Thinking of applying to one of our events? Read what a past attendee has to say about her experience….

About me!

Name: Catriona Byers           

University: Heriot Watt University

Course: Chemical Engineering

Event attended: Engineer your future

Why did you apply?

I found out about the event through an email sent by TARGETjobs.  The main reason I was interested in the event was that it was purely for female engineers. Coming from a male dominated course it was nice to see something purely aimed at females. The chance to meet other female engineers, whether still at university or in employment, was one, which I wanted to be involved with. I felt that the opportunity to meet successful females, from a male dominated industry, would be significant in gaining confidence with regards to both applications and teamwork situations within a university and employment environment. The opportunity to get interview and application tips from all the various companies was also an appealing factor.

What did you do next?

I originally researched all the companies that would be attending the event so that I could see what I could gain from the event as a whole. With the broad range of companies, from different sectors, I made sure that my CV was not too specific towards one industry.  I also made sure that my CV was up to date so that if I was fortunate enough to have a phone interview, it would reflect my discussions. With regards to the application form, I treated it as I would for a normal job application, taking my time considering and answering each question as fully as I could.  Overall, it took me a couple of days to make sure I was confident with my application.

Do you have any telephone interview tips?

Being my first ever phone interview, I was nervous, as I wasn’t sure what to do. In preparation I looked over my CV and had researched the companies a little bit more.  Having this in front of me, allowed me to relax, incase I lost my train of thought. The interviewer asked many questions in order to get a basic background on me as a person. I was asked about why I chose my course, my interests and what I had been involved with in university. I was also asked about why I was interested in attending the event and what I could gain from it. I felt it went well. I would say, for the telephone interview to be confident when speaking and to take a few seconds, after each question, to think about what you are going to say first. The experience of having a telephone interview is invaluable and has helped since.

What did you learn?
Through the panel discussion and workshops, we were given many tips in self-confidence and how to handle ourselves in industry. Overall, I gained confidence for future interviews, applications and events!

Our next event is on Monday 4th November 2013 so APPLY NOW!!