Imperial As One event helps students market themselves creatively

Student Forum gives advice and inspiration - News

Thursday 31 January 2008
By Naomi Weston

Encouraging students to market themselves creatively was the aim of the Imperial As One Student Forum, held on Wednesday 30 January.

For the second year running, black and minority ethnic students at Imperial College were invited to the Student Forum, hosted by Dr Mark Richards from the Department of Physics.

A number of speakers offered advice at the event, including Elspeth Farrar, Director of the Careers Advisory Service, who gave students tips on how to create a winning CV. She said: “It is important to remember that your CV is an advertising campaign for yourself. You need to identify what makes you unique and point out your skills and strengths.”

She emphasised to students that they need to target their CV very specifically for each job they apply for. The key aspects to a successful CV are doing your research, making your CV relevant, making an impact and making no mistakes.

Professor Jaideep Prabhu, from the Tanaka Business School, gave a presentation entitled: “How I got to where I am”. He started out in New Delhi and moved to America to study for a PhD, later moving to the Netherlands and finally London.

He advised students to network as much as possible and to keep their options open. “Don’t just think about your career in the short term”, he said. “It is vital to be flexible and open minded, sometimes you fall into a job unexpectedly.”

In addition, Dr Kunle Onabolu, an alumnus of the College, gave a talk on his journey from student to company director. After studying in the Department of Materials he went on to set up his own company, KAO Project Solutions Limited.

“It is an honour to come back here and share my experiences with you,” he told the students. “I had such a wonderful time here, it is great to help and encourage current students now.”

His advice to students was to work out what they want in life. “It makes it easier if you know who you are and who you are not when it comes to applying for jobs,” he added.

Other speakers included industry professionals such as Professor Yike Guo of Imperial's Department of Computing, founder and CEO of Inforsense Ltd, and Malcolm Horton, Executive Director of Recruitment for Lehman Brothers.

Imperial As One was set up in July 2005 and aims to promote equality and diversity at the College. The advisory group, made up of black and minority ethnic (BME) staff, helps set priorities and advises the College via the Race Equality Review Group, particularly by examining custom and practice, the traditions of the College, and identifies how these impact on staff.

Watch the Realplayer stream of the event