From Keele University to representing the UK overseas

Hi, I’m Zahid. I studied a BA in Law and International Relations and graduated in 2010. I’m currently Director of Libya for the British Council, and also the Cultural Attaché for the British Embassy.

I work for the British Council, and my role is particularly focused on soft power. Soft power works through scholarship programmes, youth and civil society. So, it’s really about building connections and trust between the United Kingdom and Libya.

I’m currently based out in Libya for six weeks at a time, and then I’m back in the UK for two weeks.

I don’t have one set inspiration for my career. I think when I was studying Law and International Relations, I thought about the areas that I found interesting, areas such as human rights, youth and civil society.

Once I graduated, again, I didn’t think about the Civil Service. That wasn’t an area that I was thinking about, but I did know that I wanted to work in community action and community change, empowering young people and empowering young women.

So, I think for me, it’s about making sure that I’m passionate about the things that I’m really interested in and passionate about the areas of work that I’m interested in. That is the youth and civil society space, making change in communities. The British Council allows me to do that through my work.

The two subjects that I studied were Law and International Relations. Both of them give you very, very different skill sets. Moving on 10 or 15 years, I’m now in my career and I’m using all of those skill sets. I’m still writing policy papers, documents and reports, so all of these skill sets are still being utilised in my current career and in my current role.

In terms of current students and some advice for them, particularly for International Relations students, I would say to start thinking outside the box.

As I mentioned before, I volunteered throughout my entire university experience. I made sure that I was building my capacity as much as I could before I graduated, in order for me to land my first job.

Think about using all of your experiences during your winter break and your two days off at the weekend. Volunteer and really build those experiences, because you will land that role eventually.