Nearly every student that has graduated from the University of Reading has been in the position of wondering where their career will take them after finishing their studies – so we checked in with some of those alumni to find out where they are now, and what advice they can give to you now…
Year of graduation: 2019
Current Job: Freelance Graphic Designer/ Illustrator
Current Organisation: Dorling Kindersley (DK)
How did you secure your current role/course/opportunity?
I heard of the job opportunity through a friend and worked at the company in London for 3 months before moving back home and working for them as a freelance designer.
How did you balance this with your final year?
I dedicated time to ensure my CV was up to date made sure my work was up to a standard I was happy with which in turn benefited my portfolio and secured me the job.
What does your role involve? What are your responsibilities?
Consulting with editors to design and illustrate spreads. Working with text and image and communicating with many different people within the organisation.
What advice would you give to current students pursuing graduate opportunities?
Don’t stress if you don’t secure something before graduation. I got my job in August when I wasn’t even looking for one. Opportunities will always present themselves. Use job application processes to your advantage, even when you are unsuccessful, as they will help you learn what makes a good applicant and will in turn make you more successful.
Year of Graduation: 2014
Current Job: Project manager
Current Organisation: Yell Ltd
How did you secure your current role/course/opportunity?
I worked in various project roles after university but never thought about progressing. I joined Yell and did a project management apprenticeship and whilst involved in that, I got offered a project manager role.
What does your role involve? What are your responsibilities?
Leading a team to deliver a solution or change of some kind either technological or organisational.
What advice would you give to current students pursuing graduate opportunities?
Don’t give up. You don’t have to get your dream role in your first, second, fifth-year after graduating – it’ll come!
Year of Graduation: 2012
Current Job: Producer/Director
How did you secure your current role/course/opportunity?
Whilst studying at University I applied for an ITV Creative Production Graduate Scheme. There was a lengthy application process starting with an online questionnaire that required a review of a TV show. I was then invited to take an online values-based assessment questionnaire followed by a verbal reasoning questionnaire. Then I had a phone interview. Finally, I was asked to come to for an assessment day. I had to prepare and pitch an idea for a new TV series, take part in a group activity and bring in an object that summed up my experience for an interview. I was 1 of 5 selected out of the thousands of applicants for a two-year contract at ITV. I am now freelance but it was the graduate scheme that helped me to break into TV straight out of University.
How did you balance this with your final year?
It wasn’t a particularly time-consuming process so balancing it with my final year was not an issue.
What does your role/course involve? What are your responsibilities?
My role and responsibilities depend a great deal on the type of show that I am working on. Most of my experience has been on factual and factual/entertainment content, including observational documentaries. Some of my main responsibilities include self-shooting, producing storylines, interviewing, and directing contributors and managing researchers/assistant producers.
What advice would you give to current students pursuing graduate opportunities?
Try to get as much experience as you can whilst you are still at University.
I managed to get some short jobs as a runner and steward for TV, events, and music videos and this really helped show ITV that I was passionate and motivated.
Also when it comes to Graduate jobs it may feel like the odds are against you but someone’s got to get it so give it your best shot!
Any further comments?
It’s not the career path if you are looking for job stability and regular hours but for me, it’s absolutely worth it.