VP of HR at CapGemini visits Year 10 Assembly

As National Careers Week is coming to an end, we were delighted to welcome Carolyn Miller, Vice President of Human Resources at CapGemimi UK Plc into the Year 10 assembly this morning.  Students may not have heard of this Business to Business company but they would be familiar with large corporations such as CocaCola or Waitrose whose IT logistics they handle; or in McDonalds for example - the screens to order your food - that's them.

Carolyn is responsible for 140 HR professionals who support 130,000 UK employees, but she confided in our Year 10s that she was once in their shoes.  At school she had no idea what career she wanted or what might lie ahead -  a theme that has been prevalent from our guest speakers throughout this week - but that it is OK to feel like that.  You don't have to know at this very point what career you want to do but there are key things that can help you.  Work hard, step outside your comfort zone on occasion, be willing to learn and build up your extra curricular activities.  When Carolyn was studying her Degree in Business Administration with German at Loughborough, she spent a year at Mercedes Benz in Germany where she was required to speak German in the office.  Although very scary and certainly out of her comfort zone, it was her German linguistics that helped her to secure a future job back in the UK through a contact of her parents, another tip - don't be ashamed to use any contacts and networks at your disposal.  

Carolyn spoke about how your CV is essentially your sales pitch to a future employer, so having things that can make you stand out is good and that is where all those extra curricular activities come in to play.  The cohort will get the opportunity when in Year 11 to practise applying for jobs, from writing a CV through to having a mock interview with local businesses. 

We would like to thank Carolyn for taking the time  to speak with our students today and sharing her advice for a successful career.

#NCW2023