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Birkbeck's Careers Clinic begins its second year

This collaborative initiative matches current Birkbeck students with alumni for one-to-one support to improve CVs, job applications and interview skills.

Alumnus Malcolm Enticknap offers careers support to a Birkbeck student

The first of Birkbeck’s Careers Clinics for this academic year was recently held at the College’s Bloomsbury campus, bringing seven alumni and 17 students together. The initiative is a collaboration between the Development and Alumni team and Birkbeck Talent, and matches current Birkbeck students with alumni for one-to-one support to improve CVs, job applications and interview skills. The programme aims to increase students’ confidence in entering the professional world or changing career.

The programme was trialled in 2016 with 37 alumni supporting over 225 students over the year, and its success means it will now be a permanent feature of College support, with even more people set to take part this year.

Malcolm Enticknap, who graduated from Birkbeck with a degree in Philosophy and who worked in the Civil Service until his recent retirement, is one alumnus who took part. He said: “I signed up to take part in the Careers Clinic after I retired because I enjoyed my time here and thought it would be a good thing to support other students. Doing mock interviews gives a little bit of insight to people who might be a bit doubtful of how the process works, and gives them experience in answering interview questions and thinking about how to give their answers. Having a discussion afterwards about what went well, or not so well, can be really helpful too.”

Offering advice to other alumni thinking about getting taking part in the initiative, he said: “Just get involved – whatever you can do is valuable, and you will get an awful lot from it yourself. Not only do you impart your own knowledge and experience, but you gain knowledge yourself in areas you might not know anything about.”

Gemma Marenghi, Head of Alumni Engagement at Birkbeck, said: “The experience and expertise of our alumni are hugely beneficial to current students, who may be entering the job market for the first time, looking to change industry, or just want a bit of practice in professional interview settings. This alumni support is invaluable, and we’re delighted when we hear of students who have used their experiences in the Careers Clinic to secure jobs or internships.”

Alumni volunteers receive full training from Birkbeck’s Careers and Employability team. If you are a student or recent graduate looking for this type of careers support visit the Birkbeck Talent site. If you are an alumnus interested in volunteering on this scheme, we’d be delighted to hear from you at .

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