How the CareersPlus Team supported my development

Simone David, Executive MBA participant, explores how the CareersPlus team supported her in applying for a new role. 

As my last year of the Warwick Business School (WBS) Executive MBA seems to be flying by, I have found myself taking time out to reflect on all the experiences that I have had since joining the programme. I find that without these consistent ‘pauses’, time seems to just disappear! One of the highlights so far, of the Executive MBA has been the CareersPlus facility. As a WBS student, CareersPlus provides me with a plethora of online and in-person resources, enabling me to manage my future and current career. From researching career ideas and preparing job applications to writing CVs and cover letters. To date, I have attended several seminars and events which have covered a range of diverse topics such as brand management, social media, career networking, negotiation, and time management.  These have been organised by Nita Lad and the brilliant CareersPlus Team.

I have been able to utilise the one-on-one ‘tailored’ career mentoring service provided by CareersPlus to apply for a new role successfully. As part of the Careers, Leadership and Development service, I was able to talk through my role profile with Nita Lad, Careers Coach. We brainstormed ideas for tackling the interview. This enabled me to see the interview process through the lens of the interviewer, which showed me how my strategy could beneficially affect the overall assessment outcome. We examined the assessment criteria so that I could have more insight into the possible questions that could be asked as part of my upcoming interview. I also then undertook a mock interview, which dispelled any trepidation that I had about the overall process.

As a team, I have found the staff to be very responsive and effective. The CareersPlus team can tailor the support required for each student. The various skills that can be gained by using CareersPlus are too numerous to mention. I have found that the way to utilise this excellent resource was to work out what I wanted to achieve and to choose which parts of the programme would enable me to achieve my goals. I have also found that my original goals have changed during my time in the Executive MBA. This has been due to my personal growth during my overall time at WBS, I have found that this is an extremely positive benchmark by which I have been able to measure the beneficial outcomes of undertaking this postgraduate programme.

The online career guidance portal that is provided by CareersPlus has helped me immensely. Access to CV writing tools has been a great addition to the tools that have helped me to navigate my career to date. This online resource can be used to review an existing CV as well as to write a new one. Tailoring a CV is key to ensuring that it fits the specific role being applied for. Therefore, the online tools enable me to undertake this seamlessly.

I have had no reason to be dissatisfied with any aspect of the CareersPlus facility to date. Therefore, I am really happy to be able to be an advocate for the programme. I also look forward to utilising more of its features in the future!