HR Partner at Amazon

What did you enjoy the most during your course?

I really enjoyed my course throughout my time at University but in particular Immigration Law, Tort Law and Public law. I also enjoyed the dissertation module which enabled me to conduct a thorough legal research project, understand key legal principles and develop key skills. In addition, I also enjoyed my role as a Thomson Reuters Legal Student Representative in my final year.

What were the most important skills you developed during your course and how did these help you in your career?

I developed a number of key skills that helped me gain excellent results at University and which I have also used subsequently in employment. These include attention to detail, communication, leadership, teamwork, researching, project management, customer service, Microsoft Office, stakeholder management, data analysis, problem solving, training and development. I constantly use these skills to help me complete day-to-day tasks successfully at work.

Did you participate in any extra-curricular activities during your studies at Bedfordshire?

In my final year, I worked as a Thomson Reuters Legal Student Representative, a role that involved training students on Westlaw UK. Training included how to conduct online research and find the most relevant legal material - such as cases, legislation, journals and articles - in an efficient way. The role also included raising brand awareness among students as well as holding and conducting Westlaw UK certification sessions every week so students could become certified users of Westlaw UK.

Why did you choose the University of Bedfordshire?

I choose Bedfordshire because it is very close to my home. The University's Law School has an excellent ranking, and has all the facilities and resources for succeeding in Law. For example, there is a state-of-the-art library that includes a wide range of books and access to all the major online legal databases - much needed for both research and my studies. The lecturers are very professional and supportive when it comes to teaching while the University's Careers department has been amazing: they taught me to create an excellent CV, and also provided great coaching and work experience opportunities while studying.

What is a typical day at work?

After graduating, I joined Amazon through the Graduate Scheme as an HR Partner. My typical day at work involves pulling data reports for most recent updated business metric; holding daily meetings with key stakeholders; hearing absence, disciplinary and investigation meetings as well as providing policy support to the concerned parties. I coach and train operations managers on policies around various business-related metrics that include health and safety, employee relations, GDPR, attendance, working time violations, and implementing recently updated policies in site (for example, the lifting of Covid-related restrictions). My role also involves responding and resolving all HR-related queries; briefing the leadership team on the week's overall performance; and joining site- and regional-level team calls - to name just a few areas I am involved in!

What would be your advice to students starting their course now?

My advice would be to focus more on reading as this helps significantly in understanding the legal concepts in depth. Also, try and get as much work experience as possible since this will help you develop the skills you will need for your job as well as many other situations.

What are your future career plans?

My future plans are to proceed with further studies, in particular the LPC course which is the route to a solicitor qualification.