Dan is a Geography graduate from the University of Bristol. They secured a graduate role as a Assistant Environmental Policy and Economics Consultant role at Logika Group through Bright Network. 
First, we’d love for you to tell us a bit about yourself.
“I’ve always wanted to make a difference with my work and I think my career path reflects that. I didn’t really know what I wanted to be growing up, I always just followed what I loved doing and decided I would figure out the next steps when it came to it.
That’s why I went to university. I loved Geography and didn’t want to stop education just yet, and my four years of studying have led me into environmental policy, as a way of making a tangible difference in the world.”
What motivated you to apply for the role?
“I liked how this role had aspects that I was really familiar with from my work experience and my studies, but also elements that I had never learnt about before.
It gives me such a good opportunity to show my expertise and feel comfortable with that, but also to develop my skills across the board to become more qualified and confident.”
What was the application process like?
“It was gruelling. I got into the swing of adapting cover letters to save time, and the style of answering questions in interviews, but it was so hard to constantly search for jobs and feel like I’m not good enough for any of them.
Getting rejected after multiple interviews and pieces of work for a company, especially those jobs I desperately wanted was so painful.
But you just have to pick yourself up and keep applying, because although I didn’t believe it at the time, you will get there.”
What are you proud of about your journey?
“The resilience it requires to keep at it with applications and interviews, despite the constant disheartening rejections in such a competitive job market.
I’ve been doing interviews since October 2023 and must have done nearly 10 final stage interviews before securing this role, often just to be told they went with someone with more experience.
It felt incredible to finally have my abilities recognised and I’m so excited to show the best side of myself at my new job.”
What have you learned from going through the process?
“By the time I got to this application I felt like I already had everything under my belt, and this time it clearly showed! I used all of the feedback from my previous applications to give this one my best shot. The whole process was quite long (from application to offer), but the period between my interview and the offer was way shorter than expected.”
What are your tips for people looking to follow in your footsteps?
“I used every bit of help I could. Friends offering to look through my CV, career support through university, job fairs etc. so my advice is to accept them all.
And apply constantly, even for the jobs you don’t think you’ll get because it’s a good experience to write those applications.
Always get feedback from interviews when you can and take it on board, it’s all valuable.”
Tell us about the future. What’s next?
“I’m so excited to enter the world of work, but also really scared about that transition! I know I love consultancy work, so am looking forward to making a real difference with that and I’m really excited to develop my skills in subjects I’m less familiar with.
I know there’s a lot of change coming and I’m hoping I take it all in my stride and become an even better version of myself.”
Find insight schemes, graduate jobs, training contracts and more at Bright Network.
