Why did you want to be a full-time officer?
I wanted to become an FTO primarily because of the positive impact I felt could have on the student experience, but also because I wanted to be ale to influence change and encourage equal representation for students of different cultural backgrounds and religious beliefs.

Do you get paid for the work that you do?
Yes, and rather well! I work 35 hours a week, including a little out-of-hours overtime when student body events like the monthly Forums come up, which gives me some flexibility.

What support and training did you receive before and during the role?
Before the start of my contract I was given the opportunity to attend a senior management orientation meeting with the Pro-Vice Chancellors and Vice Chancellor, and on my first (terrifying) day we had an induction meeting with most of the the university staff in attendance, which was a good opportunity to network, put faces to names, and learn who I would be working with and relying on. After the initial flurry of meetings and assessments, July and August were filled with training sessions, both internal and external, which were really helpful.

In my experience, however, this job isn't one that you can sit down and memorise a handbook or train to master; how well you do is measured by the contacts and relationships you nurture.

What does your role involve?
One of my many responsibilities is providing financial and campaign support for all 122 societies, including fielding questions and assisting them with whatever forms they require. I am the chair of the Societies Executive Committee, a board consisting of 8 elected students and 3 staff members, whose responsibility is to approve (or reject) new society application forms and funding applications; and am also one of the Union trustees, a position that gives me the opportunity to make a positive impact in our service sector as well.

What is the best part about your role?
Definitely making a positive difference in the lives of students by helping them out, but close behind is the fact that I get to meet students from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. And on a more pragmatic level, this job is incidentally a brilliant way of making contacts inside and outside the university.

What are the most challenging aspects of your position?
Creating awareness of the union within the student population, hands down. As a sub-set of that gigantic end goal: engaging more students in the monthly student forum. We really do want to hear from you, guys!

This position also frequently opens you up to criticisism by students, but I've learnt not to take it personally; it's the role they're criticizing more than the person in particular. Still, a bit of a thick skin is required.

What skills have you developed as a result of this experience?
I must say I've developed a wide range of skills in the last 6 months, including communication, public speaking, debating, networking, working as part of a team, organisation, decision making, and a little bit of IT as well, but the focus is on the front half of that list: this really is a people-facing job.

What things do you wish you knew before taking up the role?
The one thing I wish I'd known about before taking this role would be finance, and how funding and budgeting work. As with every other skill involved in this job, I learnt as I went along.

How is this experience going to help you stand out in the labour market?
The labour market is in desperate need of people who can work as part of a team, and who have excellent communication skills to back it up; it's less what you know, more how you present yourself and interact with your prospective colleagues. This job also lays the groundwork for an upper management, board-of-directors-style position; it's not sitting in a big leather chair and firing people, but it certainly gives you the chance to see how things work from the inside.

Would you recommend this role to other students and why?
Absolutely! This role gives you the opportunity to make positive difference in the lives of students, and moreover it's a fantastic stepping stone to your future career, whatever it may be.