Career planning: an old skill in a new context
Eszter Szabó
Onpartu Cohort: 2016
Mentor: Katie Hobson
Education: Bachelors in Social Work and Masters in Sociology
Before Onpartu...
There are three aspects Eszter says that make a good job for her; the first two are the use of her creativity and the incorporation of social impact into her work. Undoubtedly, Eszter was ticking both boxes with the raising of her two children ever since she and her engineer husband relocated to the United Kingdom in 2010. It is the third aspect, however, that she must have really missed, and that is working with a team of people.
An experienced project coordinator and project manager is surely an asset to a company. That is exactly what Eszter brought with her career in Ashoka and other charities from her native Hungary. Having settled in the United Kingdom, in 2014, Eszter started to explore opportunities for her professional development and that's how she first came across a focus group for foreign-born professional women. Thanks to her and many other women's contribution the Onpartu programme gained its original structure and two years later, Eszter became one of its participants.
Since Onpartu...
During During her participation in the programme Eszter benefited hugely from building honest and supportive relationships with her fellow Onpartners and stated "it (the support) means a lot to me and to the others as well." Being able to explore different potential careers, from becoming a bid manager all the way to working as a social worker, was one of the key objectives for Eszter. She achieved that not only by carrying out an in-depth research but also by engaging in different activities like contributing to Home Start, a leading family support charity.
What she didn't expect was that networking skills would turn out to be her biggest unexpected outcome of her participation in the programme. Previously not a 100% positive concept for Eszter, it became a great opportunity; "I am absolutely delighted that I have a list of wonderful and really interesting people I can reach out to and meet." The Onpartu trainers successfully showed that one does not necessarily have to be pushy to be able to network, as she previously thought, and that it can involve an honest and open conversation; networking, in the end, is what you make of it.
Preperations
Whilst her younger daughter is preparing to start going to school, Eszter is also gearing up for going back to studying. She has decided to pursue her childhood dream of learning and becoming a family therapist.
Optimism
Eszter is enthusiastic about her future in the United Kingdom and next professional chapter, which is based on her interests and fits well with her achievements to date.
