Graduate Profiles

After graduating from my BA (Hons) in Politics, I gained my first job with Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council as an administrator in the Education Department. I got the job through an agency, initially as a three-week position to write bus passes for children going to school, but this turned into nine months of general administrative duties for the special educational needs team. After this, I went on to become a Careers Adviser, working for Connexions.

My current position as a Development Manager combines working with people and my knowledge of politics and how political systems work. Studying at Manchester Met helped me to learn how to think about the world in a structured way, and make sense of why political events happen. Working in the world of careers and education is very political as the direction of the service is directed by government decision-making.

Both my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees have been vital in my career. I have used my understanding of how society functions and how to link ideas together, such as policy developments and their effect on provision and people, which has been really helpful to my role. Communication skills are also essential in my role and when I work with other staff, emails and phone calls can be the first point of contact, so it always helps to make a good impression. Remembering to be professional when you communicate whether speaking, reading, writing or listening, are useful skills for students to practice before they graduate.

Job searching is hard work and requires a lot of effort. Start early, do your research and use all of your contacts to help you. For example, use the Careers and Employability service and ask for their help; they have specialist knowledge for you to draw upon.

Dr Mike Tyldesley, for having high expectations of me. Professor Peter Barberis for not letting me give up!

I learnt how to learn, how to think and I loved the liberalism of the Department of Social Sciences and the autonomy that we were given.