“I was better prepared and more confident than before my sessions.”
Hear from Ingrid who realised she had the perfect skillset for a career in financial services.
After working for three years alongside my studies I successfully graduated with a First-class Business degree from Birkbeck University of London in July 2020. I was ready to join the jobs market but competition at that time for opportunities was incredibly tough. Despite graduating with a First-class degree and having several years of work experience I quickly realised that I needed an edge, so I start looking for mentors and found Graduate Mentor through GRB. I then jumped at the chance and spoke with three different mentors who helped me understand my skillset and gave me the reassurance to apply for graduate jobs in financial services. My journey took an unexpected twist when one of my mentors was actually able to offered me the opportunity to apply for a full-time job!
I was looking to start my career in finance and wasn’t sure if my seven years’ experience in hospitality would help or not. I did my research, prepared a list of questions and scheduled a mentoring session. My mentor was impressed I’d worked whilst studying and secured a First-class grade. He also explained how I had transferable skills that would make me very employable in the eyes of a financial services firm. This was quite a revelation actually and immediately gave me new hope! I then wanted to find out more what it was like to work in financial services and in a large organisation from a professional perspective. After just one hour’s Zoom mentoring session I definitely had the reassurance I needed to approach my job search in new ways. I was able to write a stronger CV and impactful cover letters. Ultimately, I was better prepared to go through the job application process of several large organisations where I performed very well, especially on interviews due to the confidence I gained after my mentoring session. It was actually when my mentor called me and asked if I wanted to apply for a role he had within his financial services company that I knew I had to go for it. After a four round interview process, I was eventually offered the role of Senior Analyst.
Graduate Mentor is a brilliant platform! It made such a difference to how I got my career off to the best start – during a pandemic and recession! I was better prepared and more confident than before my sessions. What was really great was since during lockdown there were no Careers Fairs, I was actually able to speak to someone doing a role I aspired to over a video call. The platform was so easy to use and all my mentors were super-friendly so can wholeheartedly recommend Graduate Mentor to any graduate.
