Joining the working world for the first time brings up questions like how to receive and give feedback, how to say no and how to navigate difficult conversations with line managers. Birmingham Alumni Leadership Mentor Dame Cilla Snowball gave her time to speak with a group of recent graduates in London in May 2023, at an interactive breakfast networking event. Cilla was joined by her previous mentee Anna Newsome, for an open discussion where they shared their top tips for navigating your first graduate role.
Meet the speakers:
- Dame Cilla Snowball (BA French, 1981; Honorary Doctorate, 2017). Dame Cilla is a Governor of the Wellcome Trust and a Non-Executive Director of the property investment company Derwent London plc and Whitbread plc. She is the former Group CEO of advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, where she worked for 26 years before embarking on her portfolio career in 2019.
- Anna Newsome (BA Modern Languages, 2022) is working as a consultant, specialising in Internal Communications for the VMAGROUP.
A few of the challenges recent graduates were facing:
- Not being sure they are in the right company or industry
- Being uncomfortable at being pushed out of their comfort zone
- Dealing with changing managers
- Getting into a job that wasn’t what they thought it would be and leaving
- Not getting the human interaction side of the job (people having their cameras off on zoom)
Key takeaways from the session:
On giving and receiving feedback
- Feedback is essential, never go a week without asking for it
- You might have to drive it
- Weekly 121 meetings are a good chance to do this
- Make sure it is a two-way process
- Keep it light and frequent
- Be prepared for the answer
- Some graduates explained they had received training on feedback; you can ask if this is available
On saying no:
- Explain that you don’t have capacity
- Be honest if you are overloaded with work or if you just don’t find that piece of work interesting
- Hand it back to your manager – remind them what you are already doing, and ask them to set priority order for projects, set reasonable timescales and make it clear other things have to be deprioritised if that piece of work has to be done; it is their job to help
- Don’t be afraid to be human and let them know if you have something going on at home
- Consider how you value your time and don’t overload yourself
On other workplace issues and final tips from Cilla:
- Difficult conversations with managers are awkward and necessary, share what you are going through and understand that your manager might have things they are going through as well. Managers are human beings too, don’t be afraid to be human.
- Company culture is important, you can always move for more money but you deserve to be happy.
- Business is about relationships. You won’t be effective in any role unless you build those relationships. They will support you when you’re learning and help you when you get something wrong.
- Ask yourself ‘am I happy, am I learning?’- these are two really important factors in any job
- Move if you are unhappy
The University is here to support recent graduates with the transition to the working world. This event was part of the Young Alumni Professional Event series, that supports graduates as they navigate post-University life. You can apply for a mentor, use the Careers Network service and join events like this. Keep an eye on our website and social media (@birminghamalum) for the next event.