Episode 130: From never passing a video interview, to graduate job success – Charlotte’s story

April 18, 2023 Podcast

For episode 130of the Graduate Job Podcast, I share a success story in the form of listener to the show and How to Get a Graduate Job course member and alumni Charlotte, and how she went from applying for grad jobs and never being able to get past a video interview, to joining the course and securing the graduate job of her dreams. We explore Charlotte’s journey, from her struggles applying initially, through to her ultimate success. We delve into her hints and tips for each stage of the process, and how she went from failing every video interview she did to being able to ace them with ease. We cover her advice on balancing applying for grad jobs when you are working full-time, with what she learnt through the various assessment centre processes. It’s a great episode and I hope it inspires you that if Charlotte can do it, you can too. To find out more about today, head to the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/charlotte, where you can find a full transcript, links to the How to Get a Graduate Job course, and details of how you can get coaching with me, including a free 30-minute coaching call.

MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

  • How Charlotte went from failing every video interview, to being able to pass them with ease
  • Why she recommends the How to Get a Graduate Job course “10,000%”
  • How to balance applying for grad jobs and working full time
  • How to stand out in a group exercise at an assessment centre
  • Her hints and tips for acing psychometric tests
  • Why she joined the How to Get a Graduate Job course, and why she thinks you should too

SELECTED LINKS INCLUDE:

Transcript – #130: From never passing a video interview, to graduate job success – Charlotte’s story

Announcer: Welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast, your home for weekly information and inspiration to help you get the graduate job of your dreams.

James Curran: Hello and welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast, with your host James Curran. The Graduate Job Podcast is your home for all things related to helping you on your journey to finding that amazing job. In each episode I bring together the best minds in the industry, speaking to leading authors, graduate recruiters and career coaches who bring decades of experience into a byte-size show. Put simply, this is the show I wish I had when I graduated.

Hello and welcome to the 130th episode of the Graduate Job Podcast, the UK’s number 1 careers podcast. Dear listener I hope this finds you well, it’s been a good few months since the last episode, but the world of graduate recruitment never stands still and I’ve been busy with lots of one-on-one coaching with members of the How to Get a Graduate Job course, and also other coaching clients who got in touch for help, in what is the sharp end of the graduate recruitment process with assessment centres and final interviews. I’m pleased to say that they were all successful, and you will be hearing from some of them directly over the coming episodes as some of them will come on the show to share their stories of getting jobs with banks, law firms, pr firms, and the big 4 to name just a few. And today, I am very pleased to share one success story in the form of listener to the show and How to Get a Graduate Job course member and alumni Charlotte, and how she went from applying for grad jobs and never being able to get past a video interview, to joining the course and securing the graduate job of her dreams. In today’s episode, we explore Charlotte’s journey, from her struggles applying initially, through to her ultimate success. We delve into her hints and tips for each stage of the process, and how she went from failing every video interview she did to being able to ace them with ease. We cover her advice on balancing applying for grad jobs when you are working full-time, with what she learnt through the various assessment centre processes. It’s a great episode and I hope it inspires you that if Charlotte can do it, you can too. To find out more about today, head to the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/charlotte, where you can find a full transcript, links to the How to Get a Graduate Job course, and details of how you can get coaching with me, including a free 30-minute coaching call. That is Graduatejobpodcast.com/charlotte. Right, let’s crack on with the show.


James: I am very pleased to welcome to the show cost alumni member of the How to Get a Graduate Job Course and incoming member of one of the largest insurance companies in the world for their brilliant graduate scheme. Charlotte, welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast.

Charlotte: Thanks, James. Well, excited to be here today.

James: No, I’m excited to have you on. And maybe let’s start at the very beginning then. I just maybe just want to introduce yourself very briefly to listeners in terms of what you studied when you graduated, and all that good stuff.

Charlotte: Yeah, of course. So, I studied psychology at Exeter and finished two years ago, despite only graduating, actually, about a month ago, which was quite nice to obviously do. And then after university, I worked in a school to save money to go travelling and managed to get away to Central America while sort of within that year applying to grad schemes and not getting particularly far. And then over the past year of working in a recruitment agency in life sciences as well, again applying to grad schemes with James’ help. So, very brief introduction, but that’s me.

James: Perfect. And you mentioned Central America. I can remember when we were doing the practice interviews and going through your competency answers, you’d often sort of mine the experiences from Central America. Some of them were made up of,weren’t they?

Charlotte: Some were made up, but they came in handy.

James: They certainly did. So, brilliant. So, what we’re going to do today is we’re going to talk about your journey from a graduate who, as you said, by your own admission applied for graduate jobs without the success of getting one, through to, as I mentioned landing a place on, sort of giving away the ending haven’t I, but landing a place on a huge graduate scheme for a massive global insurance company. And we’ll go through your journey along the way. So, let’s maybe jump back to this time last year when you signed up for the course. So, this has been recorded by the end of July 2022. Let’s jump back a year. What made you sign up for the course in the first place?

Charlotte: I think obviously when I first started applying to grad schemes, your podcast came up as one to listen to and also I had a brief look at the course. And I’d listened to a few of your podcasts, the ones where you interviewed someone from Mars, but also people like myself that you interviewed at the time about getting them a different job. And it was something that always interests me. And then as I said before, that year of sort of no luck at all., I think you kind of were kindly offering a 30-minute free session. So, I thought I had nothing to lose by doing that. And obviously, after that 30 minutes, it clearly demonstrated that this was definitely something to do and that you were, were going to be a huge help, and I think we went through a few questions. I think I did a practice assessment or something, and even just in 30 minutes, you taught me so much that I hadn’t learned before. So, that’s why kind of I approached you and I guess, the rest is history and I’m super glad that I did.

James: Excellent, that’s quite a nice day. Thank you. And I remember that that was away at the time and it was a good call, and listeners. All the show notes from today, including a full transcript where you can also sign up for a 30-minute free call with me, can be found at graduatejobpodcast.com/charlotte. So, you signed up for the course and it was in sort of this summer period before all the companies open up and what type of… for listeners, what type of companies were you interested in? Did you have a laser-like focus or were you more open to the different opportunities from different firms?

Charlotte: Definitely, well, considering… so background into my interest, I studied psychology, as I mentioned, so HR sort of always really, really interested me. So, I was just very set on looking at an HR grad scheme or a future leaders grad scheme. And so, the kind of companies I applied for was really varied to the company that I’m on that I got a grad scheme with now, which is obviously an insurance company to a company like Mars, Unilever, but also ones like Barclays, HSBC. I even applied to Mi5, which I’m allowed to say now, but I think I am considering I didn’t get it. So, a real mix of kind of different companies, it was just sort of the main interest in HR that kind of led me to apply to the specific schemes, although now I’m actually doing ESG, which sort of links in some ways to HR.

James: Definitely, and for listeners, I too just double-checked myself what ESG stood for, just before we start recording, it’s environmental, social, and governance. So, for those of you like me who were in the dark. And that’s the beauty really of HR as a field you’re interested in is that everybody offers it, no matter who you apply to they all have some sort of HR function, and they’ll all probably be able to recruit into a specific HR stream. So, the range of companies can be broad because they’ll all be able to offer in some form or another, the type of work you’re interested in. And as you mentioned, very close links with ESG in terms of the top with HR. So, you had that broad list of companies that you were interested in. How did you then begin to narrow down your approach? Was it just based on who opened up first or did you then prioritize them initially and go for the top ones first?

Charlotte: I mean, the first year I applied, I think I just applied to every single one, which as I think you say on one of your podcasts or one of the bits of the course that that’s not the best idea to do. So, having spoken to sort of taking your advice, I did look at them and sort of location was a big thing for me. And it sounds terrible, terrible, but I knew I wanted to move to London where my friends would be, which probably isn’t the reason to take a job, but it was and most of them are offered in London, luckily, or just on the outskirts of London. So, that was a big thing for me, as well as sort of the specific type of scheme involved, I guess, whether, you know, what sort of rotations would be involved in there, what kind of company they were, you know, how big they were, how small they were. So, I guess I kind of narrowed it down by that. And then as you say, the sort of basic things of how early on they opened and everything like that.

James: Yeah, I’d tried to persuade you to broaden your horizons up to Leeds.

Charlotte: My parents wouldn’t have been happy with that.

James: And as you mentioned earlier definitely one of the things we focus on in the initial sort of pre-application part of the course, which is, to be honest, one of the most crucial parts of the course is less is more in terms of applications. A smaller number of high-quality applications is going to get stand you in good stead and going to give you more success than a scattergun approach, which is often what you see from people doing it for the first time, just thinking let me just chuck as much stuff against the wall, see what sticks and try and get through that initial application phase. So, let me go back to the initial application phase. How did you find that part of the process? Any challenges or was it easier than you thought? I mean, you did well and sort of got through the majority of them. Any recollections from that part of the process?

Charlotte: I think, well, kind of the two years that I spent applying, I think it was actually one of your podcasts that you recommend buying the subscription to Assessment Day. I think it’s for the psychometric tests. And so, both years I was actually fine with getting through them. I mean, for example, Barclays are fine, they have a particularly hard maths section, but if you practice on Assessment Day, anyone should be pretty much fine getting through the game-based assessments. I found it really hard, I just didn’t know what they were looking for, you know? I know there is one where you sort of pop a balloon and I don’t know what it’s really assessing, but always find it a bit hard or a bit hit-and-miss to get through those. But the very initial application stage, which usually involves a psychometric test, I found it fine. It was just the video interviews, which I’m sure will come onto later. That was a big challenge for me.

James: And as you said, the key to success with that phase of initial CV and then straight into the online testing, which you don’t get long to do, is just having practised, listeners don’t skim at this stage. I’ll share in the show notes some links to the best couple of providers yet just it’s worth buying a subscription. It’s not huge amounts of money for quid, we’ll get you through all of the application processes, you don’t want to be scribbling around for a free test on this site, which if you give you details or some free test on another side or some old one on paper, you can get from a charity shop. You need to be practising with realistic tests. And I echo your… not frustration, but sort of uncertainty.

Well, frustration is definitely for you. I mean, for me, when I’ve tried the games-based ones, it’s been no loss if I don’t get through and I’ve not got through what I’ve tried them before I just, yeah, I really struggle to see the relevance of the game space tests, again, I’ll link in the show notes to an episode I’ve got with Arctic Shores who are the actual sort of the lead provider of these games based tests where this interview talks at length about all the different aspects that they’re measuring and stuff. I struggled to see the relevance of inflating a balloon and stuff like that. But it was a challenge and I saw that Deloitte, you failed the sort of simulation video stage as well.

Charlotte: Oh, gotcha.

James: Slightly different. That one, it’s more about watching videos and then sort of looking at different scenarios, isn’t it? Any recollections of the Deloitte ones specifically?

Charlotte: Oh gosh. Just having to present a lot of maths, which is not really my strong point. So, it was a difference that was definitely a difficult one, but, I guess it’s hard for these ones because you can’t really practice for them. So, that’s kind of what I remember. Just having to present all this maths, I don’t really understand, but I’m sure others would.

James: But as you said, you got through the majority of them, so it shows that the practice with Assessment Day paid off there. You talked earlier as well about the Mars scheme, that was initially ways that you found through your podcast with my interview with Mars and that was one where you did really well. But maybe jumping ahead before we get to, just diving into Mars you talked about video interviews and the challenges you found with video interviews. What was it that you found most challenging then?

Charlotte: I mean, apart from the obvious, which was just never ever getting past one. I mean before I hadn’t signed up for the course. I mean, I just never got past one. I don’t know what I was saying. I was probably answering all the questions wrong, but just through those hours of coaching that oh, we went through together, they were just so invaluable in the sense of just how to answer the questions and what they’re sort of looking for buzzwords-wise. And also the kind of questions I guess I’d expect to see, within that, also within the course, the sort of Tuesday night group with everyone practising them in front of people, being timed, getting marked by you getting marked by the peers was really useful. And most of the video interviews I ended up passing and having never past one before, even just to get past one and maybe not be selected for the assessment centre, because sometimes they don’t always progress was just proof that it was working, which was great.

James: That warms my heart that you say that and listeners when you sign up for the course, you get some hours of one-on-one coaching with me where we could do anything, often people like to spend it on the practice of video interviews, and Tuesday team calls where we’ll go through and we’ll practice the questions that you’ll face. I’ve got a tool where, you tell me which company you’re applying to, and I’ll program it with their questions and the time that you’ll face with those. So, say if you’re doing, say, Mars, where the questions are really complicated with like five parts to a question and you’ve got say four minutes to answer, you’ll be facing the ones that you’ll face for the real thing. But my memories are, I always thought you were really good with the interview, so it was just slight tweaking to get you ready and confident. And I think confidence is probably a key word there in having the confidence to be hitting all the points you need to hit within the time limits, with the pressure, with the time it does, you know, it does add that added pressure there for you to be getting on the time limit, but we mentioned at the beginning of the call your answers you’d give where you’d go back to your time in Central America and tell me about a time where you’ve dealt with pressure or dealt with changes to a plan or something and you talk about a bus that had broken down and how you’d had to negotiate around that to continue your journey. It was a brilliant answer. And then you told me you had just made that up on the spot.

I was impressed by that one. So, you always did really well. But with the video interviews, again, it is just practice, it’s building up a bank of go-to answers, again, I can remember the answers you’ve given for when you were working at the school, having to prepare lesson plans during covid time and stuff. So, it’s just building up that bank of bank advances. How do you think you’d do if I was to put you on a spot now?

Charlotte: Oh gosh. I mean I could probably give you an answer, but I don’t know how good it would be.

James: No, I’m joking. It is a muscle and it’s amazing just how going from a fine-tuned athlete. It does when you stop practising them it does slip up. Any advice you give to people for the video interview stage and what they need to do to progress?

Charlotte: I think two things. Mainly just time yourself answering the questions. Because I think I underestimated you know, how little time they give you to actually say quite a lot, and as you sort of already mentioned, just having a bank of answers, obviously different examples can be phrased in different ways, but they’re examining the same concepts. So, just kind of having those go-to answers that can be applied and used in loads of different ways, but then also in some ways that can be a negative because you’ve sort of got a robotic answer for one question when they may not ask it like that. So, being able to be malleable and change it as well.

James: Yep, definitely. I think that’s great advice that flexibility is the key. And one of the ways that people really do tend to let themselves down at the video interview stage is going in with this is my answer. It’s almost like, here’s my answer. What’s the question? And just getting into of robotic answer.

Charlotte: Definitely.

James: Yeah, being flexible really is the key. Especially, for companies, as I mentioned, like Mars, where it’s not just a simple sort of one question. It’s a question with multiple parts, so a question within a question. This is where the benefit course comes in with the group of people that you went through the process with and people sharing the questions that they faced for the different companies. So, knowing in advance what their questions always help, and as listeners every Tuesday we’d get together and as a group, people are available and we’d go through and we’d do as part of the call, we’d do like a practice session at the end where you listen to people do answer a competency question and you’d review and give critique to your peers. So, how useful was it to hear other people answer the questions?

Charlotte: Yeah, I mean, I found it really useful a because it gets you thinking about, actually we probably, if we’ve all been to university, we’ve probably experienced a similar situation with the deadline. So, some examples they were using, I could grab bits of what they were saying and put into my answers, but also good to sort of hear actually how little time there is weirdly speaking. If you sort of hear someone else speaking and you are watching the clock go down, it’s really informative to know actually there’s not that much time and you’re going to keep your answer concise. So, I found it really useful, and also judging them as well, on their answers and being really supportive of what the answers they gave, but finding ways that they can improve it is really rewarding I guess as well is probably something, you see a lot. But I really enjoyed doing that.

James: Excellent. And changing tack slightly. You mentioned earlier that you’ve been… you were working in recruitment whilst you were going through this application process. How did you find that process? So, recruitment, it’s a stressful job, it’s a really busy job working in London for long hours. How did you cope with getting applications in also then going through the process, making time for video interviews, assessment centres, interviews, that type of stuff?

Charlotte: Definitely, I mean, a lot of my friends have said that applying for grad schemes or applying for jobs is almost like a full-time job. And at points, it was really frustrating that some of my friends didn’t have to work but weren’t working and they could kind of just spend all their time on applications and that was sort of me getting back from work knowing, oh gosh, I’ve got a video interview or psychometric test. So, I mean, I guess I found it fine, you kind of just get on with that. I knew that I wanted a grad scheme so badly that I was kind of prepared to do whatever, and you actually do have a lot of time to… there are a lot of hours in a day and especially a weekend.

So, what I would do is usually, get him from work, have a break or whatever, and revise, if it was a video interview, I’d revise and then do that first thing on a Saturday morning if I wasn’t too hungover, no, I wouldn’t do them hungover. But I just think you have to, it just is a time thing and I think even obviously I’d get home at like seven-ish, but you’d still do have a few more hours left of brain thinking time or even if you’re just making notes based on a company’s, ESG report or their sort of annual report or whatever. So, I mean, I did find it difficult balancing the two, but I think you kind of you just do it and you just hope that it’ll be worth it in the end, but also not to do it the whole time to allow yourself to go with friends or whatever, watch a film, not to overdo it, but the weekends we used a lot for those sort of tests.

James: Definitely. I think that’s a great point that you mentioned there in terms of the balance, and we did see in the course, everyone starts super enthusiastic about getting the applications in. But there is the… where you go through the dip in sort of November, December time where companies stop getting in touch, it all goes quiet, you’ve just waiting for stuff. And as you mentioned, even when you get past the video interview stage, sometimes they’re like you got past, but we don’t know if there’s going to be an assessment centre or if you’re waiting, it’s like semester then just like, I’ve passed it, but you’re not even going to give me an interview or not getting through to the next stage. So, it is really important to find the balance, find the balance between working hard, but also heading to Infernos on a Friday, or Saturday night.

Charlotte: Oh God. But no, you’re right. I’m sorry. I’ve also realized when you said about assessment centres, that bit, I did find a bit more challenging. You kind of use your holiday, but then you don’t get the job, which is very frustrating. But it’s one of those things.

James: So, let’s move to the assessment centre stage then. So, Mars was one of the companies that you were really keen on, and you did get to the assessment centre. Do you maybe talk us through how the assessment centre went in retrospect?

Charlotte: Well, I’d never done an assessment centre before, and luckily we had a few hours before the… well the previous day before the assessment centre, so you could let me know what to expect in terms of the sort of tasks that we had to do, because obviously there are lots of different types of the group exercise, but this one was a different one where we kind of had to make a sales pitch. So, I was grateful for, obviously, I’ve got going through that, but sort of in retrospect, I do think I was quite under-prepared for what they were asking. Also, having just done psychology as a degree you’re sort of against people who have done sort of business or they’ve been working in sales for a year, so they know kind of what to accept or I’m sorry, accept, expect or doing a master’s in management, that kinda thing.

So, I do think always room for improvement when you do a big PowerPoint of a sales pitch or whatnot. But I do think I was quite underprepared for what they were actually looking for, just because I’d never done it before, how’d you get practice without doing it? But I would say, that was difficult. And then the questions I think, you know, prepared for, we’d gone through a lot of practice questions about what to sort of expect. I’d research the company really well, as you said, sort of, it was one I was really keen on, just based on loads of different things, their scheme, sort of the company itself, the brands the meaning the brands have attached to different things, for example, I know Shiba with the Hope brief, that kind of thing. So, I think the question side of things went well. It was just sort of the assessment was a bit difficult and sort of the questions asked afterwards, I suddenly thought, oh gosh, I don’t think I’ve done very well at this PowerPoint. And then they did let me know that day I hadn’t progressed, which was a bit disheartening.

James: Yeah, especially as you said about how to take a day off work just like saying to your boss, “I’m just going to take a random Wednesday off work for…”

Charlotte: Yeah, that’s what it was.

James: And depending on your employer, that’s either fine or that could be an issue. So, you’ve got to balance that, especially if you’ve got a few assessment centres coming up at once which makes it challenging. So, you did really well to navigate that, but you’re completely right. The first assessment centre you do, I don’t care what it is, you will perform better at the second one than you will in the first one, perform better at the third one, then the second one. it’s difficult, it’s a challenge. So, it was tough that that was, it was the first assessment centre you did for the company that you really wanted, and in the ideal world, you would’ve had someone else first, you could have done that one, learned a lot, and then been mentally more prepared for the second one. But you mentioned you were disappointed. How did you cope with that? How did you keep on keeping on?

Charlotte: I mean that evening I was furious, but I guess it’s just one of those things I kind of just thought, actually the job wouldn’t have been in London, so maybe blessing a disguise which is a terrible thing to say, but also I had a lot of other roles in the pipeline. I think obviously speaking to you and the office really helped as well, just because there is so much to obviously have learned from it, and I do think in these circumstances with jobs and whatnot, I may be wrong, but things do happen for a reason and sometimes if you take that stance and like, it has happened for a reason, I’ve got a job that I’m super happy with and really excited about. So, obviously, it’s easy to look back now and say that, but at the time I was frustrated. But I think sort of just trusting the process, I guess, knowing that I did have a few jobs still in the pipeline and kind of speaking to you really helped, my parents really helped just to kind of keep positivity and it does happen and it’s just one of those things.

James: Definitely. And completely, you’re completely right. Every job you don’t get is a lucky escape. It’s really difficult to see it at the time, but in retrospect, you will end up where you need to be, and for you, that’s central London in a nice, very glamorous location, versus where it might have been for some pet food factory…

Charlotte: Yeah, I don’t actually know where it was. It’s someone I’d never heard of.

James: That’s everything’s happened for a reason. So, then take us on to the other assessment you had was it the insurance company next, or was there another one in between?

Charlotte: Yes, it was that one next. So, I the assessment centre I found a lot better because it was a group-based exercise. So, the final stage interview came after the assessment centre, which is when they sort of asked me different questions. But this one was a group exercise, so it was with everyone who applied to whatever scheme it was in the insurance company, and because we’d practised them a lot in the Tuesday group session and we’d sort of had an hour or so on what the key things they’re looking for is not necessarily about there’s nothing to the task really. It’s pretty irrelevant what they make you do, but how to engage and kind of play the group assessment and what they’re looking for. I think you literally got me past it because of the importance of not being too punchy, but also asking people who haven’t spoken, someone being the timekeeper, you know, just seems to look out for not being afraid to speak except just to sort of all the tips you gave me, I think I’m hard and very much applied just because what kind of, what you said, what happened did with the dynamic of people. So, I did actually think afterwards that it went well. I mean, you never know because the task they make you do is quite trivial and quite confusing at times.

James: That’s good to hear. And we did the weekly calls, we did the practice assessment centre with all the people on the call. So, it’s always good too, again, it’s really difficult to practice, but we do our best to get the practice in there. So, glad that was useful for you. But did you have an inkling, did you think after this one you were like of course you don’t count your chickens, but did you think “I’m confident”?

Charlotte: I don’t know if I felt confident, but I definitely thought there was nothing else I could have done. I did everything James said to do. I mean, obviously, I don’t think we did very well on the group task because I don’t think many do. Because I think we had to suggest some sort of schedule for, I didn’t even, I can’t really remember what it was, but I did walk away thinking I’d done everything James said to do. And so, it didn’t say think, oh, I wish I’d said this, or I wish I’d done that apart from the group task, not going very well.

James: Yeah. Well, it doesn’t matter if it goes well, it’s just as long as you perform the best or perform well, then that always helps. So, you obviously, obviously impress them because they gave you the good news. Did they make you wait for it or was it on the day, or was it a couple of days later?

Charlotte: I think it was actually about three, four weeks later, so it was a bit of time,

James: Which is listeners as you go into the application process, don’t expect anything to be quick, don’t expect to hear quick, don’t expect it to be quick between the stages, and as Charlotte said three to four weeks from the assessment centre to get the offer, that’s long.

Charlotte: That wasn’t even the offer, that was the final stage interview, but it usually is the offer after the assessment centre.

James: So, what was the final stage then? So, I missed the final interview.

Charlotte: So, that was with my new boss, well, will be when I start in September and another head of the department. So, that was very much sort of competency-based questions and just sort of the why this firm, why this scheme and the classics tell us about a time, so, and then just any questions for them really. So, I mean obviously always, always with those kinds of interviews you wish you’d said more, but I felt well prepared for the research of the company lot. It was an industry, I really, really wanted to go into an ESG as something that I’m hugely, hugely interested in and sort of hadn’t wished it was, you know, offered as a grand scheme earlier on, is probably, maybe would’ve, you know, applied to more ESG, but I think that the only company that potentially offer it, but I felt well prepared and really excited about the opportunity. So, I think it was a good interview, but you always come away thinking, I wish I’d said this, and I really didn’t know. And then after that, I think I heard about a month later whether I’d actually got, got the job. So, it was I remember kept messaging you and you’d say, “It’s fine, yesses take a long time” and I was thinking. Gosh, I hope so.

James: That’s it. The no’s come back quicker than yeses, so because you were getting worried that you haven’t heard. Don’t worry, and it was, you got the great news, and it was, didn’t even think about it, just accept straight away.

Charlotte: Oh gosh. Yeah. It was a gosh, try not to cry, accept straight away kind of thing. But I obviously got out of work now, so that was a bit difficult. I had to get back to work and pretend not to be too excited. But now I was over the moon and then accepted straight away.

James: Yeah. Was everyone at work like, “Why are you dancing around the office”?

Charlotte: Yeah. Why are you crying?

James: I can remember you texted me the good news and I was also dancing around the… there’s no better feeling than getting the message to say, we’ve got the job. So, I was just as pleased for you as you were so brilliant, a long process. So, it wasn’t, I’m just trying to think exactly when it came through, but it was from starting in September time sort of seven, eight months. It was a long time, it was the written application I think you did in November and found out, got the offer in April. So, long time. And then you had to just pretend to keep on working even though you knew you were going to be handing in your notice.

Charlotte: Yeah, exactly.

James: This is always a challenge, and you get the good news, but you start in six weeks’ time.

Charlotte: Yeah, super excited, really excited to start. They’ve done some great networking events, as I said earlier, so even more excited than I was, and good to meet other grads and that kind of thing. I think companies are really great when they offer grad schemes that sort of bring, bring you all together and stuff.

James: And that’s what you want. You want companies who are investing in you but also recognize that there are things they can do before you start. So, networking, as you said, bodes well for the future, that they’ve got that on the radar. It’s always great when you can start somewhere knowing that you’ve already met colleagues, you’re going to be working with which is… So, well done you deserve every success. I’m so pleased for you. So, you’re going to do amazingly at your firm. So, maybe a couple of final questions before we, before we wrap up today. Maybe looking back to this time last year, what would you tell yourself, what would you tell Charlotte this time last year? What advice would you give yourself going into the process?

Charlotte: I think to trust the process, and I mean, potentially, even though I was more selective to have been a bit more selective, I guess, and really research what I was interested in, what companies I’d actually really want to push comes to shove, really actually work for… that’s what I would say. I mean, trusting the process was a big one. I mean, the first time I got through the video interview, I was like, my gosh, I can’t believe it, and just because obviously, I’d never got that far before and everyone always says all you need is one. And it’s so true, but it can be so frustrating at the time. So, just trust the process.


James: Great advice, and the final question then, today, what advice would you give someone who’s in two minds about whether to join the How to Get a Graduate Job course?

Charlotte: Oh, 100%. I mean, even if there was a time I was thinking, oh gosh, I might not get a job, but I remember discussing with my parents and friends, it’s still a hundred per cent worth it because I mean, I don’t know what another individual would be struggling on, but the fact that you got me past literally all the video interviews when I’d never passed one, just sort of spoke for itself. And I think the five hours of coaching, I found the most valuable just because, you really take the time and address what specifically a person wants to work on, but also the resources that the course offers, whether that’s from the different episodes or the handouts or the Facebook group where we can post the questions and the Tuesday group. So, 10,000% I could, I really, really couldn’t recommend it more.

James: Oh, sure. Thank you so much and as I said, really mean it every, I wish you every success in starting, you’re going to be amazing, and you’re going to have a great time.

Charlotte: Thank you

James: …on the scheme. So, all that is left to say is good luck, and thank you for joining me on the Graduate Job Podcast.

Charlotte: Thank you. I honestly never would’ve been able to without you. So, I really appreciated it.

James: Many thanks to the brilliant Charlotte for joining me on the show, which was a good few months ago now when we recorded. And speaking to her recently I’m pleased to tell you that the graduate scheme has lived up to all of the hype, and she has been having a great time, loving the work, the company and the people, so happy days, and another satisfied customer of the How to Get a Graduate Job course. If like Charlotte you also want to invest in yourself and get ahead in the ultra-competitive race to secure a graduate scheme, then this course is for you. Check out my other episodes which I’ll link to in the show notes (graduatejobpodcast.com/charlotte) where you can listen to Sibrah, Saffy, Callum, Jack, Athavan, Daniel and all the other alumni members over the years share their success stories to inspire you. If you want to dip your toe in first, check the show notes again where you can try a 30-minute free coaching call with yours truly, where we can cover anything that you need help with, and you can get a free flavour of how I can help. Don’t be shy, get in touch just like Charlotte did, and as she says, 10000% you won’t regret it. So I hope you enjoyed the show today, but more importantly, I hope you use it and apply it. See you next time.