On Friday we were delighted to welcome back four recent leavers from the 2019 cohort; Reis Usmani (E 14-19), Matt Elphick (F 14-19), Hannah Bough (M 15-19) and Laura Burdess (K 15-19), see their words of wisdom below. If you are interested in sharing advice and experiences with current Bradfieldians, do get in touch with the Horizons team, horizons@bradfieldcollege.org.uk

Laura works for the Civil Service in the Department of Health and Social Care. At Bradfield she studied IB and studied Psychology at the University of Exeter, she loved her degree and would recommend that people elect to study a subject that they love as this will ensure that you do well. She advises that you should never be afraid to sell yourself in interview, particularly girls who tend to self-deprecate and this could cost them their role. Interviewees should emphasise the role that they have played within the team and go for it, back yourself. She also said not to worry about too many steps ahead in your career, take the opportunities that arise, one will lead to another.

Hannah works in marketing for Develop, a recruiter in the software development space, with previous experience at L’Oreal and Disney. Her current role involved updating the LinkedIn profiles of senior players within her organisation and her top tip is that your LinkedIn profile is your route to securing your next role, so make sure that it is up to date. She would advise being more single-minded about choosing your place of higher education, not to just go somewhere because your mates are going there, chose the course that best fits your interests. She also said that the many experiences gained at Bradfield are very CV worthy, from leadership roles within CCF to community support activities like ABC to read, all these show a depth of experience that will differentiate you.

Reis read Biological Sciences for his first degree with the intention of going into medicine, however during his studies he realised that his true passion lay elsewhere and took a masters in Property and Real Estate Finance. From there he was offered an internship at a boutique investment bank, then a role in Private Equity as an analyst and he now runs a team of analysts. His tip is to be a sponge, dispense with your ego and absorb all the information and advice that you can. Also, he believes that his non-traditional route into finance was an advantage, giving him a different perspective and USP when it came to job hunting.

Finally, Matt currently works in Audit but aspires to move into corporate finance. He works at Grant Thornton where he completed all the professional qualifications within 3 years and he can now broaden his remit. His recommendation is to be active in seeking internships during university breaks, these give a greater chance of securing a graduate role in these companies and then the chance to take professional qualifications. By the time you reach university there is the assumption that you know how to write a dissertation, however, particularly if you have taken science A levels this is not-necessarily the case. This is where he places particular value on the EPQ that gave him all the skills he needed to take on the task.

Perhaps because they were a covid generation, this group also emphasised the need to seize the opportunity to make the most of your free time and the chance to travel/ live life at your own pace while you can.