How my university went the extra mile so I could land a dream job with a tech giant

It’s early evening and Haroon Butt, 22, is speaking from his hotel room in Madrid. “It’s very hot, it’s 35C and there are no clouds. It’s crazy,” he says. Within months of graduating from London South Bank University (LSBU) last year, Butt, who studied business management with enterprise and entrepreneurship, had received job offers from prestigious companies such as Amazon and Which? Six months later, he’s now a programme manager at Amazon, and will be spending the rest of the year touring warehouses across Europe. “We’re based in the UK but they want us to travel a lot. The whole team is here,” he says.

Butt can’t quite believe how well it has all panned out for him. “When I first started university I was very closed off and I wasn’t confident speaking to people. But very soon the lecturers got us doing really cool group projects and they were chucking us in situations where you have to talk to people. It really helped. I actually found myself leading a lot of the tasks.”

Activities such as this, he says, definitely contributed to him getting the Amazon role. “There were so many opportunities at university. They’d say: ‘We’re hosting this, or this society is doing this activity.’ I took every opportunity to build up my CV and it worked.”

Max Smith, who graduated in accounting and finance last year and then spent a year as president of the students’ union, had a similar experience. With so many extracurricular and networking events on offer at LSBU he, too, has come a long way since he started. “When I joined the football team as a nervous fresher, I didn’t think I’d ever end up as president of the students’ union.” He says you don’t have to be confident and bold to get involved. “Just quietly sign up, come along to an event and see what happens.”

One of the key selling points of LSBU is the number of work placements and industry contacts available. The university has formal partnerships with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, the Chartered Government Institute, and the Institute of Directors. During his first year, Butt did an internship accelerator programme with Microsoft, which he says played a “major part” in boosting his CV. There are also opportunities to do charity work linked to your subject. Through LSBU’s affiliation with the Institute of Directors, Butt was also involved in the challenge of starting up a business where all profits go to charity. “There are loads of opportunities like this,” he says.

Experiences such as these are not just limited to business degrees. The school of arts and creative industries has a long-established partnership with the highly successful and creative theatre company Frantic Assembly. The team delivers workshops and residencies, and shares their expertise and working methodology with students. Likewise, the psychology department runs successful voluntary work placement schemes at NHS clinics and hospital units, such as the South London and Maudsley NHS trust, as well as charitable organisations working with stroke patients, addiction rehabilitation units and brain damage centres.

The careers service is also a vital resource. Through the service, Smith secured an administrative job one day a week throughout his degree. “I used the careers hub all the time. It has great contacts and helps you find jobs while you study, as well as afterwards.” The role even helped him with his course. “In my third year, things came up that I’d already encountered in the office,” he says.

Another reason LSBU is so well positioned to help students make industry contacts is because of its location. Based in Elephant and Castle, it’s in the heart of the capital. For Butt, this was a huge selling point. He stayed living at home in Romford, Essex, and says it was an easy commute. “It was also all in the same location, which I liked,” he says.

What’s more, LSBU has something for everyone. “There is no type, it’s really, really diverse. There are people from other countries and from the UK,” says Butt. “It’s great to meet different people, it was awesome.”

Smith, who is from north Wales and lived in halls, agrees. Not only does he love being in a big city, he also thinks it sets him in good stead for the future. “I’ll probably work in London, so I thought why not start living here with the safety net of the university beneath me?”

Above all, Butt credits LSBU with helping him reach his full potential. For now, he’s happy with his job and plans to stay as long as possible, but who knows what’s next. “My options are really open. Perhaps I’ll start my own business, as that was always my plan. But for now, I’m just enjoying being out in Madrid. Things are pretty busy.”

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