Master of Public Administration

Careers Programme 2014-15

www.lse.ac.uk/careers

Getting started 3

MPA destinations 4

MPA careers discussions 5

MPA careers seminars 6

Careers fairs and seminars 7

Career management 8

Further support 9

Welcome from LSE Careers

I would like to take this opportunity extend a warm welcome from LSE

Careers. We have many years’ experience working with students from

the Master in Public Administration. Studying the LSE MPA is an excellent

career decision with many global employers attracted both to the

intellectual rigour and the practical applications of the course. On the next few

pages you’ll find a brief guide to LSE Careers and to the dedicated MPA career

provision. This guide will help you manage your careers activities at LSE and show

you how to book an appointment with a careers consultant, where to find jobs and

where to find useful careers information.

Make the most of your time at LSE. It’s a unique environment with one of the most

internationally diverse student bodies in the world. Many students stay in touch with

each other after they leave, helping each other professionally as well as socially!

Wishing you all a great two years at LSE!

Danny Wilkey, Careers Consultant, LSE Careers

Welcome from the Institute of Public Affairs

The MPA Programme is fortunate to benefit from strong links with LSE

Careers, and with Danny Wilkey in particular. Danny has worked with

the MPA Programme for a number of years, and in addition to offering

individual appointments for students, he has developed a series of

careers seminars for the MPA with continual consideration of the needs and

interests of its students.

I encourage you to make full use of the many services and sources of information

offered by LSE Careers during 2014/15. It is inspiring to see the many different

paths that MPA students take after completing their programme and I look forward

to seeing the future destinations of our current group of students.

Professor Gerard Padró i Miquel, MPA Programme Director

Introduction

Getting started LSE Careers runs an extensive programme of career events and one-to-one

appointments as well as advertising hundreds of jobs and volunteering opportunities

on CareerHub, our online career management system. It can be a bit overwhelming

to know where to start, but if you begin with the basics, the rest is relatively easy!

The basics

CareerHub: This is where you’ll find jobs and volunteering opportunities,

careers events (including seminars, fairs, employer presentations) and booking

for appointments with careers consultants.

First time on CareerHub? Log in with your LSE username and password and then

go to the preferences section to let us know what you are interested in. This

will ensure you receive the most relevant information about jobs and events.

LSE Careers website: This is where you’ll find lots of useful advice about CVs,

application forms and interviews as well as sector-specific advice and

information. If you are looking to return home to your home country after LSE,

there is lots of international information too.

LSE Careers Resource Area: We are on Floor 5 of the Saw Swee Hock Student

Centre. Come and visit us to ask questions and collect resources and

information. We are open Monday to Friday, 10am-5pm.

Useful resources

CareerHub

careers.lse.ac.uk

LSE Careers website

lse.ac.uk/careers

Looking for internships or jobs?

There are numerous job vacancies

and internships listed on

CareerHub. You’ll also find

specialist websites such as Devex,

Devnet, Eldis, Charity Job, Bond

and ReliefWeb very useful.

Want to volunteer?

The LSE Careers Volunteer Centre

can offer advice and information.

lse.ac.uk/volunteercentre

MPA career destinations The MPA programme’s combination of academic rigour and professional application

makes it an attractive prospect to employers. MPA students develop strong research

skills throughout their studies and the Capstone experience and its focus on

consultancy skills has proved particularly popular with graduate recruiters.

The three main areas of occupational interest for MPA students are:

Private sector consultancy: MPA students find the Capstone consultancy

experience is particularly attractive to consultancy employers, and alumni are

found in many of the leading consultancies. LSE MPAS are often drawn to the

public sector practice of consultancies where they are able deploy both their

specialist public policy knowledge and the latest research skills.

NGOS and international organisations: International Organisations Day is

always popular with MPA students. Organisations such the United Nations and

the World Bank are drawn to the high level quantitative skills of MPA students.

Public sector: There is often a strong connection between what students learn

and the modern requirements of public sector organisations (whether this is

specialist knowledge of public policy or particular relevant methodologies such

as value for money reviews)

First year internships

Many MPA students intern in their

first year. Destinations include:

World Health Organisation

OECD

Asian Development Bank

EBRD

Financial Conduct Authority

Oxera

LibDem MPs*

Cato Institute

Monitor Deloitte

Final year destinations

include:

Boston Consulting

World Bank

KPMG

French Ministry of Defence

African Development Bank

Mckinsey

Acumen fund

OECD

Turkish Treasury

* LSE Parliamentary Internship

MPA career discussions MPA students are welcome to book a 15 minute career discussion with any of the

careers consultants at LSE Careers. In addition, there are a number of 20 minute

appointments specifically for MPA students, with career consultant Danny Wilkey.

MPA careers appointment details

Booking: Both general careers consultations and MPA-specific appointments

are booked via CareerHub. General appointments can be booked on the day

from 9.30 am; MPA appointments can be booked up to one week in advance.

Timing and location: General appointments take place on Floor 5 of the Saw

Swee Hock Student Centre, Monday to Friday, 10am-5pm. MPA-specific careers

appointments take place in Sardinia House on Wednesdays, 11am-12pm, and

Fridays, 2:3-3:30pm.

Focus: MPA students are welcome to discuss any career-related issue in the

consultations, including CVs, applications, interviews, career choice, strategy

and career management. To benefit fully from the appointment, it is advisable

to bring supporting documentation such as your CV and job descriptions.

Further support: In addition to careers discussion appointments, it is also

possible to book a practice interview if you have a job interview coming up.

Need specialist career

information?

There is an extensive international

development section on the LSE

Careers website.

MPA careers seminars There are six MPA Careers seminars in Michaelmas and Lent terms. These sessions

are a great way to learn how to find jobs and market yourself to graduate recruiters.

MPA Career seminars are held on Thursdays and last 60 minutes, except for the two

interview seminars which last 90 minutes to allow for greater interaction and

practice. Students can view the dates and book a place on CareerHub.

This year’s programme includes:

MPA CVs and employment sector advice

How to write effective cover letters

Finding a job or internship

Networking at LSE and beyond

Interviews (1): motivation

Interviews (2): competency

Sessions are very interactive and previous MPA students have valued the opportunity

to learn from each other.

Making the most of MPA seminars

Bring along any supporting

documentation, such as CVs

and cover letters.

Be prepared to share ideas

and insights in job search

sessions.

Consider areas you need to

work on for the interview

sessions.

How to book for careers seminars

Log in to LSE CareerHub to book a

place. Booking opens one week

before the event at 9:30am.

LSE Careers fairs and events LSE Careers runs a number of fairs, employer presentations and other events

throughout the academic year so it is important to be selective about the events you

attend. MPA students find International Organisations Day and the annual

Consultancy Fair a great way to meet recruiters. All LSE Careers events are listed

and can be booked on CareerHub.

Self-marketing

Self-marketing is crucial aspect of managing your career. The MPA seminars on CVs

and interviews (as mentioned on page 6) are particularly relevant in this regard.

In addition, LSE Career runs other seminars such as :

Writing an effective LinkedIn profile

Performing well in telephone interviews

How to master presentations

Mock assessment centres

Full event details are listed on CareerHub.

International Development

Events Programme (IDEP)

The IDEP runs between January

and March each year and is a

series of career events aimed at

students interested in

international development. Last

year’s programme included

speakers from Save the Chil dren,

the International Organisation for

Migration and GiZ. This year’s

programme will be listed on

CareerHub nearer the time.

Careers fairs

Consultancy Fair

8 & 9 October, 5:30-9:pm

Public Sector and Policy Careers

Conference

28 October, 5:30-9pm

International Organisations Day

8 November, 8:30am-6pm

Career management The LSE MPA is demanding, but offers a variety of opportunities to engage in careers

activity. Here are some things you can do:

Year 1

Create a CV appropriate for the sector, organisation and/or role of your choice

Consolidate and diversify existing experience

Conduct an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses

Attend networking events and start informational career interviews

Practice your skills at LSE Careers assessment centre and case study seminars

Year 2

Reflect on your first year’s career activities

Consider your social media presence and update your LinkedIn profile

Brainstorm potential clients for your skills

Include Capstone work on your CVs and applications

Refine your career strategy and start targeting employers

Not sure what to do?

LSE Careers has an online tool called Career Builder, which can help you decide what’s important to you and make effective career decisions.

Resources The LSE Careers Resource Area is based on Floor 5 of the Saw Swee Hock Student

Centre. Come and visit us to ask questions and collect resources and information. We

are open Monday to Friday, 10am-5pm.

Even if after you graduate, LSE Careers can still help. We work with alumni for two

years after graduation.

Feedback

We always welcome feedback on the MPA career provision and LSE Careers in

general. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please contact careers@lse.ac.uk.

Useful links

Teaching and Learning Centre

Experts in the LSE Teaching and

Learning Centre are available to

offer free advice and guidance on

many aspects of your study.

Language Centre

The Language Centre offers

modern foreign language and

English language programmes.

Contacting alumni

If you would like to contact an LSE graduate, you can use the email

an alum service.