Alice Lunn

Why did you choose to study at Leeds University Business School and would you recommend it to others?  

I chose to study at Leeds University Business School because the school is well-established and renowned for its achievements and its successful graduates. I wanted to be a part of that culture, and the fact I liked Leeds a lot as a city was a bonus! I would definitely recommend the Business School, it is great in offering support to all its students and it provides all the knowledge and networking you need in order to succeed at your degree. The Business School’s academic staff are all very helpful and knowledgeable which also adds to the benefits of being a part of a great and well-structured school. It is a pleasure to be a part of such a community at the school!

Tell us about your course – why did you choose it?

I chose my course because I have always been interested in working with ‘people’. From studying my A Levels and in particular Sociology, I became very interested in sociology of work and gender inequalities. I wanted to take this interest and passion I had a turn it into a career, which is why I chose HRM.

What would you say to anyone considering applying for a scholarship?

I would say go for it! You never know if you will be successful if you don’t apply. It is worth the time and effort of filling in the application form as a scholarship is a big help to the costs of university, as well as the feeling of knowing your academic achievements have been worth the while.

What sort of things did you include in your scholarship supporting statement?

In my supporting statement, I discussed my passion for the A Levels I studied and what grades I had achieved in them, as well as my extra-curricular activities and other general awards and personal achievements! I treated it a bit like a personal statement which you write for your UCAS application, but it is a bit more personalised to showing off what you really are successful at, and what makes you deserving of that scholarship.

What were your roles and responsibilities on your year in industry?

My year in industry was at L'Oreal, as a Learning and Development Intern. My role and responsibilities were to mainly oversee all induction trainings for all staff in UK&I. This involved sorting all the logistics for the monthly trainings, as well as facilitating a one day and two day workshop. This largely involved stakeholder management too, and developing relationship with people who were more senior. Moreover my role was also to manage the compliance e-learnings, ensuring every new starter into the business completed all the mandatory learnings. My other duties included managing the UK&I learning inbox for the team, enrolling people onto international trainings, running metrics and reports of our learning data and keeping our databases up to date. Our team was focused on the development of all L'Oreal's staff, and it was important we kept everything up to date to accurately help with this as much as possible.

What were your biggest achievements during the placement?

My biggest achievement is my development in my confidence and my skill of presenting. I regularly had to present an hour of content to groups of 40 or more, and now I love presenting, my view of it has shifted dramatically. Another big achievement for me was managing an ad-hoc project to launch new training sessions for the HR team. I single handedly designed and developed a plan to present to the board of HR Directors. I received great feedback and witnessed my trainings get launched to all of the HR staff in 2017.

What skills did you develop on placement?

The skill I developed most was certainly my confidence but I also developed the skill of efficiently networking and building professional relationships easily. I also developed my Microsoft Excel skills dramatically. Moreover I now have better established people skills, have more knowledge of the workplace and I have much better stress management skills too.

How has the year in industry influenced your career aspirations?

My Year in Industry has influenced my career aspirations as I now realise how competitive the working environment is, and how important it is to be happy in your job. I am still focused on going into HR but definitely generalist HR to begin with.

Would you recommend taking a year in industry to someone else?

I certainly would recommend taking a year in industry to others. It offers you invaluable skills and insights that you can't get from anywhere else while you're at university, and it enables you to be better prepared with more enthusiasm and background for your final year of studies. It is also a huge addition to your CV, and offers you more of an edge that is needed when applying to graduate roles in your final year. Not only that, but it makes you appreciate a lot more your final year of being a 'student' after being in the working world for a year!