Name: Megan Earl
Degree details: English Literature and American Studies (with year abroad)
Job title: Corporate Partnerships Executive
Can you briefly describe your current role? I work for Mind, the mental health charity, in the corporate partnerships fundraising team. I manage a portfolio of corporate partners for Charity of the Year partnerships and one-off events. I also support the wider team with larger partners and with administrative tasks.
What is the biggest mistake you have made since graduating and what have you learnt from it?
My biggest mistake has been to put pressure on myself to progress quickly and not make any mistakes in my role. I am learning that it is fine to settle into a role and not always be searching for the next thing to do, and as part of this you can be looking at what skills you might need to work on to progress eventually. It’s also fine to take some time to work out what kind of work you want to do and how you’re going to get into it – I spent most of final year stressing about not having a job and then once I graduated I had around three months of applying before I was successful, but now I have my almost-perfect job so all the waiting and applying has paid off.
What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
Very cliché, but the best piece of advice I have been given is to have belief in my own capabilities. I found it hard to come into the world of work and feel like I had enough knowledge or skills to be there. I have been told a lot of times to remember that I wouldn’t have been successful in getting my job if I wasn’t qualified so I have to work on being more confident and forthright, but this definitely comes with time anyway. Something else I’ve been told for my confidence with external presenting in particular is to remember that even if I don’t think I’ve presented something well, I am still much more knowledgeable about my work than the audience so I don’t need to feel as scrutinised as I do – someone external won’t know if I haven’t quite got every fact on a topic in.
What have you learned since graduating that could be helpful to other graduates like you?
One of my top tips is to look at a job description for your ideal job and identify what things you need to learn to be working in a role. These could be competency based such as negotiation, or more practical like events management. This way I know what I am working towards and hope that when I am ready to progress, I will have all the skills I need. I also did this in final year to make sure I was picking up some key skills ready for when I graduated.
Also, it’s good to keep asking for feedback with anything you apply yourself to – applying for a job, interviewing, or doing something new at work.
Can you recommend us something?
I would recommend this Caroline Goyder talk – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2MR5XbJtXU. I recently did presenting training with Caroline and she is brilliant at giving practical tips on how to present yourself more confidently.