Tell me about yourself – what did you study at Leeds, and what was your student job?
My name is Ubaid and I am from India. I studied Masters of Business Administration from LUBS, and before my Masters I have worked as a Marketing Engineer for over 6 years in New Delhi, India.
I worked with LUU Co-op as a retail assistant during my time in the University and I just loved it. It did not only help me manage my expenses, but was a great opportunity for me to learn from and meet students from a varied set of courses and cultures.
What career have you gone into after graduating, and how did your role at Co-op help prepare you for that?
I have started working as a Business Consultant post my MBA. Working with LUU Co-op helped me fill a lot of gaps in my skill set. To start with, I got the much needed exposure to work in a pure retail and customer service setting. I did not have a background in either and now I realise how important it was for me.
Secondly, LUU has a large and diverse workforce. This gave me an opportunity to work with a cross cultural team, which in the present global economy is a vital experience. Furthermore, it was an amazing opportunity for me to witness a collaborative and flat hierarchical team, which has truly raised my expectations (a positive paradigm shift).
Which skills and personal qualities did you develop during your time here to make you more employable?
I believe that I picked up a lot of skills during my time with LUU that are helping me and will help in the future as well. To start with, I believe confidence is contagious and you see so many people around you who are highly motivated and love what they do. This definitely elevates the mood and builds up confidence in yourself. Believe me, this is very important.
Also, LUU fosters a highly collaborative and inclusive environment that stays with you and helps you grow as a person by restricting biases and making you agile. And definitely time management and decision making, as a student you have a lot of things going on. You’ve got lectures, coursework, exams and what not. Prioritising all of it is an art for sure.
Day to day, what was your favourite part of the role?
The best part was meeting so many people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. Essentially as it was the ‘COVID year’ there wasn’t much going on in the campus. I could meet people studying various UG/PG courses and I am still in touch with many of them. The short conversations while working in a busy store would lighten up the mood and kept me engaged. Also, working at the tills was my favourite part. Overall, ‘With LUU, I loved my time at Leeds’.
Would you recommend part-time work to international students here at Leeds, and why?
A lot of people ask me whether it is feasible to work part-time alongside term time and where and how they should find part-time work. I say there is always time if you plan it right.
I always encourage people to check out the LUU website, that should definitely be your first preference. Especially for international students, it’s a great learning and networking opportunity and gives you a flavour of the UK work culture, which goes a long way.
I sincerely believe this part-time work culture for students is a great thing and I wish we start practicing this in my home country as well.
