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Kirsty Conway

June 7th, 2019

My experience as a nominee for the Undergraduate of the Year Awards

0 comments | 1 shares

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Kirsty Conway

June 7th, 2019

My experience as a nominee for the Undergraduate of the Year Awards

0 comments | 1 shares

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

BSc Politics and Economics student, Adam Malik, reflects on his experience in being shortlisted in the TARGETjobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards and what he gained from the process.


I found out about the Undergraduate of the Year Awards whilst browsing the TARGETjobs website. I felt like it would be a great opportunity and there was nothing to lose. The award that stood out for me was the Innovation award because it was directly linked to the banking industry- a sector I’m particularly interested in. In my time at LSE, I’ve developed my interest in banking by being part of the LSE M&A Society, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to get a closer understanding of the industry.

The application process was rigorous. Firstly, I had to answer short 500 word questions regarding finance and innovation. I found this beneficial as it forced me to research more about innovation and its impact in finance. I was then invited to do numerical and verbal tests, which can be unpredictable, so I’d recommend doing practice tests online to get a better idea of what to expect. Thankfully, I passed the tests and progressed to the next stage of the application process.

Deutsche Bank sponsored the award and this meant my application was screened by their employees who created a shortlist of nominees. In March I was invited to attend the Undergraduate of the Year final in East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf. I was honoured to be shortlisted as one of the final ten candidates, especially after realising over 4000 applications had been received for the awards. The awards ceremony was a great experience – I was able to meet talented individuals from various universities, studying all sorts of degrees, as well as Deutsche Bank employees, so overall it was a great networking opportunity.

The experience enabled me to gain a better understanding of the recruitment process for internships and jobs as the application process was so similar to that of a graduate job and a lot of the skills gained can be applied to future applications. Reaching the finals was a great achievement for me and has definitely increased my confidence in my abilities. If anyone is considering applying for the Undergraduate of the Year awards, I would definitely recommend the experience. The competition really encourages you to perform the best you can and you gain valuable skills whilst increasing your career prospects.

I’d like to thank Deustche Bank and TARGETjobs for such an enjoyable process and a great opportunity. I am grateful to have been part of the journey and the chance to meet such talented people. Lastly, I’d like to offer a massive congratulations to all of the inspiring winners!


Adam Malik is an undergraduate student reading Politics and Economics in the LSE Department of Government . His interests include Football, Cricket and volunteering in his local community.

 

 


Note: this article gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Department of Government, nor of the London School of Economics.

About the author

Kirsty Conway

Posted In: Student Life