Strathclyde Business School undergraduate Louise Aitken is one of just ten shortlisted students who will be attending the Undergraduate of the Year Awards next month.Strathclyde Business School undergraduate Louise Aitken is one of just ten shortlisted students who will be attending the Undergraduate of the Year Awards next month.
The overall winner in the 'Future Business Leader' category will be offered a paid internship, potential graduate job and a trip to the US. A mix of personal skills, career motivation and an excellent academic record are all essential, as is demonstrating leadership ability and positions of responsibility.
The Target Undergraduate of the Year awards has 12 different categories but Louise - who is in her fourth year of an International Business degree and spent last year on exchange in Hong Kong thanks to the Neil Hood Scholarship - chose the Future Business Leader category: "As a business student, this made the most sense and it comes with the best prize – a position within Mars and a trip to Chicago to visit their Wrigley Headquarters," she said.
Louise initially entered online which she says was 'just like a job application form' and also took part in a lot of online tests, competing against at least 300 other students. She was then invited to an assessment centre near Melton Mowbray which involved a case study and interview. Five people were chosen, together with a further five from another assessment centre in Slough, to make the final ten.
"The next morning I received an email inviting me to the final round. This involved going back to Melton Mowbray a week later for another assessment. This one involved a pre-prepared presentation, group exercise and interview. My thoughts on the day were that my presentation and group exercise went well but I felt that the interview was tough – it was a bit of a grilling!"
It's now a waiting game for Louise as the final takes place on April 25 at the awards ceremony at Canary Wharf in London when the finalists from all 12 categories will attend the gala event.
"The benefit of doing this sort of thing is it’s good assessment and interview practice, it's nice to get an insight into a company like Mars and it's great that I can put that I am an Undergraduate of the Year finalist on my CV.
"I had actually considered not accepting the invite to attend the first assessment centre because it was so far away and I had so much university work to do, including my dissertation. But now that I have got to this stage, I'm so glad I went. The only downside is that the awards ceremony is five days before my final exam!"