Category: Business Management

Food shopping on a student budget

By James Dylag, BA Business Management

Moving to University comes with a million questions, but generally at the forefront of a student’s mind before they go to university is – what am I going to cook and how much will I be spending on food? Having had very little culinary experience before university, this question was on the tip of my tongue – thankfully, three years in I’m still well fed and standing. Here’s my guide to food shopping on a student budget.

Something I wish I had considered in first year that would have saved me a ton of money… ditch the brands. It’s time to say goodbye to your favourite branded cereal, crisps and biscuits and say hello to supermarket own brands. These are literally so much cheaper but taste pretty much the exact same. If there is some branded food product you simply can’t live without (for me, it’s Ben and Jerry’s ice cream) then limit your intake and only buy it when you’re really craving it.

Sheffield has loads of supermarkets and convenience stores, so make sure you’re shopping around. Ideally, shop at budget supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl as much as you can – you really will save loads of money. You’ll find an Aldi just a fifteen-minute walk from the Students Union (St. Mary’s Gate). Even if you walk there and get a taxi back with your bags – you’d stillbe saving yourself money! There’s also Moor marketplace, based in the centre of town, where you can find plenty of greengrocers, butchers and fishmongers selling produce for a more reasonable price than big supermarkets. You might not be able to get everything you need from these places, but you can get the basics for pretty cheap.

Batch cooking is a seriously popular trend amongst students. It’s as easy as it sounds – just cook more than the amount you need, and freeze any of your leftovers for another day. Not only does this save money, but it also means that if after a long day at uni you really don’t fancy cooking, you’re already sorted.

If you’re really set on saving money on your food shopping, cooking vegetarian meals can really help. Eating vegetarian is becoming increasingly popular, and with this comes increased convenience – it is easy to have a quick browse online for a simple vegetarian dish that is full of flavour. I personally decided to go vegetarian at the beginning of my third year and haven’t looked back, and I’ve found myself being healthier and saving money along the way. One of my favourite places to go for inspiration is Instagram, where there are plenty of accounts that show how to make quick, healthy meals, prepared on camera so they’re easy to follow.

Lastly, my top tip is to have fun with your cooking, stay relatively healthy, and appreciate your home cooked meals when you visit your family in the holidays!

Highlights of my student life so far

By James Dylag, BA Business Management

Being a student has been the most amazing experience, I have made the best friends and the best memories. Being halfway through my final year has made me think a lot about what the future holds, but also about how much I will miss my time at University of Sheffield once it’s all over. Here’s a few of my favourite memories.

One of the most enjoyable parts of being a student in Sheffield was my first year in Endcliffe accommodation. My experience of being in student accommodation was that it was so much fun, and there was always something going on! I made some friends in first year who I have lived with through all of my university experience, and who I believe will stay my friends for life. Living in Endcliffe was a real highlight for me!

Another highlight was the internship I did in the summer of my second year at Barclays. During this time, I moved to London, got some real-life experience and made some great friends. I’d recommend doing an internship if you get the chance, it allows you to see what areas you enjoy the most and build your CV without having to commit to much time to doing so. You can read more about my internship and my experience here.

Working alongside my studies was another great opportunity. I worked in a small local coffee shop, but I made a host of friends and earned money whilst doing so! If you can balance your studies with working I would definitely recommend having a part time job. It means you don’t have to live on such a strict student budget and can treat yourself now and again.

Being at university has been the best experience I’ve ever had, with my top highlight being the friends I have made. These friends really are friends for life, and the thought of not living together next year is so sad! But really, you’ll find a close group who you do everything with, they’ll be like your own family in Sheffield!

University has been so much fun, and I’ve made so many friends and memories along the way. It’s been an unbelievable experience, and one that I wouldn’t change at all!

My internship at Barclays

By James Dylag, BA Business Management

Over the last summer I was lucky enough to be able to complete an internship with Barclays in the Business Banking division. In this post, I’ll tell you about the experience I had whilst on the internship programme and the highlight of my internship.

My internship began a few weeks after I finished my second-year exams. As part of my internship, I was expected to relocate to London. For the duration of my internship I would be based at the Barclays head office in Canary Wharf.

My first day was very nerve-wracking, but I was fortunate enough to be placed into an incredibly welcoming team, who were very open to me asking questions and giving me some real work to get stuck into. I think that is one of the misconceptions of being an intern – that you won’t be given ‘real’ work to do… I can confirm, after 9 weeks and some long (but rewarding) days – this is not true!

In my first week, I had lunch with my line manager who was keen to find out what I wanted to gain from my time at Barclays, and what they wanted to see from me. I actually found this helpful as it allowed me to create a clear picture in my head about what was expected from me, and to think about the ways that I would ensure that I delivered. Together, me and my line manager set goals for me to reach over the nine weeks I was due to spend with Barclays. After doing this, my manager introduced me to the rest of the team who were all my key points of contact for my internship. Then it was really down to me to get started!

One of the most important things for me was to get to know the team and build relationships with them. One of my objectives required me to work very closely alongside certain members of my team – so I reached out to them, and they were very receptive. We actually went out for coffee together to discuss a strategy which would allow me to reach my goal (which was originally their goal). I truly felt like during my internship that my team were very accessible and willing to help me at all times.

As an intern, we were expected to arrange meetings with 2-5 managing directors of various departments in the bank.  Whilst this seemed daunting at first, it was actually a really useful activity, that allowed me and all 456(!) other interns to gain exposure to senior figures in the bank and understand the scope of the business. Barclays also held several networking events which gave us the opportunity to speak to people from the bank in an informal setting and ask any questions we might have about their role.

If I had to say, the highlight of my internship would be an event I was invited to attend in Manchester. The event was organised by my line manager and involved both my team and their clients. As a team, we put on a networking event for our clients – and had a guest talk from the CEO of the business bank. This was a really exciting opportunity for me, and really interesting to be involved in the front line, client facing roles of banking – which we often don’t hear about!

There were 456 interns in total with Barclays – so it was a really sociable internship. I have made some great friends that I still keep in touch with now – some of these weren’t even interns but instead part of the graduate cohort from previous years! Doing an internship has been a really rewarding experience and helped me gain a clearer picture of what I want to do in the future. If you can, it is definitely something worth doing – make sure you use the Management School’s Employability Hub to keep up-to-date with vacancies and get tips for the application process!

My experience of changing course

By Eloise Howard, BA Business Management with Employment Experience

I want to start by saying that I have absolutely loved the past three years of my university experience and would not change any of it! However, it’s important to talk about what happens when not everything is perfect right from the beginning of your time at university. You have made a lot of big decisions in order to get here – what course to study, what university to study at, where you want to live – and sometimes you may want to make a change.

It’s essential that you feel happy with your course at university so that you can really put your all into it and enjoy your time as much as possible. This was something I found challenging when I first started, as I was studying a dual degree in French and Business Management. After my first month or so, I soon realised that French was not for me! It hadn’t been quite what I expected following on from A Level French, but I was really enjoying the Business Management side of things as well as living in such a fun, vibrant city.

I decided to speak to my personal tutor, which was so helpful as I was able to have an honest chat with someone that really wanted to support me and enable me to thrive at uni. I then made the decision to drop French in second year and carry on my course as a single honours Business Management degree. The actual process was simple and easy to do, and my personal tutors in French as well as at the Management School were there to guide me through it.

By changing my course, I feel that I am now fully engaged and excited by all aspects of my university life! I definitely feel a lot happier doing solely Business Management and I’m grateful I had the amazing opportunity to do a placement year at GSK last year!

My best advice would be to not be scared to admit that sometimes things aren’t going as well as you planned – there is so much help available to you during your time at university and lots of people who genuinely want you to do as well as possible.

So, if you feel like you want to make changes, which could be as small as changing a module to changing course, don’t be afraid to speak up and get support to see what options you have.

 

For more information, visit: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid

My favourite Business Management module – ‘Business Challenges’

By Katie Bryant, BA Business Management

Out of all the modules that I’ve studied in my two years at Sheffield, one has stood out as being my favourite – Business Challenges. This is an optional module in first year, and is available to all undergraduate Management School students, whether you’re on Business Management, International Business Management or Accounting and Financial Management. Here’s why I think you should choose it!

What was this module?

This is a very different module as it has only one lecture and one seminar with a presentation. The rest of the seminars are mainly for students to meet, collaborate with their team members and successfully carry out a 10 weeks project work. Tutors will be present in all the seminars to help you with your queries but there will be no formal teaching. This is a very practical module where you learn by doing and there is very limited teaching involved.

Our Business Challenge

The Business Management Experience simulation is based on a realistic but fictional business, where you and your team members act as a board of directors. The simulation allowed my team and I to run a business over a period of time and to make decisions that made an impact on how much profit the business makes.

Our aim was to make as much profit as possible. We were also responsible for maintaining customer satisfaction and deciding on out investment strategy, especially in R&D (research and development), throughout the time we ran the business.

How the module was assessed

The assessment for this module consisted of a ten-week team project which was a PowerPoint with a voice over, critically analysing our groups performance throughout the project. We had to complete one reflective essay as a group and two individual reflective essays. It was great to have such a varied method of assessment throughout the module.

Why this was my favourite module?

  • I loved working in a group. Group work is great as you all bounce ideas off of each other in order to create the best possible outcomes. It is great to bond with people and work well as part of a team and ultimately produce a really good piece of coursework.
  • I found it brilliant that we could be creative within our module. Every week as a team we could decide how much money to invest into which part of the business and what to set the selling price of the products at. It was really interesting to be part of such a realistic simulation.
  • It was amazing to have freedom within the module. We could decide how we presented our final group project. The fact that we didn’t have lectures meant everything was down to us. We had to decide when we were meeting and get the work done without the reminder or help of lectures. It was great to essentially self-lead a module.
  • This was such a unique module, which gave me opportunities to learn that other modules didn’t. Business challenges allowed me to develop many of my skills including teamwork, communication, thinking on the spot and analytical skills.

I really recommend that you choose this module as it is the best module I have completed so far at university!

My placement experience – Lloyds Banking Group

Hi, I’m Rosie and I am a final year BA Business Management with Employment Experience student. This blog post is about my placement year which I have just returned back from, the skills I developed and how I would recommend a placement year to everyone and anyone… so here’s why!

The application processes can be brutal, as you’re spending considerable time on applications and often hear nothing back. I’m happy to say it’s all worth it when you finally secure a placement and know that it’s not all been for nothing. The sense of achievement is a great feeling when you’ve successfully got your first job and got your foot in the door. My placement was at Lloyds Banking Group. This is where your journey – and potentially your entire career – starts.

My placement began a few weeks after my final second year exam. My team were welcoming, supportive and most importantly I had a ‘proper’ role within the team, not just making the cups of tea and filing away documents. Without getting into too much detail of what I did in my day to day role due to confidentiality, I worked in the PMO (Project Management Office) for the Risk Division. We ensured all running projects were in line with their scope; finance, resources, planning, time and internal and external governance. So what did I learn from this role? The ability to question the status quo. The team had to complete numerous, tedious tasks, I booked myself on excel courses and took it upon myself to automate these tasks which are now heavily embedded into the team. Definitely got myself some brownie points there.

Come Christmas time, the company was undergoing a huge restructure. It was good to experience this as it occurs quite often in larger organisations. I could see that morale of certain individuals dipped and others seemed happy to have the chance to do something new. Time for a team away day and a team building football game!

On the back of the restructure, my role did change and I became a Risk Strategic Analyst. This meant that instead of checking projects whilst they were in the process of being delivered, I now decided which projects were to go ahead. With a set budget, which projects would benefit the group the best? To do this, my communication skills had to be excellent. I was now dealing with the board, the head of risk as well as many other senior members of staff. I had to learn how each individual preferred to be contacted, when was appropriate and be clear with why I was contacting them. Daunting to say the least.

So my year at Lloyds Banking Group was coming to a close. I enjoyed it so much I decided to go for the graduate programme that Lloyds Banking Group and the Risk Division had to offer. I’m happy to say I was successful! I will be returning in September 2019. I would recommend a placement year just purely for the experience. I gained so much confidence, belief in myself and now as a Futures First ambassador for the Management School I will happily lead lectures for 200+ first year students. You definitely wouldn’t have seen me doing that a year ago!

Life post-exams and pre-rush hour

By Nathan Allaby, BA Business Management

As a final year student, so much focus is on exams during the spring and early summer months, and rightly so; the end result sums up whether or not you have used the last three or four years of your life well. However, post-exams, myself and many of my friends finishing university felt an odd sense of emptiness and lack of purpose. What do you do with your time when you haven’t got an Excel spreadsheet planning out ‘revision blocks’ and ‘lunch breaks’? For many, the summer holiday can be enjoyable for the first week or two where you go back to your family home and receive free food and laundry services. After this, the novelty soon wears off and your old friend boredom kicks in with vigour. In this blog I will give you a brief outline of what I’m getting up to during my 2018 summer break so far and to hopefully provide you with some ideas of what you could get up to in the future!

ESADE Business Summer School (June 16th – June 30th)

Sheffield University Management School offers scholarships to attend a 2-week long summer school programme at a number of universities such as University of Twente in the Netherlands and University of Mannheim in Germany. The scholarship funds the cost of course fees plus accomodation so all you need to pay for is your flight and everyday expenses. The application process is very simple – just a 250 word form explaining why you want to go! I went to ESADE Business School in Barcelona and had the most amazing time meeting people from the US, Kuwait, Belgium, Colombia, India, Italy and Germany, whilst taking classes in social entrepreneurship and e-commerce. Would highly recommend this to anyone!

Leiths School of Food and Wine (July 1st – July 5th)

During my final year at university I became particularly interested incooking and hosted a couple of dinner parties for friends in my student house. I knew that this summer would be the last opportunity to have a significant block of time free, so decided to take a 5-day cooking course in London. Obviously cooking isn’t for everyone but potentially you could spend some time improving a specific skill that you want to learn such as a musical instrument or language.

Amalfi Coast (July 6th – July 15th)

This was a week of complete relaxation just sitting by the pool and strolling around the Amalfi Coast with my family taking regular breaks for lemon granitas. I also loved having the opportunity to practice a couple of recipes I had learnt the week before. Make sure that you spend a good amount of time just resting after exams as I guarantee you will need it!

Berlin (5th August – 9th August)

I went to Berlin for 4 days with a friend and stayed in the eastern district of Friedrichshain. We went to a number of museums and art galleries but the stand-outs for me were the DDR Museum (exploring life in the Soviet Union occupied East Berlin during the Cold War) and the Stasi Museum (looking at the methods of the Stasi to monitor its civilians and suppress opposition). We also went on an amazing walking tour of street art [posh word for graffiti] with a local photographer.

George Street Social Cafe (23rd July – mid September)

I was having brunch with a friend in this cafe and quite liked the atmosphere and staff so I asked if I could work there. Three days later I had my first shift and have really enjoyed learning how to make ‘proper’ coffees and cocktails, although less-so cleaning tables. This job was also vital as I realised that I was severely broke. Just so you know, money is very important if you want to do cool things…who knew?!

When thinking about your own future summer break between the end of university and starting a job, I would advise you to try and plan a mix of things that: allow to you relax and have some fun, develop a certain skill or interest that you have and gives you the opportunity to meet new people that you wouldn’t normally interact with.

Throw yourself in the deep end and have fun!

A guide to internship applications

By James Dylag, BA Business Management

Applying to internships is a really daunting thing to be doing. Whilst most companies make the process as painless as possible, it is still really nerve wracking, so this blog post is here to help guide you through any applications you might be thinking of submitting.

One of the first things to do is to make sure you have an up-to-date CV. Pretty much all applications will ask for a CV, or will at least ask you questions where answers can be found on your CV (e.g. work history, education history). The University offers lots of help in CV writing, whether this be through the Futures First module that all Management School students take, or 301 Study Skills services.

Now that your CV is up-to-date, you must ensure that it is original and will help you to stand out. The best way to do this is through having experience on your CV such as volunteering, part-time work and extracurricular activities. Another important thing is to make sure your CV is formatted in an effective way. Try and avoid using templates, as while it seems like the easiest option, it will result in a CV similar to lots of other peoples.

Applications do take a while to fill in and submit, however you should try and apply to as many internships as you can. If you know what sort of career path you want to take, then apply to as many companies within this sector as possible. Internships are competitive, and this will help to maximise your chances of getting one.

Due to the large number of applications received per internship, it is absolutely essential that you follow the instructions given. This may sound mandatory, but if you miss a little bit of information on the application process it could mean that the company discard your application completely. Just be sure to double check the instructions and ensure you’ve followed them.

Probably the most dreaded part of the process… the tests. I’m not saying allapplications require you to complete any tests, but from my own experience lots of them do. Most of the time, these tests are what you’d expect, so you shouldn’t panic too much. You’ll usually be given a practise question or two, so you can get a feel for what you might get asked – there are also lots of websites who offer their own practise tests. Whilst these might not be exactly the same as the companies own tests, they’re a good way to get some experience answering this style of question.

The final thing to remember is that rejections are likely to happen, but you can’t let this get you down. Just because you’ve been turned down by one place, doesn’t mean you will be turned down by everyone. Keep applying, and eventually you’ll get exactly the internship that you’re after.

Good luck!

My Sheffield graduation

By Rebecca Hubbard, BA Business Management with Employment Experience

After four years at University it was finally my turn to get up on stage, receive my degree and say my last goodbye to Sheffield. My whole day was a whirlwind of emotions, and I woke up with a strong feeling of anticipation. You see your lovely friends who you’ve perhaps not seen since you stepped out that final exam hall. You try to navigate your parents so they don’t encounter said friends, as both your mum and dad are both beaming and embarrassingly proud. Everyone is buzzing with nerves and excitement. The chancellor shakes your hand and it’s all done – you’re now graduated from university!

I left Sheffield with a sense of sadness but also joy as it made me who I am now. Yes, through academic and professional development, which gave me a great desire to learn more, but also through great times with great people at the amazing independent cafes, the beautiful surrounding Peak District and, of course, the infamous West Street bars.

In terms of university, my four years at the Management School was full of opportunities to get involved in. I attended many employer talks in the quest to find out what it was that I wanted to do and then was supported through my year in industry at Marks & Spencer. In my third year I worked for the Management School as an Employability Assistant as well as becoming a Student Ambassador representing the University. As long as I was willing to give a little time and effort there were always opportunities for me to better myself and future career prospects.

And in terms of Sheffield; I couldn’t have chosen a better city to be a student in. I’m going to miss Arctic Monkeys playing at the end of every night out, the cheap beer and maybe even the gigantic hills. But not to worry, I’ll be coming back to pretend I’m a student again soon enough!

My favourite society – ManSoc

Hi! I’m Katie, and I’m a first year student on BA Business Management. Today I’d like to tell you all about my favourite society that I’ve joined since I started university, which is ManSoc.

What is ManSoc?

ManSoc stands for Management Society. The main purpose of the Management Society is to ensure you have the ultimate experience at the Management School. The society is run by students for the benefit of students, and is open to all Management School students regardless of year of study.

Socials

A big part of ManSoc are the socials. Being a member of ManSoc means you get discount cards for many local bars and places to eat, which is a very handy thing to have when you’re on a student budget. We hold many bar crawls along West Street, which is the best street for a student night in Sheffield. Even if you don’t drink, these socials are such a great way to meet people and socialise!

Another highlight is the end of year ball, which is always amazing. This is a great chance to celebrate the end of the year with all your new friends you’ve made. This year’s ball was ‘Casino Royale’ themed, which gave us all a chance to dress up and have some fun.

Trips

ManSoc is famous for its trips away, and in the past we have been to places like Berlin, Prague and Budapest. The trips are always very popular and are heavily subsidised, meaning it’s good for a student budget! This year the trip to Budapest was £259 for flights and accommodation and the payments are timed with when your student loan comes so it shouldn’t hurt your bank account too much.

They also organise trips within the UK, which are always loads of fun – last year ManSoc joined Invasion and visited Nottingham for a night, which has gone down in history as the social of the year!

Sports

As well as social events and trips away, ManSoc has its own football, hockey and netball teams. I’m part of the ManSoc netball team, and through this I’ve made a lot of good friends. These teams are all mixed with students from all years of study.

The teams all play within the intermural league, which is the league within the University where all the teams play different departments. It’s a really good opportunity to make more friends with Management School students and play competitively or just do some exercise. You can also put it on your CV, which is a bonus! Each sport has several teams of different abilities, so whether you play to a high ability or have never played before you are welcome to join.

So why join?

ManSoc helped me to get involved with university life by making lots of friends on my course and getting involved with sports teams. It also gives you the chance to make friends with people on the same course as you, but in a different year – which is especially good in first year, as they can give you great advice!

Finally, it’s a great extracurricular thing to get involved with alongside your studies. Obviously the biggest part of coming to University is your course, but a lot of University life is also about the clubs and societies you get involved in.

If this society isn’t for you there are hundreds of others you can join, so you’ll definitely find something that you enjoy! There are academic ones such as Women in Business, Economics Society and Investment Society. But then there are many others such as Belly Dance Society, Poetry Society, and Chess Society. My advice would be to get involved!