By Alice Jenkins, Year 11

After finishing GCSEs, Year 11 had an excellent opportunity to attend the GDST Bright Network information days for GDST students all over the UK. Over two days, we heard from a very wide range of speakers, including Priyanka Patel, an incoming international commercial law trainee, and Jake Schogger, the founder and CEO of City Careers Series. We also had a chance to attend a ‘Creative problem solving’ workshop run by British Airways, where we learnt about the ways in which workers in the airline industry work quickly and efficiently to solve the variety of issues that they face. 

One of the highlights of the mini-course, however, was the CV-building workshop – the last workshop of the course. Here, we learnt how to write a CV that will stand out, particularly if you haven’t done much work or work experience before. This was particularly useful, as many of us haven’t had any opportunities to do work experience in the last year.

Below is an interview with Melisa C, on the insights she gained from the course. 

What was your favourite part of the day?

I loved the group project because it allowed me to work creatively and develop my research skills, while exploring how I can work together with my teammates to reach a common goal.

What was the most useful thing you learned?

Don’t be afraid to reach out to different people, and utilise any contacts you already have.

What is the one piece of advice that you will try to remember as you move forward?

Every speaker emphasised the point that you shouldn’t be put down by rejections; use them to figure out how to improve your skills.

Thank you to the GDST and Bright Network for organising the virtual work experience programme – it was fantastic to hear from such a wide variety of speakers, including recent GDST Alumnae and employers, as well as the opportunities to attend skills workshops and work on business tasks.