Carolyn Goddard 

Cambridge Judge Business School 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Confident, bordering on “gobby”. Slightly obsessive by nature, occasional professional Northerner.

Hometown: Manchester, United Kingdom

Fun Fact About Yourself: Harold Shipman was my doctor. He was arrested for the many, many murders a couple of years after we moved away from the area.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Manchester, International Business, Finance and Economics (BA Hons First Class)

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: 

Change Project Manager, Nucleus Services Limited, May 2016 – Aug 2017,

Senior Business Analyst, Bibby Financial Services Limited, July 2015 – April 2016

Business Analyst, Bibby Financial Services Limited, November 2013 – July 2015

Business Improvement Manager, Bibby Financial Services Limited, August 2010 – November 2013

Take On Manager, Bibby Financial Services Limited, January 2009 – August 2010

Graduate Employee, Bibby Financial Services Limited, September 2007 – January 2009

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:  Leading the business analysis workstream and implementation team on a £10 million IT migration project at Bibby. I worked on the project for a total of three years, and it transformed my understanding not only of the industry I worked in, but of change management in general. I was fortunate to work with some extremely knowledgeable and experienced people, which gave me an amazing opportunity to learn and develop that I simply wouldn’t have got in a different role.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants?  Stay calm, and give yourself plenty of time. I could have rushed the application to get into Round 4 of last year, but I decided to focus properly and targeted Round 1 of the following year, which gave me plenty of time to study properly for the GMAT and prepare the application. It also meant that I would have time to re-sit the GMAT if necessary, which meant that there wasn’t as much pressure on the single exam.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you?  Length; the financial commitment for the MBA meant that I could only afford to be out of work for a year.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school?  Success would be completing the course, and knowing that I had used all the opportunities available to me to learn new things, develop new contacts and friendships, and be on track to an interesting and professionally challenging career.