How can the WBS Careers Team benefit you?

Our CareersPlus team supports our MSc students before, during and after their time at WBS. Two MSc alum share their top tips on how to make the most of the CareersPlus service.

Jiyong Kim, MSc Management of Information Systems & Digital Innovation

The CareersPlus team at WBS are fantastic, they will become great mentors and support your careers-related activities during your studies. They are one of my favourite groups of people at WBS. My relationship with them is special as I was helped even before my programme began.

Even before your first day on campus, if you have accepted an offer from the WBS, you can begin contacting the Careers team. Though it’s hard to believe, big companies start taking applications for their graduate programmes as early as August – which means application preparation must be started before you arrive at university.

The team at WBS can begin to help you with CV checks or even finding a specific role that you want to pursue; it might sound early considering you haven’t started your course, but I recommend getting a head-start with advice from the CareersPlus team.

After you begin applying for graduate roles, some firms require an extra application stage where they require candidates to answer pre-recorded interview questions in a video format. This may be unfamiliar to some students, including myself, however within my one-to-one sessions with the Careers coaches I was able to participate in practice runs.

This enabled me to ensure my answers were in a strong structure (e.g. STAR method) and that I was aware of what questions I should be expecting. The practice runs and consultations really gave me big confidence boosts when I reached assessment days and the final stages of job applications.

I am beyond grateful for the support I received from the CareersPlus team, as the journey of finding a job as an international student can be intimidating and often doubtful when you face rejection letters. But the amazing coaches made sure I was confident no matter which stage I was in and helped me get the job done.

Adriana Otelea, MSc Business Analytics

In the first year of my undergraduate degree, I had a reality check about how competitive the labour market is and the many stages between wanting a job and getting a job. As much as my knowledge has improved, even today I find myself in need of guidance when it comes to finding jobs, fine-tuning applications, and improving my interview skills. Thankfull as a WBS student, that sort of guidance is very easy to get via the CareersPlus team.

The range of services they provide is very broad. It’s not just a generic careers consulting service, they offer so much more, including: personalised 1:1 consultation sessions that can regard any one of your job-related concerns, access to a myriad of third-party services to help you tailor your applications to particular jobs, a mentoring programme between WBS students and alumni, exclusive access to company events and competitions, and – my personal favourite – a monthly newsletter summarising all those key episodes of the previous financial month so that you really ace that commercial awareness part of interviews.

My biggest tip during your Masters is to be proactive with the Careers team. Become familiar with everything they have to offer, which won’t be difficult to do as most courses have introductory sessions with them as part of the curriculum. Once you’ve done that, there are two main stages of the process of getting your dream job, often intertwined.

Stage 1 is finding those jobs.

Stage 2 is creating awesome applications.

During both stages, ensure you engage with employers and with CareersPlus. When you begin to start your applications, regularly ask for feedback from a Careers coach. When I’ve visited for consultations I’ve been able to discuss interview questions in detail – about the strength of my answer and how to improve it.

They also helped me in identifying a handful of key skills relevant for the type of job I’m interested in, which was beneficial coming from somebody with a more experienced and generalised view of the industry. This then helped me search through my past experiences that showcase these skills so that I’m as prepared as possible for the next interview.

The CareersPlus service is a life-long promise. As a WBS graduate, you’ll keep having access to this amazing service – for good.

Broaden your prospects, develop your professional skills and build your connection to your future career. Find out more about our dedicated CareersPlus team.