Change Recruitment Partners with Career Ready to Help Students Succeed Beyond Secondary School

Change Recruitment has worked with national charity Career Ready since 2012. Career Ready specialises in assisting students that have tons of potential but need a little extra help gaining the confidence and skills they need for success after secondary school.

In their Impact Report 2017: Scotland, Career Ready stated that of the 1000 participating students, 98% left secondary school for a positive destination. Most of these students continued their education at a university or college. Change Recruitment’s Career Ready intern Alexandria Warner plans to follow suit.

She says that her mentor Victoria Cameron, Managing Consultant at Change Recruitment, had an impact on her decision to continue with her education and even helped with the application process. We spoke with her mentor Victoria to learn a bit more about the Career Ready program and Alexandria’s journey thus far.

So, how does the Career Ready programme work?

Career Ready links schools and colleges to employers, to assist young students in preparing for the world of work. It matches mentees with mentors, and the idea of the programme is to support, develop and improve skills that will help the student when moving into the workplace or further education. This could range from working on confidence levels, organisation skills, interview preparation, CV writing, or even providing guidance on different college courses or career avenues.

What has it been like to mentor Alexandria?

It’s been fantastic. I’ve been working with Alexandria for over a year now, and it’s been great to see how far she has come on with some of the areas that she really wanted to work on from the beginning of the programme.

It’s been so rewarding for us both, because not only have we developed a really close, strong relationship, but Alexandria’s confidence has grown so much and it’s brilliant to see. At the start of the programme, Alexandria really wasn’t sure what she a) wanted to do and b) what her options were, so we spent a lot of time going through different options, both work wise and further education wise.

She then had the confidence and knowledge to not only apply for relevant college courses but also go along for a face to face interview – she was so positive and confident in her interview that she was advised on the spot that she was accepted into the course which is just amazing. She is so excited about joining college and is 100% sure about the decision she has made for her future, that to be part of helping someone in this way is just so rewarding.

How has Alexandria's internship gone?

Alexandria has been fantastic throughout her four weeks at Change – a breath of fresh air and a great help! The feedback from everyone who has worked with her during this time is all so positive, and she has been brilliant at all the tasks set out. We have been particularly impressed as when we’ve set a task that has been a little bit more challenging for her; she has really faced this head on and overcome her nerves! We are really sad that she is finishing up and she will be missed!

As Alexandria’s four week internship at Change Recruitment’s Edinburgh office comes to an end, we spoke with her to find out about her placement and plans for the future.

What was interning at Change like?

Interning at Change Recruitment has been a big step for me, and it was a lot of fun learning the different roles within the company.

What is your biggest accomplishment from your internship?

I definitely overcame my nerves and became more confident in working alongside others who I have never met before and working in a professional environment.

What are your future goals/aspirations?

My future goals are to achieve a career in events management and open my own business.

Why have you decided to become an event coordinator?

I love organising events and planning days out or gatherings, so I want to get a qualification and eventually start a career in events.

How do you think interning at Change will help you reach this goal?

I think interning at Change will help me by giving me the experience of working in an office and using the phone to receive information.

We wish Alexandria the best of luck in her career as an event planner and congratulate her on her acceptance to Edinburgh College. We’re sure her future will be as bright as she is. Check out our article on Career Ready intern Jennifer Kennedy’s experience in Change Recruitment’s Glasgow office or visit Career Ready to learn about becoming a mentor.