How the Careers Team helped me secure my dream job

Daniel graduated from the University in 2018 following his studies in Computer Science. In this blog, he shares how support from the University’s Careers and Employment Team helped him secure his dream job, even before he graduated!

There were many reasons why I decided to study at Hertfordshire. The proximity to London was great as I got to build lots of relationships with the software industry through my membership of the British Computer Society. But I also really liked the campus, the environment and the services offered, especially the careers office. I have used them pretty much on a daily basis which has helped me secure a job at a multinational company where I get to work on projects all around the world.

The activities offered through the careers team have helped me develop professionally. These have included career fairs which gave me the opportunity to talk to employers face to face, BCS events where I could get to know professionals and representatives of the software industry and the leadership bootcamp, where I got to know amazing people and took part in activities that helped me develop both as an engineer and as an individual.

These activities make you more confident in yourself and also help you to become more aware of what other people think, which are some qualities that seem to be greatly valued by employers.

Starting university, it was clear to me that Engineering was what I wanted to do in life but it was only about 3 years ago that I found my true vocation within this field; starting a company that changes the world for the better thanks to technology or being part of a company whose purpose I truly believe in.

So far, I’ve had a lot of success. I’ve been able to make a lot of industry connections in very little time and I’ve secured a permanent job at one of the biggest engineering firms in Europe even months before graduating.

Securing this job wouldn’t have been possible without months of preparation, effort and commitment but I also have to give a lot of credit to the University’s Careers team. They assisted me throughout the whole process and helped me organise my mind for some of the most important decisions I had to make about my future career. 

The team are always quick to respond and will always make themselves available for appointments, sometimes even on the same day! During my 1 to 1 talks I got to know the staff and they got to know me meaning I always felt listened to and I received a lot of very useful advice

My top tips for making yourself more employable in your time at university can be summarised in 3 points;

1. Don’t focus on just your grades, they’re obviously very important, but soft skills the you pick up through extra curricular activities are important to.
2. Network, the best jobs are found by talking to someone you know, not by spamming thousands of CVs online.
3. Do apply for companies that do things you’re really passionate about, not necessarily the ones most closely related to your degree. You’ll find a way to apply what you learnt if you like what you do, i.e. I’m a software engineer but I really like working with aircraft's, therefore, I should apply for companies like Airbus, Boeing or Eurofighter, which I really like, not just to Google or Facebook because they offer a purely software engineering job and it's what I think I should do.

Daniel Garcia Molero
BSc (Hons) Computer Science
2018 Graduate

To find out more about the University’s Careers and Employment team, and how they can support you during your final year of study, visit the Career Hub or pop in to see the team in Hutton Hub, on the College Lane Campus.