CAREERS NEWSLETTER 2018-19
ISSUE 3 – Friday 12 October 2018 This issue leads on resilience, looking at particular Bablake examples. We have an excellent interview with a former pupil who works at Diageo and offer elements all pupils may select for their individual #18Before18 programmes. Our report on the Mock Interview Morning has been held back until our 1 st XV’s evening workshop on Wed 17th October with former pupil Ben Cooper.
EMPLOYERS APPRECIATE RESILIENCE - KEEP TRYING! Be bold! Learn from failure! These are messages you have heard Bablake’s Headmaster deliver recently, while illustrating his point with the example of James Dyson testing prototype after prototype, before running with a final design he was happy with. Of course this message is spot on; employers value young people with the confidence to challenge themselves, not give up, persist and show the resilience and humility necessary if all does not go entirely to plan straightaway. This week, I witnessed our boys’ 1st XI hockey team lose 3-2 in a friendly. 2-0 down very early in the game, our players dug in and battled their way through the rest of the first half ending with the momentum of a goal back and a flurry of short corners. This resilience led to the equaliser midway through the second half. Unfortunately an immediate opposition response saw the restoration of their lead and while our team’s resilience did not diminish, we narrowly failed to avoid defeat. This game pattern is a familiar one apparently, but with patience and similar resolve in future fixtures, success will surely arrive. The Careers department sees resilience in Bablake students daily. The two students who greeted me on A level Results Day, at 7.30am last year, received grades below their desired offer. There were some tears – visible and held back - but the resilience of both was exceptional. They tackled Clearing with complete professionalism and with family and school support were soon ready to telephone or email university departments to claim clearing spaces. One headed to Newcastle to study Marine Biology, combining a love of science and adventure. The other gained a good offer from Nottingham, but Aston’s loyalty in Clearing and the placement opportunities won the argument. Both students have reported they are enjoying the courses their outstanding resilience negotiated. Another student, whose plans to study in Northern Ireland fell through at the same time, has made every effort deep in the South West to add further employability to her Marine Engineering degree by gaining a PADI diving qualification. Her positive attitude and natural resilience, when faced with adversity, have opened impressive new paths. Resilience has a price, but it soon becomes a habit… for anyone. After more than 50 years despising and avoiding long distance running – even to Eddie’s Ices - your Careers department has been facing the challenge of Coventry’s weekly 5km Park Run this year; the resilience necessary in reducing its first race time by over 10 minutes has been extreme, but we keep reminding ourself that the training and results are worth it.
CLASS OF 2018 UPDATE Last year, we congratulated Upper Sixth students Lucie Barnes (AECOM), Liam McSorley & Remy McNamara (both Deloitte), Aaron Biddle (IBM Futures) and Krina Mistry (Specsavers) on successfully negotiating competitive interviews to gain places on school leaver programmes and apprenticeship schemes. We will post updates from these students over the year, but we have already received news from Aaron, Liam and Remy. All are enjoying the responsibility of their roles, the training, the travel and the fact that their work is very real. At Deloitte, they are also working hard for regular professional exams. We suspect they may envy our forthcoming Half Term, but holiday plans they have mentioned may help remedy this! Remy, one of Deloitte’s ‘Brightstart’ students, commented: “I am officially one month into my employment with Deloitte and cannot believe how quickly time has gone! Things are going well. My initial training was 2 weeks – one in London and one in the Cotswolds. This was mixed with both university grads and IPs, so it was fairly intense. I am now back in London in the offices, which are incredible, and have begun my first project, which is very interesting. The company has been so accommodating and everyone, including the senior partners, has been really approachable which is reassuring. I’m so excited!”
@BablakeCareers
#BABLAKEPUPILSEVERYWHERE (3) KONDWANI MHONE For the third in our series of interviews with Bablake former pupils, we contacted Kondwani Mhone (pictured extreme left below, alongside friends attending the recent Old Wheatleyans RFC Vice Presidents’ Day), who is Global Head of Outlet Execution for Diageo.
When did you leave Bablake? 1997. Which A levels did you study? English Literature, History and Business Studies. Which degree did you study? Law at the University of Leeds. What did you do after your degree? A Master’s in Marketing at Liverpool John Moores. What turned you away from Law? I had wanted to do law since I was 12, without actually understanding that the day-to-day work was not like the world you see on TV. At the end of my first year at university, I took a summer job in a local solicitors’ firm and, by the end, I knew it wasn’t for me. So, after finishing my degree, I enrolled in a Master’s programme in marketing which involved work experience. You work for Diageo - what does this company do? It is a multinational beverage company that is only 21 years old, but many of our brands are more than 100 years old - Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Gordon’s to name a few. Part of your current job title is 'Commercial Leader'. What does this entail? My job is to develop the standards and the ways of working for our sales organisation, and implement this across all our major countries. Put simply, the work I do is focused on that moment when a person is deciding in a bar, club, supermarket or shop which drink to purchase and ensuring they choose our brands more than our competitors’. One of your briefs with Diageo is to deploy and embed Digital Image Recognition across 20 countries. What does this involve? This involves creating the roadmap of how the solution will be used and providing a framework for all countries to utilise. The best part is working with the countries to get the technology adopted by their teams. This does mean that I am lucky enough to visit a variety of countries across all continents. My personal favourite being Argentina with its red wine and beef. What’s not to love?! What do you see as the most exciting development that will happen in the next 5 years? In the next 5 years, the most important people - whether in commercial, supply or marketing - will have mathematical or computer science backgrounds, as technology and analytics will be how companies drive growth and improve their business. Key areas that I see being most important are predictive analytics, machine learning and the internet of things. What was the best piece of advice you ever received at Bablake? It was from Madame Field: “You are good at French. You should stick with it - languages are so important.” I didn’t listen and regret it daily when I speak to my colleagues around the world in their second or third language. Finally, what would you tell your 16 year old self? Failure is OK, if you learn from it and get better. Trust your instincts and take more risks.
#REALISEYOURPOTENTIAL
#18BEFORE18 The simplicity of the ’18 Before 18’ concept is that students create a programme for themselves that includes 18 activities or challenges each year to help assist plans set for after Bablake at 18 (or even 16). We have created 6 categories with ideas on how to compose the #18Before18 plan, but students should not feel they must make selections from each one annually. Nor should they feel shy of adding activities to their list, which are not suggested below. Different priorities will take precedent for different year groups.
Here are some suggestions on how to create your individual #18Before18 programme – there is overlap between elements for the separate categories:
NETWORKING #APositiveDigitalPortfolio
Follow: a blog, vlog, Twitter feed, Facebook page, YouTube channel. Create: a blog, vlog, Twitter feed, Facebook page, Instagram profile, YouTube channel, LinkedIn profile. Regularly check websites: e.g. companies, professions, general advice on universities/ gap years/ apprenticeships. Watch video stories on: iCould, YouTube. Network with: former pupils, parents, friends’ parents/ guardians, friends, relatives, brothers/ sisters etc of friends.
QUALIFICATIONS #AimToExcel #RealiseYourPotential
Academic: GCSE, A Level, Music, Drama, LAMDA, Dance. Awards: Duke of Edinburgh, NCS, CREST, EPQ, Industrial Cadet, Arts Award, First Aid, Scouts/ Guides, coaching, playing/ performance. General: Driving Test, Mentoring.
HELP WITH DECISIONS #BeCurious
Programmes – free: Fast Tomato (school licence), Buzz, Sacu (Spartan), MOOCs. Programmes- paid for: Centigrade, Morrisby. Talk to: elder students re GCSEs/ A Levels; family – parent(s)/ guardian, brother(s)/ sister(s), other relatives. Courses: Try something familiar, new or out of your comfort zone; e.g. Smallpeice, Headstart, Year in Industry, EES. Investigate: visit a company, read newsletters and newspapers/ journals; attend Open Days/ Insight days.
CHALLENGING YOURSELF #StandingOut
What could you do to stand out? Take on a leadership role; gain part-time work; set up an online business; learn a new skill/ hobby – e.g. coding, foreign language, sign language; run an event for charity; complete a MOOC; gain extra qualifications; deliver an assembly; join a drama group; contact someone you aspire to follow and ask their advice; create a CV; practise your interview skills in front of a camera.
BEYONDTHECLASSROOM #CoCurricular
So many options! Clubs and societies in and outside Bablake – music, sport, drama, academic, social enterprise; charitable or voluntary work; Duke of Edinburgh; NCS; mentoring. Read a daily newspaper, blog, forum and/ or feed; listen to radio news/ discussions; read publications/ books linked to your favourite topics or subjects; read for fun; attend lectures in person or online (webinars); go to taster days or complete a residential course; work shadow/ work experience (half day or more); enter essay or practical competitions; start a new club.
BABLAKE OPPORTUNITY #BePartOfIt
USPs: House competitions and roles; peer supporter; mentor; digital defender; Babtech; CREST; EPQ; F1 in Schools; Young Enterprise; The Wheatleyan; new sports; drama – so many roles on and off stage. Careers Department: 18 circulars a year to read; 18 forums to attend; one to one advice. (+ Fine support from Year Heads.)
@bablakecareers
TALKING POINTS MOOC OF THE FORTNIGHT (3) Law is an area that many Bablake students show an interest in, but unless they study the Sixth Form AS Law course or complete work experience, they are not always certain of what is entailed. FutureLearn offers some excellent Law courses: for more information, see: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/c ategories/law-courses.
Remember our advice is to choose the free option, unless passionate about an area.
CAREERS FORUMS 2018-19
ASSISTANCE WITH OPTIONS
CONGRATULATIONS TO…
5THs All pupils completed the Fast Tomato programme last term and have an online report, offering useful assistance for important options choices and prompts for discussion. We will meet each pupil for a Careers Review after Half Term to offer them direct guidance for choosing Post 16 Options. These will be completed by early December.
Wheatleyan editor Adam Dickinson, whose first two articles for the Coventry Telegraph – Wasps and Coventry RFC preview pieces - have been printed this term. #studentjournalismstandingout
BUZZ TEST A good number of last year’s 3rd Years completed the short Buzz test, which helps identity your natural character. We will ensure all 4th Year pupils have completed this by the end of this term.
#INSPIRINGSTUDENTS
WORK EXPERIENCE Those pupils who have arranged work experience over Half Term may find the Pro Forma in the middle page of this Careers Circular useful for checking health and safety requirements and focusing their minds on what they hope to gain from the experience.
We have held 3 very good forums this term (1 on CVs and 2 on languages) and are arranging an exciting programme for the rest of the year. Already confirmed is the following: 27th Nov. (4ths & above) ‘Degree or No Degree’ – an evening with CapGemini and others looking at degree apprenticeships. 7pm (EDM) Sessions with Deloitte, Elle Barker (Global Marketing Director for Soap and Glory) and Priya Lele (one of Vogue’s Top 10 fashion designers to watch in 2017) are being finalised.
THOUGHT OF THE FORTNIGHT ‘What Brands Should Do Now’
Please let us see the completed booklets after HT, and in particular the excellent references almost everyone - without exception - receives from employers.
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CONTACT BABLAKE CAREERS Mr Mark Woodward
“All brands should now learn from the so-called ‘frightful five’ – Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Amazon – who are succeeding by creating deeper relationships to become a central part of their customers’ daily lives. And they are achieving this by tapping into the significant opportunity that lies in delivering customers greater convenience and a more humanised experience – two things customers not only value highly, but have now come to expect.” Richard George – Marketing Week
Email: mgw@bablake.coventry.sch.uk Twitter: @bablakecareers FB: www.facebook.com/bablakecareers Website: www.2morrow-2day.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin/markwoodward Blog: http://bablakecareers.tumblr.com/ Spotify: http://www.spotify.com/18before18 Instagram: @bablakecareers Careers Circulars: http://issuu.com/bablake/stacks