Beka K.
About me
| Beka K. | |
| English and Related Literature | |
| English and Related Literature | |
| Undergraduate | |
| Goodricke | |
| 2001 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Careers Consultant | |
| King's College London | |
| United Kingdom |
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A day in the life of a Careers Consultant in the United Kingdom
Former Primary teacher, current Careers Consultant
My career goals when I graduated
Vague at that time! To do something interesting and not profit-driven, to contribute in some way to society.
My career history
Immediately after graduating I worked as a waitress and went backpacking;
I completed PGCE (at York St John's University) and became a primary school teacher.
More backpacking on a career break- Volunteered teaching in English in Vietnam and ended up working with disabled children and those with special needs.
Worked as a special school teacher.
Wanted a career change and returned to university (Masters degree in children's literature at Cambridge, Homerton).
Decided to work in the HE sector but not as an academic.
Became a Careers Consultant with the Careers Group at King's College London.
What has helped my career to progress
Luck has certainly played a part. Finding new opportunities and seeking out new challenges has meant I am rarely bored and has often thrown up things that I might not have anticipated.
Courses taken since graduation
PGCE Primary Education (Early Years specialism) York St John
Various courses specific to teacher-training (e.g. in new curriculum and assessment procedures, learning makaton etc).
MPhil Education, Children's Literature Cambridge.
How my studies have helped my career
The specific knowledge I gained during my BA (or MPhil) has tended not to be so useful. The knowledge I learnt in my PGCE was useful at first but probably became subsumed by later experience.
However, all my studies helped me to develop skills in research (reading, analysing, critical thinking) and communicating ideas, as well as time management and organisation.
Reflecting on my own actions and the motivations and actions of others has been key to progressing in my particular career and there's a lot of that in character analysis in literature.
What surprised me about my career so far
I didn't expect to leave teaching as there were parts of it I really loved. However, it was the right time for me to move. At first I was looking for a replacement that had better work/life balance and I equated that with something with less challenge, assuming I would have to make that sacrifice. I'm delighted to have found a career that is challenging and interesting but still has better work/life balance. It just goes to show that you can never make assumptions!
Where I hope to be in 5 years
My next step will be to complete my diploma in Careers Counselling. As part of that I will have to make some choices about which modules to take that will probably guide which areas I develop most. I would be interested in moving into management as I think you can have a lot more influence over the direction of provision and I would be interested in training and supporting new colleagues as well.
My advice to students considering work
Get involved in things!
To a certain extent it doesn't really matter what you get involved in, but the more you do, the more you learn. You'll find about your own strengths, interests and values and how they match up to possible jobs, careers and hobbies.
Even if you try something and then decide not to pursue it long term, you will have experiences to talk about in applications and interviews.
At York I was a member of DramaSoc, through which I was able to do a small amount for York TV and York Radio, I volunteered at a local primary school and I worked at City Screen cinema in town. All of these things expanded my horizons.
My advice about working in my industry
If you are interested in working in HE, see what opportunities there are to get involved while you are studying. There are often roles in communications and marketing, being a student ambassador etc that you can do alongside your studies. Getting involved in student societies will give you some good background in 'working' in a campus setting.
It's rare to go into careers work straight after graduation. The vast majority of us are career changers who stumbled across it when looking to make the change ourselves! Obvious steps into similar industries would be working in recruitment, HR or development but really you can make the change from any area and your previous knowledge would be useful.
What I do
Careers Consultant King's College London.
Skills I use and how I developed them
Communication skills- in lots of ways! I listen and ask probing questions of students in one to one appointments. I need strong presentation skills for workshops, good networking is essential for meeting employers and it's also important to be pro-active and good at negotiation in organising events jointly with academic departments.
I need to be very organised with my time in covering very busy periods (Autumn term!).
Intellectual challenges and analytical skills are important in studying for my careers guidance qualification and applying theories of career learning to real life situations and individuals.
Emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills are also vital as students can be anxious about their future and decision making and need the right kind of support to help them move forward.
It's a hugely varied job, which suits me well as I am at my best when there's lots going on!
What I like most
The variety of tasks I do each week; working hard on a project and seeing it come to a successful result; feeling that I have made a difference to students' lives and reassured them about potentially stressful decisions. The rewards are often immediate when a student (or group of students) leave a session saying they know what to do next, or an event goes smoothly.
My team are a genuinely wonderful group of people too.
What I like least
I have a long commute- four hours a day! This isn't intrinsically part of this job but I do encourage you to consider the practical elements of different job choices! This can be particularly tough when we have evening events.
And the downside of the "what I like most" it can feel unsatisfying if I feel I haven't found "the key" to support someone in unlocking the next steps they should take.
What surprised me most
How much variety and intellectual challenge there is in the role. I was thinking about the role as being primarily about one to one sessions with students and delivering workshops but there's an awful lot of other work that goes on behind the scenes.
Next steps...
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