The graduate perspective

It can be hard to think about life after uni when you have deadlines and exams on your mind. But sooner or later, your time at the university will sadly come to an end.

We decided to speak to former students to find out what they miss about being at university, what they got from their courses and what they wish they knew before they graduated.

Annabelle studied Broadcast Journalism and graduated in 2014. She now works as a freelancer in TV. Her most recent project is working on Gareth Malone’s Naked Choir as a Production Secretary.

“I wish I knew more about the Careers Service and how they can help. I went through uni in a bubble and didn’t use the vacancy service to look for jobs or ask anyone for advice about work. I think if I had made myself more aware of what’s on offer then maybe my life would be a bit easier! I do have a job that I got through knowing the right people but should I need to look for a new job, I know that I can rely on the Careers Service, a service that graduates have access to for life, to help me out.”

Flora graduated from International Event Management in 2014. She has since worked as an assistant at numerous festivals in the UK and abroad.

“Having wanted to go to India since before starting university, a happy coincidental turn of fate involved graduating an opportunity to work at festivals in India came along. Not really knowing what to expect, I packed myself off to Mumbai working with OML entertainment.

I was thrown straight into working as Assistant Technical Production Coordinator alongside a lovely team who made me feel very at home.

When I think about how the course helped, I would say that there were things that I hadn’t even realised I had learnt at uni that I found I was putting into practice and coming up with solutions and answers for problems when they were posed by other members of the crew. I felt fully prepared to work in a completely new environment because of my knowledge of the industry in the UK. I also found that I was quite often relating to the research I carried out for my dissertation.

My experience in India with OML has been unforgettable; I’ve been able to explore a beautiful country and meet amazing people, including industry professionals from both India and the UK.”

Dan studied Broadcast Media at the Hastings campus and graduated in 2013. He now works as a Production Assistant with the Buchanan Group and has worked for the BBC, Warner Brothers Studios and has also worked for the BBC and on shows such as ITV’s Downton Abbey.

He says: “It’s really rewarding to complete the course and graduate, but it’s tough freelancing in the film industry. There are a lot of areas to explore and ways to get into different places as in any industry, so it’s definitely worth taking the time and being open to new things that might be better for you. I wish I’d found the time during uni to do a bit of research into the working world, how people and companies operate and the best way I could prepare myself. Final year is a lot of work and it’s easy to get relieved about finishing it, but finding work and selling yourself is just as hard, and just as important as the degree itself.”

Starting to think about life after uni? There’s support available, contact your campus SSGT for advice.