Category Archives: Degree Subject

Rosie, Advertising, Marketing and PR

Advertising Marketing and PR, Geography, , ,

Rosie participated in the Career Mentor Scheme in her final year of studying Geography. She was interested in getting into the Advertising, Marketing and PR industry and was thus matched with a Strategy Director at BBH London.

This mentor graduated from Exeter with an English Literature degree in 2005 and has gained a variety of experiences at a number of organisations, including working as a Planner at Lowe for 3 years, as Head of Planning at Edelman for 20 months and then as a Planner at Anomaly. In 2013 he started as a Senior Planner at M&C Saatchi, where he spent over a year and then moved on as a freelance planner at Nonsense London.

rosie

Rosie informed us of the way the Career Mentor Scheme helped her.

She achieved various job hunting objectives, amongst which finding work experience, and personal development objectives, such as getting help in improving her CV. She also increased her knowledge of the entry requirements for the Advertising, Marketing and PR sector and learned more about what the good and bad aspects of the profession are.

Were there any other objectives you achieved?

Better understanding of different levels/sizes of marketing/advertising agencies.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Meeting with my mentor in person, whilst emailing was an effective form of communication, meeting was a more personal experience.

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

It is definitely a rewarding and worthwhile experience. It is very straightforward to apply for, and there are many potential benefits to gaining a first-hand insight into your industry of choice.

Mia, Insurance, Pensions and Actuarial

Insurance Pensions and Actuarial, Mathematics, , ,

During her final year of doing Mathematics, Mia was matched with a mentor who at the time of the partnership was a Senior Pension Consultant and Pension Scheme Actuary at JLT.  This mentor helped Mia who wanted to get into the Insurance, Pension and Actuarial sector by providing career guidance and advice.

Mia told us more about how the Career Mentor Scheme helped her develop her career path:

Apart from achieving all objectives, which were set at the beginning of their partnership, such as increasing Mia’s knowledge of effective application forms in this sector, improving her personal development skills and widening her contacts, other achieved objectives included: “Networking with other actuaries, gaining and insight into the occupation, help with CV and cover letters, understanding what skills and qualities are most important for the job”.

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What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

I really enjoyed the pre-arranged meeting with the mentor. […] I felt that it really helped me get to know Terry and gain a better relationship with me from our following email conversations.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Being put in contact with an Actuary is probably one of the most useful opportunities I’ve received from the Career Zone. My mentor gave me ample information about the actuarial world, put me in contact with other actuaries (extremely helpful in terms of asking more questions and gaining further insight) and most importantly he gave me confidence that I am capable of succeeding in this career. He gave me reassurance that failing an exam is not uncommon and I should use this only to become more determined and try until I do succeed.

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

If you are unsure as to whether your career choice is the right one, get a career mentor. They can give you that insight you need and help you decide whether it’s right for you. Come prepared with questions and don’t be afraid to ask for help – that’s what they’re there for and why they have decided to mentor you!!

Liberty, Law and Legal Services

Classics and Ancient History, Law and Legal Services,

During her second year Liberty wanted to get career advice and guidance in getting into the Law and Legal Services sector. Studying Ancient History Liberty applied for the scheme, looking to be matched with a mentor in her desired sector. She was matched with a barrister at Lamb Chambers in London.

An Exeter graduate, this mentor has previously worked at 11 Stoke Buildings and Tanfield Chambers. Since 2007 he has been in a position at the Lamb Chambers, where he is a professional in general civil litigation.

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This is what Liberty shared with us at the end of the 6-month partnership:

What were the highlights of the scheme?

Being able to go and visit my mentor and get a more in depth experience and knowledge about working as a barrister in London.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Having open access to an individual with all of the knowledge of everything law based that I didn’t understand and who was able to explain and simplify it to me.

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

Whether you are certain, or not, about what you want to do in the future, the Career Mentor Scheme gives you the freedom to explore your interests in a relaxed and environment, with one-to-one advice.

Jacob, Media, Publishing and Journalism

Drama, Media Publishing and Journalism, , ,

Jacob participated in the Career Mentor Scheme is his second year. Doing a Drama degree, Jacob wanted to go into the Media, Publishing and Journalism sector and was thus matched with a mentor in the same sector, a freelance TV series producer.

Having graduated from Exeter with a Drama degree, this mentor had been in the industry as a freelance TV producer for 12 years at the time when the mentoring partnership began. His main responsibility was managing teams during the filming process.

jacob

Jacob discussed with us how the Career Mentor Scheme helped his employability and career development.

Jacob increased his knowledge of effective interview techniques and finding work experience in this sector. He improved his personal development skills and knowledge of further professional courses related to this sector. He also received help to improve his CV and got a chance to meet with people working in the filed and thus widened his contacts and networking opportunities.

What did you find most useful?

Insight into the profession.

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

Meet with your mentor as much as you can, ask as many questions as possible and take any opportunity that comes your way!

Lavanyaa, Media, Publishing and Journalism

Media Publishing and Journalism, Politics and International Relations, , ,

Whilst in her second year, Politics and International Relations student Lavanyaa, who was looking to get into the Media, Publishing and Journalism sector was mentored by a freelance journalist.

This mentor graduated from Exeter with a Biology with Animal Behaviour degree, but then pursued a Journalism career. After working as an Essayist at the Kernel and as a Reporter at Real Business, he became a freelance journalist working for various organisations, such as New Scientist, Observer and Vice. This was also his position  at the time of his partnership with Lavanyaa and as such his main responsibilities were in technology and business journalism, copyediting, PR, research and client relations.

lavanyaa

Lavanyaa told us of her experience of the Career Mentor Scheme:

She improved her personal development skills and her knowledge of further professional courses related to the Journalism sector. She increased her knowledge of the sector entry requirements and found out more about the good and bad aspects of the profession. Furthermore, she learned how to write, to get inspired and how to source information and facts.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Learning about my mentor’s experiences, getting advice on my writing style, and learning how to write an article.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Learning how to pitch to editors and how to freelance.

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

Do it, it gives you a wealth of information particularly for professions like journalism that are hard to get into and there is no direct route.

Alice, Education, Teaching and Research

Classics and Ancient History, Education Teaching and Research, ,

Alice, a third year Classics student, was interested in going into the Education, Teaching and Research sector and applied for a mentor in this industry. She was matched with Head of Classics at Exeter College.

This mentor graduated with a Humanities degree in 2000 and then accomplished a MA and a PhD in Classics. Between 2007 and 2014 he was an Associate Lecturer in Classics at Exeter College to then became Head of Classics. Since 2008 he has also been a Teacher in Ancient Greek at the University. Furthermore, between 2010 and 2014 he was an associate lecturer in Classical Studies at the Open University.

alice

Alice gave us an insight of the benefits of the scheme to her career development.

Alice explained she found the work experience most useful. She pointed out that finding out about both the good and bad aspects of the profession was really beneficial as well. Apart from achieving all set objectives, such as widening her contacts, receiving work experience and improving her interview techniques, Alice also learned about training schemes (i.e. PGCE), how to apply to them and how to navigate the NQT year.

What was the highlight of the scheme for you?

Getting to observe my mentor in his workplace as this was valuable in helping me apply to teacher training courses.

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

The scheme gives an excellent insight into your chosen profession that you couldn’t get anywhere else. I gained lots of experience and information from the scheme that has been extremely important in applying and gaining a place on my chosen training course.

Klaudia, Creative Arts, Design and Crafts

Art History and Visual Culture, Creative Arts Design and Crafts, , ,

In her second year Liberal Arts student Klaudia applied to the Career Mentor Scheme and was matched with a Director of Photography.

Working in the Creative Arts, Design and Crafts sector, this mentor graduated with a Film Studies degree at Exeter in 2010 and has since developed an impressive career in Photography. After working at Greenfield Television and Group FMG as a Camera Assistant and Shooting Assistant, respectively, he moved on to working as a Lighting Cameraman at Sneak Global. Since 2013 he has been self-employed and is now the founder and owner of Hold Your Fire, where he is Director of Photography. As such he is responsible for the overall visual identity of a production.

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Klaudia told us more about her experience of the mentoring partnership.

What did you find most useful?

Insight into the profession and personal advice on creating a CV, increasing the confidence in the skills I have acquired over the years.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Receiving advice on and succeeding in building a concise CV and applying for internships.

What message would you give students thinking of applying for the career mentor scheme?

If you ever felt unsure about your own personal skills and their application to the workplace, the scheme definitely has the potential to boost your confidence and help you use these skills to an advantage when looking for a placement or work experience.

The mentor shared the highlights of the scheme for himself:

I enjoyed having e-mail contact with Klaudia as I felt it was a great platform to discuss things in an informal environment. [We discussed] uncertainties about life after graduation via e-mail and it gave me the time to respond appropriately, so I could assist her with her confidence and work out what she wanted to pursue.

I feel like I had a positive impact and she seemed to figure out her next steps by the end of the scheme. I also went through her CV and looked at her work as well as sharing some of my own work and examples of past CV’s to give her some insight into the job hunting process

Getting to meet her […] was useful as it put a face to a name and solidified the professional relationship we had built up already which I hope will continue in the future.

Dimitar, Engineering and Product Design

Engineering, Engineering and Product Design, ,

Towards the end of his third year Dimitar, completing a Civil Engineering degree began his mentoring partnership with a worker of Mott MacDonald.

Having completed BEng Civil Engineering at Cardiff University, followed by MSc Civil Engineering Management at Plymouth University this mentor’s main responsibilities include design of engineering solutions, monitoring of budgets and communication with clients.

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Dimitar gave some great feedback about the scheme.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

After a couple meetings, my mentor invited me to help him and his team at the South West Big Bang Science festival in June. There he introduced me to his collegues and we had a productive networking session.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

The relationship you build with your mentor. It stays for longer than the Career Mentor Scheme duration. Me and my mentor still exchange emails and make plans for future meetings.

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

GO FOR IT, APPLY! With capital letters.

The highlight for the mentor was:

“Interesting insight into on-going research and helping develop how this might be applied commercially.”

Peter, Science

Mathematics, Science, , ,

Interested in the Science sector, Peter was at the end of his second year of doing Mathematics when he was matched with a Research Scientist at NASA.

After completing his BSc in Mathematics at Exeter, this mentor red an MSc in Computation Modelling and then a PhD Mathematics at Exeter. His previous employment includes being a Postdoctoral researcher at the Engineering department at the University, investigating the use of Open FOAM to research the optimal positioning of a wind turbine.

abacus-1415578

Peter achieved many objectives, such as received help with his CV, getting academic support and increasing his confidence to seek graduate level employment. Here is what he shared with us at the end of the scheme;

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Really enthusiastic and helpful emails from my mentor. He came across as a person who genuinely wanted to help.

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

It’s a really helpful scheme for anyone seeking career/academic guidance and support.

Sam, Banking and Financial Services

Banking and Financial Services, Mathematics, , , ,

Second year Mathematics student, Sam was successfully matched with a mentor working at Lloyds Bank as a National Director of Business Development, SME Banking. After graduating from a French degree at Exeter, this mentor pursued a career in the Banking and Finance sector. His previous employment includes various different roles at Lloyds Bank.

The partnership started at the end of Sam’s second year and continued until October of his final year. Sam shared some insight from the scheme with us:

Apart from obtaining help to prepare for his next steps for graduate level employment and receiving help with application forms and cover letters, Sam also learned more about the good and bad aspects of working in the Banking and Finance sector.

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What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Meeting with my mentor and getting to know him was a highlight, as was the opportunity to use him as a source of help in the future.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

I found the networking opportunities most useful together with getting to know an important figure within Lloyds Bank.

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

Getting to know someone on a professional level who wants to help you succeed gave me encouragement and confidence when applying for jobs.