Communication graduate proves to be a bright spark at Philips
Joan Regan (Cookstown) pictured outside her office at Philips HQ.
LOCAL girl Joan Regan has swapped the tranquillity of Rock, Cookstown for the bright lights of London as a graduate trainee with the multi-national company Philips.
It has been quite an eventful career path to date and Joan’s story proves the need for recent graduates to consider adding that something extra to their CV and broadening their job search criteria.
“My original degree was in dental technology, I was starting to get frustrated as I was struggling to find a job, when a friend suggested doing the MSc in Communication at Loughry Campus. This proved to be a great decision as the course is a really good mix of theory and practical work where you get the chance to put the theory into practice. I made some good friends, had some great experiences including spending three months in Vienna completing my thesis and ultimately landed my dream job thanks to the Communication Course.
“Last May I was revising for my exams for the Diploma stage of my MSc in Communication. As I was stressing out over this, I decided to take a break from the study to make myself a cup of tea, I noticed the brand of the kettle was Philips. I thought I would have a quick look on their web site to see if they ran a graduate scheme – anything to get away from the books!
“After reading the job description for Philip’s graduate trainees I thought it sounded great and I met all the criteria. However, as the deadline for the position was in two days time, studying was out the window for the next few hours as I filled in the very long application form. This would prove to be the first stage in a complex recruitment process, including some online tests, a telephone interview and an assessment centre in London.
“There were 16 people taking part in the assessment tests. We were congratulated for getting so far in the process as over 2,000 people had applied initially. I must have done well in the group exercise as I made it into the final six. We were given a tour of the office and time to prepare a short presentation on why we would be good for a certain job role. I based my presentation around experiences gained on the communication course and my part-time jobs to prove I would be ideal as a marketing manager. After the presentation I had an interview with the head of HR, a marketing manager and a senior sales manager.
“I felt the day went well and I was pleased to have made it to the final six but I wasn’t expecting to get the job. A few days later I got a call asking me when I could start, and I couldn’t believe my luck. I have been here just over nine months, and I am in an account management role looking after Debenhams and Waitrose, I also look after a small section of the Amazon account. I love the company and really value the experience I am gaining. However, I don’t think I would be here without the skills I learned by doing the MSc in Communication at Loughry. Definitely the communication course has helped launch my career.”
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Wednesday 22 May 2013
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