Mekhi from Whitgift School completed a 1-week work experience opportunity at Morgan Stanley. Here, he tells us how the e-mentoring programme and work experience boosted his self confidence.
The e-mentoring programme was very useful.
I learnt many things, including opportunities I wouldn’t otherwise have taken into account. My mentor, Gareth, was kind and understanding. He taught and guided me through different aspects of the professional world.
Gareth told me about his personal experience with job interviews and the workplace. He helped me to develop my skills and prepare me for the world of work. I now feel a lot more confident about going into interviews and writing my CV.
Goal setting was the most interesting and useful part of the e-mentoring programme.
I had to write out my personal goals and targets that I wanted to complete within a certain timeframe. This allowed me to have more motivation to reach my targets, and to be better organised.
I completed work experience with Morgan Stanley
I learnt about investment banking. We had talks from people who worked in specific industries, and team building exercises which allowed for us to gain an insight into what occurs within the firm.
The most inspirational person for me was someone who worked within the Research Team. She outlined the opportunities within the team and was very passionate about her role. I am interested in this area of financial service and may consider going into it in the future. Her presentation helped me to understand her role and what it consisted of.
The highlight of the experience was the stock market game which we played. We had different scenarios which would change the price of different stocks, and we had to try to make the most money.
The game was very fun and it allowed me to speak to new people and learn more about how the stock market functions. The work experience gave me a great insight into investment banking. I can see it as a possible future career choice now. It was a great experience and I would recommend it.
The Urban Synergy e-mentoring programme is great for young people.
Everyone can learn something which will be useful in the future. Whether that’s writing a CV or setting targets; all of it is useful for us to learn and to prepare for the future.
My top advice would be to listen to your mentor.
Your mentor has been in your position before. They know and understand how difficult it can be to grow and adapt to the working world. Everything they say can help you to develop into a better place in the future.