Alumni Stories - Farah AbdulHadi, Warwick Business School MBA ‘16

Take the initiative. Most people go to career fairs, networking events, and resume workshops, which are all channels for getting a job. But there are also other opportunities that can help you stand out.

When I started working on the case challenge, I didn’t expect to get a job out of it—I didn’t do it because GE was the sponsor. I got into it to milk my MBA experience—to take part in extra-curricular activities—and then it paid back. At a careers fair, I would have been one in a thousand applicants—it’s not only about the traditional route.

I would also say turn your challenges into opportunities. I came to the UK in a difficult year. Brexit was mainly about immigration and I was coming from the Arab world. But in the mindset of all of that, I found the opportunity; I found a sponsor for my visa, and I made my way.

My experience working in Palestine was quite good. I was fortunate enough to get a good pay, but I didn’t find my career challenging. I wanted to climb the ladder and explore consulting. I decided that an MBA would be the key to increasing my confidence and my ability.

I didn’t want a part-time MBA. I wanted the full experience, and part of that is getting international exposure. The UK was always the number one destination for me. I believe in the strength of education in the UK and I also loved the fact that most MBA programs in the UK are one-year programs.

Warwick’s MBA program emphasized leadership and soft skills. I felt that while it’s easy to read a book and learn from it, you need someone to help you with your soft skills if you want to develop them. Warwick did that.

The Commonwealth Office covered a third of my MBA, Warwick another third, and I covered the rest myself. That was also a huge incentive for me to take the MBA.

Very useful! My recommendation is always to go online and read to explore your options. When you read about someone’s personal experience, it’s much more relatable to you—it feels like you’re in their shoes.

When I was planning for my MBA, I read articles about student accommodation, rankings, every aspect of MBA life, before I made my decision of Warwick and the UK.