Case Study - Nancy

Nancy is a Chinese student who came to the UK and secured a graduate position in a UK company.

Read the case study and answer the questions at the end.

Name: Nancy

Qualifications:

  • Master’s Degree: Sustainable Energy Systems (University of Edinburgh)
  • Bachelor’s Degree Electrical Engineering obtained (Nanjing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics)

Current Employer: London Taxi Company, design and manufacture of the iconic London Black Cab taxis

Location: Coventry 

Job Title: Graduate Electrical Engineer

 

 

How did you achieve your current position?  

Apart from a short internship, I didn’t have previous employment experience before starting my Master's study. But with an interest in green energy, I focussed on electric vehicles quite early and started to look for chances related from the end of 2015.

I joined 2 EV(electric vehicle) related student projects at Edinburgh University and attended various events related, during which I met several people in the EV area who offered me many help and advice.

With the help of an outgoing personality, I practised my spoken and written English at all times and learned to get along with other students from all over the world during the whole year, which was very useful for job application and actual work.

I found a part-time job at Greggs (bakery chain retailer), from which I learned a lot about employment in UK (recruitment procedures, paperwork, etc). Also, I earned myself this chance by showing my passion and capability, which made me more confident and determined for the following job-hunting days.

I spent lots of time on preparing my CV, self-introduction, cover letter and LinkedIn profile - this was really important and worth spending time on.  I searched advice from different people that I met, this included academic staff at the university, industry and relatives.

I searched on the University Careers Service website and used their service a lot. I kept searching on job search engines and uploaded so many applications (and failed nearly all of them…).  I wrote enquiry emails/made enquiry calls in very polite manner.

I was lucky enough to notice some seemingly tiny chances, and my thorough previous preparation gave me the ability and confidence to grab them.

Nancy found it very easy to find her current job as an Electrical Engineer

Nancy started looking for a graduate employment opportunities as soon as she arrived in the UK

Nancy learned a lot from her part time job at Greggs bakery

Nancy had a lot of employment experience before she started her Master's programme. 

Nancy mentions a number of people that were useful to her in her career planning.  Who are they? 

Nancy's case study highlights a few key points about career planning:

  • Start early and find out about events related to your specific area of interest
  • Part time and temporary work provides valuable opportunity to gain employability skills
  • It's worth spending lots of time preparing your CV and cover letters, and tailoring them for each job application
  • Engage with the University Careers Service from the start of the course - don't leave it until the final year
  • Never give up!

Now go back to the 'Research Your Options' page and go to the 'My Career Plan' section.  You are now ready to complete Section 3 of your Career Plan template!