Vanina Varbanova

Master Business Management 2014

Vanina secured a full-time job even before graduating after impressing the CEO of Blackswan during the Innovation Programme run at the Faculty of Business and Law.

The MBM graduate, now a CEO Programme leader at Blackswan, can’t recommend the programme highly enough.

“The Innovation Programme gave me the opportunity to see how theory can be applied in practice in a real business world. It was great to meet colleagues from different degrees and backgrounds and to work in teams over 4 days.”

Despite the success in achieving a Distinction and finding a job she also found some challenges.

“As a recent graduate my biggest challenge was to get used to the dynamics of the business environment and the business culture of a global company. Once I passed this stage I started feeling the excitement of being involved and contributing to the activities of a global business.”

The 26-years-old, who has been now over a year in the business and performance management field, describes her job as very interesting and dynamic.

“There is a range of activities that I do on daily basis, from sales and marketing to recruitment and events management. Every day is different from the day before, bringing new opportunities to learn.

“I’m very grateful I’ve been given this opportunity because as a recent graduate the transition from university straight to the workplace is not easy when you don’t know what to expect and you are not experienced enough.

“However the lecturers at the University were really committed to help us with this transition. Their professionalism, warmth and friendliness helped me to be where I am now. I would like to especially mention lecturers Dr Derek Watson, Rob Worrall, Paul- Alan Armstrong and Kristina Brown who gave us their absolute support throughout the course and greatly contributed to our educational development.”

She adds: “I would advise other graduates to be brave! Finding the right job and position is not always easy but they should never stop trying. Believing in who you are and what you want to do is a key factor for your professional development as this is what will get you there.”