Business with Law BA(Hons): After you graduate

"I was somewhat proactive during my studies at Kingston, all the way from being an outreach officer for social enterprise Elevation Networks to being the Project Manager for Gifted (fashion and arts campaign) supported by Elevation Networks. I have worked in a range of industries from law through to public relations. My ambition is to become a brand management consultant in the near future. I think by surrounding myself with like-minded individuals and having mentors allowed me to push myself the extra mile and be inspired by those around me.

I think the support I gained while at Kingston was remarkable: although there are thousands of students attending the University, each student is valued as an individual and is treated as one. The members of staff are amazing and will always offer advice or guidance when needed. I think my lecturers pushed me to be able to work to my full capability, even though I was doing so much outside of university. It helped me stay on top of my studies as well as help myself progress in my work experience. I think the Business School also offers a wide range of opportunities for students to take part in to give them a boost for the world outside of university.

I would like to work within brand management and entertainment, so right now I'm focused on getting as much transferable experience as possible. I would also like to continue to get a law qualification as I've enjoyed studying it at Kingston.

I think the best thing for students to do is to focus on what you want to achieve, and how your short term goals will affect the long term ones. For each decision you make, you have to sacrifice something, so make the right ones. Also mentors are very beneficial; learning from someone who has been successful in achieving their goals ensures that you don't make some of the mistakes they did. Be proactive and start getting valuable experience that will help you when you finish university: opportunities are not missed; they are simply not taken."

"I chose to study at Kingston University because it was the only university that offered the 60/40 split between Business and Law. Kingston is also a lovely place and close to London so the location was ideal.

Kingston has really good teaching and studying facilities and throughout my degree I received excellent support, both academically and personally.

As part of my degree I did a placement year and this made the experience all the more interesting. I worked within the University's Faculty of Business and Law and got involved in all aspects of student support. This included setting up events for student, assisting with administration duties and assisting the careers team. This year helped me a lot by exposing me to a professional work environment and work life as well as providing a break in my studies, which enabled me to return with increased motivation and effort to finish my degree with good results. Coming back to University after a year out was challenging, but also very motivating and I found I had much more self-discipline.

My first job after finishing my course was with the events team at Kingston University. I worked as a development office assistant and worked alongside the alumni officer and the graduations team. I very much enjoyed getting to help make graduation day special for my fellow student friends.

I currently work for Hays Recruitment plc as a recruitment consultant. I recruit for architects and interior designers in the Surrey and south west London area. The job has been a great experience, but I have decided to take some time off to travel, as I did not get a chance to do this before I went to university. Once I have been travelling, I intend on going on to study further to do a masters.

I could not even begin to describe what I have learned during my time at Kingston, but I think one of the main things that I have learned is how dedication and hard work really pays off!"

"I'd always been intrigued by business and enjoyed learning about the subject. I decided to mix a business degree with law because I thought it was also an excellent topic to have knowledge of and it can be applied to any job. As soon as I saw the prospectus, I knew Kingston was where I wanted to study.

I found the course hard work but thoroughly enjoyable. I especially liked the final year when we had some freedom to choose modules. But the best bit was graduating – getting a First made it all worthwhile.

After graduation, I wanted to get onto a graduate training scheme as I had a wealth of knowledge, but no experience. I applied to numerous companies and chose BT because I thought it offered one of the best training packages. The benefit of my degree to BT was that it covered such a wide range of topics.

I work within the Global Services division, aligned to the global financial markets arena. My job involves liaising with different divisions in order to build a relationship with customers and improve the service they receive. I help multi-site organisations master the complexity of business communication. I also develop the account with the aim of growing the business.

Within the first nine months I was recognised with a reward for the work I had done with my customers, building strong relationships and dramatically improving their perception of BT and the service they receive.

I love being the person who resolves issues – changing customers from ‘dissatisfied' to ‘satisfied' is extremely rewarding. The fact that my job enables me to be face-to-face with clients and learn about different business areas is also useful at this stage in my career. Telecommunications is a huge industry and a lot more than just the telephone!

The law aspect of my degree has been useful for writing reports and understanding legal issues affecting both BT and its customers. The business modules I studied have been developed through BT training courses and I see different aspects being applied on a daily basis.

If you are interested in working in a business environment, then the Business with Law BA(Hons) provides you with a wealth of knowledge that can be applied to any business. When you start with a company, any senior manager will advise you to gain experience in multiple disciplines – the Business with Law degree will give you the ability to do this."