For the 127th episode of the Graduate Job Podcast, I speak with a listener of the show Sam, as he shares how he secured his dream graduate job with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Sam signed up for the ‘How to Get a Graduate Job’ course back in September last year, and we discuss how following the steps in the course led him to graduate job success. In the episode, Sam shares his experience of going through the application process for a range of government and policy graduate schemes, such as the Fast Stream, NHS, FCA and others, sharing his insights into what he learned from the CV application stage, completing dozens of different psychometric tests, and his tips and tricks for passing the recorded video interview stage. We also deep dive into the assessment centre stage, as Sam shares his insights into how you can impress at this final hurdle. It’s an inspiring episode, and if Sam can do it, you can do it too, so strap yourself in and listen to our chat today. Now the links to the show notes today including a full transcript you can download and links to everything we discuss can be found at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/Sam.
MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
- How Sam secured a graduate job with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- Sam’s top tips for impressing in the recorded video interviews
- Why you should only go for the companies that you actually care about
- How to cope with the stress of an assessment centre, and what you can expect on the day
- Why Sam joined the ‘How to Get a Graduate Job’ course, and why he thinks you should too.
Hello and welcome to the graduate job podcast. I’m back after a 6 month break from episodes, where sadly I’ve been otherwise occupied with activities like moving house, and changing jobs, but also lots of fun one-on-one career coaching but I’m back with a cracking episode for you today. By popular demand and to dispel the doom and gloom you hear about the graduate job market, I’ve got a listener of the show and course alumni from the How to Get a Graduate Job course Sam on the show, who shares his experiences of applying for public sector, governmental, NGO and charity graduate schemes, and how he ultimately got 2 offers, including one he took with the Financial Conduct Authority, the FCA. Now Sam is just like you, a listener to the show who got in touch with me a year ago to sign up to the How to Get a Graduate Job course back in August last year, and in today’s episode, he shares his experience of going through the application process for a range of different public sector graduate schemes, sharing his insights into what he learned from the different stages, from completing dozens of different psychometric tests, and his tips and tricks for passing the recorded video interview stage. We also deep dive into the assessment centre stage, as Sam shares his insights into how you can impress at this final hurdle. As I said, it’s an inspiring episode, and if Sam can do it, you can to, so strap yourself in and listen to our chat today. Now the links to the show notes today including a full transcript you can download and links to everything we discuss can be found at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/Sam.
Before we start a quick message from me. If you are interested in getting graduate job like Sam, follow his footsteps and head to www.howtogetagraduatejob.com. It worked for him, and will work for you. That’s www.howtogetagraduatejob.com. Ok, on with the show.
James Curran: I’m very pleased to welcome you to the show today, a listener to the podcast, and alumni from the ‘How to get a graduate job‘ course, Sam, welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast.
Sam: Hi, thanks for having me.
James: Thank you for joining us today, good to get you on this show. And today we’re going to explore your journey to getting a graduate job this year. So before we get into your insight and thoughts, you may just want to introduce yourself to listeners who you are, where you studied, and all that good stuff.
Sam: So my name is Sam Killick, I’ve just completed a four-year integrated master’s at the University of Nottingham studying International Relations and Global Issue and that also included a year abroad in my second year at Charles University in Prague. I’ve been lucky enough to gain a graduate role at the Financial Conduct Authority starting this autumn.
James: Brilliant and no luck involved with that an entirely deserved. We are going to explore just how you went about getting that. Just say to listeners, this is an interesting year, it’s been a really busy year for you, and so as you said, currently the final year of your course at Nottingham Uni and at the same time as well as the final year and all the work and dissertations and all that fun stuff, you’ve also been applying for graduate jobs. So it’s been a really busy year for you.
Sam: Definitely, a lot busier than I think I kind of expected new university coursework would be a lot more work than previous years and would take a lot of effort. And I knew that as well, applying for graduate roles would be a lot of hard work, but I suppose I didn’t realize how time-consuming that would all be. Yes, been very busy trying to balance all the applications and the different stages of that with also making sure that I’ve been able to still get all my coursework done on time and meet those deadlines.
James: We’ll maybe touch on just some of your top tips for how you managed to do that throughout the interview. But maybe let’s start at the beginning, you’ve mentioned that you’ve done well, you’ve got an offer from a brilliant graduate scheme with the FCA. So, let’s start then with the application process, what type of companies have you been applying to over the last year?
Sam: So I’ve been predominantly applying to roles that have been either in the public sector, so looking at obviously regulation things like the FCA or also things like the civil service or local government. But then, also looking at roles with charities, mainly just kind of wanted to go down that route rather than the corporate avenue, because I thought it’s a really good way that during your work, you can have a positive impact on other people’s lives. And I’ve just really wanted a job where I could make that positive change.
James: Definitely from other people on the ‘How to get a graduate job‘ course as well, who are applying for more corporate stuff, they’ve had so much more sort of companies and graduate schemes to aim in terms of that regulatory, civil service sort of non-governmental, and also governmental schemes. There are not that many of them, there are a few courses but it’s not like if you want to be an accountant and you there are hundred different accounting firms you can apply to. I think I’m just looking at your tracker where people on the course that we track your applications, I think there were 14 in the end that you’d apply to and we’ll touch on some of those as we go through the interview today. But maybe let’s jump back in time, let’s jump back to May or June 2021, what made you think about signing up for the ‘How to get a Graduate Job‘ course.
Sam: So I know that it’s obviously a very competitive environment to go into graduate roles and you find a role that you find interesting but then you never know how many other people are applying to that. But then, going into this area knowing that it is quite limited on the number of schemes available that there’s always going to be hundreds or thousands of other people that you’re up against. So I think going down this route and signing up for the course want to do that because then I kind of hone my skills a bit and gain greater insight as to what recruiters are looking for, what each stage might look like, and also having those one-on-one sessions, I’ve been able to get like my CV checked or a cover letter checked, or just to make sure that there’s no sort of like grammar or errors that might have missed because those things are very crucial and can make yourself stand out. And also have that opportunity to get onto the latest stages, be able to practice sort of video interviews and assessment centre scenarios to then just have that confidence to know that you’re prepared for everything and nothing will come as a surprise and then you’re very set up in the best way to then absolutely smash each stage and hopefully progress as much to then get those offers. I think there are such positive recommendations for the course as well that motivated me to sign up.
James: Listeners, a link to the other episodes where you can find the previous alumni who’ve joined us on the show just like Sam’s doing today over in the show notes, which you can find today over www.graduatejobpodcast.com/sam and there’ll be a full transcript there which you can download and links to everything which we discussed today. So let’s dive into the application process, we kicked off the course in August of last year, and it’ll be opening again at the same time this year. Where we started working together and getting yourself and it was another five or six other people who sort of the initial people who signed up this year and we started thinking about just getting everyone prepped and ready for the sort of the pre-application phase and making sure that everybody was ready for when the applications open come at the beginning of September.
And of course, this was more difficult for you as we mentioned, just with the fact that you were balancing your university coursework as well. So maybe if we just touch on that, you mentioned that it was busy, how did you find it then just balancing, trying to get the applications in, getting high-quality applications which is what we focus on in the course, drilling in the smaller number, but high quality. With your reading and coursework and exams and things like that, how did you find that?
Sam: I’m not going to lie, it was very tough, and I think that’s something that I feel is very helpful to know going into that it is going to be difficult, but then there is the ability to take steps to then make sure that you are well set up to manage everything. So I did have times where depending on the applications that are coming in or those who were applying to the stages, progressing to different stages of my deadlines was kind of like my focus shifted around those key dates. So I suppose that was the main thing that I could have kept in focus knowing that I have a certain piece of coursework during it this time, and I need to apply to this scheme by this certain date and if I then get through just to this next stage, I have to complete that by another certain date. So then, plotting out what needed to be done and by when, so than building backward from that, and then just doing something as simple as making to-do lists of just knowing that all I’ve got to do this one thing for that application, or I’ve got to do this reading for that piece of coursework so then you can break everything down and then easily monitor what you’ve done, what you’re kind of still planning to do and what you’re going to do on the next day and everything like that.
So that helped to set dates and deadlines, and then work back from that with my mini-deadlines I suppose, to then make sure that everything stayed on track and then definitely do that and structure your time well. I feel that sets you up to then be able to have that time if it’s for submitting a CV or a cover letter or to have the time to go through a test, you’ve got that time to do those quality checks to make sure that you are nailing everything and completing everything to the high ability.
James: Just looking at the tracker, there were 14 companies you applied to. We got all the dates in for the deadlines when they were and as you said, you knew when the deadlines were when you needed to get them in by, and you could then work through the list focusing on the most interesting and exciting ones you were interested in first and then working through the other ones where you want to be less interested in them but still making sure that you’re getting them all in before the deadline which is always crucial. So let’s maybe then work through the different stages of the application of course initially is that initial application stage, often these days CV, cover letter, or just your basic background information. I think you made it through, you applied to 14, and you made it past this first stage for everybody so you were doing well there. What are your recollections of this initial stage, how did you find it and what did you find difficult with the initial applications?
Sam: I suppose for a lot of the applications that I did, the initial stage surprisingly, there was only a few that had more actual letters, whereas a lot of them were more focused on CVS and then having an initial online test. I feel the focus for that point was just putting together a very sound and solid CV as a baseline to then build from that and tweak it ever so slightly for each application to make sure that it’s suited to what they’re looking for and what they’re interested in to make sure that one experience might have, might be more interesting to one employer compared to another one. So rejigging things to then make sure that you’re emphasizing what they’re looking for that makes it easier for them to see that you are the right candidate.
And in terms of the online test as well, I think it’s definitely something that you were mentioning in the pre-application phase of things was kind of getting set up and signed up to one of those testing sites early and making sure that you put in that practice and have that time to hone your skills on those tests and know the way to beat them.
James: Some great advice there, so if we just break that down, the initial on application, it’s just jumping through the hoops of whatever hoops they want you to jump through whether it’s a CV or cover letter et cetera. By just looking at your CV now, it’s a really strong CV, it can be worked on that in the course in terms of bits to put in. Of course, a CV for more government-focused, charity-focused, or regulatory-type companies is going to be completely different from a CV for an accounting firm, et cetera. In terms of the stories that you talked about in your experience, you’ve got a really broad range of different work experiences and things there. So you brought that to the fore in the CV, and had a nice punchy executive summary as well, which worked well. So I can understand, of course why you sailed through this initial stage. Onto the online testing stages you mentioned, how did you find that, was it as you expected or harder than you expected? Did you have any troubles with the online test?
Sam: I suppose I didn’t know what to expect going into it. I think it was Assessment Day was the site that I ended up using as a practice and I think the first application that I did get through to that initial test, I think I underestimated how hard they were. I thought, oh, I’ve done like one or two practices, this will be a breeze, I’ll get through this. And then I think for that first application I did, I think that was to the civil service fast stream that I didn’t get through on that online test. But I think from that, I feel that was a big learning point that I need to take these tests more seriously and I think going through and having that practice helped to make sure that I was confident in doing the test. I didn’t know what to expect, but I feel in the end building up with it all and gradually getting better and more confident through the practice tests, and the more tests and applications I did, the more confident I felt. So, yeah, I gradually got better and better with that.
James: It’s a really good point there. So of course with the application you’ve only got so much time, so you want to focus on the ones you’re interested in. It’s probably best for our listeners don’t go for your number one favourite one first, just so as Sam said, you can calibrate where you are with an employer who may be you want to apply to, but if you didn’t get it you wouldn’t be completely too upset just so that if you find out you’re nowhere near where you need to be on the online tests, you’re not too upset. But looking at the dates, you applied to the civil service on the 1st of October, and you then did the test on the 5th of October. So as I’ve said, previously listeners, they don’t give you long to complete the tests so you need to make sure that you are up to speed and ready to do the test as soon as you send in the online application. Otherwise, you’re going to be trying to frantically cram in all your online testing practice into sort of five days, it’s going to be a struggle.
So it was a shame that they came back so quickly to you for you to do the civil service one because I know that was one that you were interested in and it’s a really popular scheme. I’ve done the online test for that one, it’s a funny one isn’t it, because you get scenarios and it is a sort of situation judgment so it’s video-based, you get video scenario then you’ve got to sort of rank what you would do in those situations. Is, that right for the civil service?
Sam: I think there’s a mixture of some had to video, some were just text. I can’t remember if it was like agreed to strongly disagree or something like that or ranking different actions, I’m trying to wreck my brains as well now back then to what exactly they were doing. But, I remember it was different questions and a lot of different parts to it because following on from that, I ended up doing some other applications to civil service roles that weren’t necessarily the fast stream. And those tests were structured in the same way, but they were less intense, they weren’t as long as those, I think also having done that first one and knowing what to expect, I was then able to do better in the other ones. I think I was the type of person that got the tester and thought, okay, now I need to do the practice and you only have that. As I said, you only have that limited amount of time, so definitely something I learned from.
James: Just to give listeners a flavour of some of the places you’ve applied. So, the NHS graduate scheme, the next one was Local Government Graduate Scheme, Charity Works, Cancer Research, Treasury, Policy Advisors, the Health Policy Fast Track Scheme, Ofcom, Smart Works, and CMA. So a range of different organizations as you mentioned all in that governmental regulatory policy charity sphere. As I said, a smaller number of people apply. So moving on then. So from the online testing phase, you learn your lesson quickly with the civil service and then you were up to speed and whizzed through all of those and we were onto the video interview stage and on the course, we do weekly sort of seminars and webinars. We do a lot of practice getting people ready with the two-minute answers to a range of questions. It was funny when you gave me a brief intro then, at the beginning of the call when you mentioned studying out at Charles University in Prague, it suddenly flashed back to me the stories you tell about your time at that university as part of your sort of competency answers and things. How did you find a video interview stage? You did well in it and you got through the vast majority stage of this one, how did you get used to answering two-minute questions?
Sam: It’s quite hard to get used to. I remember having those weekly calls, it’d always be that you dread at the end and think, oh no, now I’m getting put on the spot in front of everyone and I’ve got to wrap my brain for the things that I’ve done to find something. But I generally feel those sessions were so helpful because it was doing it that often, we started doing that before I even got to a video interview stage yet. So I knew what to expect early on doing it that way but then I think when the first one came through, I was nervous for it because I think that’s the first stage that they see you and see you speaking and, or see you have that quick turnaround time of what you’re going to get asked so it was tough.
But I think having the practice sessions, I think this stage was really where the one-on-one calls were really useful because just being able to have that time to think of the type of questions that you might get asked in the video interview and then for you to then pose those to me and go through that whole scenario of everything, then watching that back and finding out how I performed and looking at some of the answers and thinking like, oh my God, that was dreadful. Or, I’m not looking at the camera or I’m not smiling or I’m not being engaging or anything. So there’s a lot that goes into it that you don’t think about at the start, it’s quite a, quite a tough learning curve with the video interviews.
James: And it really is just practice and there’s no better way is painful, is watching yourself back. Nobody likes doing it but is such a powerful way to do it and the weekly webinars that we do and the benefit as well of not just when you are under pressure and you do it yourself, but seeing other people, seeing the answers they give, seeing how they structure it, that’s an excellent way to do it. Or, picking up from other people is also a great way to learn, so listeners if you want to practice, you want to succeed like Sam make sure you do check out the course, which will be linked to over in the show notes www.graduatejobpodcast.com/sam.
And just looking at the dates again in your tracker. So it’s averaging probably about six weeks from the initial online application and then the online testing tends to come very quickly within a couple of days, but looking on average, it’s sort of six weeks from that initial application to when you did the video interview. So listeners just setting your expectations, this is just how long it takes. Sometimes may be as quick as a month, sometimes could be a couple of months for people, so it does take a while to get there. So from the video interview, then you did well, you were impressed and you got through to the assessment, or you started to get the calls back for the assessment centres. But again, looking at the dates, this is on average two months later, so some video interviews tend to be sort of end of November, beginning of December. The first assessment sent to you was on the 1st of February, so again, don’t expect anything to move quickly. If you’ve not heard back, don’t worry, it just takes this amount of time. So cast your mind back to the 1st of February and the NHS graduate scheme. Do you want to talk us through that one and how that one went?
Sam: I thought it went quite well. I’m trying to think of the structure of the day, I think it was running from about nine o’clock in the morning till midday or just after midday. And I think included in that was a written exercise, a presentation, a group exercise, and then a strength-based interview. And obviously, there was some sort of introductory talks and things that kind of included in it all as well. I thought it was daunting again going into that because you’re seeing that there are all the other people there and you’re thinking about, how are they going to perform or something like that but then there’s one thing that I remember you mentioned on the course is about at that stage you’re all there make other people look as good as well. So, I suppose that was one thing but I thought it was a bit of a mixed bag with the activities, it was quite intense having to do so much in such a little amount of time and the time limits were sure. I think it was maybe about half an hour and 40 minutes for each exercise.
I found the written exercise quite tough because gets sent through lots of information, you got to try and read it all and make sense of it all and work out what’s useful and what’s not. And, then actually produce something that some form of a written piece that that’s coherent and makes sense. On that, I ran out of time a bit, so I was disappointed with my performance on that element but then was quite happy with how I loved the presentation and faced a few follow-up questions on that. Then that was also tough because again got lots of prep material to go through so that was difficult. I found the group exercises quite enjoyable because you are getting to meet the other people that are undertaking that assessment centre and if you’re successful at that time, they’ll be the people that you could be working with. So it’s nice just to have a bit of a chat with them and work on a problem with them and then come up with that final solution.
And then I would say, I mostly enjoyed the interview. That was all sort of focused on strengths-based questions, much more focused on how I like to work or what I would do in certain situations rather than focusing on certain competencies, but again I was pleased with how that section went.
James: Similar to what we talked about with the online testing, you probably don’t want the first time you do the online testing to be so on. You want the job and it’s just the same with the assessment centre, the assessment centre is tough. They’re designed to be tough and they put you under pressure and there’s so much to the day and there’s so in different parts and it’s nonstop and it’s straight from one to the other the hard. The first time you do one it’s tough, the second time you do one, it gets easier. The third time you do one, it gets even easier. So again, in the ideal world, you wouldn’t get an assessment. Well, you’d have a company, you’d get through the assessment centre and it would be a good learning opportunity with the recognition that it’s easier to get the second or third assessment centre than it’s to get the first assessment centre. And ultimately that was the outcome for this one, you didn’t get an offer from the NHS. Can you remember what feedback they gave you in terms of why they didn’t make an offer in the end?
Sam: The NHS, one’s a bit of a weird one. I was kind of made an offer, but not made an offer that I got through to a stage where they assigned roles, but then it’s then at the awkward stage because their scheme’s so big and it’s across the whole country, it’s then working out who works where, and, and things like that. So I think potentially just location preference and things like that didn’t match up.
James: After doing the service, there were two offers. This is also one of the things, is it a bird in the hand or two in the Bush? Do you want to wait for one and whether maybe the outcome’s not certain or you’ve got one which is a firm offer?
Sam: That was as well, they only got back to me with that long after I got the offer from the FCA. So I feel it was such a simple choice to go for the FCA in the first place anyway because they were my top choice. And it was something that was a very firm offer of this is where you’re working. This is when you’re starting, everything like that. So it made so much sense, I suppose that’s the disadvantage that some grad schemes run off offering to release their offers at different times.
James: You do see that with some of the accounting firms where some of them may be smaller ones will be quick through the process so they can get their offers in first, just in hope knowing that they might not be as attractive as a big four, but they get their office out sometimes before Christmas and hoping that people let just go, Instead of staying in the process for some of the bigger companies, it’s something to think about. So let’s move on to the FCA then, tell us about the FCA assessment centre and just how that went.
Sam: I think you touched on this, this ideal to then having that first assessment centre, you know how everything works and you know, how it runs. So I felt a lot more prepared and a lot more confident going into the FCA assessment centre. It was slightly different in the sense that it didn’t have a group exercise included in the session. It was just a written exercise, a presentation, and then an interview. With the written exercise and the presentation exercise, there was so much information to try and digest. The types of activities he was looking into, there’s a lot of financial details going into that transactions and things like that having to look through. So it was quite difficult trying to look out for those fine details within that, that would be useful for the answer which is planted there, but it could easily have just, just skipped over if you’re rushing through it.
I felt for, for the written exercise, I’d learned that I’m still going to be rushed for time, but just because of the way it was structured in the form of sending an email to someone. I made sure at the get-go, but dear and then the person’s name and then have a sign-off from me. So then however much I get done, it still looks like something that is a finished piece, so I learned to spend less time looking through all the information and then actually more time get getting my thoughts down.
The presentation, I thought went well and it was the same. Lots of information to go through and trying to plot out everything I wanted to say and then having to fit that into the five minutes that he got to speak was quite difficult. I did slightly overrun a little bit, but that ended up being alright and then there were lots of follow-up questions that were then asked off the back of that, questioning why you were taking certain actions or was there any additional things you’d do and things like that. So definitely need to be able to think on your feet and make sure they have a grasp of the information that they’ve presented to you.
In terms of the interview, that was different from the way that was run by the NHS, one of the NHS assessment centres. It was very clear that they had a set amount of questions to go through that I think everyone just got asked and that was just their process. Whereas with the FCA, it was fewer questions but with each question that was asked, I was then asked two or three follow-up questions. I think more so just to get a better understanding of the kind of example that I used to say how I’ve shown that skill or a time going through a certain experience. It was different, but that’s where I think it’s also useful to know what examples you’re going to use for different types of questions, just so you know that if you’re pushed on it, you know that alright, I did this and that’s the reason I did it and everything like that. All went well and luckily resulted in getting the offer a few weeks later.
James: Brilliant, you did well. As you talked about there with the offers and as you talked about there with the example, is it something that we worked a lot on in the mock training sessions we did for the mock interviews, just honing your examples. And you had relevant ones from your university coursework, from your volunteering and it does pay listeners, just make sure you’ve got a really good breadth of experience. It can be volunteering at the local charity shop, it doesn’t matter what it is. It’s just showing that you are outgoing, showing that you’ve got a range of interests and experiences that you can just replay back, especially if you are focusing on public sector type organizations, you want to be able to demonstrate an interest in the particular companies and schemes, et cetera that you’re going for. And Sam you did that well, so no surprise when they made an offer to you.
Sam: I was just going to say that I feel that was a really important thing of having those weekly sessions and having the one-to-one practice with you as well, was having that range of examples was because initially, I was kind of relying on just using one or two examples for everything. And obviously, as you and the other people on the course were able to point out in the feedback you gave me that can often get a bit repetitive and stuff. So it was really useful to find that out and then know that, okay, for this competency, I’ll use a certain example and make note of which examples I have for different competencies and make sure there’s a range of them for each and then there’s not that repetition.
James: What was interesting then was that you got the offer from the FCA and we’ve mentioned about just ranking those offers you still then were from some of the slower companies and organizations that you’d apply to, you were then beginning to get assessment centre of those coming through. But you knew that FCA was your one and you didn’t even bother going to those. Were you tempted to go along or for some of them, you just knew that, no, the FCA is where I want to be. There’s no point even wasting my time going to the assessment centre.
Sam: I think I ended up doing just one more assessment centre final after getting the FCA offer. But that was only because I think I got the offer on a Friday and that was then on the Monday or the Tuesday. So, I thought it was too late to cancel it anyway or what I have to lose it’s just happening right now. So I did that one, but with the other ones, I thought about the amount of time, effort, and dedication that has to go into preparing for an assessment centre, then I just thought if the FCA is my top choice and I know this is where I want to go and work then it’s not worth it. It’s so much like putting in all of that and I feel if I was to turn up on the day, I’d still know that the FCAs the place I wanted to work even go into those sessions. So I feel my performance probably wouldn’t have been that good anyway if my heart wasn’t fully in it. So, I think it was the right decision for me in the end.
James: As we talked in the beginning, this is during your fourth year at uni, you February, March time, look time is short. Time is precious. There’s no point going something unless you’re interested in it. You got the offer that you wanted from the firm you wanted when you initially start applying. So all was great, so a job well done. Sam, that brings us sort of nicely to the end of your application story just conscious of time. So maybe one final question then, what advice would you give to someone who’s maybe in two minds about whether they should sign up for the How to Get a Graduate Job course?
Sam: I’d say that they should do it because it’s so useful. And I feel that the thing for me is that it just helped to put my mind at ease throughout the whole process because as you said before, it’s so competitive and having a lot of work to do at certain times, whether you’re either having university work and applying for a role. Or whether you’re already working and you’re looking for a different job, things will get stressful as well. So I feel signing up for the course, you have the course material that talks you through each stage of the application process so you know what’s going to happen, and then you know what they’re going to be looking for from you. It helps put you at ease throughout the whole thing of there are no surprises and the fact that you have those weekly calls that you catch up. You learn how other people are doing and like I said, how they answer questions and you get that practice yourself. And also having that one-to-one experience with that coaching I feel is the most valuable part potentially because that’s where you’re able to hone your skills and ace each stage that you come up against. I think just the whole experience of the course is well worth it.
James: Sam that is a lovely part for us to finish the interview from. Thank you so much for appearing on the Graduate Job Podcast.
Sam: Thank you for having me.
James: So there you go, many many thanks to the brilliant Sam for coming back on the show and sharing his experiences over the last year and congratulations again for getting that much sought-after job with the FCA. Now if you would like to follow in Sam’s footsteps and get some structured help as you embark on your hunt for a graduate job, then don’t be a stranger, get in touch via hello@graduatejobpodcast.com and let’s have a chat. I offer a completely free 30-minute video coaching call where we can go through anything which is on your mind, from help with applications to interviews and everything in between. And now is the time to sign up to the How to Get a Graduate Job course which Sam signed up for. It worked for him, it worked for the other course members from this year and last, and it will work for you. Getting a graduate job doesn’t have to be a solo activity, get expert help with my course and completely change the way you approach applying for graduate jobs, from the initial application to the video interviews and the assessment centre, and all stages in between. Go to www.howtogetagraduatejob.com to find out more, and take advantage of the 4 hours of one on one coaching with yours truly that comes with the course if you sign up now. That’s www.howtogetagraduatejob.com. That’s everything from the episode today, I hope you enjoyed it, but more importantly, I hope you use it and apply it. See you next time.