Student Carlene Francis takes part in a mock job interview with Goldman Sachs volunteer Ben Armstead.
Students at the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL) boosted their job prospects when they took part in a workshop with global investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Around 100 learners took part in the employability skills event with staff volunteers from the financial giant at the College’s Tottenham Centre on 4 October.
The workshop began with an exercise in which students were asked to create the tallest tower out of newspaper to support an apple to develop their business skills, such as teamwork, creativity and communication.
The students then discussed with their mentors from Goldman Sachs what a business is, what motivates them when it comes to work and how to make a good first impression.
They then heard more about working at Goldman Sachs before looking at what makes a good CV and taking part in mock job interviews.
Accounting student Martin Chinaka, 22, said: “It was good to talk to the people from Goldman Sachs and find out how they got to where they are and what motivates them, which will help when I am getting ready for interviews.”
Kassandra Jean-Baptiste, 23, who is also studying accounting, said: “It was good to get some interview practice and know how I can improve when I’m looking for a job, like the importance of good body language when you present yourself to a potential employer.”
Goldman Sachs volunteer Sanna Sharif talks to student Tuley Ucar about employability skills.
The Goldman Sachs staff were all part of the bank’s Community Teamworks scheme, which encourages employees to take time off and volunteer to support the areas where they live and work.
Omar Bouabdallah, Business Intelligence Specialist for Goldman Sachs, who was headed up the volunteer group, said: “It’s about making education relevant to the workplace and relating our professional experience to help students understand what businesses are looking for in the real world.
“These students could be our future employees, and events like these also help us to ensure they can translate what’s in their head and express their answers well so we can find out where the potential talent is and ensure we spot it.”