Over 300 students take part in Birkbeck Futures’ debut Careers Summer Bootcamp
Students focused on developing new skills to further their career development during the summer period and particularly enjoyed hearing directly from employers.
Current students, recent graduates and prospective Birkbeck students recently enjoyed three days of virtual workshops, talks and guest lectures as part of Birkbeck’s first ever Careers Summer Bootcamp.
Organised by Birkbeck Futures, Birkbeck’s talent, enterprise and careers support service, the three-day event was structured by a different theme each day: ‘ability’, ‘enterprise’ and ‘employability’.
The first themed day, ‘ability’, was designed for students with a disability, neurodiverse, mental health or long-term health condition. It included interactive sessions on adjustments and openness statements, including how to be in control of the conversation with an employer, identifying strengths, and using a disability to stand out from the crowd. The day rounded up with an informative panel discussion with Hardeep Rai of Ki, Adam Tobias of The Inventum Group and Richard Ceeney from Reed Smith.
Lydia, BSc Economics student, commented: “Richard Ceeney gave the best explanation of commercial awareness that I’ve come across; to have some clear signposts for how to improve that skill and what it actually means in practice was a welcome approach. Commercial awareness seems to be a ‘buzz-word’ but I hadn’t been able to tackle the concept with confidence until the bootcamp session. Really excellent.”
The second day, ‘enterprise’, focused on the skills and experience needed to follow a career in entrepreneurship, freelancing, or self-employment. The workshops explored the various aspects of getting started as an entrepreneur such as innovative thinking, problem solving, networking and narrative storytelling. Two guest speakers spoke about their entrepreneurial journeys: CEOs Doyin Olorunfemi of MAPHer and Johannes Solzbach of Clustermarket. The day also included a live speed networking event in virtual breakout rooms.
The final day, ‘employability’, explored supporting students’ career journeys and developing personal branding effectively, both online and offline. The interactive sessions focused on authentic and polished personal branding, creating an impactful LinkedIn profile and using the platform effectively. The final workshop welcomed Charlotte Betts from Motability Operations with a presentation on ‘New Mindset, New Results!’ which looked at developing resilience while job hunting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jenna Davies, Careers and Enterprise Manager at Birkbeck, said: ‘We wanted to host an event series that would support students to develop their skills and build their network with employers during the current climate. Having a different theme each day ensured that we could meet the needs of our diverse student body, while showcasing the support that can be accessed across Birkbeck Futures for prospective students.’