The University of London recently invited Bid Solutions to discuss the benefits of pursuing a career in Bid & Proposal Management.
On the face of it, how difficult could it be – standing in front of a group of students and explaining what it’s like to pursue a career in Bid Management, outlining the career prospects and earning potential? Bid Solutions’ Managing Director Martin Smith, along with Wanda Serkowska from OB10 were recently invited to present to a group of undergraduates at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and found it was more difficult than first anticipated....
When penning my thoughts I suddenly realised that I don’t actually know anyone who has ever truly chosen to pursue a career in the Bid or Proposal Management Profession straight out of University. I know plenty of people that have chosen to become accountants or doctors – a conscious decision was made and a defined academic programme was followed. I do however know quite a few people that landed in Bid Management straight out of university (me included) but it would be fair to say none truly chose it or even pretended to understood what the job entailed.
If you are one of the rare people that made a conscious decision to forge a career in our profession straight from university, I’d be keen to hear about what / who helped you make that career choice and what the key factors were.
One thing is clear - the opportunities for graduates to forge a career in Bid and Proposal Management are significant. One barrier to entry is the inconsistent use of job titles and related responsibilities but perhaps the largest reason is communication, or rather lack of it – students simply haven’t heard of our profession or the opportunities within it.
In many ways, this is good news. Educating students about what we do is a relatively simple problem to fix. I trust somewhere within the corridors of APMP HQ someone is considering how accreditation and training can be made accessible and applicable to an undergraduate or post-graduate programme, ensuring a ready supply of new talent and fresh ideas in to our global industry.
I’m pleased to report that feedback from the session was extremely positive with several students writing to tell me they are now really excited about the prospect of entering the profession.
About SOAS
The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) is a college of the University of London and the only Higher Education institution in the UK specialising in the study of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East.
SOAS is a remarkable institution. Uniquely combining language scholarship, disciplinary expertise and regional focus, it has the largest concentration in Europe of academic staff concerned with Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
On the one hand, this means that SOAS remains a guardian of specialised knowledge in languages and periods and regions not available anywhere else in the UK. On the other hand, it means that SOAS scholars grapple with pressing issues - democracy, development, human rights, identity, legal systems, poverty, religion, social change - confronting two-thirds of humankind.