Stories from Entrepreneurs
Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs
A new series of recordings of successful entrepreneurs at all stages and from all industries, talking about the highs and lows of their business and personal careers.
See also the regularly updated Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs blog.
Recorded at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Difficult interview questions: was your last boss a good manager?
This is a question with an obvious trap – you might be used to having a whinge at work, but in an interview situation you want to avoid sounding negative. Careers Advisers Jeff Riley and Deena Panthaky explore perspectives you can bring to this question – can you make your critique constructive? What did you learn from your experiences?
(MP3 – 7min 47s, 5.3MB)
Chance and luck in careers – when one thing leads to another
Often people think career planning is all about finding their vocation and pursuing it, but life doesn’t always work like that… Chance meetings, temp jobs, work experience, doing a favour for a friend – all can play a part in determining your career path. And there is nothing wrong with that! Through plenty of real-life examples, in this podcast Jeff Riley and Deena Panthaky discuss the role of chance in careers, both good luck and bad, and how you can accommodate it in your career thinking.
(MP3 – 9min 36s, 6.6MB)
Difficult interview questions: what can you offer that other candidates cannot?
Deena and Jeff are back, pulling apart classic difficult interview questions and working out the best approach. This episode’s question is a particularly challenging one, both asking candidates to compare themselves to others who they don’t know, and asking for self-promotion – something that doesn’t come naturally to many of us. The podcast includes tips on how to structure your answer, what to include, and how to handle the unknown.
(MP3 – 9min 02s, 6.2MB)
Difficult interview questions: which other companies have you applied to?
This question doesn’t always come up, so it is common for interviewees to be unprepared when asked who else they have applied to. It can feel difficult to answer as it breaks into your pitch as perfect candidate for their company, and it can distract you with thoughts of how you actually quite liked the look of their key competitor too…
You could just list a few companies and try to move on quickly but, as Jeff Riley and Deena Panthaky explain, there is a way to put a more positive spin on your answer and demonstrate your professional strategic thinking. Listen to find out how!
(MP3 – 5min 43s, 3.9MB)
This podcast is the fourth in our series on difficult interview questions.
Difficult interview questions: where do you expect to be in five years time?
In five years, plenty can change in business, in life, as well as in your career choices, so how can you approach a question like this? And what does the employer want – a commitment to them, ambition, or openness about your career thinking? Jeff Riley and Deena Panthaky again come to the rescue, describing different approaches that you might adopt, as well as the points an employer might expect you to include in your answer. As ever, there is no magic right answer, so listen in for tips to find your own way.
(MP3 – 7min 46s, 5.33MB)
This podcast is the third in our series on difficult interview questions.
Networking: a ten minute guide
This quick guide to networking will give beginners the confidence to get started with face-to-face career networking, as well as provide extra tips, structure and ideas to students and graduates who feel they could be more effective.
Careers adviser Eric Evans outlines three steps on how to network, then discusses how to make the most of various networking opportunities – as well as how to make opportunities happen! As described, this podcast wraps it all up in 10 minutes (well, 10 mins 01 secs if you want to be precise…) so it should be an easy part of your preparation for upcoming careers fairs and employer visits.
(MP3 – 10min 01s, 6.9MB)
Difficult interview questions: why do you want to work for this company?
When you are applying for jobs at a number of companies, you will have written to each stating how keen you are to work for them. Sometimes it can feel like there is an element of dishonesty around this – you have to apply to a number of places to maximize your chances, but you tell each that they are the one. In this short podcast, Jeff Riley, Deena Panthaky and Helen Curry, discuss how to tackle this tricky situation in interview and still sell yourself. How do you convince an experienced interviewer that you really do want to join their company?
(MP3 – 5min 48s, 4.0MB)
This podcast is the second in our new series on difficult interview questions.
An introduction to MBAs
An introduction to MBAs
Hilary Moor, MBA career adviser at Royal Holloway, University of London, gives a comprehensive overview of MBAs. In this podcast she discusses why people do MBAs, what benefits it gives you (and what it does not!), how much business experience you should have before you apply, what the course is like, costs and funding, choosing a course…and more.
Useful links:
- AMBA – Association of MBAs. Features a useful ‘Guide to MBA’ section, with details of accredited schools, and the NatWest MBA loan scheme.
- EQUIS – the European Quality Improvement System. Includes a list of accredited schools.
- AACSB – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Includes a list of accredited institutions.
- GMAC – The Graduate Management Admission Council. Includes information on the GMAT tests.
- Chevening scholarships programme – for overseas students to study in the UK
- The Independent – MBAs guide
(MP3 – 28min 30s, 19.6MB)
A career in PR & communications: Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, part 2
In part 2 of our podcast, Rob Ettridge and Heather Atchison talk about the culture of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and what PR and written communications work is like.(MP3 – 16 min 32s, 7.5MB)
About us
This is a feed of podcasts from The Careers Group, University of London.
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This work by The Careers Group, University of London is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.
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