We caught up with 2021 graduate Olivia Saunders (BA History, 2021) to find out what she has been up to since graduating, her biggest mistake, the best piece of advice she’s been given and her top tips to other graduates.
Briefly describe your role:
I currently work as an Alumni Relations Officer at Aston University, specifically working with graduates of Aston Business School. My role largely involves building and maintaining long-lasting relationships with our alumni community. Volunteer engagement plays a big part in this, as I encourage our alumni to give back to the university in a number of different ways. This includes welcoming them back onto campus for alumni events, inviting them to speak on panels/give guest talks, and inspiring them to actively engage with our mentoring scheme. For anyone who is very people orientated, my role is ideal as you get to meet so many interesting and talented individuals.
What is the biggest mistake you have made since graduating and what have you learned from it?
The biggest mistake that I have made since graduating is thinking that my degree is my biggest competitive advantage. Having a good degree from a top university is fantastic. Until you remember that there are hundreds of other incredibly talented and intelligent people, who also have good degrees from top universities.
For the sort of jobs that you will be applying for when you graduate, your degree is a minimum requirement to get the job. This means that your biggest selling point needs to be yourself. Your personality is hands down the best thing that you can bring to any job interview. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that being professional means that you can’t have a personality. Your job in that interview is to show the recruiter exactly why they should want to work with you.
What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
When I started my current role, my director told me to always be a yes person. I would like to preface this by saying that I’m also a strong supporter of setting your boundaries at work and being able to have open and honest conversations with your manager/colleagues when you don’t have the capacity to take on anymore responsibilities. However, I would encourage you to see everything in life as a development opportunity. You never know who you are going to meet, or what new skill you are going to pick up along the way. So, it pays off to always be open to experiencing new things.
What have you learned since graduating that could be helpful to other graduates like you?
Your future career won’t necessarily be found in the corporate world, on a graduate scheme. When I graduated, I felt like I was going to be wasting my degree if I didn’t apply for traditional graduate schemes, simply because that’s what all of my friends were doing at the time. Thankfully, someone reassured me that I probably didn’t know that my future career existed yet. They were totally right. Ask anyone who works in Alumni Relations, no one ever dreams of working in Alumni Relations (mainly because none of us knew it existed until we saw the job advertisement). So don’t panic if these grad schemes aren’t setting your heart alight. There’s a strong chance that these jobs just aren’t for you. Most of us don’t know for certain whether we are going to enjoy a job until we actually start doing it. So, keep your options open when you graduate, and use your first few roles to figure out your work likes and dislikes.