

 

Ray, Banking and Financial Services

Banking and Financial Services, History, Politics and International Relations,

History and Politics student Ray applied to the scheme at the end of his first year. He was matched with an International Banking Manager at HSBC Holdings plc.

Throughout his career, this mentor has gained experience in a variety of industries, including Customer Service, HR, Retail, Sales with Banking and Financial Services being his main sector.

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The partnership was a real success. Here is what Ray had to say:

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

The shadowing experience. This allowed me to experience first hand the daily working life of my mentor, his responsibilities and the working culture at the company.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

The feedback and the ability to ask questions e.g interview tips, what makes a bad CV etc. to then be given realistic answers.

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

It is a brilliant way to not only make professional connections but to also provide you with a means to have those questions, myths and issues relating to the world of work properly answered.

Christina, Law and Legal Services

law, Law and Legal Services

During her third year Christina, who was working towards a LLB Law degree, was matched with mentor a Consultant at Green Square Advisers.

This mentor red the same degree as Christina in Exeter: LLB Law. He has worked at various organisations throughout his career including Accenture, ITV digital, BBC Worldwide, and KPMG, where he was a Director of Corporate Finance at the Media Team.

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Christina informed us of how beneficial the scheme was to her.

Amongst achieving other objectives she had, Christina gained a graduate position as a trainee solicitor with an international law firm during the mentoring partnership.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

A highlight for me during the scheme was gaining a training contract with an international law firm. I attribute part of this achievement to my mentor as he proofread my CV in addition to giving me some tips on how to improve it. My mentor also offered interview techniques and helped me prepare for some likely interview questions which proved extremely useful.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

[…] My mentor put me in contact with professional contacts he knew that were based closer to where I live. This enhanced my networking opportunities and gave me the chance to speak to someone in person about my goals and enabled me to gain a further insight into my chosen profession.

Her mentor said:

“[The highlights for me were] providing advice to Christina and connecting her to friends that I have in the legal profession in very senior positions who were able to meet with her and give her valuable advice!” 

Sam, Financial Markets and the City

Business and Management, Financial Markets and the City, , , , ,

Whilst in his second year Business and Management student Sam applied to the Career Mentor Scheme and was successfully matched with the Executive Director – Dept Investment Europe at IFM.

Having graduated from Exeter, this mentor then pursued a career in the Financial Markets and the City. He was a graduate trainee and a Manager at RBS and also Head of Infrastructure and Project Finance at Barclays Corporate.

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Sam’s experience of the mentoring partnership was great. Here are some of the details he shared with us:

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

It was great to meet with my mentor at his office and hear about his experiences in the industry. My mentor put me in touch with a wide variety of senior people from within the industry who I was able to meet with or speak to on the phone. It was great to receive advice when I was making a decision about which internship I wanted to do.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Networking opportunities – Extremely useful to be able to connect with senior figures in the industry.

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

It is a brilliant opportunity to find out more about a career that you are interested in. The opportunities that come with this scheme can really enhance your career prospects.

Maartje, Education, Teaching and Research

Education Teaching and Research, History, , ,

Coming from a History degree, Maartje applied for the Career Mentor Scheme in his second year. Interested in the Education, Teaching and Research sector he was matched with a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter for a period of six months.

This mentor’s main area of research is in the history of the body, with particular interests in gender, sex and reproduction, sexuality, ageing, body size, shape and management, health and medicine in early modern England. Her responsibilities at the time were to supervise doctoral theses on the following topics: facial disfigurement in early modern England; the material culture of health in Victorian England; birth, death and illegitimacy in eighteenth-century Wales; and appearance and the interpretation of character in early modern England.

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Maartje shared some insights about the ways in which the scheme was beneficial to her:

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

The highlights were the face to face meetings as I felt such a personal approach, which really motivated me to improve my work: my mentor’s advice and encouragement thus ensured I put in every effort in achieving my goals.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

The gained insight into my chosen profession is very useful indeed. I had a vague plan of becoming a lecturer but had no idea how to get there and how to ‘prepare’ for such a career. I now understand the path in front of me more, what I need to work on to achieve this and what to prioritise.

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

Absolutely apply. Having a mentor is tremendously helpful as his/her guidance will allow you a more focused and goal-orientated university experience. Essays and presentations thus become opportunities to achieving that ultimate career goal instead of ‘homework’ .

Christopher, Defence and Public Protection

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

While in his final year of doing Economics and Politics, Christopher applied for the Career Mentor Scheme and was matched with a Defence & Public Protection mentor who was an Army Officer at HM Forces.

An Exeter graduate, this mentor’s previous employment includes being Company Commander commanding 100 infantry soldiers specialising in dismounted close combat.  He was also involved in contingency security planning and response for London 2012 Olympics including working with Special Forces, Met Police and civilian organisations. His other military experience has been broad, he has worked closely with senior officers, deployed on operations around the world, been responsible for HR in a major unit and have been a key planner for operations in Afghanistan.

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Christopher shared with us he had an outstanding experience being mentored. He achieved every single objectives which they had set at the beginning of their partnership.

What was the highlight of the scheme for you?

Getting to speak to my mentor’s contacts, and [having] his support and encouragement.

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

Absolutely excellent scheme – couldn’t be more useful. The opportunity to be personally mentored by incredibly accomplished people – even from a different field from your own – is invaluable.

The highlight for the mentor was the Meet Your Mentor Event and the focused preparation for a job interview him and Christopher did.

Alicia, Mining, Environment and Natural Resources

Energy Engineering, Mining and Mineral Engineering, Mining Environment and Natural Resources,

Sustainable Development masters student Alicia was matched with an Environment and Sustainability Advisor at the University of Exeter.

This mentor’s main responsibility is improving the University’s environmental performance through the development and delivery of sustainability strategies and change management with specific responsibilities for environmental compliance, pollution prevention and ISO14001.

At the end of the partnership, Alicia gave us an insight of what she had achieved through the Career Mentor Scheme. Apart from significantly improving her job hunting skills and developing personal skills and abilities, she also achieved career objectives, such as finding our more about the good and bad aspect of a career in Sustainability and learning about the entry requirements. Alicia also got hints and tips about the Green Consultants Programme and possible project options.

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What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

The most important knowledge I gained from my mentor was the opportunity to practice mock interviews and build my confidence skills. She also talked about her experience as a consultant within the energy sector and clarified many doubts about working within that field and what to expect from consultancy.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

The insight of my chosen profession, CV Review, and interview tips [provided].

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

It is very useful to clarify doubts about your career path and to get reassurance that you are going in the right way. It is also very useful to gain confidence in yourself when it comes to interviews and preparation for graduate jobs.

Her mentor said:

  “[It was] rewarding to see Alicia reflect on discussions [we have had] and apply those reflections!”