We recently caught up with Emerson about how they secured a Graduate Cloud Architect role with Aviva, how they built their commercial awareness before the interview and their top tips for Bright Network members looking to follow in their footsteps.
What stood out to you about Aviva?
Aviva stood out as a company striving to provide maximum value to its customers through impactful cloud adoption across the corporation. I saw being part of this adoption as an exciting start to my career as a Cloud architect, as well as giving me the opportunity to show my own skills amongst a smaller and more focussed cloud team. Their innovations in cyber security were also incredibly exciting to me as someone who wants to be exposed to as many different new technology streams as possible. The graduate program itself stood out as one of the very few technology roles that did not require STEM subject as a degree, allowing an entirely different cohort of minds, including myself, to apply for a role.
How did you build your commercial awareness before the interview?
In advance of my face-to-face interviews, I submerged myself in the company ethos as well as the insurance industry itself. I scoured for news, financials and facts on Aviva and the wider industry, looking for anything that I could bring up during the interview to show an awareness of what Aviva does and what it hopes to achieve. Alongside this, I also engaged with the latest technology news (focussing on the Cloud) as well as any innovations that I thought could be applied to the work Aviva does for its customers.
What would be your top tip to members going through the application process?
My main top tip for those applying to a similar or identical role is to have something that makes you stand out as a candidate; academics only get one so far when trying to break into tech. Examples of how to stand out include the plethora of professional I.T. qualifications that you can do to give you knowledge as well as an edge on other candidates. As someone coming from a non-STEM background, this was particularly important.
How did Bright Network help you secure this role?
Bright Network’s job portal allowed me to easily scan hundreds of firms to track down the graduate role that was right for me. Having all sorts of job descriptions in one place was a powerful tool when on the lengthy job search that I was embarked upon, especially during the pandemic.
What’s been the toughest interview question you've faced and how did you tackle it?
The toughest interview question I came across was “What value can you provide to the company?”. While this was not a question, I was asked during my Aviva interviews, I did get asked this during another company’s interview process. To tackle this question, I had to be honest with myself and the interviewer and explain that, being at the beginning of my career, the technical knowledge I could provide would initially be limited, however the mindset and new way of thinking I could bring could potentially counter this.
What top three tips would you give Bright Network members looking to follow in your footsteps?
- Saturation and perseverance are key to securing the graduate role you want
- Qualify yourself for the roles you want, look at professional certifications and set yourself projects to really stand out as a candidate
- Remember, the assessment centre isn’t about being the loudest, it’s about being the more efficient and effective candidate
Let us know where you've secured your work experience, internship or graduate role. We want to celebrate your success with a gift from us and exclusive invitations to evening networking drinks throughout the year.
