Jo’s Outstanding Achievement

Jo Bond studied for her CIPD Level 7 Advanced Diploma in HR Management with MOL and received an outstanding achievement award at this year’s graduation ceremony.

Jo started her career in HR in 2013, joining Nationwide Building Society’s graduate scheme. After 18 months in her role, Jo decided it was time to return to studying. She spoke to her Nationwide colleagues for recommendations for CIPD study providers and MOL was a popular choice. “I wanted to fit studying part-time around my social life, not the other way round, and MOL worked for me.”

And she has nothing but praise for her tutors on the course and the support team. “All my MOL tutors brought something different to my studies, but what they all had in common was that they were ready to help me whenever I needed it - be that during normal working hours, or in a bit of a panic a few hours before an assignment deadline. On a few occasions I wanted to move groups, or change the location of where I studied (I split my studies between Bristol and London) to fit round my work or personal life, and the MOL support team were helpful in making that possible.”

Jo found a real benefit in study programme that directly related back to what she was currently experiencing in her job. “The assignments were all based on my experiences at my own organisation and it was good to be able to show my manager and people at work that the studying was having a practical impact on the work I do. It gave me a different way of approaching work tasks – now I have the research and evidence to back up my ideas, and the business education to approach things professionally and credibly.”

Thanks to her learnings on the course, Jo was motivated to change roles within Nationwide while she was studying and now in a learning and development based role. “The course and qualification has given me the confidence to work in different parts of HR. I really enjoyed learning from the other people on the course about the different roles they have, and the experiences they’ve had in different organisations, and it motivated me to try something new.”

And Jo’s advice to someone considering studying with MOL? “I think you learn the most from the experience of the other people on the course, so getting involved in the discussion and making sure you contribute to all the learning events is important – that’s the benefit of flexible studying and not doing it all on your own.  It’s a long time to be studying for, so you’ve got to make it enjoyable, and make sure the studying fits round your work and social life.

I was lucky to have fun, friendly and helpful people in all of my study groups, and have made some amazing friends through the course. We even had a celebratory trip to Ibiza when we’d all passed our qualification!