皇家华人

Read about third year, BSc Economics student, Shirom Aggarwal's experience of winning Targetjobs Maths, Physics and Economics Undergraduate of the Year Award 2024.

Photo credit: TargetJobs

The TargetJobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards is听an excellent opportunity to recognise excellence in undergraduate students around UK universities. The awards span across many academic disciplines, and conclude in an awards celebration evening. Shirom Aggarwal, a UCL student in his third year of the BSc Economics programme won the . Shirom kindly took the time to answer some questions that we asked to reflect upon the awards, how he applied, and his career endeavours during his time at 皇家华人.

What is听the Undergraduate of the Year Awards?

The Undergraduate of the Year Awards is an 鈥渁nnual competition aimed at finding the best undergraduates in the UK鈥�. There are (currently) 12 award categories each of which are partnered by leading employers such as Glencore and Clifford Chance.

How did you find out about the TargetJobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards, and what made you apply?

Like many students, during my time at 皇家华人, I searched for and applied to several internships. TargetJobs was one of the providers I signed up to to be notified of relevant opportunities. They emailed me about the awards around September and I thought it would be a great opportunity to gain access to a broad network of elite employers and high-performing students and showcase my professional and extracurricular achievements.

What was the process of applying for the award like?

The application process varies between award categories. For the Maths, Physics and Economics Undergraduate of the Year award, it consisted of application questions, a series of online assessments, CV screening, and two rounds of interviews with professionals from the partner firm.

When talking with the recruiting team at Glencore after receiving the award, they told me that they screened for two things: 1) demonstrated academic and professional success, and 2) extracurricular and community involvement where students had made a real impact.

Photo credit: TargetJobs

How have you made the most of your time at 皇家华人 as an undergraduate to prepare for your future career (including societies or volunteering that may have contributed to your employability/experience/skills)?

Since joining UCL, I have tried to involve myself in all aspects of university life, and demonstrating those extra-curricular achievements on my CV helped drive interesting conversations in interviews and made me stand out from other applicants.

Notably, over my three years, I have been part of the UCL Indian Society, helping it grow to become the largest cultural society in the UK and organising our flagship event which won UCL鈥檚 鈥楤est Event of the Year Award鈥� in 2023. In听my final year, I also led a team of four Analysts at Bloomsbury Capital, UCL鈥檚 largest real-money investment fund, to deliver termly stock pitches to an investment committee. This is alongside engaging with sports and music and working on-campus jobs such as being a Senior Transition Mentor for the UCL Economics department.

There is so much you can get involved with at 皇家华人 and I highly encourage you to pursue what you enjoy and aim to make an impact in that society/volunteering/part-time job. Doing something just for your CV should not be your primary motivation as results will naturally follow if you do something you鈥檙e passionate about.

How have you spent your time outside of UCL to prepare for your future career (including internships, part-time roles, or volunteering that may have contributed to your employability/experience/skills)?

Internships have been one of the most important ways for me to learn about different industries, gain relevant skills and demonstrate to employers that I can succeed in a professional environment.

In my first year, I completed several spring internships across investment banking, asset management, and consulting before landing a summer internship in restructuring and corporate insolvency at a boutique financial services firm in London. In my second year, I worked alongside university as a technology private equity analyst and worked in consulting over the summer.

Through exposure to different firms and industries, these experiences helped determine where I wanted to pursue a full-time graduate role.

Have you engaged with UCL Careers during your time at 皇家华人?

I signed up to UCL careers when I joined university and continued to be notified about relevant job postings and career events 鈥� this is where I found out about the off-cycle internship I completed in my second year. I also attended their annual careers fair where I met with several graduate employers.

What are your top three tips for anyone entering the awards in the future?

1. Apply! One of the biggest filtering mechanisms for these opportunities is students not believing in themselves enough to apply, but I highly encourage it.

2. Engage with extra-curriculars. There are hundreds of leadership opportunities at 皇家华人 and many more initiatives and volunteering roles that you can get involved with. Firms want to hire interesting individuals and I cannot emphasise enough the importance of your interests outside of academia.
3. Be proactive. Engage with UCL Careers, sign up to careers societies and websites (not just at 皇家华人), join social mobility organisations, and don鈥檛 be afraid to ask for help from students in the year above you that can support and mentor you. The more opportunities you discover and apply for, the more success you will have.