September 11, 2015, by Andrea Ranford
Preetum Mistry’s ‘High Performance’ throughout the Award!
Preetum Mistry, High Performance prize winner 14-15, shares his story on being involved in the Award and his experience applying for the employer-supported prize!
Preetum Mistry, High Performance prize winner 2014-2015
Why do the Nottingham Advantage Award?
The Award is one of the best things that I been involved in at university! I saw the Award as a great opportunity to enrich my university experience and become a more balanced student, in terms of the skills and competencies that I have gained.
Choosing your modules
I wanted to gain the most out of my 30 credits to complete the Award, so I identified strategic areas to improve upon and then chose specific modules based on this, which I began in my first year.
I have always wanted to speak confidently in public and deliver good presentations, so I chose the Public Speaking module to improve these skills. I gained a lot from this module, it really took me out of my comfort zone and as I overcame my fear of speaking in public it increased my confidence. Another area I wanted to improve on was my employability prospects, I chose the Internships and Placements module to accredit my summer placement at e2v Technologies (UK) Ltd. This was a great opportunity to reflect upon the skills I had gained during my placement. My final module was the Any-Buddy Sports Scheme*, which was a volunteering module where I coached and motivated a disabled student in the gym. This gave me an opportunity to develop my leadership and communication skills. Due to my hard work and dedication during this scheme, I was nominated for the “Going the Extra Mile” award at the student’s Celebration Event 2013.
I completed the Award at the end of the autumn semester in my second year. This now brings me to the employer-supported prizes, available to all students completing the Award (who have completed 2 modules). The prize application process consisted of an application form followed by an interview. I chose to apply for the High Performance prize, supported by Accenture, because I believed that I met most of the criteria that they were looking for.
Top tips for interview
In preparation, I re-read my application form to ensure that I knew what I had written and was able to expand on the examples. I also researched the company values and reflected these in my own examples of high performance throughout my Award modules, degree and extracurricular activities in answer to the interviewer’s questions.
I was ecstatic to find out that I had won the High Performance prize, supported by Accenture, and it was a real confidence boost to encourage me to keep striving and achieving more!
What next?
The Award experience has improved my employability prospects by moulding me into a well-rounded person, showcasing diversity and refinement of my transferable skills. I have been able to draw upon my Award experiences numerous times, for example to build my CV, to help answer competency-based questions in job applications, and most recently to secure an internship for this summer.
In summary, the Award is a great opportunity which is fun, flexible and rewarding!
To view the modules available this year, please browse our online module catalogue, on workspace.
*Students are able to accredit the Any-Buddy Sports Scheme through the Leadership in Sports module
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