Welcome to the City event – 27 October 2021

October 29, 2021

On 27 October 2021, the LSE Alumni Association Belgium welcomed recent graduates to our community and offered the opportunity to hear from five LSE alumni about their careers in Brussels at the virtual ‘Welcome to the City’ event.

The LSE AAB President Maria Sotiriou chaired the discussion in which esteemed alumni with different backgrounds and career paths gave the audience honest advice and tips in a panel discussion with a following Q&A session. The panelists were Ornella Cosomati-Koschwitz, EU Public Policy, Government Affairs & Communications Manager at PepsiCo, Ava Lloyd, Senior Manager in Global Government Affairs & Political Strategy at AstraZeneca and Patrick Bjørn Daniel Hall, Associate at Finsbury Glover Hering, as well as with Salvatore Berger and Nikolaos Theodosiadis, two Junior Professionals at the European Commission.

Here are some of the tips from our panelists for a career in the 'EU bubble':

• “You will not be an expert in everything Brussels has to offer when you start here. So consultancies can be a great way to explore various tasks and policy fields.”
• “Try out different things, see what you like and where your strengths are, before you specialise. And if it is not the EU institutions like you thought it would be, that is an experience you will share with many others.”
• “Always be open-minded to opportunities. A lot of people come to Brussels with a concrete plan, but for quite a few, taking a chance on an unexpected opportunity was key to their success.”
• “Every position can have value and be useful for your career in unforeseen ways, e.g., a certain industry can be more versatile than you thought.”
• “Stand out when applying for a job by pointing out what makes you special, be it specific experience, a well-founded interest or things you have in common, such as being from the same country or region as an MEP.”
• “Do not be discouraged by the many 'Nos' you will receive. You are highly qualified, but so is the competition in Brussels – so resilience is key.”
• “How to network during Covid-19 times? Through the LSE Alumni network, use your national network, sporting clubs, political interest groups, etc. – prioritise quality over quantity, your network should consist of friends.”

Several of the speakers pointed out to the audience that they would be happy to be contacted via LinkedIn for any further questions. In general, they recommended to be proactive and make use of your LSE network – we are a friendly and helpful bunch after all!