What attracted me to the University of Bath
The internship pathway was a big draw for me. At most universities you have to do a dissertation over the summer as part of your MSc. But I could do an internship on my course. That really appealed to me because I didn’t have much corporate experience before coming to the School of Management.
I was able to gain two important things at the same time: my master’s degree and work experience. My summer internship at the Royal Bank of Canada even converted into a full-time role after the summer.
How the School careers team supported me
There were a lot of opportunities to receive support from the careers team. For example, they ran workshops throughout the year, where they gave us tips and advice on job applications.
I also booked a lot of one-on-one sessions with them. These were incredibly useful in helping me secure my internship. You can book a session to chat to them about something specific, like CVs or interview skills, or simply to get some general support.
How the MSc exposed me to different cultures
The class on my MSc in Finance with Banking was incredibly diverse, which is great because it gave me the opportunity to collaborate with people from different backgrounds. When we took part in extra-curricular activities, like the Big Team Challenge, they made sure to place us in diverse groups. This helped prepare me for working in the real world. It gave me valuable experience of what it was like to work with people from different cultures, which was something I hadn’t been exposed to before.
For most companies now, this type of experience is incredibly important. It came up a few times in interviews for me.
My advice to someone about to study at Bath
My advice is to take advantage of everything on offer. There are plenty of work experience opportunities, like the Future Business Challenge, which gave us the chance to go to Bristol for the day and work with Lloyds Bank. Make use of the careers services so your CV and interviewing skills are up to scratch. And make sure you get involved in societies as well. Some people think of that extra stuff as unnecessary, but it really helps bridge the gap between university life and the real world.