Kara
Courtier

Company: Barclays UK

Why did you choose NTU, Nottingham Business School and your course?

What drew me to the course was the fact it combined learning with working to ensure I can apply the skills & theories I learnt in the lecture theatre. I knew that by the time I graduated I’d have two years of work experience to help jumpstart my career.

What do you think sets Nottingham Business School apart?

A blend of brilliant infrastructure & equipment as well as degrees built in a way that links learning to the real world – and that’s adapted frequently to ensure they’re always relevant.

How would you promote NTU or Nottingham Business School to potential students in 10 words or fewer?
A great Business School and a great city – everything a student wants!

How would you rate the support available at NTU and NBS? Think of both your course staff, student support, the employability team and global lounges. How did they help you?

My course was structured in such a way which meant we had 360 support – our course leaders were always on hand, the course admin was just at the end of an email and employability & personal development was built into the course so I never had to make use of the additional services.

Did you gain any work experience during your course? If so, can you tell us whether it was a placement year, internship, volunteering or another opportunity? What the benefits have been of doing this?

Yes, I studied Business Management (In-Company) which meant I had a full-time placement throughout my second and third years whilst still studying. It meant that I had 2+ years with my peers working for one of the biggest banks in the UK, building my skills and growing my experience. It was definitely hard at times to manage everything but it was so worth it.

What job are you currently doing and what does it involve?

I lead a team of Product Managers managing multiple Online Banking platforms for our most complex Business Banking customers at Barclays. This involves ensuring the channels are working as they should be, managing any client escalations, informing technical development, changes or fixes, as well as developing and managing tactical & strategic changes through our product roadmap.

How has your experience at NBS helped you in your current role? Are there any skills you gained at NBS that you now use every day?

Whilst studying I developed a skill of being able to consume considerable amounts of information and being able to distil it down into key component parts. This was a major asset when starting my first professional role and it's something I use every day when I need to liaise with Senior Management to ensure they are aware of any key points without being distracted by finer details.

What would your advice be to those who have recently graduated and are looking for roles?

Your first role is just that – your first one! You have a lifetime to try different roles and find the perfect one for you, don’t be afraid to turn your hand at something new even if it wasn’t something you’d initially pictured doing. It’s these varying experiences that help you to build a bespoke set of skills. Ensuring a new role has sufficient stretch is key to this – you should only be able to do 70% of a role, everything else is for you to develop into

What has been your career highlight so far?

Launching a new Partnership with Nextdoor in 4 weeks at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Normally something like that would take months (or years) just to negotiate the details of a partnership contract however I was also able to launch a new website and digital journey in around a week, close the contract, and set up a new partnership operating rhythm in approximately a month. The partnership itself helped support local businesses to connect with their community during a time when the UK was in lockdown and many businesses were having to rethink their business models, all for free.