‘Ask Me Anything’ panel at the University of Bristol

The Future Leaders’ Network’s Student Engagement team hosted the second ‘Ask Me Anything’ panel at the University of Bristol with the Women in Finance society, which featured speakers from Citi, TLT, and Tumelo. These events aim to inspire and inform young women considering a financial career. Gathering feedback, we were pleased to find that 100% would recommend this event and WIBF to their peers.

Lizzy Merrall, Co-Head of the Student Engagement Strategy, kicked off the event with an introduction to WIBF and the Student Engagement Strategy. Lizzy detailed the dedicated support WIBF has for student members, including our strong corporate partner base (with top-tier firms like Goldman Sachs, Citi, and HSBC), volunteering opportunities to enhance CVs, and an online jobs board with over 40 employers.

Moderated by Aditi Singh, a second-year Accounting & Finance student at Bristol, the panel included Lucy Ellis-Keeler and Tamsin Matthews from Citi, Georgia Bew from TLT, and Rossie Mayhew from Tumelo.

As all our speakers hail from non-finance backgrounds, the panel began with speakers sharing their own personal experiences and non-traditional journeys into finance.

Throughout the session, our panellists provided their best advice when it comes to securing internships, high quality resources for wider reading in interviews (such as the Citi GPS reports), and sector trends that are catching wind like ESG.

The speakers debunked common misconceptions students have, addressing work-life balance in banking (spoiler #1: you can have it!) and the accuracy of Suits reflecting life as a lawyer (spoiler #2: it doesn’t).

Emphasising mentorship, the panel debated whether four mentors are the mentor “magic number” and offered tips on approaching mentors and maximising relationships by setting 1-2 goals over 6 months.

Closing the event, we had a live audience Q&A where we discussed long-term benefits of sustainable investing, digital asset growth, and whether a degree in Computer Science or literacy in programming languages gives your applications an “edge”.

For more tips on internships, job applications, and career development, please join us at our next event, “Empowering Women in Finance” panel on December 7th with Bath University’s Finance Society and Women in Business Society.

WIBF offers a Student Membership which gives access to our online events, events archive, online networking communities, and the opportunity to volunteer at WIBF. Find out more about the benefit of membership here.