Diana is an LLM (Masters of Law) student specialising in competition law. She likes to paint and listen to true horror story podcasts.
I recently spoke to Reza Majid who is a careers consultant at City University, to learn a bit more about the role and what the careers department offers to students and alumni.
If you’re wondering why you should take advantage of the opportunities the career team has to offer, keep reading!
“Inspiration + opportunity = aspiration.”
A bit about Reza
Reza has an impressive range of experience working with students from various disciplines. Prior to joining the careers team at City, he worked at SOAS with Economics, Politics and Gender Studies students. After this he spent some time with UCL School of Management.
As well as being a general careers consultant, he teaches a module on legal career enhancement and employability skills at City due to developing a special interest in legal careers.
Reza is a great example of the excellent careers advisors City has to offer. Full of knowledge, experience and positivity. During our short talk he made me feel confident in my own pursuits and gave me great tips for my career. He had a great understanding of all that the careers team has to offer and a fantastic approach to working with students to realise their potential.
Working as a career consultant at City University
Reza mentioned that one of his favourite parts about working with the City careers team is being able to offer one-to-one guidance work with students and graduates. He enjoys meeting students with a variety of interests and helping them evaluate all their options and interests to be able to make informed decisions.
We also spoke about the alumni panel events, which is where previous students come back and talk to current students about their career journey. He felt that hearing from those who have gone through the same path or have had similar experiences can inspire students. Reza shared that, in his experience: “Inspiration + opportunity = aspiration.”
What else does City offer?
There is a range of different workshops available for students. The workshops are designed to help you with your CV, cover letter or interviews. There are also specialist workshops for specific subjects and careers consultants working within the specialist subjects. This is a great opportunity to increase your employability in the field you are interested in.
There are also events such as employer presentations which focus on specific sectors. This is a fantastic way for students to get a real insight into what work looks like in those sectors.
What do you gain from seeing a careers consultant and use the careers services?
Of course, seeing a careers consultant will help you identify potential career options, but beyond that Reza shared some of the other best reasons to get involved with the services.
A great reason for using the careers services City offers is to get to know yourself better. By talking about your interests and getting insight into the fields you want to pursue, you will get a better understanding of what you enjoy and equally important – what you definitely don’t enjoy. You will learn what drives and inspires you and hopefully how to turn it into a career. It will also increase your confidence in yourself, knowing you have practical support to pursue your career.
In addition to this, talks and events can give you great insight into specific sectors and you will meet people working in your field of interest. This will help you understand roles better, as well as current events surrounding the field, which may be brought up in cover letters and interviews.
So, make sure you take advantage of all that the careers team has to offer as it will help you graduate will a clear understanding of where you’re heading!
Reza’s top tips for students
Finally, I would like to share some of Reza’s best employability tips.
- It is important to get involved in lots of opportunities! You can increase your opportunities later by engaging earlier. This will help you develop your skills and add to your CV.
- Employers love to see what you’re interested in – and one of the best ways to show that is through volunteering.
- Try to meet people that work in your field of interest to get unique information. This will help you with your job applications. Of course, a great way to do this is attending City career events and workshops.
Now that you know all that the careers team offers, book an appointment and get involved!
Want to know more? Check out our students’ experiences of the Careers team:
- Anisa’s tips to make the most of your university’s careers support
- Anisa shares how the careers team helped her master her CV
