Leila, could you be a winner of the 2023 Targetjobs undergraduate of the year Awards? This question was a subject from the first email I received from Targetjobs. The whole story was started from this question, I answered loudly in my head, yes, yes, I can.
I opened the link and I found out that there are 13 different awards categories and after I contacted the Targetjobs team, I foundout each candidate can only apply for one award. Taking this into consideration, my advice would be to choose the category which is most aligned with you. I felt Excellence through Adversity was most relevant to me, and I loved the fact Rolls-Royce were supporting this. In the next step, you write a personal statement and then sit three online tests, occupational personality questionnaire, situational judgment test and reasoning test. After you have finished the tests, you receive a bespoken feedback report on how you performed which I found very important and useful.
In February, I was invited for a 2-day assessment centre at Rolls-Royce along with 14 others. Bear in mind that I had never been to an assessment centre before and for me, the first day was hard. I was excited, honoured but at the same time I was very stressed. Overall, I felt the assessment days went well and after that I was waiting to hear back. During the waiting time, I looked at my phone every five minutes, and - yes! - after a week I received that magic phone call - congratulations Leila, you’ve made the shortlist of 10! Even getting to that point was an unbelievable achievement for me.
Then the day I never imagined, came. 21 April 2023, the grand final. The ceremony was held in Canary Wharf and hosted by Sue Perkins. Her talk was inspiring, and I met other amazing finalists from different awards and along with Rolls-Royce representatives, a brilliant chance to network.
Everyone I met at the event, Rolls-Royce and Targetjobs staff, and the other candidates were all so kind and friendly. When the time came to announce the winners, I wasn’t nervous at all – I never thought it would be me.
When she read my name, I was shocked. It’s a moment I relive every morning and I will never forget it. When I look back, it’s clear, I’ve not just won the award, it’s also opened many doors for me, I gained a lot of experience through the process, I meet many ambitious people, many opportunities opened for me. My advice to you is just start with the application, through the process you’ll receive plenty of support, go for it.
I joined Rolls-Royce in June and I had two main goals during my internship that were fascinating. Research Energy Storage System (ESS) materials and technology against applicable ESS technology strands and create a ‘Design Data’ script. I received priceless training for both goals, my managers were easy to approach and accessible.
From day one, I found out that in Rolls-Royce your background, where you are from, your age, your gender doesn’t matter at all. I feel Rolls-Royce is a great company to be able to progress further – and if you have passion and commitment, you’ll be able to achieve and accomplish your goals.
I really appreciated that all the hard work and effort you put in is truly recognized, I feel I have seen and heard. I really enjoyed my time here.
We’ll be a part of the Undergraduate of the Year competition again for 2024 – find out more here and you can register to be alerted when our internships open for applications for 2024 here.