Name: Donna Walker

Job title: Careers Coach

Department: WBS CareersPlus, Warwick Business School

Number of years at Warwick: 20

There’s no such thing as a typical day, but, in brief, my job involves...

I work with students on the Full Time MBA Programme to help them reach their career goals, this includes facilitating assessment centre activities, coaching to help define job search and networking strategies in addition to advising on CVs, cover letters and undertaking mock interviews. The MBA cohort is made up of students from across the globe with diverse work backgrounds which means the role is always interesting. Prior to this I was part of the Corporate Relations Team establishing and maintaining relationships with companies to encourage them to recruit from the range of Masters Programmes at WBS.

On joining Warwick I worked in the Undergraduate Admissions Department, manually (!) checking hundreds of UCAS applications to History and Film and Literature degrees, and then moved to Warwick Accommodation to manage the small reception team and process applications for postgraduate accommodation. This also involved ensuring that the keys to the University’s large number of off campus houses were ready for collection every September. I then moved to The National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth to work on the Goldman Sachs Foundation Scheme which encouraged gifted students from disadvantaged backgrounds to take part in a business competition. The groups presented their ideas to a panel of judges and the winning team won a trip to New York.

My most memorable moment at Warwick has been...

In February this year I was one of the staff members fortunate enough to accompany the Full Time MBA students on their international study trip to Vancouver; we attended Sauder Business School for lectures on entrepreneurship and sustainability and visited a number of local companies. We also managed to fit in an ice-hockey match and a ferry trip to the North Shore. The visit was made even more memorable due to the large snow falls on the final day.

In my time at Warwick, the biggest change I’ve seen is...

When I joined the Business School I worked full time including occasional weekends and evenings to run recruitment presentations or networking events. Following maternity leave I returned to work part-time, which enables me to collect my son from school three days a week. I still work outside 'normal' working hours on occasions, for example taking the students to The Shard for a range of networking events including the MBA Careers Fair and Sector Insights.

Warwick’s kept me here because...

All of my roles at Warwick have been rewarding as they involve helping students; from an offer on a degree course during my time in Undergraduate Admissions to a place on campus accommodation when working in the Accommodation Office. I have made some lovely friends along the way and am lucky enough to enjoy coming to work. Working closely with the MBA students has meant that I have joined their Diwali celebrations, leaving parties and have even received an invitation to a wedding in India from two students who met on the Full Time MBA. Supportive line managers have enabled me to have a number of professional development opportunities; in October I am joining the Diploma in Coaching at the Centre for Lifelong Learning.

At the moment I’m really enjoying working on...

In collaboration with colleagues in the WBS CareersPlus team I am working on a Careers Checkpoint Workshop and webinar for the outgoing full-time MBA cohort, to give them the opportunity to reflect on their current career goals, skills and personal brand and review their job search strategy before leaving WBS. We will remind them of the importance of having an effective LinkedIn profile and CV to ensure they have maximum impact on recruiters when applying for full time roles.

The best thing about working at Warwick is...

My colleagues! They have encouraged and supported me and continue to do so! Furthermore we have enjoyed social activities from a hula hoop lesson to playing rounders, watching Gladiator at Warwick Castle and a treasure hunt.

If I could change one thing at the University it would be...

the length of time it takes to reach the University!

I have seen...

a number of performances at the Arts Centres ranging from comedians; Rhod Gilbert, Jason Manford and Ross Noble to Dominic Holland and Lee Mack and memorable talks by writers including Jung Chang (Wild Swans) and Lionel Shriver (We Need to talk about Kevin). We have also taken my son to see children’s shows at Christmas, highlights include The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom!

I usually travel to campus by...

car, as I need to collect my son from after school club twice a week so want to be as prompt as possible!

My favourite place on campus is...

walking to the end of Scarman Road and through the Lakeside residences as you are suddenly surrounded by fields, very peaceful!

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