I Got Hired: Technology Graduate at ITV

Posted on: 1 November 2023 by Richard Finch in Graduate stories

Elizabeth Lee is a Class of 2022 Maths and Business graduate who is now in the first year of the Technology Graduate Scheme at ITV.

I heard about my role through graduate websites (I think it was Bright Network) - but I would advise students and graduates check many different websites, including Handshake.

I applied for my role in September 2021 at the beginning of my final undergraduate year. I had to take part in an online assessment centre and a final interview in person in February 2022.

After graduating I joined ITV in September, and am now one year into my 2 year graduate scheme. I have already worked with UX designers, worked as a junior software engineer (scala dev), worked as a product manager role amongst other great opportunities.

I have had lots of fun experiences already working for ITV. I have got to do tours of all the studios in London and seen the filming of two shows. I have visited the Emmerdale set in Leeds and the Coronation sets in Manchester.

The media industry is very exciting and its been great to apply my degree within a creative industry. I joined when they were getting ready to launch ITVX and it has been great to see the technological effort and strategies from behind the scenes.

One of the most challenging parts has been the lifestyle change. It is great not to have work follow you home like uni work does but then university work has a lot more breaks and holidays than everyday 9-5. It sometimes is challenging as not everyone goes straight to working after uni, you have to be prepared for some feelings of the grass is greener on the other side days! I also moved away from my degree slightly to technology and it has been quite a learning curve. This is challenging but I have also enjoyed it, learning definitely does not slow down after you graduate...

My Top 3 tips for current students and recent graduates are:

• Keep applying - it is disheartening when you get rejections and I got quite a few but it only takes one application to secure a role!
• Don't overlook the careers office - they helped me write my CV and covering letting. It clearly helped.
• Keep your mind open - even if you have a clear idea of where you want to end up, there are so many different opportunities and roles that I didn't even know existed. I have enjoyed being in a grad scheme as it has taught me many transferable skills and given me a completely new perspective of my future career.