Post written by Shrey, LSE alumnus and graduate of the Master’s in Management programme.
There are two reasons for the meme above:
- I have just finished “revising” Terminators 1-4 this weekend in anticipation of catching ‘Terminator 5: Genisys’ (sic) in theatres this week
- I used to be a student blogger for the LSE here and have just rejoined as an alum blogger
Quite fittingly, my last posts were about my two graduation ceremonies in Barcelona (CEMS graduation) and London (LSE graduation). I am here to tell you what happened next.
After graduating I joined the Barclays corporate graduate programme and started blogging for them here. It was a two year programme in which I worked in Credit Risk and Cash Management and have recently rolled off into an associate position on a very large project working with a public sector client.
In this post I’d like to highlight the importance of starting early in your quest for finding a professional role post-graduation. This is even more important if you are an international student and looking to work in London. If we put aside the part where you have to actually find out what it is that you want to do, where you want to do it and how to get in, there are many extrinsic factors you have to keep in mind:
- Visa rule changes – If you are a non-EU citizen, you might need a visa/work permit to live and work in the UK after you graduate. These rules have been subject to a lot of change, so I’d suggest you get in touch with the LSE International Student Immigration Service team to better understand the rules and regulations. The team is extremely knowledgeable and runs drop-in sessions on campus.
- Internship deadlines – The LSE Career Hub (login required) has been revamped massively in the last 2 years and is now more intuitive and user friendly. The content has been excellent throughout. The site documents the deadlines for various firms by industry. For someone who had to go to individual company websites, find out deadlines and put them in an Excel sheet, this is a very welcome development and a huge time saver – use it. Most of these deadlines are in December but they work on a ‘rolling’ or continuous basis i.e. HR doesn’t wait till deadline date to start assessing applications. So while knowing these dates is essential, plan to get all your applications in by mid-October at the latest.
- Graduate Programme deadlines – while graduate programme deadlines are a little later (February, maybe March), it is better to have your applications in by December at the latest.
A few of you might be thinking ‘Huh? I just got here! I’ve not been to class/fresher’s week and you want me to start applying for roles? Saying what? I JUST decided what I wanted to study!’
Fair enough. My advice is applicable more to master’s students, particularly those in a one year programme. And it is – yes, you do need to start applying right away. There are four reasons for this:
- LSE Career Consultants are less busy at the beginning of the term: It is the perfect time to draft a resume and take it to LSE Careers Services for a once over. They will become busier and busier as the term progresses and as deadlines come closer. There is nothing worse than getting a CV review appointment one day after the application deadline. Plan ahead.
- Fewer readings at the beginning of the term: Setting aside 4 hours on the weekend for resume review/role research is a lot easier/has a much smaller opportunity cost when you don’t have 500 pages of reading to do. Use this time wisely, it could be the difference between that dream role in finance or a one way ticket home in 9-12 months.
- License to meet new people: “Hi, I’m name and you are?” or “Are you here to study X?” or even “My dorm has not been allocated to me yet, can I crash at yours?” are most likely to work in the first 2 weeks of the term. Don’t land in London, lock yourself in your room with your laptop and hold a Career services personnel hostage! You are at LSE! You are surrounded by super smart people! Make an effort to get out of your comfort zone and meet people from backgrounds dissimilar to yours. Do not stick with people from your own country just because it feels safe and comfortable speaking the same language and having the same cultural background. Embrace and then leverage the ‘international-ness’ of the LSE student body, it will stand you in good stead whenever and wherever you start working.
- Opportunity to connect with Alumni: It is said that nothing connects two people more than going through hardship together. With the the statements of purpose and the recommendation letters and the moving to London and the student hall applications and the scholarship applications and sorting out the visa, the process of reaching LSE makes you grow up real fast. While we (the alum) may look back and smile (as will you), the struggle was very real at the time. I remember I was convinced that my visa application would be rejected and hence I would be unable to attend LSE! Use these experiences to connect to alums who have gone through this and the LSE experience to better prepare yourself for the journey ahead. The student recruitment office runs an email an alum service where you can email your questions and alums respond to them candidly and honestly. These questions can be about their experiences of moving to, and living in, London, life as an international student at LSE, studying in the UK etc. These alum might also be able to refer you in their firms, which is very helpful as well.
Right, so that was a quick primer on how to plan for what you are going to do after graduation, here is a post that helps you choose subjects at LSE! Welcome, it’s going to be a ball!
You can suggest what else you’d like to know from an alum in the comments or connect with me on twitter here
