Imperial’s MBA Career Week

In this blog, Full-Time MBA student, Teresa Gomes shares her highlights of our recent MBA Career Week. This week offers a range of career-focused activities in a combination of core Personal Leadership Journey and optional sessions. We offered over 30 Career sessions to our Full-Time MBA cohort, 18 of which were open across our MBA Suite and 12 were open to recent MBA Alumni. 

This week supports Full-Time MBA students in transitioning from career planning to strategy implementation, offering career coaching and networking opportunities with company representatives, sector experts and alumni. Students also had the opportunity to connect with other Imperial MBA cohorts across the Global Online and Executive MBA programmes during career sessions in different formats (on-campus and online). 

Services on offer included: 

• Individual Coaching: a personalised 1:1 conversation with an industry expert. Our students participated in coached-led sessions covering topics like interview tips, transitioning experience, industry insights, organisational dynamics, and career advice. 

• Small Group Practice: led by a consultant or industry expert, these sessions focused on skill development and knowledge sharing in a highly interactive setting.  

• Group Sessions: facilitated by employers, alumni, and the careers team, these sessions included presentations, panels, fireside chats, and spotlights.  

• MBA World Cafe Networking: innovative networking event connecting MBA students with alumni for career exploration. Students could choose from over 15 alumni profiles, providing a unique opportunity to interact with students from various MBA programmes.  

Tuesday’s session: Innovation & Entrepreneurship 

It was an absolute pleasure to meet Charles, the co-founder of Blenheim Chalcot, and learn from his fascinating experiences. His entrepreneurial journey, especially navigating the dot-com bubble, emphasised the need for a diversified product portfolio to tackle macroeconomic risks. The success story of Blenheim Chalcot in transitioning from tech consultancy to venture building made it clear how important it is to have adaptability in business decision-making.  

“The event not only broadened my perspective on potential career paths but also fuelled my excitement for the dynamic opportunities that lie ahead.”

How this session helped me understand careers in this field 

Speaking with founders of disruptive start-ups such as Kloo, Koodoo, and Brocaly built with support from Blenheim Chalcot, gave me a first-hand look on the tremendous potential of technology, in particular artificial intelligence (AI). It was like stepping into a dynamic world where innovation meets impact. The event not only broadened my perspective on potential career paths but also fuelled my excitement for the dynamic opportunities that lie ahead. 

Wednesday’s session: Interviewing & Salary Negotiation  

The session “Unleash your job search power”, led by Marcel Deveny, centered around the often-neglected aspect of job hunting – the power of soft skills. This talk enlightened us on leveraging our skills effectively to negotiate salaries and navigating tricky situations such as the gender pay gap with confidence, essentially putting our fears aside. 

We also learned how to tackle the intricacies of behavioural interviews using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique. As we practiced with our peers, we realised that learning how to craft a compelling narrative by emphasising the action part was the key learning outcome of this exercise. What might seem convincing to us might not resonate with recruiters, and this is where feedback from peers comes handy. 

Thursday’s session: Global Careers & Networking 

The MBA World Café which marked the flagship event of the Careers Week, offered a wealth of wisdom through engaging conversations with the different alumni of Imperial who’ve made it to their dream careers.  As someone who’s passionate about finance, I was particularly keen on meeting people who have made it to the most competitive finance industry after their MBA.  

Networking opportunities   

I had the chance to speak to professionals such as Efua Mercer in sustainable finance at PwC, Jack Blyzinskyj in venture capital at Socii Capital, Obi as the Chief Investment Officer at Sibell Family Office, and Clemens Mieth, Associate Director at Mizuho Bank. These discussions provided a glimpse on the inner workings of the companies they represent. It's one thing to read about a role in a job description, but hearing about it from someone living and breathing that job gives an entirely different perspective. 

Friday's session: Future-proofing your career 

The session, "Unmasking Imposter Syndrome with Sophie Scott”, was about identifying signs of the syndrome and then dealing with them mindfully. As Sophie unveiled the different forms of the syndrome and how it affects an individual, most of us realise how we’ve been subject to it at some point of time and how it has affected our courses of action.  

My learnings 

What I gained from this session is that beyond just recognising the problem, it delved into effective strategies to combat it, emphasising the power of manifestation. A key takeaway was learning the "superman pose" as a self-assurance technique, providing a tangible tool to tackle self-doubt.  

The benefit of Imperial’s Careers week 

I think attending Careers Week has been eye-opening for me in terms of figuring out in which direction I want my career to go. Talking to professionals from different fields and hearing about their journeys gave me a real-world perspective that you just can't get from a job description. I got to chat with alums, industry pros, and even dive into topics such as dealing with imposter syndrome. The networking part was about connecting with people who've been there and done that. I believe that these learnings would certainly guide my decisions as I map out my career path.