'Skills for Professional Life' for Year 12

On Friday 6th February, the Year 12s had an insightful afternoon learning from speakers Sally McAndrew (from The HR Department) and Patrick Pollard (from Deloitte).

Sally McAndrew started the seminar by handing out free goodies, which most of the girls were thoroughly excited by - even I couldn’t resist a free mint! As we were soon to learn, Sally McAndrew was a very successful Human Resources Consultant and gave us valuable information as to what future employers and universities were looking for when it came to the interview process. I personally learnt a lot and I am certain that the majority of us also came away with useful information that will not only be beneficial and fill us with confidence for those daunting interviews at prospective universities, but also the skills which are transferable for job interviews later on in our lives. One of my favourite parts of the whole seminar was when we were asked to get into groups of three and improvise a job interview. I was the observer and my friends Esme and Ellen played the interviewer and interviewee. My part as the observer was to overlook the interview and to help my ‘colleague’ (Esme) to make notes on the interviewee. I was fortunate enough to win the ‘best observer’ prize at the end because I made some key points on how the interviewee responded to certain types of questions and studied her body language carefully.

Patrick Pollard ended the seminar with an engaging talk about Deloitte’s ‘Brightstart’ and ‘Scholar’ schemes. The Scholar scheme entails a 30-week paid gap year placement, which allows you to learn crucial skills in one of the four areas of this top financial company. Furthermore, this scheme also includes money for travelling once completed! Patrick explained how successful candidates are chosen by Deloitte and provided us with a sample of questions that an applicant may be given which included critical thinking exercises. Whilst some girls found this straightforward others, like me, were challenged by the concept. However it was an enjoyable and rewarding experience and an opportunity that I may consider following my A-levels.

Annabel (Year 12)