Old Millhillians Club Careers Network

In response to demand, digitalisation and a tough employment market, Richard Lidwell (Murray 1959-64) chair of the Careers Committee reports on ramping up the support it has so successfully provided the MHS Foundation and OM community since its inception in 2018

New Improved Careers Networking Website

A major new initiative has evolved over the autumn with the launch of a website devoted solely to careers. This will be open to both the pupils of the MHS Foundation – through liaison with the school’s careers staff – and the entire OM community. Linked to the clubs Old Millhillians Career Network (OMCN) main site the OMCN website’s main function is to provide career guidance, work experience openings, career development programmes and networking opportunities. It will also be the place for OMS to volunteer their services to achieve this ambition.

Over the summer, OMs were invited to contribute to this initiative by offering their help with careers support, building on an original survey conducted in 2018, which produced a good deal of offers. As a result, we hope to be able to provide a more extensive network of volunteers. The new website will allow the volunteers to update their profiles easily and to ‘talk’ directly with OMs looking for career advice.

Not only will the site provide the means for pupils and OMs to approach volunteers offering help with careers events, for work experience, CV and application writing, mentoring, and other advice, but will also provide additional links to existing and, possibly, new groups of OMs (professional, sporting and social) and some useful careers and professional websites. A brandnew feature will be a developing video library of OMs giving short, 3-5 minute, ‘Ted-style’ talks about their journey into work and their profession. It is hoped also to provide space for OMs to advertise their businesses and employment opportunities.

Professional Networking Opportunities

A major aspect of the OM Careers offering is to provide professional networking events for MHS pupils and OMs. These cover a range of areas of work including Financial Services, Engineering, Law, Property, Medicine, Media, and the Creative Arts. Additional events have focussed on an Entrepreneurial skills, and more recently on ‘Using Linkedin and Social Media to improve your career prospects’. Many of these events have run for years providing professional networking opportunities for OMs working in these areas, but just as importantly they are designed to give school pupils and university students insights into the world of work as well as for OMs considering a change in career direction.

These events had always been physical, but the restrictions imposed by the pandemic have negated that opportunity.

We were concerned about the viability of running the events ‘virtually’ by use of Zoom. However, we needn’t have worried as the attendance has exceeded expectations by far. Clearly something of the opportunity and pleasure of mixing and talking is lost in the ‘virtual’ world, but on the other hand it has meant that the difficulties of physically travelling with many events being held in London, have been overcome, and attendance is easier from wherever one might be living, at home or abroad.

Many young OMs have sought help with their applications and CVs, and introductions to OMs working in their areas of interest. While many requests have been fulfilled, it has not always been possible to find OM volunteers willing and able to offer such help, especially during the pandemic. Hopefully by expanding the resource of volunteers through the extended request survey, and publicity around the launch of the new accessible website greater activity will be generated and results achieved.

The Evolving World of Work

For many years (certainly in my early career) the talk was all of working in a ‘world of leisure’ with the application of new technologies reducing the necessity to work long hours, and for life. Of course, the opposite happened with people working longer, stressful hours, coping with the economic pressures and the need for dual incomes to ‘survive’ and to achieve desired lifestyles. Then the concept of ‘portfolio careers’ evolved with people building their own career paths. Now, in this time of the pandemic, the phenomenon of ‘working from home’ offers an opportunity for real evaluation; not underestimating the involuntary strain, economic and social problems that much of the population has been forced to endure.

Job Hunting And Networking Tips

Tap into your network: your network – personal and professional – can provide much needed support, generate ideas and remind you of your strengths. Don’t be afraid to reach out to schedule a call or to ask for advice. You never know where a conversation might lead and, in my experience, most people are very happy to give their time to offer advice or signpost other resources.

Job-hunting requires discipline: spend a maximum of four hours each day reviewing LinkedIn and job boards, dealing with emails and working on your CV and application forms.

Organisation is key: keep a spreadsheet of every application submitted so that you can track your progress. On the days when you feel your search isn’t progressing, this document can be reassuring. If you are claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance, your local job centre coach will also really appreciate it if you are keeping accurate records about your job search.

Respect yourself: where possible, gift yourself weekends, focusing the job search from Monday to Friday.

Do something for yourself every day: maybe going for a walk, bake, see friends, listen to podcasts and attend webinars.

Remember: to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who has supported you as you navigate the next step on your career journey.

‘Take heart and be yourself’ in developing your career path.

(with acknowledgment to my Careers Adviser colleague; Caroline Lindner).

It has been true that the ‘job for life’ with a secure pension after 40 years of work has disappeared, and not by choice for many. The term ‘portfolio career’ initially suggested a ‘choice’, but in reality, it has been imposed on many by economic and political events, so less a ‘choice’, more a ‘necessity’. While this might be hard for many, I believe it may also be viewed as an opportunity; in the past many people have felt trapped by established systems, but this could be a moment to develop into areas of work. Career choices are often made far too early in life, which fail to respect the human ability to learn and develop new interests and skills during early, and later, working lives and ‘actual’ living. Recently there appears to be a political shift in viewing education and especially higher education as existing purely for vocational reasons and not for ‘education’ in its true meaning which may exacerbate this problem.

To quote Martin Luther King’s speech at Morehouse College in 1948: ‘The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason but no morals… We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.’

We hope that the OM community through our career development offering may be of help to Mill Hill pupils and OMs facing such career and work dilemmas and choices. We believe our community can add great value to other career guidance agencies and services, professional bodies, and educational institution services to assist in this process.

The Who’s Who of the OMCC and how to get involved

The OMCC is currently made up from members from the school careers and sixth form staff and OMs with a wide range of working experiences. We usually meet three times a year. Currently it is Chaired by Dick Lidwell (Careers Adviser) with Peter Wakeham (Marketing and Business Development), Gordon Mizner (Professional Engineer and OM Club President), Ted Ivens (Sports Marketing), Mitesh Bhimjiyani (Founder of careers website ‘Success at School’), John Hellinikakis (International Business Consultant and Chair OM Relations Committee), Michael Wong (Management Consultancy).

School staff: John Barron (Deputy Head 6th Form), Lesley Sharples (University applications) and Martin Pearce (Learning Support). It is always keen to hear from other members who would like to be involved.

Contact details: Dick Lidwell – richard@lidwell.com