King’s Bruton held its fourth annual Careers Convention for the Lower Sixth on Friday, providing these students with valuable opportunities to talk to many industry professionals from a variety of vocations and gain inspiration for their fast approaching ventures into the world of work. With university fees increasing hugely from this year, it is more important than ever that one makes the right decisions early on, and such an event is invaluable in helping to ensure that this happens.
The day started with an opening address from Rachel Bell, the founder and managing director of PR agency Shine Communications, named the best employer in The Sunday Times. She told us how she had left school at 16 with three GCSEs and, through hard work and getting experience in different areas, she had this year been named The Sunday Times best company leader – the first woman ever to achieve this.
Rachel gave much excellent advice, particularly concerning how to be recruited, and how to rise up through the ranks; one especially interesting observation she made was that many employees often look for people they would be happy to have dinner with, and the key to ticking this box is simply being yourself, and not trying to be something you’re not. Later, she advised something which was repeated throughout the day, and this was to seize not only every day, but every opportunity too. A person who refuses to pass up opportunities is very desirable in a business, and is likely to open up all sorts of doors.
She said one thing in particular that surprised us: she hoped we would all be fired at some point in our lives. Despite being one of her most difficult experiences, Rachel believes that such an event allows one to reassess the reasons for doing a particular job, and thereby can ensure that a better, more suitable route is followed.
Old Brutonian Kate Lea, a Director at the Real Estate firm CBRE, talked about her journey to success, one which seemed just as unorthodox. For a long time Kate was unsure of what career path she intended to pursue, and since the majority of the Lower Sixth are currently also weighing up several options, she advised that keeping your options open can only be a good thing. She said that one should explore several different fields through work experience, as this is likely to make your final decision better informed.
After hearing from Angela Purdon from the British Schools Exploring Society, an organisation offering opportunities for ecological projects around the world, and Sue Salmon, who gave us valuable information about CV preparation, the students were then able to mingle with the delegates, chatting to them about their work, with some securing offers for work experience over the summer.
Eventually we broke off for seminars with some of the delegates. Each student attended four seminars from delegates of their choice.
Edward Thompson, a solicitor at Battens Solicitors Ltd, opened our eyes to some of the different ways of getting into law; the old proverb ‘All roads lead to Rome’ returned to mind at several points throughout the day. We were reminded on a few occasions that things are unlikely to turn out exactly as we expect them to, and so it is necessary to have a plan B and be prepared to take a different route to that which you had hoped. Mr Thompson suggested, along with a couple of the other delegates, that no matter how seemingly trivial a job you have been given, it should be done to the best of your ability, and take initiative where possible, as this is most likely to impress employers and lead to promotion.
Victoria Barns-Graham, a solicitor at the huge law firm Slaughter and May, was very helpful in advising how to get into law. She made her firm seem more accessible than I had previously expected – they currently actively recruit from 26 universities (rather than just Oxford and Cambridge). Therefore while the market may be more competitive than ever due to the economic state of affairs, this is no reason to believe that it is now impossible to achieve your dream.
Helen Turner told us about her work with ICI pharmaceuticals in Eastern Europe and her progression in this profession to her present position as marketing manager at King’s. She told us what her job consisted of and how she got to where she is today and gave us valuable tips for success.
Caroline Pryke, Director of Marketing at Farleigh School, talked about her previous marketing experience at Hill Murray, Ludgate Communications and Lehman Brothers. It was important, she said, for marketing executives to have good judgement, an instinct for what makes a good story, and to be tenacious in ensuring good stories for your clients get placed. In financial marketing, you are working with clever, dynamic people in a fast moving environment.
Andrew Curtis, film producer and founder of media law firm Drew and Co, explained how his career in banking didn’t go as expected and showed the importance of having a backup plan. He had planned a business venture with friends, who later abandoned the idea. He then decided to set up the company by himself and ran a successful law firm specialising in film.
This led Mr Curtis to another career, producing films, something he had vowed never to do. After seeing a mind map of the contracts and financial aspects of the film making process which he referred to as “more complex than a London Underground map,” we really began to grasp the complexity of Mr Curtis’ work. He also spoke of his love of music and how he ran a film society at school, therefore teaching us the importance of choosing a career doing something you love.
It was also interesting to hear from Hugh Davies CMG about his career as a diplomat and in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which he joined in 1965. He told us about how he became a senior British diplomat in Beijing and Hong Kong, ending up helping to orchestrate the hand-over of Hong Kong to China just before he retired in 1999.
Fluent in five languages, Mr Davies was able to work his way up the FCO at an impressive rate, and was thus able to see first-hand some of the most interesting events of the 20th century, the Chinese Cultural Revolution for one.
Richard Addis, currently Editor-in-Chief of The Day has also been Editor of the Daily Express, while he has also worked at the Daily Mail, Financial Times Weekend and The Sunday Telegraph. To hear such an experienced man talk about journalism and the Leveson inquiry was a real privilege. He spoke modestly of his career in print media, giving an interesting insight into what he had to do as an editor. He offered some very good advice, giving one of us a journalism project to work on in the summer.
Mr Giles Pretor-Pinney, Executive Director with UBS Wealth Management, told us about how he went into banking after gaining an Economics degree at Cardiff University. He took a break when he set up an Internet company with three friends, but couldn’t get sufficient funding after the 2001 website company crash. He returned to banking, realising that he wanted to work in an area where he could work with people rather than just being stuck behind a computer.
Dr Caroline Schuster, a psychologist who has worked in many areas including a consultancy with the English Cricket Board, told us about the different areas of psychology. She also told us about the best universities for psychology.
Mr Piers Whitaker, a stock trader and former director of MAN Financial, talked about his career specialising in derivatives. Now retired, he gave an interesting talk about the main types of trading and investment.
Jamie Cranfield gave us a fascinating insight into the world of Engineering. He first told us of the new and innovative design concepts and materials used at Renishaw. He told us of the nylon and carbon based material that can be created using high precision lasers to make the material solid, so creating a moving component with no assembly at all.
Tim Styles, an electronic engineer and co-director of Apt Core, also inspired us with his talk about programming computer chips, and how we can control different systems with one chip.
Other extremely interesting and informative talks were given by Dr Tim Robinson, a Dorset GP, who has a particular interest in alternative medicine; Peter Kennedy, Rugby Union brand manager for O’Neills International Sports wear; Henry Pomeroy, Programme Coordinator for Send a Cow; Simon Barker, a partner with estate agent Knight Frank; and James Barnes, an IT project manager with British Airways.
The closing address was given by Helena Sampson, an Old Brutonian and school governor whose life has changed dramatically since she addressed the school at speech day in 2009. She spoke to us then about her work at L’Oreal and The Sanctuary. Weeks after speaking to us, however, she had been made redundant, and so again the notion that losing your job isn’t always such a bad thing was reiterated to us. She claims that it gave her some breathing space and a chance to consider where she was going in her career, and now is once again in a job she enjoys, European and MEA Managing Director for NARS Cosmetics.
Authenticity was a word she stressed the importance of; as Rachel Bell had mentioned earlier, trying to be something you’re not will only make you look foolish. Her other ‘top tips’ included simply putting yourself out there. After all, what’s the worst that can happen? Besides, the results may be surprisingly positive. She also encouraged us not to abandon our dreams, even in the face of a stagnating economy.
By the end of the day, having met and heard from many successful and interesting people, I think every member of the Lower Sixth felt inspired to achieve their dreams. Such a day puts into perspective the hard work that must happen now, and seeing how other people have built themselves up over their lives gives one the drive to do the same. This is a pivotal time in our lives, and having experienced such a stimulating and fascinating day, I believe each of us will go into our final year of school with a powerful desire to fulfil our individual academic potential.