For our series of interviews celebrating Women's History Month, we caught up with Nabihah Moughal a Senior Employment Engagement Officer in the Careers team.
Nabihah recently lead on the organisation and delivery of the Diversity Careers Fair, which you may have attended earlier this term. The fair featured a range of employers, societies and collectives and . Discover more about the success of this fair, Nabihah's role, and who her biggest inspiration is.
1. Can you tell us about yourself and your role as Senior Employer Engagement Officer within the Careers department?
My name’s Nabihah and I’ve been working at Royal Holloway for the past year. I have always had a passion towards student support and whilst studying for my Masters in Educational Psychology, I understood I wanted to be in a position where I could initiate change towards a bigger cause for students in Higher Education.
In my current role as a Senior Employer Engagement Officer, I support our engagement with employers by building existing and new relationships. Alongside this, I lead on our flagship events such as the Careers and Placements Fair and the Diversity Fair as well as managing the Communications and Marketing for the Careers Service. I work with a team of fantastic Digital Assistants who support the content development, creation, and production of all our social media and marketing content.
2. You recently lead on the organisation and delivery of the Diversity Fair. Could you share more with us about the fair and what you hope women studying at Royal Holloway were able to take away from this event?
Our Diversity fair was the first one held in-person post-pandemic which was an absolute great success. We had a range of employers, societies and collectives supporting many diverse and inclusive initiatives for students. One of the main aspects of this fair was our employers, societies and collectives having meaningful conversations with students to share how they incorporate diversity and inclusion into their jobs and opportunities.
Women studying at Royal Holloway who attended the event would have been able to speak to many people who they could relate to in terms of work or experiences. Alongside this, our female students would have been able to receive some sense of motivation and support to work hard and achieve what they desire for themselves, especially to see many females as exhibitors on the day in great positions, sharing great initiatives.
3. Are there any upcoming projects which you are particularly looking forward to working on?
One of my upcoming projects is the Careers and Placements fair, which I am starting to plan for ahead of October 2023. I’m looking forward to this because it’s one of my largest projects in my role, which I can develop and enhance each year it’s run. This year, after running the Diversity fair for the first time, so successfully, my focus would be to invite new and existing employers who have a key initiative and take on Diversity and Inclusion, to cater for a wider range of our students. Alongside this, I’d like to work with more employers who have a sustainable strategy to support our ideas and objectives within the Careers Service and Royal Holloway as an institution.
4. Which women inspire you in and outside of work?
The number one role-model of mine is my mother. I look up to her in so many ways and she sets such great examples as an individual for me to learn from. She works extremely hard and is always motivating me and pushing me to do more and be a better version of myself every day, in all areas. Her teachings impact me and inspire me both in and outside of my work life.
5. How do you like to spend your free time?
I like to spend my free time by going out and enjoying new experiences. I have recently learnt how to knit which has been a very enjoyable and therapeutic experience for me! I’m also a great binge-watcher of Netflix so anything new, I’m always first to watch!
Discover useful Careers resources
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Finding gender positive employers - although there are still sectors dominated by certain genders, many graduate recruiters are actively seeking to change this and create a more gender balanced workforce. This page can help provide resources highlighting a selection of opportunities tailored to support female students and graduates as well as graduate employers who have committed to creating a gender equal workforce at all levels including attracting more female applicants to apply for roles.
- Alternatively, if you need general careers guidance or help with an application, you can book a one-to-one appointment with a Careers Consultant. Find out more.