I decided to pursue MSc Accounting and Finance at The University of Manchester because of the modules that were included in this course. Modules like Cross-Sectional Econometrics, Asset pricing, Corporate Financial Reporting helped me to analyse issues in the finance industry. In the Portfolio Investment module, I learned to use the Bloomberg terminal. The course also enabled me to learn programming language like STATA which is important, especially when I want to go for finance job roles.

I also researched about the Careers Service at The University of Manchester, and I was quite impressed by it. Perfecting our CV is the first step towards finding a job, be it a part-time or a full time. This becomes very stressful, especially when as an international student, we don’t know the exact format or the exact number of pages that will be accepted. Nowadays, the CV screening is done by artificial intelligence. It becomes essential that our CV is ATS-compliant so that it gets shortlisted. This is where the Careers Service at The University of Manchester comes to the rescue. The Careers Service provides guidelines on how to draft our cover letter, and we can also check our CV score through the website and get feedback. The Careers Service also allows us to book 1:1 appointment with a mentor so that we can get personalized recommendations on how to improve our CV and Cover Letter based on the job we are planning to apply for. Different workshops are conducted so that we can brush up on our numerical skills and can prepare for the psychometric tests. As students, we can also prepare for our interviews as the website provides some practice activities. I used the Careers Service when I wanted to tailor my CV according to the UK standards. I booked an appointment where I received feedback on how to include bullet points to make my CV more effective. The website also allows us to search for job vacancies and notifies us when new job roles are published.

I used the AMBS career drop-in sessions to discuss my career options after graduating. Here I learned about the different websites from where I could find the job listings for full time and part-time jobs. The University of Manchester also conducts career fairs where we can meet different companies, and we can speak to their representatives.

The Careers Service at The University of Manchester helped me boost my confidence. It also helped me prepare for my video interviews. The website has a pathway which helps people with disabilities to apply for jobs and mentions the kind of adjustments that they could ask for. The Career Service of the University of Manchester is a great way for students to understand what is required of them during the application and interview process, and they can even review their application form by booking an appointment with a mentor. Different videos and articles are also available on the website to help university students understand how to present themselves in the professional setup. I really benefitted from the Careers Service as I could share my concerns with a mentor and got feedback on how I can improve myself.

Written by Raka, current MSc Accounting and Finance student at AMBS

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