I spoke to different lecturers from the History department and realised it was a relatively small department that focuses on the personal connection between the lecturers and students. I thought that was exactly what I needed and therefore I decided that I wanted to study at the University of Hull after my visit on Open Day.

Kin Long Jason Lok, BA (Hons) History, 2022, Collections Intern at Hull Culture and Leisure Limited

Earlier this year a group of alumni who came to the University of Hull as international students and are currently enjoying careers in the UK returned to campus to share their advice, insights and experiences with current students. Topics covered included making the most of your time at a UK university, how to sell your skills and experiences to prospective employers, and how to negotiate the visa system once you find a job. An inspired and inspiring group of alumni they offered valuable advice on finding employment, transferring skills from the university course to a career and being persistent when applying for jobs.

We found these alumni so inspiring that we caught up with some of them afterwards to find out a little bit more about them and to distill their advice for an alumni audience.

In this interview, we meet Kin Long Jason Lok.

You can connect with him on LinkedIn here >>

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Where do you come from originally and how did you decide to study at the University of Hull?

I am originally from Hong Kong, I was born and raised there until I was 16 years old. When I was 16, I realised that I needed some sort of new challenge in my life as I was living too comfortably at home. So I decided to study abroad in England. Before coming to the University of Hull I had done my GCSEs and A-Levels in England already, so I had a decent understanding of the culture and the language. I decided to study at the University of Hull when I came over for the Uni Open Day, I spoke to different lecturers from the History department and realised it was a relatively small department that focuses on the personal connection between the lecturers and students. I thought that was exactly what I needed and therefore I decided that I wanted to study at the University of Hull after my visit on Open Day.

How did you enjoy being a University of Hull student?

Being a University of Hull student was a great experience for me. I have met a lot of good friends here, they have kept me motivated to study throughout my time here in the Uni of Hull, and we had a lot of fun together as well! I also have had a lot of support from my tutors, who always told me that I could be better and helped me to improve positively, both as an academic and as a person.

Could you tell us a little bit about your current job and what a day in your job looks like?

I am currently working as a Collections Intern for Hull Culture and Leisure Ltd. My job involves work in two departments, the Collections and Education departments in the Hull Museum Service. A normal day in my job while working in the Collections department would involve a lot of object cleaning, I have to clean the displayed objects in the Streetlife Museum on a regular basis. I find that very enjoyable as it is a chance for me to get to know the objects more, such as what parts require extra care as they are more fragile. In the afternoon I would document the objects in the archive room onto the museum database, so that the public could gain access to these objects digitally.

How did your time at the University of Hull help prepare you for your subsequent career?

I got a little bit worried when lockdown happened in my first and second year of Uni, because that would mean that I had a significant less work/volunteering opportunities to support my chance of employment after I graduated. However the History Department of the University of Hull were very helpful to me despite all the difficulties. I was offered several volunteering opportunities during my Uni years, such as volunteering for the Hull Maritime Museum and writing a series of blogs for the History Department during Chinese New Year 2021. These volunteering opportunities, especially the one for the Hull Maritime Museum, had helped me tremendously in gaining experience for my current career in the museum sector.

What is the most important advice you can take from your own career experience that you would offer someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

I think the most important advice I could offer is make sure you are prepared, but acknowledge what is out of your control. When it comes to applying for jobs after graduation, it is very important to be prepared. That would include long term preparations like work/volunteering experiences, and short term preparations like preparing for the interview. It is very easy to think that you are not good enough whilst doing these preparations and fall into a rabbit hole of overthinking everything, like what if the interviewer doesn’t like me? Or what if they ask me questions that I didn’t know existed before? I think it is very important to identify what is out of a person’s control, such as the mood of the interviewer. When you realise you are at the point of overthinking and stressing out, it is important to take a step back and compose yourself again. Therefore, my best advice would be to prepare properly, but do not overthink too much or let the pressure get to you.

What advice would you offer to international students currently studying at the University of hull and thinking about their future career?

My best advice to international students is to prepare in advance. It is like the typical question; ‘When should I start thinking about my career?’ and the answer always is ‘yesterday’. It is important to notice that as an international student who wants to spark a career in England, you require extra preparation compared to a local student. That is because there are visa applications, housing for after graduation, the plan for moving out and into the new house (as it will take a whole day) and many other things follow. Therefore it is very important to think about the future as soon as possible. If you leave your visa application until too late, that might collide with your dissertation deadline, and that might just be too many things to worry about at once. However, like I said before, it is important to prepare, but it is also important not to overthink. Make sure that you have a plan in mind, depending on how far into the future you plan, you can decide how closely you would like to stick to your plan. The general advice is the more into the future the plan is, the loosely you follow it, as the future is always unpredictable.

What motivated you to return to campus to speak to students?

I wanted to return to campus to speak to students because I understand the struggle right before graduation, feeling lost about what lies ahead and being completely out of your comfort zone. Therefore I wanted to offer my experience to students who are currently thinking about their future, to let them know that things will be fine.