Viewing archives for Careers

A litigator working at the heart of the UK’s financial regulatory system urged on QE’s aspiring lawyers the importance of a genuine passion for the Law.

Those who possess such a passion and duly enter the legal profession must then make sure they stand out from the crowd, Samir Manek (OE 2001-2008) advised senior pupils in a lunchtime lecture.

Samir, who took a First in Law at the University of Warwick, trained at Allen & Overy, one of the so-called ‘magic circle’ of leading UK law firms. He now works at the Financial Conduct Authority, where his job title is Associate (Solicitor). His role entails supervising a global investment bank to ensure adherence to the letter and spirit of the rules, and assisting with investigations into, and prosecution of, white-collar crime at investment banks.

In the lecture, he told the boys: “You have to have a good and natural reason for wanting to study Law, and, once out of university, work in it – not that everyone who reads Law has to become a lawyer. It’s no good studying it because your parents have told you to, and I hope that’s not the case for anyone here,” he said, suggesting the boys needed to think about the what, where, when and why of studying Law.

He also advised boys to make the most of opportunities to prepare for their future. “Do read things, email barristers – I followed a QC about, which was very useful! All this will help you to gain insight and experience.”

During his time as an undergraduate, Samir became President of the Warwick European Law Society and was involved in the university debating team. He also spent a year abroad at Utrecht University.

He told the pupils it was important to take and to make opportunities to excel. “You are all incredibly bright and, if you work hard, you’ll do well wherever you go, but think about what will make you stand out – it is always good to have a position of leadership, even if it’s not related to Law,” said Samir. In the afternoon, after the lecture, he conducted mock interviews for a number of Year 13 boys.

Head of Year 13 Michael Feven thanked Samir for contributing his time and for his sound advice. “It is very important that our boys’ career choices tally with their own strengths and interests,” he said.

Only a few short months after starting his job as a Civil Service economist, Old Elizabethan Andrei Sandu was already advising a Government Minister at a European summit, he told senior boys at a special lunchtime lecture.

Andrei (OE 2007-14) took up his role in August last year with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of the economists’ group of the Civil Service Fast Stream. By the autumn of 2017, he was called upon to attend a Council of Ministers summit in Brussels, where he advised Lord Henley, of BEIS, throughout the session.

“There are few jobs where just four months in you are able to shape UK policy and EU law,” he told the boys as he promoted Civil Service careers. After his lecture, he also conducted a number of mock interviews with pupils considering studying Economics at university.

Thanking him for his visit, Head of Year 13 Michael Feven said: “This was an ideal opportunity for boys to hear about an interesting and rewarding career path in economics.”

After leaving QE, Andrei read Economics at Durham, where he gained a first-class degree last year.
In broad terms, he set out for the lunchtime audience both the departmental structure of the Civil Service and his own role, which involves advising the Government of the day and supporting it in implementing its plans, while remaining politically neutral. He also provided information about BEIS, including the history of the 2016 merger of the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills with the Department of Energy & Climate Change to form the new department.

His role at BEIS is as lead economist working on EU energy regulations, analysing draft laws and regulations to explore which aspects the UK would consent to and which it would want to see amended. He considers factors such as how much implementation would cost, the likely policies required to achieve particular targets and how measures should be phased in – whether, for example, to stipulate even progress each year or whether instead to specify an incremental build-up.

Andrei will return to QE on 22nd November for the School’s annual Careers Convention, where he will give his support and advice to boys in Year 11 beginning to think about their future career paths.

More than 300 QE sixth-formers gathered to hear about career opportunities from some of the largest employers and associations representing professionals.

High on the agenda was the topic of the new graduate apprenticeships, which allow undergraduates to ‘earn while they learn’ – simultaneously studying towards a degree and gaining practical experience, with the advantage that the apprentice is not accumulating student debt.

Representatives from IBM, accountancy giant BDO, consumer credit reporting agency Experian and CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) were among those who met QE’s Year 12 and 13 pupils.

Companies ran workshops on employability skills such as psychometric testing, using social media to network, writing effective CVs and interview techniques.

Thanking the participating organisations afterwards, QE’s Head of Pupil Development, Sarah Westcott, reflected on the success of the event: “Students certainly got an overview of what modern apprenticeships can offer, as well as improving their awareness of what companies look for in applicants.”

The event was part of QE’s ongoing careers programme, which is designed to broaden boys’ horizons about the world of work. It was facilitated by young entrepreneur Dan Miller and his organisation, Young Professionals UK. It was, he said, a “great day” and he had enjoyed the opportunity to engage with such a large group of sixth-formers.

Professionals from fields as diverse as advertising, finance and law provided Year 9 boys with a snapshot of their own chosen employment during a speed careers event at the School.

Careers 4U was organised in conjunction with Barnet Education Business Partnership. During the day, the boys, in groups of five, met 25 volunteers working in areas that also included web design, construction and the police service. They received a brief overview of possible career paths and were challenged to solve a typical problem that a professional might face in his or her daily work.

Sarah Westcott, Head of Pupil Development and Lower School Science, said: “The aim of the event was to broaden the boys’ awareness of different routes into a variety of possible careers. They clearly found the day both useful and stimulating as it provided them with an insight into the requisite personal characteristics as well as the required entry academic achievements.”

Barnet EBP is a charitable trust whose remit is to support work-related learning and enterprise education. Manager Ken Williams said: “Our volunteers really enjoyed it; so much so that some have already signed up for next year! They had nothing but praise for QE staff and boys.”

Old Elizabethan Kam Taj returned to the School to lead a workshop on Oxbridge preparation for 32 sixth-formers.

Kam, a performance coach and motivational speaker, who himself studied at Churchill College, Cambridge, covered topics ranging from university interviews to procrastination in the all-day session.

The course was part of the extensive programme QE provides to support senior boys as they make university applications and consider career choices that best match their talents and aptitudes. Applications to Oxford and Cambridge must be made by 15 October for places starting the following autumn. QE boys secured 144 places at the two universities in the five years from 2013 to 2017.

Afterwards, Kam (Kamran Tajbaksh, OE 2004–2011) praised his Year 12 audience who had “stayed engaged and receptive for the duration of the course”, even though, as he pointed out, they had just completed their examinations and were looking forward to the start of the summer holidays in just a few days’ time.

While at QE, Kam achieved 13 A* grades at GCSE and four A*s with one A at A-level. On graduating with a first in Manufacturing Engineering, Kam initially took up a post as a management consultant with a global company. However, he had begun doing performance coaching work while still at university: “It was far more fulfilling than academics (even more so than my sports!) – and my clients were achieving great results.”

So, in 2016, he “left the strategy consulting world and began living my dream for myself”.
He recently published his first book 8 Principles of Exam Domination, which aims to help pupils achieve their desired grades with minimal stress.

His talk covered topics entitled:

• Acing uni interviews
• Overcoming procrastination
• Planning & prioritisation
• Mindset management

Kam also introduced a new topic, with the QE boys the first to hear about his Motivational Fire Formula.

Afterwards, Kam thanked the School from his Instagram account and wished all the boys a “great summer” and hoped they would “come back refreshed and ready to smash Year 13!”

Six Year 12 pupils came third in the national final of a competition designed to show teenagers what it is like to be a chartered accountant.

The sixth-formers had reached the last 50 at the final in Birmingham after first seeing off competitors in three previous rounds of the BASE contest, which is organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

They won a coveted Highly Commended trophy as well as the prize of spending a day at the London offices of Ernst & Young (EY). Nationwide, the competition attracted entries from 500 schools and more than 4,000 pupils.

In the earlier rounds, the team had to present ideas for a fictional technology company. In the final challenge, however, they were given a fresh business study and required to think like chartered accountants, planning an appropriate strategy to enable the business to move forward.

Economics teacher Kimberley Jackson said: “They had to use knowledge acquired through their Economics lessons to analyse the problems surrounding acquisitions and mergers and to reflect upon important current issues impacting businesses, such as cyber safety and data protection.

“The team delivered a short presentation to a panel of judges and were asked many challenging questions. The judges were very impressed with their informative and well-delivered presentation.

“The boys all thoroughly enjoyed the experience of presenting and the chance to network with major employers such as PwC, EY and KPMG. They now look forward to competing again in 2018-19.”

The team comprised Shakeel Ahmed, Tarun Alexander, Millan George, Parth Gosalia, Manan Shah and Rohan Shah.