May 10, 2017, by NUBS Postgraduate Careers

The Magic of Networking

In this guest blog by Mohit Masand (MSc Business & Management) we hear about a recent alumni event in London which some of our students attended.

A fantastic opportunity as part of the University’s initiative ‘Nottingham in the City’ saw a group of 20 students from the Business School, staff from the Postgraduate Careers Team and Alumni Relations team embark on a road trip to London for an alumni networking event on 28th March. After alighting from a long bus ride and a quick rendezvous next to the River Thames, we headed towards Berenberg Bank battling the rush hour pedestrian traffic past The Treasury. We were welcomed at Berenberg Bank’s sprawling offices in the heart of the banking district by Trevor Moss, Senior Analyst at the bank and University of Nottingham alumnus who gave us a tour of the premises and an insight into the world of an investment banker. Alongside we also got to see the typical life of the research team at Berenberg that provides advice on pan European equity and capital markets. Seeing staff still working hard in the research division early in the evening reminded us all that a career in investment banking can involve long hours, but it was apparent that staff were very passionate about their work.

Following the elaborate introduction to the world’s oldest merchant bank, Professor Todd Landman, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Social Sciences provided a rather unorthodox talk on leadership and building confidence in young people, a Magic Circle member Todd illustrated his understanding of leadership and behaviours among people by working with volunteers in the audience and playing a little game to guess their leadership engagement based on uncanny information like what one had for breakfast.

 

 

Next up was Claire Bicknell from Catena, an indigenous network based out of Nottingham. Claire presented her case for networking and how it can go beyond social realms to B2B. The evening continued with a reception for the alumni, students and academics from the University to mingle and network, a rather evolving skill that is spoken so much about these days.

The event saw over 100 alumni reunite from across the University’s history, the gathering represented the diversity of the University with graduates from the yesteryears mingle with recent graduates. From professional golfers, entrepreneurs, financial analysts, realtors, quantity surveyors to magazine editors, the stories they shared certainly was an eye opener to the possible careers than can be pursued after graduation. A splendid spread of Lebanese buffet ensured we could endure a long journey back to Nottingham with the particular lesson on networking being to put oneself out there.

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