{"id":2424,"date":"2021-08-18T15:36:50","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T14:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humanities-blog\/?p=2424"},"modified":"2021-10-05T16:44:50","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T15:44:50","slug":"alumni-spotlight-muneera-lula-ba-politics-and-modern-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humanities-blog\/2021\/08\/18\/alumni-spotlight-muneera-lula-ba-politics-and-modern-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Muneera discusses her career since completing her BA in Politics and Modern History"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Muneera Lula is a Policy Advisor at the UK Crown Civil Service. She graduated from Manchester with a BA in Politics and Modern History<\/a> in 2017. Here, she talks about what she does and how she got there following her time at Manchester.<\/p>\n

On what I do and how I got there<\/h2>\n

I am a Policy Advisor for the UK Government. I rotate between government departments working to develop my skills and add as much value as possible\u00a0to the policy area. I got into this role by completing the assessment centre for the\u00a0Civil Service\u00a0Fast Stream<\/a>,\u00a0and I was absolutely elated to have been successful. I was very fortunate that I graduated with an offer to do a job I was incredibly\u00a0excited for. Prior to this, I had completed a short work shadowing programme and a full summer internship in government.<\/p>\n

On life at Manchester<\/h2>\n

I knew I wanted to study History and Politics, but Manchester was such a fantastic place when I came to visit. It felt homely and kind with so much to\u00a0offer both academically and through extracurricular activities.\u00a0I loved my time at university, but there were a few standout experiences that were particularly great. In my final year, I was the President of the History Society, and it was a really brilliant opportunity to stretch\u00a0myself.<\/p>\n

During my degree, I had the\u00a0opportunity to study such a huge range of history and politics. My study of colonial history was amazing and eye-opening. I also loved my term as the Student Women’s Officer of the union, and my time on the women’s cricket team. University\u00a0really was a chance to have a go at anything.<\/p>\n

On my advice for other students<\/h2>\n

Get absolutely stuck into life at university\u00a0and expand yourself out of your comfort zone to gain as many skills as you can. You may not know it yet, but experiences at university\u00a0give you the skills to be employable and good in a job.\u00a0I would highly recommend\u00a0researching which internships and work shadowing programmes are available to you in whichever field interests you; the\u00a0Careers Service<\/a>\u00a0can offer guidance\u00a0on this too.<\/p>\n

My biggest piece of advice, however, is to take some time to really reflect on yourself, your motivations and your strengths. It’s really difficult, but with every opportunity you take, you should know\u00a0yourself a little better and be able to understand what kind of career would best suit you. If you love people, challenging problems, interesting work and exciting opportunities, then government work might just be for you.<\/p>\n

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