I Got Hired: Manufacturing Graduate

Posted on: 23 November 2022 by Richard Finch in Graduate stories

Oliver Prowse is a Class of 2021 MChem graduate, now working at CSL Seqirus.

HOW DID YOU GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?

I got to where I am now by applying to lots and lots of different jobs. I worked hard at uni, but always tried to stop and enjoy the experience too. This built up my knowledge and skills in chemistry, but also gave me the people skills and confidence to be good in interviews. I have worked hard in all of my part time work before outside of uni to build up a good set of reliable work references

 

YOUR FAVOURITE EXPERIENCE AS PART OF YOUR ROLE?

My favourite part of my role is the people I work with. I have had brilliant guidance from the previous years' graduate intake, and we have become close friends. My company takes it's people agenda very seriously, so care is taken to hire the right kind of people to foster a positive work environment. We also generate a really friendly and caring culture on-site, and I've been lucky to make loads of new friends here at work.

 

THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF YOUR GRADUATE JOURNEY?

The job search was really tough. There can be a constant feeling of rejection, and the jobs market when I was searching was quite tough. Finding the right role for me was hard, but I got there eventually!

 

TOP THREE TIPS FOR OTHER STUDENTS?

1. Don’t panic if you’re struggling. It can be incredibly hard to find the right job for you, especially in a really tough and competitive market, and it could take a while. Rejection is never nice, but if you can grow and learn from each time you miss out, you’ll be in a great place when you find the right job for you.

2. Practise your interview technique. Just knowing to talk about yourself in response to standard interview questions well help you SO MUCH in getting hired. More and more, companies are valuing hiring the right type of person, not just the best qualified, so coming across well in an interview is really worth practising. It’s also important to remember that your potential employers will understand that interviews can be hard to get through and cause people anxiety, so it’s okay if you can’t come across perfectly in everything you say.

3. Consider applying to different roles within the same company. This may depend on the company somewhat, but based on my own experience, this can be really worth doing. Some of the feedback I received from my own hiring process was that the fact I’d applied to the grad scheme AND a sperate operations role at the company impressed my employers. If you are qualified for (and would be interested in) two different roles a company is advertising, you’re also doubling your chances to get noticed. Showing a desire to work for Seqirus by applying to two roles really worked in my favour.