London Global Insights

Hello! This is Chloe Henderson's Reflective Blog. I travelled to London in 2018 as a part of the pilot scheme for the University of Edinburgh's Global Insights programme.

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Final Reflections

I have left this post for a couple of weeks so that I am able to look back on the experience having had time at home.

It’s okay not to have a plan as soon as you leave university, sometimes things will happen that you don’t expect, and you’ll be in a job that you love but you didn’t think you would.

Your future job might have nothing to do with your degree and that’s fine! Most employers will look at the transferable skills you’ve gained by studying your degree. One person we met studied Law and now is a Director of Design.

The trip reminded me of why I am interested in teaching and has inspired me to look into it again.

People want to help you, employers/colleagues/lecturers. They’re there to assist you especially the people like the careers service. You shouldn’t feel anxious about getting in contact with them.

Try new things whilst at university, like societies, you could find out that it’s something you love to do and it could inspire you to take a certain job.

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Actions I’m Taking

I have gotten in contact with my old English teachers at Penicuik High School, although they were close to the end of term they welcomed me back to school. I shadowed both English and Media classes helping with students where I could.

I have been doing research on publishing, different places that offer internships or work experience.

I have been continuing to use LinkedIn connecting with people I know and keeping an eye on different organisations.

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Day 7

8th of June

This is late, and I can only apologise as I hoped to have this up on Friday night, but I had to leave our trip to London on Friday afternoon due to previous family commitments. This meant I was unable to make our meeting with CG Asset Management, but I hope to hear about it from my friends. If I was to take part in this again I would make sure I was able to make it as I felt like I missed out from that part of the experience. Although I didn’t attend the afternoon meeting I did go to visit Perrett Laver where we met Daniel Mullen. He was brilliant and made us feel very comfortable as he had a chat with us about his position at Perrett Laver. He had also arranged for different colleagues to come and talk to us. This was really helpful as we learnt about the different aspects of ‘executive search’ – which is when a company (for example, a university) will approach them and ask for help finding a new member of staff, usually a chair or chancellor – and the different levels that people work in. Everyone was lovely and he allowed us to talk with people who had had different pathways to working with them.

Positives I’ve now officially made it through the whole trip without being late. Got to learn about what the sector of Executive Search is.

Challenges Having to make sure I had enough time between the meeting and my train.

Did I do anything for my goals? Networking – I didn’t really have the chance to network myself on Friday. But I did see how useful it was as people at Perrett Laver used their network to help find possible applicants. Confidence – I was able to ask questions easily now. Independence – I travelled on my own across London in order to get the train home.

What would I do differently? I would definitely make sure I was able to stay for all of the meetings as I felt I missed out. I would also have preferred to have stayed over the weekend and get to explore London a little bit more.

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Day 6

7th of June

Today we went to Latymer Upper School which is a co-ed private schools for pupils 11-18. It was really interesting to go back to school. I have thought about teaching since I was young and up until I went to university I was pretty sure it was what I wanted to do. We met alumnus William Goldsmith who is currently the head of English there. He was so enthusiastic about the work he does that it was hard not to enjoy our trip. He had planned multiple things for us to do including a Q&A with some NQTs (Newly Qualified Teachers) and observing one of the older classes. I really enjoyed this because it gave me an insight into the other side of school as I’ve only seen it from the pupils’ point of view before. Yesterday I said I was getting a better idea of what I wanted to do. However, going back to school has reminded me of why I wanted to be a teacher and so now I’m a little confused again. After this meeting we went to see Kevin Clarke at BT Sport. Although I’m not too interested in his side of production – he does editing – I really enjoyed getting to see into the media sector. He introduced us to a couple of people he worked with which was great as we really got a feel for the sort of community they have there.

Positives Getting to see high school from the teachers’ perspective.

Challenges I have now lost the certainty that I had yesterday about what I want to do after university, however, I am more certain about how to go about the different paths now.

Did I do anything towards my goals? Networking – I added a couple of the teachers that were at the high school and through William Goldsmith’s pathway really got to see how important it can be. Confidence – I was confident enough to discuss King Lear with some of the students when we observed an English class at the school. Independence – I’ve gotten quite comfortable using the tube which is a good sign to me about my independence.

What would I do differently? I think I’d try to ask more about the different roles available in BT sport. It wasn’t until I left that I thought that might be a good thing to ask.

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Day 5

6th of June

I had such a great day today! I feel like I’m finally getting a better idea of what I want to do after I leave university. Which is what I hoped to get out of this trip so I am very happy right now. We had two meetings today; first with John Mathers who works with the British Design Fund and then Safoora Biglari who works with a charity called One Young World. We met with John Mathers at the V&A Museum. This was very good as we got the chance to see one of their new exhibitions as well as (in our break between meetings) fo and see the other nearby museums. I enjoyed having the time to do this as it meant we got to see more of London’s well-known sights. When explaining his pathway to us John explained how his degree in law gave him good transferable skills but also made him realise he didn’t want to be a lawyer. The fact that he didn’t go straight into the job he is now was very reassuring. I find it really helpful to have it reinforced to us that we don’t need to know what we want to do right away. In this day and age someone will have multiple jobs and move sectors too. Whilst we were looking around “The Future Starts Here” Exhibition John came and chatted with each of us to give us specific advice. I thought this was very kind of him and useful as I was able to talk about his studying and MBA which I have considered. Later on, we met Safoora at One Young World. She also had a bit of a false start as she struggled to find a sponsor to allow her to live in the UK, she is originally from DC. She told us all about the work that she and the charity did and explained the different ways we could get involved. Leadership isn’t really something that I had thought about doing before, but the company sounds very interesting so meeting her has given me something else to think about. Unlike some other people we have talked to Safoora loves living in London. Her enthusiasm for the city really helped me to see the appeal and has only given me more confidence that I may want to work here for a couple of years in the future.

Positives V&A Starting to get a clearer idea on what I want to do

Challenges Making sure we didn’t get side-tracked by our activities during the break in order to make it on time for our next meeting (we did, but there was so much to see at the museums that it was a shame to leave).

Did I do anything for my goals? Networking – Both of the alumni we met today were so lovely (everyone has been really) and I plan to keep in touch with both of them as they were both so kind in offering their assistance for the future. Confidence – I’m definitely getting more confident and can see it in the way I’m starting to think about my future. Independence – I’m considering living here now after graduation in order to get work experience. The very fact that I’m thinking about living in a different country from my parents (even if they would be in Scotland) highlights to me that I am becoming more independent.

What would I do differently? My allergies were quite bad today, despite medication, which made me feel a little drowsy. I think if I were to do the day again I’d try to ask more questions.

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Day 4

5th of June

Today was brilliant! In the morning we met with Richard Martyn-Hemphill who is a journalist working with a company called Riddle (that focus on Russian affairs) and Knowhere (a company using AI to assist their research). It was really great to have the chance to talk with him as Journalism is one of the sectors I have thought about going in to. He talked about a lot of different things but one of the main things I took away from his meeting was his information about his pathway into journalism. He really made it clear to us that it was alright to have a false start in work.

Richard was brilliant at helping us and took the time to go over things individually to see whether or not he could offer any advice in our chosen sectors. Even if it wasn’t something he was all too familiar with, he still did his best to help and this was wonderful.

After lunch we went to see David McMurtie at Google. I found this meeting very interesting as well, due to the fact that not only did David work in publishing (something I have considered) but also studied business, which I have thought about doing a postgrad in.

David also gave us some more information from other google employees on how they found their way to work for the company. This was very useful as we were able to learn about transferable skills from different degrees. He also gave us some information on opportunities at Google for work experience as well as graduate schemes. This was good to hear about as it got me thinking, in advance, about what I could do to help my employability.

In the evening we got tickets to go and see Wicked, it was amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to see it at a more permanent setting; I have seen it before when it was touring in Edinburgh. If you do go to London I highly recommend taking the chance to go and see a show as it was such a brilliant experience and one that London is known for providing.

Positives Wicked I really felt like I got a good idea of different things from the Alumni.

Challenges We had a good day today, as always timing was a bit of a challenge but we did a lot better today.

Did I do anything for my goals? Networking - I added the alumni members to my LinkedIn and also experienced a video call which I feel was something I could use to network in the future. Confidence - As the Alumni that we met today were in sectors I was interested in, I felt quite comfortable and was able to talk with them freely as well as ask questions. Independence - We were together again today, however, I did use my pre-checked directions and sort of lead us to one of the meetings.

What would I do differently? I felt like today went very well so I don’t know if I would change a lot. If anything I would try to take advantage more of the time we had in between meetings.

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Day 3

Monday 4th

Today was our first day with proper meetings and I am exhausted. Please make sure to have a good nights sleep as even thought you might not be walking far it can be quite tiring.

I had a great day though, first we met with Graeme Taylor at UBS. His conversation was really interesting as he explained how he works with charities and helping them boost their portfolios. This is Wealth Management, he really came across well and obviously liked being able to see the good his work was doing with those charities. He took us through his career path which I found useful as it highlighted to me that it’s alright not to be in a job straight out of university (he had to leave one job after nine months due to the shift in owners).

He was also really helpful about giving us an idea of what it is like to live in such a big city like London. It really pointed out to me some things about the city I hadn’t thought about, like the high renting costs. Graeme also made it clear to us that a background in accounting or finance is not compulsory to be in his line of work and instead they will tend to look for transferable skills. This was hugely reassuring to me as it widens the kind of work I can look for after graduation.

After that meeting we travelled to Chatham House -, the Royal Institute of International Affairs - with Nicole, El Khawaja. She was also very nice and gave us a quick tour of the House before taking us upstairs for a Q&A. It was really great to hear some of the background of the organisation. The fact that it was formed after WWI really gave some insight into their goals. 

Nicole is from Lebanon so it was really interesting to hear her perspectives on the different places she has lived (Canada, Edinburgh, London) and how they all differ.

We only had a short break before our evening event, we were invited to the Graduate Fashion Show, in particular the Edinburgh show although we did get to see the exhibits from other universities. This was fascinating as I got to experience a fashion show, something I’ve never been to.

Positives Going to the Fashion Show Getting to meet Alumni and understanding their pathways.

Challenges Apart from our first appointment we struggled with the travelling. We were not in charge of the itinerary but we felt we needed a little more time to get between them. Because of this rush a few of us did not eat lunch.

Did I do anything for my goals? Networking - I was able to add both of the Alumni we met, our group also met with the President and Secretary of the London Alumni Club. They were both brilliant women and very lovely to talk to. It really helped to know that should I ever move to London there is support in place. I was able to add all of these people to LinkedIn. Confidence - Although at the start of the day I was a little nervous, this got better as we experienced more of the meetings. I had a lovely chat with Ann whilst my group were talking to Jane, it was very nice to have a chance for a one on one talk. Independence - We spent the majority of the day together at our meetings. However, I was very tired towards the end and so left the after party a little earlier than the others. I took an Uber, on my own, back to the flat.

What would I do differently? I think I’d make sure to get some food in my bag as we were quite hungry by the end of the day.

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Day 2

3rd of June

Today my sister came for a visit (she has been staying in Nottingham so was able to get the train down). It was very nice to see her and as I didn’t have any meetings today it was lovely to spend it with her. So seeing any family nearby is a nice way to spend a day.

We didn’t do an awful lot in particular but it was good to get my bearings as we walked around a lot and took both the underground and the buses. This was useful because it meant I was able to try the different transportations we’d be using for our meetings.

Emma, Luc (her boyfriend) and I went to different shops such as Harrods and looked at the London Eye. It was really good to get the chance to see some of the iconic places in London. If I were to give advice I’d say to try and do as many tourist things as you want in the days off.

I was very excited because we went past Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, as a Literature student this was brilliant and I hope to go back later in the week and perhaps see a show.

Positives Seeing Emma! Shakespeare’s Globe

Challenges Timing was a little tricky - Emma missed her train to London so we didn’t get to meet up as early as we thought. To prevent this I’d be a little more flexible with expectations on a down day.

Did I do anything for my goals? Independence - This was the first time I had travelled in London on my own. I found using the mobile app really useful for doing this so make sure you have access to wifi or data in order to do so. Confidence - Simply walking around London has helped to build my confidence as I don’t feel so unsure of where I am. Networking - No chance for networking today.

What would I do differently? In my opinion today went quite well so there’s not an awful lot to try changing. If I had to choose something I’d try to organise what we were going to do a bit better as some of our time was spent working out where we’d like to go.

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Day 1

2nd of June

So today is the day! We finally got to go to London, after months of preparation it was so exciting to be able to travel down and actually begin our insight. After looking at the different options my group decided to fly from Edinburgh to London, much to our surprise this was cheaper than taking the train, and also meant we had less travel time.

Our group was quite organised and we all met up at quarter past five to get the plane (which left at 7:15) I’d recommend doing something similar in terms of getting this early. It really stopped us from panicking and meant we could browse duty free and get something to eat. Unfortunately we had a little bit of a panic when it came to boarding as the time we thought the boarding opened was actually the time it closed. Luckily enough we realised this and were able to get in (after a quick run!). So do be careful about the details of the airport. Sometimes they don’t give announcements or you might miss them so it’s best to check yourself.

We arrived at London at half 8 in the morning, this was brilliant as it gave us the chance to spend the whole day in London, it also meant we had time to figure out how to get to the airbnb that we stayed in (website can be found here, the couple were so friendly when we arrived and gave bits of advice about travelling and free time) The airbnb site was a useful tool as it gave us an idea of different prices and locations that we could think about. For us the hotels in the area were very expensive but it’s worth looking at just in case they drop.

Once we’d had a little rest in the flat we went for a walk around London. We walked to St Pauls which was beautiful and just looked around. It was quite nice to do this as it meant we got a rough bearing of where the nearest tube/train stations were. We did do quite a lot of walking on Saturday and I (unwisely in hindsight) wore new shoes. Don’t do this. For the sake of your feet just don’t, wear nice comfy shoes at least for the first day! We then came back to the flat and had a relaxing evening in before having an early night.

Positives Getting to London! It’s so exciting to be here. On top of that it was quite nice to have a day to relax and get use to being in a new city without thinking about where we needed to go or who we needed to meet. I’d really advise going a day or two before your first meetings to do this.

Challenges Getting use to the travel system in London as it is different from Edinburgh. I wouldn’t worry about it if you plan on going though as, if you know where you’re going and where you are, then the boards at the different stations are quite clear.

Did I do anything for my goals? Independence - Today was my first flight without any family members, I had to navigate the airport on my own (until I met up with my group) and make sure I had everything I needed. This was quite important for me as due to my insulin pump (for Type 1 Diabetes) I can’t go through the first scanner at an airport. Confidence -  Going with the four other girls, as lovely as they are, was making me a bit nervous. But I had nothing to worry about. My fellow travellers are wonderful and certainly have boosted my confidence. Networking - Today we didn’t really meet any alumni however we did use the time to get to know each other and I feel like that was a good part of networking.

What would I do differently? Make sure to pay attention to any announcements in the airport. Wear more comfortable shoes, I knew I’d be walking but felt my new shoes were comfortable at the time. Just remember they might be comfy but they may still rub.

Photos under the cut

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1st Part of PDAP

I started the Personal Development Action Plan before leaving for London. As instructed I set myself three goals. Independence, Confidence, and Networking. Below you can see how this part of the Plan is set out.

This is where Neil’s advice about Reflective Learning Practice came into play. We were given three things to focus on when trying to get better at something.

What happened? You want to be specific about this, the people the places etc. and also slightly objective. 

Focus on identifying what went well. You want to focus on the positives when developing something. Despite this, be sure to look a little bit on what you can change.

Test the changes. The only way to know if a skill has improved is to try it again.

When setting my goals, it was also important to remember they needed to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound). I found this really helpful when thinking about what to choose as I was able to highlight goals that I’d be able to work on during the trip but still develop afterwards. This was also good as it helped me to think about what I wanted to get out of my trip.

Before going to London, I worked on my Independence goal by researching the travel connections in London. This included looking up the ticket prices for trams, subway, and buses.

For my Networking skills, prior to leaving I attended the Networking Event put on by the Global Insights group. I found this really helpful as I’d never experienced what networking was before. It really eased my worries about it and I’d really recommend attending. I also came up with a few questions for each alumnus I’d be meeting.

In order to work on my confidence my group split who would reply to emails from the various alumnus so that it wasn’t just one person corresponding with everyone. If I were to do the experience again I think I would out myself forward for more. Despite this, I did find it useful to be in contact with them prior to the meetings especially the ones I had conversed with.

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Pre-Departure Briefing

16th of May

This was our final meeting with everyone before we met for London. A lot of it was just going over everything again. This wasn’t too bad though as it did help to have it refreshed in my memory and some things I’d forgotten or missed the last time. Again, they did send us these notes via email later which was useful to go back over. At this meeting they talked to us about our Risk Assessment, we needed to complete this to get the second part of our funding. If I were to do the assessment again I would try to do some more research on London, although the Global Insights Team did give resources a lot of them were focussed on going out of the UK. They also explained that we would need to complete a personal development action plan (PDAP), this was so that we could keep track of what we were gaining from the trip as well as making us think of what we wanted to get out of the trip.

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Networking Event

27th of March

As we arrived at the Networking Event we each got a bundle of business cards. I found this a little bit intimidating but at the same time exciting as it made me feel quite professional. This event was so helpful, and I’d highly recommend going to it if you are able, it gave me the chance to network for the first time, something that I was concerned about. Before we attempted to network with each other Shelley (from Careers) gave us some information about networking. This was really useful for me as I didn’t really know what was involved, she was able to make it seem much less of a ‘big scary thing’ and instead talked about how it was ‘having a conversation with a purpose’. Everyone who is networking wants to make connections so don’t worry if that’s your goal too. One of the best pieces of advice I got was that there is no need to break the ice in a conversation. It’s just about your confidence. You need to challenge yourself to approach new people, but once you do it’s just a matter of saying hello and entering their conversation. It was also pointed out to us that we already have different Networks such as our Personal one (family and friends) or even a Professional one already (Colleagues, peers, tutors etc.) To me this really pointed out that networking isn’t something to worry about, it’s a skill in working life that comes with practice. Just like many other ones. At this event they explained to us how to work LinkedIn, if I was going to do this again I think I would wait for this event before trying to set up my account as I got a little confused by the connections and some of the jargon that LinkedIn uses.

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First Meeting

30th of January

When I went to this first meeting I was very nervous. I didn’t know who else had gotten in, what they would be like and which ones I’d be travelling with. The staff were wonderful though and reassured us that on something like this it is okay to be nervous, it’s normal and you should remember that too! It was at this meeting that I really began to understand how exciting this prospect was. Global Insights brings together a lot of different areas of the university such as; the careers, Edinburgh Global, Widening Participation Team, and Insurance but I’m sure there may have been more people than that. Everyone was so nice and welcoming as we waited for the event to start. They had a wee chat with us to make sure we were alright, it put me at ease instantly. It was due to the relaxed approach that I began to relax as it didn’t seem too formal or scary. Quite a few of them were quick to congratulate us on getting a space which felt really rewarding and boosted my confidence. If I were to go to this 1st meeting again I think I’d try and talk to more people at the start of the night rather than waiting until we got into our groups. One person who we spoke to was Neil from the Widening Participation Team, he spoke to us about the many opportunities that we would have to develop different skills. He also taught us about the Reflective Learning Practice. That would help us to learn (I will write more on this reflection in my post about starting a Personal Development Action Plan). It was at this point we got to meet our groups. Each of us were given an envelope with a section of a photo (as I was going to London my photo was of the London landscape) we then had to find the people with the matching parts. This was quite a good way to meet them as trying to work it out got us talking not just to our group but the others as well. After we’d had a little bit of time to chat and get to know each other the leaders went into more information about what we should expect. Although a lot of this was repetition from the application I found it quite useful as they now had a few dates they were able to give us. I found it useful to take notes in a notebook I had brought whilst some others took notes on their phone. Don’t worry if you don’t do this though, we were provided with a handout ‘Preparing for Global Insights’ This went through things like funding (each city gets a different amount), insurance and other things like that. Finally, they had us do an exercise on team building to see how we would work as a group. It was quite simple trying to decide what your strengths and weaknesses were. Depending on our answers meant that you were either an action, thinking or social team member. My group was quite lucky as out of the five of us we had someone who was each type. This exercise was good for first meetings as it gave us some information on each other but also helped us to think about how, as a group, we might struggle with somethings more than others.

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Application

I first heard about the Global Insights opportunity via an email from the Go Abroad team at Edinburgh. I knew I didn’t want to go away for a whole semester so to hear about an opportunity like this really piqued my interest. Before applying I joined the online session that took place on the 15th of November. I found this particularly useful as it gave me a chance to ask some questions that I had, for example, whether people with medical conditions would still be able to apply (the answer was yes). If you’re thinking about applying I’d really recommend listening in to this, even if you don’t have any questions, as it gives a bit more detail about what the Global Insights project is all about. The application itself was fairly simple. I had to submit a CV. I was fairly lucky as at that time I had been applying for part time jobs and so had a rough CV already. I was able to alter it to make it more applicable for the Global Insights. If you haven’t written a CV before the Careers Website has some brilliant links for help (here - you may need to log in with EASE). There were some questions about previous experience (both in working and more general about being abroad). It’s always important to be honest on these questions. The team want the best candidates so don’t downplay your achievements! I was concerned that due to previous family holidays I wouldn’t be a good applicant as I had been abroad previously. If I were to apply again, I would emphasise (to myself, and I’d like to remind you) that going abroad on holiday is a very different experience from going to work there. You see a different part of the city and the culture there. I thought it was brilliant that the application not only lets you set a preference for cities but also asks you about which work sectors interest you. The cities available were London, Toronto, Washington DC, New York, and Brussels. In the information pack available with the application it told me about the different cities and what they were known for. This was very helpful when I had to choose my top three choices. Because I was interested in media and publishing I chose London, New York, and Toronto. To me the sector choice was very useful as at the time of application I was unsure whether or not to go into teaching or publishing. I explained this in the application and later got to go to a High School and meet with a reporter. This gave me a particular insight into both of these different sectors.