The photo above encapsulates the spirit of Westminster Business School at its very best – an ever-evolving, dynamic community of learning, passion, enthusiasm, innovation, and drive. Part of this drive is instilled by the students themselves, a tenacious group of young individuals full of initiative, curiosity and a thirst for success; and part is due to Lecturers such as Dr Ioannis Christodoulou, who through their energy and ability to inspire, encourage such turn-outs that at his latest employability event, the Hogg Lecture Theatre literally overflowed.
The event in question (‘Back to the Future with our Successful Alumni’) was designed to bring alumni and students together, enabling our graduates to spread the message of bright work-related possibilities. Although this event happened a couple of months ago, the employability tips given are so relevant to our students, that I thought it constructive to share via our School blog. With an abundance of important and motivational employability advice, here’s what our students & alumni had to say:
Founder and CEO of The Maitland Group Stuart Maitland: “It is possible to be young and in the CEO seat”
The ‘pearls of wisdom’ started with current Business Management & Finance BSc student Stuart Maitland, who argued that passion, determination, focus, hard work and the right mind-set are all necessary ingredients for the success in the world of work. As an entrepreneur with five businesses, Stuart has emphasised the need to learn from the best. As CEO of The Maitland Group, he also confirmed that it is possible to be young and in the CEO seat. Stuart, who is also the author of the book ‘From Working Class to Business Class’, finished his speech by encouraging students to take risks and be bold.
Campaign Manager, TMW Unlimited, Nicole Kavander: “Everyone is different – let them see your personality to understand your potential”
Business Studies, Marketing BA alumna, Nicole Kavander, pointed out that it is a good strategy to secure placements in order to gain valuable work experience. She stressed the importance of the right attitude: being open-minded, enjoying what you do, being social and unafraid to change your mind. Her words of encouragement focused on enhancing understanding and accepting that everyone is different, that personality should come out and that the employers need to see individual potential.
PhD student and Lecturer, Jahangir Wasim: “Do what you love!”
Business Administration and Management BA alumnus, Jahangir Wasim, who is currently lecturing on entrepreneurship at Portsmouth University, brought some ‘revolutionary’ ideas to the debate. Arguing that SMART terminology can actually hinder our efforts, Jahangir suggested that nothing is too big and that we should doing something because we love doing so, not for the results and end
Project Manager, Goodman Restaurant Group Ltd, Mariya Kononenko: “Dream big”
Business Studies, Marketing BA alumna Mariya Konenenko was crystal clear in her presentation with motivational advice for our students: 1. Don’t waste your time on something you don’t like; 2. Dream big; 3. Don’t be afraid to try new things or work for free – experience matters!; 4. Be real – be yourself; 5. Have fun; 6. If you are determined, you will find a new job and positivity.
Business Partner, McCann London Financial Services, Evelyn Anyiri: “Be an entrepreneur in your thinking!”
Alumna Evelyn Anyiri charmed everyone with a personable presentation that was interspersed with many valuable messages. “You have not been stretched yet, so you need to push yourself. Find the gap in the market and try to work on launching something new”. This is exactly what she did during her studies. In collaboration with few colleagues, she launched the Accounting and Management Society. In doing so, she became engaged with a variety of projects and gained many transferable skills. “You need to be reliable, prompt and get jobs done… You need to use all opportunities – on personal, business and organisational levels. It is important to keep in touch – as you learn from the relevant experiences of others – and not to burn the bridges”. Evelyn’s key message still echoes – “Be an entrepreneur in your thinking! Think about the company as your own business – be proactive and innovative!”
Head of Digital Marketing, Pearson Developer Network, Sidra Khan: The ‘3 M Model’
Sidra Khan (Business Management BA alumna 2013), offered her ‘success framework’ with tips, tricks and mantras. She emphasised the need to build portfolio careers that will create success. Her three ‘M’s’ model consisted of marketing, mentors and management. The key message from this seasoned speaker was to invest in presenting CVs in multiple versions, having the portfolio of work and business cards. The use of the social media, such as LinkedIn should serve only as a starting point. What counts is – “being passionate, engaged, hungry now and not only when you graduate.” Her wise statements about the role of mentors spoke volumes – “if you want to go fast: go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” The focus in her presentation on management highlighted curiosity that keeps leading us down new paths. This should be complemented with soft skills that employers look for: communication, making decisions, flexibility, creativity and problem-solving skills, showing commitment, leadership skills and accepting responsibility. Before her mantra could be heard, she underlined that many resources are available at the Westminster Business School, such as Microsoft Office Specialist Certification, Bloomberg, career advice and, of course, excellent lecturers.
Equity Derivatives Broker, Hussein Mouhaffel: “Find a way to differentiate yourself”
Hussein Mouhaffel (Business Administration and Management BA 2012) encouraged students with a narrative of his personal experience. Although initially a negative one as he faced some rejection, he managed to secure very successful positions in city firms. His practical employability tips focused on writing speculative letters to the prospective employers, providing CVs ‘with an edge’, by trying to be different, as well as getting prepared for interviews by researching and knowing everything about the company. He has kindly offered to provide his personal file of CVs to serve as a good guidance and best practice for current students.
Senior Investor Relations Manager, Kim Lindberg: “It’s all about your mind-set”
Business Economics BSc alumna, Kim Lindberg, talked about an appropriate mind-set as the key factor in determining a successful outcome on the work front. With her dedicated work and excellent results, she managed to convince her much older colleagues that she is capable of having a responsible job. Her employability tips centred round the ideas of attempting to leave the comfort zone and try new things, learning from failures and taking opportunities as they come. Her last piece of advice was – “Now and then look back and think about what were your worries and where are you now.”
Marketing and Communications Freelancer, Na’Omi Canart: “No matter what, don’t give up!”
Currently working in a freelancing capacity, Na’Omi Canart (Business Management BA alumna), was exceptionally engaged during her studies with many different projects. Her wise words conveyed the message of how important it is to be creative and take advantage of oportunities that will produce added value. Her further advice for students stressed the significance of getting involved with many activities during their studies and to start networking. She finished her presentation by emphasising how crucial it is to market yourself and to remain memorable to others – “No matter what, don’t give up!”
Management Consultant, Rahman Mohammed: “Communication matters”
In his charismatic and, at times, humorous presentation, one of our more recent alumni, Rahman Mohammed, focused on the critical importance of communication skills in the workplace. He offered students a one day course consisting of various interactive team sessions. The key rationale behind this offer is to improve job prospects and skills for commercial factors, such as leadership, strategic thinking, creative problem solving and communication.
Digital Marketing Manager, WGSN, Lava Fataka
Lara Fataka, Digital Manager at WGSN (an exciting company that forecasts trends in life-styles, food and fashion), offered a simple, but profound message: ‘Stay humble-stay hustle’; Love your boss – your boss is not your enemy’.
Looking to the future
With such successful alumni keen to come back and share their experience with current students, this made for a truly inspiring event. By sharing their different personal/professional journeys and lessons learned, they offered invaluable insights and encouragement to all. During the lunch that followed this event, many students confirmed how inspirational, motivational and uplifting these personal stories were. The transition from university life to the world of work is not an easy one, but there is no need for panic and fear, as one of the presenters advised. No doubt, the future firmly stands in the hands of young people and Westminster Business School students will stand tall among them.
Many thanks to Senior Lecturer, Zorica Patel for this inspirational blog! If you would like to find out more about our undergraduate courses here at Westminster, please click here.
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