Can you please tell me a little bit about yourself? (briefly about what you are studying etc)

My name is Shivum Kara, I am a 22 year old final year student, studying Business Management with Accounting at Westminster Business School. I grew up in Solihull a leafy suburb close to Birmingham in the UK.

In November 2011, I setup my own online jewellery business; Mesmerize Jewellery which sells fashion jewellery to wholesale and trade customers around the world. The jewellery is sourced from Sweden, India and China.
In September 2012, between my second and third year of university, I was offered an exciting opportunity to complete a one-year marketing placement with Westminster Business School, which has really helped me to transfer my personal skills to the real world of working.

 

I love to travel and in the past year I have spent time in Miami and Spain. In my spare time I like going to the gym and bullying the weights. I spend most of my existing final year social life in Shoreditch.

 

 

Music is a great passion of mine. I love Drum and Bass, along with Dance, Trance and the occasional Indie music. Photography is another passion of mine, I always try to find time to take my camera out and snap up some amazing photos of London.

How did you decide to study at Westminster Business School?

Coming from a family who had their own electrical manufacturing company, carved my future into business. Therefore, I decided to take up a place at Westminster Business School to read Business Management.

When applying for universities, I knew I wanted to be in London. My sister also studied at the University of Westminster, reading Architecture, so when I used to come down to London she would take me out to all of these amazing restaurants, bars, clubs and sights. London opened up a new world for me, every corner I turned there was something going on.

 

Westminster has given me the opportunity to study in the heart of London, with so many different people from all around the world and combining this with the excellent academic teaching makes Westminster Business School really special compared to other universities.
The academics at Westminster have a wealth of knowledge and experience in their subject field, which gives us the students the best opportunity to learn. I have met so many new people while studying at Westminster. The diversity is excellent. I love life at Westminster, and I do not want it to come to an end.

Can you please tell us a bit about your placement year? 

I was given the opportunity to undertake my placement year at Westminster Business School. My role was the marketing assistant to the business schools marketing manager.

My duties as a marketing assistant required me to maximise the public standing and visibility of Westminster Business School. I was involved with various branding projects around the school. You may have seen the large testimonial posters around the learning platform or the yellow Westminster Business School logo on the front windows of the Marylebone campus, which I was involved in.
I was responsible for keeping track of the budget for marketing expenses, processing invoices and email marketing. I assisted with the production of marketing collateral such as brochures, banners and branded goods, which were used at events such as the open day.
I also had to regularly blog for Westminster’s social media channels as well as setting up the schools Instagram page. This was the first time in my life that I had an office job, so at first it was a little daunting. I was constantly thinking are they going ask me to make tea, but it was nothing like that! I was given responsibility from the outset, which gave me the confidence to face any challenge that was thrown at me.
Working in the Westminster Business School registry was a little strange at first, as this was the place I would come to complain when I had problems with my timetable or modules. I have now seen how busy it gets in there and how hard the student facing team work to get everything rectified for the students. It really made me understand both sides.

 

What were the main challenges you have faced?

There were many challenges I faced, such as organising events and managing projects such as producing the Postgraduate brochure. These challenges really helped me to reinforce my organisational and time management skills. I have learnt to break down challenges and prioritise what needs to be done first, whilst always having the end goal in mind.

Can you please tell us about the process of securing a placement during your studies?

Many companies now will require you to complete several stages before you are offered a placement opportunity. When applying I had to go through the below stages:

1) CV and application stage
2) SHL tests or Psychometric Tests (Maths and Verbal tests)
3) Telephone Interview
4) Assessment Centre
5) Final Interview stage

Westminster Business School has one outstanding placement team! They helped me to completely change my CV and cover letter and that’s when the job opportunities started to roll in, so please use the services!

The career development centre has a large bank of SHL tests available to students. I really urge you to start practising now, as you will have to take these tests when applying for graduate jobs. So get ahead of all the other students around the country and start practising. The careers department also helped me with mock interviews, to get me into character when attending final stage interviews.

It is tough out there to secure a placement. But believe me it is worth it in the end. I was rejected at times from companies, but “you just have to get back up on that horse and soldier on”.

 

 

Everyone is talking about employability skills what do you think is the best way to increase your employability skills during your academic studies?

Work experience, work experience and work experience. If you have the opportunity to undertake an internship, go for it, no matter how short it is. Employers want to see that students have had the experience of working in real life organisations. I always try to put myself in the employer’s shoes. Would I employ someone who has just graduated with no experience in the field they want to work in or someone with experience? Try thinking logically and try not to use the same old jargon everybody uses in his or her CV/Cover letter.

STAND OUT AND BE DIFFERENT!

While at the university get involved with the volunteering and student ambassador schemes. These opportunities will provide vital transferable skills that you can plant onto your CV and make you stand out to employers from the rest of the university students.

As a fellow student what would you recommend other students in the Westminster Business School?

I recommend being as active as possible. Get involved with what the university offers such as societies or even better, if you find something interesting, set a society up, I’m sure there will be other students wanting to join! Every person at Westminster has a talent, you need to find this talent and turn it into something positive.

Networking is very important, do not be shy and not talk to people, maybe one of these people may hold the key to your career in the future. “If you never ask, you will never get”.

Make the most out of the academics’ knowledge!  Their wealth of knowledge and experience will help your learning. I always aim high with my degree and put a lot of effort into it to get a successful outcome. Maintain a healthy social life balance with your university work. Make sure you get out and meet with friends, because in my past experience you can be sitting there all day doing coursework and not get anywhere, always take a step back and reflect.

We all know that student life is hard work! How do you manage to balance your studies with all the extra-curricular activities?

Yes, student life is hard at times! I try to get involved with projects within the university or spend time building my online business alongside doing my university work. Personally the busier I am, the better I can work as I am in a routine. I treat my studies as a full time, 9 to 5 job. Try not to waste the day, always aim to wake up early and make use of the day. Life is too short to be spending time in bed at our age! Get out and enjoy university, because you will never get this time back!

My motto is “work hard and play hard”

What are the main lessons you have learnt by being so involved during your studies?

I have learnt many new skills such as time management, organisational and social skills. Always work hard and I promise, you will see the rewards. Stay focused and positive at all times. Make sure you have a target in mind and take the necessary steps to achieve these targets.

What did you enjoy most about your last job?

So my last job was the marketing placement at WBS. I enjoyed every minute of it!
I would wake up every morning eager to get to work to see what new challenges the day had for me. I really enjoyed the people I worked with. The marketing team is like family to me now and I have made great friends for life. I also enjoyed learning a lot about marketing, as this was a field I did not know much about, and to get my business started off I needed to develop my marketing skills.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the pub visits after a hard week at work. I realised that the registry workers were actually human and enjoyed a good old beer, and the occasional Sambuca shots!!!

What is the best piece of advice given to you by a teacher?

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle; we are born with all the pieces to create the end photo, and life’s journey is about putting all of them in just the right spot. Make a 5 year plan of where you will want to be in the future. So basically setting yourself a goal and taking the necessary steps to reach this goal. Know what career you want in life before you dive in. Life is like an arrow; it can only be shot by pulling it backwards. So when life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means that’s it’s going to launch you into something great, so just focus and keep aiming.

What does the future hold for you after graduation? What are your plans?

I am looking to secure a graduate job this year, to further enhance my knowledge in marketing. I am also planning to travel after I’ve completed a graduate programme. After this I want to concentrate on building my online jewellery business.