CAREERS EVENING 2004
SPONSORED BY TONER GRAHAM
This was the first Careers Evening I have attended, since becoming a member of BADCASS. Around 25 students attended to hear 3 individuals discuss their career evolution, the organisations they worked for and to give us some interview and application tips.
For those of you who couldn't make it, below is a summary of the tips given by the 3 speakers.
First up was Rob Torrance – CFO – GE Capital (European Equipment Finance).
Rob has worked in Australia, The Soloman Islands and is now based in Bristol.
He discussed why you should work for GE capital:
• Opportunity
• Training – committed to leadership development
• Exposure/ Experience – employees can move across departments and even across industries.
What GE is looking for in candidates:
• Values
• Personality – ambition and drive to fit with the culture of GE
• Looking ahead to see if the applicant will progress to management roles
Interview tips:
• Prepare
• Make sure you have answers and examples for simple questions, such as listing your strengths and weaknesses, where you want to be in 5 years time and can demonstrate times when you have shown initiative.
Alison Robb was the next speaker – head of financial management at Nationwide. Alison stressed the following points:
• Take challenges – they make you stronger; don't be afraid to take risks!
• Don't be afraid to do something different – it can lead to gaining good contacts that will stay with you for the duration of your career.
• Think about whether you could work with the people in the team you are applying to and whether you could work along side the managers in the future.
• Always look ahead to the job 5 years down the line.
• How long have people been in those positions – if it's more than 5 years, the company may not promote within.
• Don't take the first opportunity that comes along – really think about whether the position and company are right for you.
• RESEARCH the company you are applying for; know it's products, values etc
It will also help you figure out if you really do want to work for that organisation.
Glenn Andrew Director of Finance at Dyson was the final speaker. His main tips were:
• It's good to do something other than audit, so take opportunities for other departments if they come up and are right for you. It helps further understanding of the organisation.
• Be prepared to think outside the box. If you make a good suggestion at Dyson, chances are it will be implemented. And it may even be you managing it!
• When you consider changing jobs, think about the top 5 things that are important to you in a job and then write the top 5 things about the job you currently do and see how they compare.
He even gave away a brand new Dyson, which had only been on the market a week!
Joe Graham (Toner Graham) then summarised the evening and gave a few further pointers for applying for jobs:
• Attitude – personality, 1st impressions count
• Preparation – research the company and the job thoroughly
• Technique
• Intellectual curiosity – ask the interviewers questions they might not be expecting, that show you've done your research
• Know your strengths and weaknesses
• Prepare examples of instances when you have shown initiative, been a good team player, influenced others.
• Think about how to differentiate yourself.
So that was my quick summary of a great evening, many thanks to Toner Graham, for the lovely food and organising such a good Careers Evening.
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