Kelly Coles joined WMS in October 2021 as our Senior Careers Consultant. We caught up with her to find out about her own career journey and her top pieces of advice for our students. 

Tell us a little bit about you and your life before you joined the university?

I have worked in careers for 14 years, starting out as a careers adviser in a further education college, where I worked for eight years. I loved this work and the opportunity that it provided to support a diverse community to explore their potential to take steps into education that they might not consider possible – you can’t beat a ‘lightbulb moment’ when you help people to realise that they can overcome barriers to progression!

I was keen to move into higher education to continue to help and support students at a different point in their journey. I have worked in mainly health and life sciences faculties (though not exclusively) at other universities in the Midlands over the past six years and have supported undergraduate and postgraduate students with career planning and management.

Why did you want to work at WMS?

Having worked as a job search adviser in the Careers and Skills Team at the beginning of my higher education careers experience, it has always been my ambition to return to Warwick University, particularly as this is also where I completed my master's.

Supporting healthcare professionals to navigate their careers over the past four years has been a privilege, to progress this further through supporting students’ journey into medicine would provide a unique and interesting challenge, particularly as WMS is renowned for its graduate entry medicine programme. I knew that this would be quite a learning curve for me, but I am relishing the challenge so far. Alongside the MB ChB, the opportunity to work with both PG and UG students provides an interesting mix, and the potential to develop employability and careers delivery for new and developing courses was a particularly interesting prospect – especially as they offer such a broad area of potential career options for students to explore.

How are you settling in so far?

I feel that I'm settling in well so far, working remotely/hybrid has made this feel a little harder as I think that lots of the information you might naturally ‘absorb’ by being immersed in the campus environment is missed. Also, the connections that are made ‘in person’ are more tricky over Teams. I am naturally very sociable and feel energised working with others, so I have tried to be proactive and take the opportunity to do this where possible. The fact that everyone has been so warm and welcoming has made this much easier.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The diversity of the role. I enjoy working with varied cohorts of students as each has a unique set of requirements in relation to their career development. This also affords the ability to collaborate and work with a whole range of colleagues across the school, the wider university and a range of external partners, which I also thoroughly enjoy. Alongside working with students on a 1:1 basis, I particularly enjoy the design and development of employability programmes and workshops, and the opportunity to be creative that this provides. Though the pandemic has provided significant challenges, I've embraced the opportunity to learn and create digital solutions for delivery but am looking forward to returning to in-person activities.

What do you feel we offer students at WMS that you haven’t seen elsewhere?

The level of support and opportunity. The universities I have worked within have all offered excellent support that students are able to access. The support in WMS is incredible – not just in terms of students being able to access the advice and guidance that they might need, but the range of student-led initiatives that are also available, the level of peer-to-peer support is phenomenal and creates the fantastic sense of community that I have witnessed since joining. Alongside this, the opportunity for students to become involved in research and professional development opportunities such as conferences, mentoring and other initiatives to enhance their development both personally and professionally is outstanding, and I would encourage all students to take full advantage of the rich menu of activities on offer.

What do you think are the biggest challenges for our students, and how can we help them?

Each student is unique and may face their own individual challenges depending on their personal journey so far. The support available within WMS is extensive and the wider university also has a range of support services to meet individual needs.

In relation to careers, some of the key challenges can include students not being sure of themselves, who they are and what is important to them in relation to a career. If this is the case, they can access a 1:1 appointment to explore this further.

Sometimes, challenges relate to being unsure of the options available, having limited information or not knowing where to start can make this seem overwhelming. The careers support provided can help students fully explore their potential options.

Navigating recruitment and selection processes can also be extremely daunting, but there is comprehensive support available to guide students through the process, developing their skills and confidence to apply for a variety of opportunities.

What would you say to someone considering joining med school this year?

If this is in relation to studying medicine – get some solid experience working in a role caring for others. This will be invaluable in developing your interpersonal skills, communication and empathy for others. Though the entry requirements for the course are for 70 hours across two different experiences, extensive experience is likely to both validate your interest in the profession, but also give you genuine insight and understanding of providing care to others. In relation to the programme itself, be prepared for the challenge, but also the rewards that come with it.

If you had to provide three key pieces of advice to our undergraduate students, what would it be?

1. Be open – Even if you have an idea of what you might like to do, be open to trying different things to broaden your horizons
2. Be proactive – Start to think about your direction early. You don’t have to have all the answers, but at least by beginning to think about your options, it provides time to gain experiences and test ideas. Seek out opportunities and new connections, they rarely just appear!
3. Take opportunities – All experience is beneficial, so when opportunities present themselves, take them. It will be an opportunity to develop your skills and might provide the potential to gain new ones and creates opportunities to begin to develop your network.

What is the best thing about your job?

Working with and supporting others to achieve their goals – this is priceless and has always been at the heart of why I love what I do!