by Callum Charman, MFA Recruitment Associate
Born and raised in Warsaw, Barbara Sokolowska completed a business degree at King’s College Business School before joining London Business School as part of the Masters in Financial Analysis (MFA) 2020 class. She has become increasingly interested in pursuing a career in consulting while at the same time further developing her financial expertise. As an Executive Committee member of the Women in Business Club, she is keen to make an impact by contributing to the student community. Currently at the mid-point of the MFA programme, she sat down to discuss her LBS experience so far, what she’s looking forward to, as well as offering some key advice to new and potential students.
When asked to describe her LBS experience to date, “Intense! Everyone would say that. What I really liked was that, at the beginning, we had classes that focused on developing our soft skills. This came in really handy when I was applying for jobs. We had networking sessions, presentation sessions, CV workshops; these were very beneficial for me.”
Leadership potential is important to succeed at LBS. As one of our Student Ambassadors, Barbara is able to voice the opinions of her cohorts as well as influence others. “I’ve been able to show potential students what skills they need to highlight in their application and how their skills fit into the programme.”
On the benefits of reaching out to our ambassadors, Barbara highlights, “You can go to the website, but you’ll always benefit more from someone who understands the LBS experience. I’ve scheduled coffee chats with students to show them how they can benefit from the school.” Our ambassadors are in a unique position to offer advice to potential students, something Barbara is keen to embrace: “You should apply when you feel ready and when your application reflects the best version of yourself, in order to benefit the most from the programme.”
The Recruitment and Admissions team are the first point of contact for all prospective students. Providing support both face-to-face and over phone the team are available to answer questions and support candidates from starting their application to completion. The application essays make up one component of the process and are a key indicator to the Admissions team of a candidate’s suitability for our EC programmes. “I felt like the application essays were a good chance for the school to get to know me. I made sure to link my experiences from student societies or from internships to particular classes that I was going to take. I started writing about my data analytics experience from my time at Bloomberg and how it would help me succeed at LBS”.
As an executive committee member of the Women in Business (WiB) Club, Barbara is keen to promote the message of one of the school’s largest societies: “This is a club for everyone that promotes equality and anyone is welcome to join”. The WiB club at LBS covers everything from recruitment, to running impactful workshops and alumni relations. “There are so many career focused and personal development events, companies coming on campus and of course the WiB conference on the 6th of March, which is a huge event with amazing speakers!”
On the opportunities available to LBS students. “Firms are coming on campus and looking for LBS students. It gives us a unique opportunity to get to know future employers and find which industry is right. Before each of my interviews, I went to the Careers Center and had a mock interview. The questions were really challenging, but they prepared me in a way I would never be able to do myself. I believe this is what made me successful in my offers.”
Now entering the second half of the MFA programme, having secured a full-time role on graduation, Barbara is looking forward to the future. “Now the application craziness is over, I’m looking forward to enjoying my studies this semester. It’s a challenging period, at the moment, with my electives starting, but I’m looking forward to focusing on what the MFA has to offer. This fantastic community allows you to have the MBA experience, whilst being an Early Careers student.”
Interested in applying for the MFA? Submit your CV for an informal discussion with our Recruitment team.