The in-depth presentations from the 14 professionals present provided us with insights into their day-to-day schedules, outlined their educational background and gave descriptions of what their jobs entail. The Lower Sixth had all opted for three 40-minute seminars, which encouraged us to think more about life after Marlborough. During the Q & A sessions we were able to hear the speaker’s thoughts and our peers’ queries. Feedback on all the seminars was very positive and below we are pleased to give a brief review of the different seminars that we attended.
In International Relations, two speakers talked to us about different aspects to their careers and it was fascinating to hear about the different opportunities their roles offered, such as frequent travelling and communicating between government and stakeholders. Their language skills allowed connections between UK networks and intercontinental corporations.
Polly Rathbone’s seminar was all about Human Resources. She spoke passionately about her interests in HR, the initial stages of her career, and then starting up her own HR consultancy firm. Her explanation of HR and its importance seemed really relevant to movements we see in the modern-day workplace and her answers to various questions gave us an understanding about the job through her personal experiences. Additionally, she spoke convincingly about the projects she has been able to start, such as a podcast, and she outlined the flexibility of hybrid working following the pandemic which made us think about the possibilities of flexible working hours and different working environments.
Nicholas Jackson on Wealth Management was very interesting, especially since I am thinking about finance. The talk was very interactive and any questions we asked were addressed and expanded on. He told us about how to get into the industry and the many different parts of his job. Overall Mr Jackson was a brilliant speaker and highly informative.
Successful Entrepreneurship by Michael Doherty was a very interesting talk. He explained to us his journey from Cambridge University, to INSEAD business school in France, to a corporate job which he then gave up in order to risk all to start a business. Michael Doherty’s honest teachings of the challenging truth of innovating and then bringing an idea to life demonstrated the difficulties that come with being an entrepreneur – however, his success story remained motivational and inspiring.
I really enjoyed listening to what Chris Tanner had to say about his experiences working in professional sport as a media manager. He was very informative about the array of jobs in the field, from doctors and physios to psychologists or working in a press office. Mr Tanner also offered to organise work experience that would make us stand out from the competitors when applying. I found this extremely helpful.
Overall, the afternoon provided informative, personal and interesting sessions for us to appreciate the experiences of each professional, and it led to a better understanding of possible occupational sectors.
Philip O and Fifi R
On behalf of the Lower Sixth we would like to express great thanks to the following speakers for their expert and generous insights.
James Bruce-Gardyne -Auctioneer/Fine Art
Philip Cayford (PR 1965–70) – KC
Siena Clarke – Marketing & PR
Michael Doherty – Entrepreneur/Business
Dan Gore – Medicine
Nicholas Jackson – Finance
Hylton Moore – AI/Cyber Security
Rahul Munjal – Renewable Energy
Chris Philipsborn – International Relations
Polly Rathbone – HR
Sue Saville – Journalism
James Sellar – Land Development
Chris Tanner – Professional Sports Media
Richard Threlfall – Engineering
Photography by Christopher F
