We caught up with Anna who has completed the Graduate Scheme at Leonardo as a Graduate Electronic Engineer. She chatted to us about the inclusive and welcoming culture at the firm and gave her best advice about how you can stand out in the application process!
Hi, my name is Anna. I studied at the University of Edinburgh and completed a Masters in Electronic and Electrical Engineering. After graduating in 2018 I took a year out, as 5 years at university is a long time! I worked in France for around 6 months as a Ski Chalet host - this gave me the chance to take a break and experience a change of pace.
On my return, I gained a place on the Leonardo Graduate scheme in 2019 as a Graduate Electronic Engineer; I finished the scheme last September, so I’ve now been working here for 3 years!
What is your role at Leonardo?
I currently work as an Antenna Engineer within the Radar line of business. I work on both designing and modelling antenna on radars which we see on search and rescue helicopters and fighter jets. It’s really interesting to work on various products and see them being used and also, being a part of this so early on in my career is really unique! On the graduate scheme, I worked mainly in the Antenna team but I also got involved in different areas on various placements.
I gained experience in modelling, which involved working across teams to check if designs were feasible and fitted all the requirements. I also did a placement in the Testing and Production Support team, where I got to see the last stage of the product lifecycle. I was able to test products that had been with customers or were about to be shipped out, and this took place in our huge anechoic chambers. It was great to see how we test and all the stages a product goes through to check its performance. I found it so interesting to be part of this process so early on! Working in testing also helped me to appreciate how robust the design has to be. Through working in different areas and being able to gain these perspectives, it helped me to strengthen my skills as an Engineer.
What inspired you to apply for this role/this company?
At university I was one of the ones who didn’t have any idea about what I wanted to do when I graduated! I knew that I wanted to go into Engineering, but I didn’t have much of an idea about the types of companies that were out there and what kind of sectors interested me. I didn’t know that Aerospace Engineering existed or was even an option for me, as I thought I’d have to have a background in Aerospace Engineering to pursue a career in the sector, so it was a great surprise! I then found Leonardo and looked into what the graduate scheme entailed. I saw how cool the products were and how fast the industry was growing. I reached out to people on LinkedIn who were working there at the time, who could give me more of an insight into Leonardo. I went for it and applied and have loved it ever since. I’m also so happy I researched into the industries I wasn’t completely aware of previously. At companies like Leonardo, you learn on the job - so as long as you understand how Engineering principles can be applied, you can go into any sector!
Top tips for anyone who’d like to apply for a role at Leonardo?
When people are submitting application after application it can get very repetitive, but it’s so important to research the company. So, when applying to Leonardo I reworked my CV. To show how I enjoyed working in a team or being creative, I split it up into the values noted on the Leonardo website and tailored the projects I’d done at university and during work experience. After the interview, a key point of feedback was that they appreciated and could see the hard work I’d put into shaping my CV to specifically align with Leonardo. They get inundated with CVs from budding engineers, so it’s important to put in the extra effort to stand out. Research the company and tailor your answers, look at their current products and see what they’re working on in the future. It’s all about showing that you’ve done that little bit more and put yourself out there to get the job!
What is the company culture like?
Leonardo focuses on promoting diversity and inclusion, which was something I was pleasantly surprised about! With it being such a large company and being around since WW2, I’d expected to go in and experience quite an old mindset - especially being a woman in engineering. However, I’ve been blown away with how inclusive they are in making sure everyone feels heard and part of the team. I’ve never felt that what I said wasn’t important or been pushed to the side. For example, project managers who have been working at Leonardo for about 35 years will listen and respect you if you have something to say in meetings. At Leonardo, everyone respects each other, regardless of whether you’ve been there for one year as a graduate or your whole working life, you’re there to design something really creative. Everyone’s voice is important!
What do you find most interesting about the sector/industry you’re in?
It’s fascinating to see how fast the technology is evolving! The way it’s constantly changing is an exciting thing to be a part of – your job isn’t going to be the same as it is now in 2 years’ time, you’re always having to learn new skills and apply new theories. At the moment, there’s so much going on in terms of Leonardo working with global companies to create products and these collaborations haven’t been done before. There’s so much potential, which I can’t wait to see in the next few years!
Have you come across any challenges?
I found entering the Engineering sector to be a steep learning curve which has definitely been worthwhile! I was thrown in the deep end, which is both a good and bad thing. Within the first month I was working on actual real-life projects, which as a graduate I didn’t expect. I’d thought I would do 2 years of the scheme and then maybe they’d let me loose on different products, so that kind of put a sense of fear in me. It was really exciting to be given so much responsibility so early on. I was so appreciative and overwhelmed to be trusted to work on live projects. It also shows that Leonardo has a lot of trust in you to work on products so early on in your career and this was key to me developing as an engineer! At the time it can be overwhelming, especially when you’re coming straight from the university bubble to working on a million projects – it was intense but in a good way!
Have you used Bright Network in your career search?
I didn’t use Bright Network, but I wish I’d known about it at the time! One thing I found quite hard when applying to jobs and grad schemes was where to look. As there’s so many websites, I didn’t know which ones to trust, so it was overwhelming in that sense. Bright Network looks like a great platform to use!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and be wrong! Throughout my university experience, I always assumed that if you ask questions or didn’t understand something you were the only one. Working at Leonardo, I realised that as the work is so fast paced, and the learning curve is so steep - if you don’t ask questions you’ll get left behind. It’s important to know that at Leonardo everyone welcomes questions and if you don’t understand something, you can ask the question 20 times over. They see you as the future of the company and they’re there to support you. I definitely asked questions about 30 times a day to people in my team! Once you get in that headspace that it’s fine to be wrong and not understand something, that’s when you’ll grow and become better.
Keen to find out more? View Leonardo's profile here.