Ulster University Business School student prepares to be ‘hired’
Matthew McClenaghan, a second year BSc Accounting student at the Ulster University Business School has out-scored over 100 of his peers to win the inaugural BDO Interview Award.
Organised by the Business School and the University’s Careers / Employability Unit with support from BDO Northern Ireland, the Award process comprised a series of mock interviews undertaken by 16 senior staff from both organisations over a four day period.
Professor Gillian Armstrong, a Head of Department within the Business School, explains, “Our role at the Business School is to equip students with the professional skills and commercial awareness for their professional lives. Being able to perform appropriately and with confidence in an interview is one of the most important skills any student can develop as it is often the gateway to their future career. By working in partnership with BDO we have been able to offer an invaluable experience to our students which has not only challenged them but also highlighted many areas of strength (and talent!) on which to build for placement and graduate recruitment.”
The participating students are all undertaking a new and innovative module on Career Entrepreneurship as part of the BSc (Hons) Accounting and the BSc Finance and Investment Analysis programmes within the Business School. As the top performing student Matthew received a monetary award and can now look forward to a summer placement and mentoring in the BDO Northern Ireland offices in Belfast.
Suzanne Creed, Senior Manager at BDO and an alumni of Ulster University added, “By supporting this initiative it builds upon an already well-established partnership with the Ulster University Business School. At BDO Northern Ireland we are passionate about supporting and developing the skills of our future leaders and in doing so we endeavour to support and give back to our local Universities regularly. The BDO Interview award is one of many activities that are so important for developing students’ skills, experience and employability and we are delighted to support such a valuable initiative.”
