Recently we caught up with Lisa Donnelly, Mentoring and Internships Officer for Careers Network. Lisa shares her career journey, what she has learned along the way and why perseverance is the best advice she has been given.
About Me
Job title: Mentoring and Internships Officer (Careers Network)
Degree: Qualification / Diploma in Careers Guidance
Industry experience: various roles within sales, charity, public sector, entrepreneurship, and the arts. Including providing careers guidance to a wide range of people.
Something that comes naturally and I enjoy is being a connector.
Briefly describe your current role.
The overarching objective of my role is to engage our underrepresented students and recent graduates in work experience and mentoring activities. I run bespoke programmes, plan and deliver events, help to inform strategy to support the above cohort and impart my knowledge across the wider careers team to help with engagement and support. I am fortunate to collaborate with a wide range of people from within and outside of my department to make things happen, and to positively contribute to the UoB student / graduate experience. I enjoy the variety my role has to offer.
What is the biggest mistake you have made since graduating and what have you learned from it?
I’m not sure whether it was a mistake exactly, but looking back I stayed in the same company for eight years, with six of these being in a similar role and got comfortable. I’ve become braver with moving and trying new roles since I left.
Since moving on I started my own business in careers guidance. I then went on to work in Higher Education. It’s challenged me beyond what I had previously achieved and gave me the scope to use my transferrable skills to come out of pure advice and guidance and move into a more project based / strategic role. I’ve learned that you don’t have to stay in one place / career area – when you understand the value of your transferrable skills, you can articulate these to employers.
What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
Persevere; even when things don’t look like they are changing, keep going, you will get there!
There have been times in my career when situations were challenging or when I was applying for roles and not getting anywhere, but I’ve found that things do eventually change. Not only in my career but also in my personal life, I’ve found this advice to be precious in overcoming tough times. I’ve also seen this so many times with the students / graduates I’ve supported, where they feel stuck and like things aren’t going to change; the knockbacks from unsuccessful applications; the challenging graduate role – but they persevered and eventually things turned around. It’s wonderful that part of my job is being able to journey with them and see them on the other side!
It’s also okay to acknowledge when you’ve persevered with something enough and to change direction.
What have you learned since graduating that could be helpful to other graduates?
You don’t have to start from the same place as others to get to the same destination. I was the first in my family to go to university and yet I have and am working alongside colleagues who came from very different backgrounds, yet we still made it to the same destination. You can’t just sit back and expect things to come to you, but don’t compare yourself to others – just give your best and believe in yourself.
I would say to try doing something completely different for a month or two by doing an internship. This is a great way to test out a career idea, and you never know, it might just change the trajectory of you career plan completely in the short or long term.
I manage the UoB Graduate Internships Programme. This is a great example of the above, in that it offers the opportunity to try something new; to explore what it’s like to work in Higher Education. Many of our interns have decided to stay working in H.E. following their internship either at UoB or other universities in the UK. This programme is also targeted at underrepresented recent graduates to help level the playing field of graduate employment opportunities. Applications for this scheme open on 22nd March 2024.
Can you recommend us something?
Graduate schemes although good for some people are not for everyone and are certainly not the only way to start your graduate career. There are many opportunities and employers out there from start-ups to multi-national companies. You might even want to try out that idea into action and start your own business! Our B-Enterprising (birmingham.ac.uk) team can help you with this.
Networking is a fantastic way to support you in your career. Some people are fortunate enough to have contacts in the industry they are wanting to get into, through friends or family but some (like me when I was younger) don’t have that privilege. This is where the mentoring schemes we have on offer here at the university help in that they can connect you to people working in industry to give you valuable insight and support on your journey.
Take advantage of the great support your university careers team offer, even if you didn’t do so when you were studying with us – it’s not too late! We have so much on offer to support you on your career journey including: 1:1 appointment and a broad range of events to support you in your next steps. To find out more visit Careers support for graduates – University of Birmingham
All the best with the next step in your career journey!
Lisa