Tag Archives: history

Janice, Surveying and Property Management

History, Surveying and Property Management, ,

Janice, a History student participated in the Career Mentor Scheme and her mentor for the six-month period was Housing Development Manager & Client Lead at Exeter City Council. After completing a Building Surveying degree at Exeter, this mentor gained a variety of different professional experiences. She has previously worked at MCR Property Group as Development Manager, and at Norman Rourke Pryme Project Managers as Consultant Project Manager.

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Janice found a lot of what the mentoring partnership achieved for her really useful. She improved her confidence and got help with application forms.

Were there any other objectives you achieved?

Help with overall interview questions.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Developed my confidence for interviews and got me thinking of a broader picture of my future job and what team I should go into considering my lifestyle choices.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Developing confidence to go and talk to potential employers and having further professional connections.

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

Even if you apply for a mentor who is in a profession you are not 100% sure about, it is worth considering varying options, getting feedback from an experienced professional and building confidence in a working environment.

Her mentor said:

“Being able to observe Janice grow and develop in her confidence was great!”

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.

 

 

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.

 

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’ .

Lisa, Law and Legal Services

English, History, Law and Legal Services, , ,

During her final year of doing an English Literature and History degree Lisa had many career paths she could go down. She successfully applied to be mentored by a solicitor at Umbricht Attorneys.

After graduating with a LLB degree from Exeter, this mentor started his career at Pritchard Englefield in London. Firstly, he was a Trainee solicitor and then an Assistant Solicitor there. He progressed in the firm eventually becoming a Head of German Group, responsible for German clients and a Partner before moving to Zurich, Switzerland.

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At the end of the scheme Lisa had some great things to share with us about the positives of the partnership!

What were the highlight of the scheme for you?

A highlight of the scheme has definitely been meeting my mentor at his offices, it was really wonderful to see how his firm operated and meet personally to discuss career options. The opportunity to receive one-to-one guidance was invaluable.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Work experience, network opportunities, insight into the chosen profession, and guidance on how to approach applications/emails.

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

The scheme is an absolutely amazing way to gain insight into a chosen career and receive professional guidance from an expert. It has really helped my job opportunities, make sure you take advantage of it.

Her mentor said:

“Meeting Lisa was invaluable!”

Emily, Law and Legal Services

History, Law and Legal Services,

In her third year, Emily, doing History, was mentored by an Associate  Solicitor at Trowers & Hamlins LLP, in the Real Estate, Housing and Regeneration sector.

At the end of the six-month mentoring partnership we got really positive feedback from Emily about the ways in which the scheme had helped her.

Emily received help from her mentor in effectively completing application forms for the Law sector and that was most useful to her in her job search. She also improved her interview techniques through the Career Mentor Scheme and improved her CV with the help of her mentor. On top of that, Emily managed to widen her contacts and find out more about the entry requirements in the Law industry.

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What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

I enjoyed meeting trainees at my mentor’s work place, who were informative, friendly and offered great advice.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Helping with applications, and understanding what key words employers were looking for.

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

Definitely go for it, you don’t realise the amazing opportunities this scheme can offer you.

Lauren, Law and Legal Services

History, Law and Legal Services, Politics and International Relations, ,

During her third year Lauren, History student, applied for a mentor in the Law and Legal Services sector, in which she was interested in pursuing a career. Her mentor, Group Leader, at Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co. LLP has many years of experience in the industry.

After graduating from Exeter, this mentor worked at Simmons & Simmons for five years and then moved to Slaughter and May, where he spent ten years, the second half of the period as a Partner. In 2000 he joined Wragge & Co as a partner and in 2009 he became a Group Leader. As such his responsibilities are to manage a group of 27 partners in three offices and working in the commercial, employment, pensions and projects area.

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Lauren had an outstanding experience being mentored. She achieved all objectives which were set at the beginning of their partnership, including learning about the sector entry requirements and improving her confidence. What she found most useful were the interview tips Michael gave her.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

My mentor was very accommodating and made himself available whenever I had any questions. The immediacy of professional advice was invaluable and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing his perspective of the recruitment process as an employer.

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

Absolutely do it! The scheme is incredibly flexible and you are completely in charge of your contact with your mentor – you can work this out with them to suit both of you. You can get invaluable viewpoints from a working professional in a sector you are interested in at the drop of a phonecall or email and may have a contact for life.

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.