SSLP students took part in a series of excellent careers events over the last two terms. The first was aimed at Years 7-9 with the So You Want to Be… A Filmmaker with Kyoka Seguchi. Kyoka is now a Camera Assistant, starting as a Camera Trainee on projects like Call The Midwife and Bad Education, to a commercial for TUMI and a music video for Bombay Bicycle Club. There were a range of brilliant questions from the SSLP student audience that covered areas of study and work ethic, what a day on a film set was like, and the joys and challenges of the job.
Years 10-13 students had the opportunity be audience members at the in-person event for Life as a Barrister. Freddie Onslow and Helen Morton – both from Essex Court Chambers and commercial barristers – shared invaluable insights about the different types of law, the difference between the roles of solicitors and barristers, how to progress in your career, and achieving a work-life balance as a barrister. We are very grateful to our guest speakers and also to JAGS for hosting the events.
Our thanks also to Markus Mikkola for joining us for our final So You Want to Be careers talk for this academic year. Markus is Regional Sales Executive for the Nordics at Polar Capital. Markus started the talk by sharing his somewhat unconventional route into his career. He referenced the book ‘The Third Door: The Mindset of Success’ by Alex Banayan as inspiring him to persevere in trying to gain employment with Polar Capital. The book shares that you should try to find ‘the third door’ – a different, unique approach and way of thinking that will represent a reflection of who you are to employers and help you to stand out from the rest. Having not succeeded with the more conventional approach of emailing, Markus recorded a 5-minute video about himself that he shared with Polar Capital. He posed the question to the pupil audience: if there is a role that I am really interested in, what can I do to stand out? There were a number of excellent questions posed by the SSLP pupils including, exploring the differences between investment management and investment banking; considering the impact of AI on investment management; and useful subjects and degrees to study.
A huge thank you to Markus for his time and sharing his career overview, tips and advice with such clarity, warmth and humour. We also thank Westminster City School for hosting such a brilliant event.
If you have any ideas for particular careers that you would like to hear more about or you could offer a talk about in next academic year’s SSLP careers events, please share these with coordinator@sslp.education
