I had heard about AMBS’s Postgraduate Careers Service before I applied for the Master’s course, and the Careers Service organised workshops and webinars about the Graduate Programme before the start of the academic year, giving us a kick-start on how to find graduate jobs in the UK. In the workshops, the counsellors advised us on how to modify our CVs and cover letters for interviewers.

The activities are also really helpful. For example, the first workshop I participated in was called “Bee Bold, Bee You Professional Development Series”. At first I didn’t understand what this meant, but after I attended this activity, I learned the importance of knowing where your strengths and weaknesses are so that you know how to maintain and improve them. Plus, I met a lot of friendly people there, both counsellors and students, who gave tons of suggestions about how to start a career.

Moreover, I attended an assessment centre workshop the day before I went to an assessment centre for a company. I had never attended this kind of workshop in my undergraduate studies before (because we didn’t have them…), so this workshop was helpful for a starter like me to have a grasp of what an assessment centre is. We were given a case and we needed to give our advice in a limited time, and we had to give a presentation in 5 minutes. This is truly challenging but exciting, using all the information you know and the knowledge you have to draw a conclusion or give a suggestion to make an organisation thrive. It helped me gain confidence and perform better in the assessment centre.

I would like to say more about the PCS Careers Drop-Ins and 1:1 Appointment. For postgraduates, the timing of finding a graduate job is pretty tight. I decided to give myself a kick-start by having drop-in sessions and 1:1 Appointments with the counsellors. They gave me some useful and detailed suggestions about what the timeline is, where to find graduate jobs, how to tailor my CVs and Cover Letters for each job, and so on. When applying for jobs, there can be a lot of doubts and problems, and the counsellors can give insightful solutions to them. Also, they care about looking after your mental health when applying for jobs. Sometimes I felt anxious and I remember the words that counsellors often said to me: “Take it easy, nothing is on fire at this moment”. They also suggested that I turn to Counselling and Mental Health Services when I wasn’t feel well. In their words: “It’s important to take care of yourself, so you can take care of your life”.

Written by Jingda, studying MSc Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations

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