I Got Hired: Technology Analyst at Global Media and Entertainment

Posted on: 18 September 2023 by Richard Finch in Graduate stories

Evie Ratcliffe is a Class of 2022 Hispanic Studies graduate, now working as a Technology Analyst at Global Media and Entertainment.

I found my current role on Milkround which is a career site. I was sent the advert by a friend who knew I wanted to break into the technology space and wanted to find a place where I could learn and develop a range of skills.

I was invited to complete an assessment day and interview and was then offered the job! Through spending time during my 3rd and 4th year of university figuring out what excited me and what I could see my future career progression looking like. And then taking proactive steps to getting there.

In my case, this was completing some coding courses in my spare time (lockdown helped with that!) which gave me an insight into the areas of tech that felt right for me. Also reaching out to tech people within my network who could give advice and guidance on where to start.

My favourite experience was my first week at Global where we had the 'bootcamp'. I got to meet all the other graduates joining at the same time as me, which was great as we were all in the same boat, being new and very nervous. We spent the week learning about all the different areas of the company, like the outdoor advertising and getting a tour around the Radio X broadcast studios!

It was really good to immerse myself in the company culture and meet such a range of people - it really set me up for starting my role and getting stuck into the interesting stuff! Breaking into a competitive industry with a background in something completely different!

I felt a lot of imposter syndrome in my first few months as others around me had come from more technical degrees and experiences. My degree experience gave me a lot of skills that helped me overcome this. With a language’s degree, you have to learn how to be confident and speak publicly and communicate effectively to get your point across and this helped me immensely when starting my job in a big company. Then, the more technical side just had to learned through training, asking lots of questions and a lot of trial and error!

My top three tips for current students:

1) Be open minded - You might spend your time in university wanting to do one thing after and then change your mind, and that's completely ok! Stay open-minded to new possibilities and be willing to pivot when opportunities come around. And be curious about other fields!

2) Your learning doesn't end at graduation - In any job you go into there's things to learn and skills to refine. My biggest tip for the workplace is networking. Speak to as many people as possible and get your name and face out there! Then you'll be thought of for future opportunities and progression.

3) Ask as many questions as you can - to lecturers, course mates and those outside your immediate field. Don't be afraid to do this as it's tough feeling like you don't know what you're doing and most of the time, everyone is more than happy to help you!