Name: Lois Boyle
Degree Detail: American and Canadian Studies with Year Abroad
Job Title: Ambitious Futures Graduate Trainee
Briefly describe your role: Ambitious Futures is a graduate management scheme in Higher Education. It is an 18 month consisting of three placements in Professional Services, along with group coaching sessions, one-to-one mentor meetings, and workshops. So far my placements have been in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Nottingham University, Covid-19 response and recovery at Warwick, and now I am in the Estates team at Nottingham improving their processes.
What is the biggest mistake you have made since graduating and what have you learned from it?
Feeling too nervous to introduce myself to other members of staff. I learned once these initial introductions were made, it was much easier to get to know people as well as finding out about their own projects and seeing where we could help one another. Starting a new role remotely made this feel an impossible task, but I found that inviting colleagues to a short, informal introduction meeting really helped, as did joining meetings a few minutes early to engage in non-work related conversations. These can both be done either in the office or working from home!
What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
To get into the practice of reflection – an easy way of doing this can be by starting to write a work journal and logging achievements and difficulties you are facing. Reflection helps to identify skills gaps, setting objectives, and makes life so much easier when you come to applying for a new role. It is much easier to come back to a file of examples of your work than trying to remember them a year down the line. Recognising your achievements is also a great confidence boost for whenever you need it.
What have you learned since graduating that could be helpful to other graduates like you?
That the Careers Network are a brilliant service that we still have access to. I have received detailed feedback on my CV, help with writing Cover Letters, and even had help with job applications. As recent graduates we can also sign up for a graduate Careers Connect account which is a jobs board advertising permanent and temporary roles, as well as internships and volunteering opportunities.
Can you recommend us something?
Jon Moon’s website has a lot of great free downloads which will change the way you write your CV, reports, and delivering presentations. https://jmoon.co.uk/index.cfm
This short talk about finding your purpose at work is great too – https://www.ted.com/talks/katie_mcnerney_finding_your_purpose_at_work