Alexandra's success story: Securing a graduate role at Arcadis

Alexandra is a Mathematics and Geography graduate from the University of Exeter. She secured a Graduate Engineer role at Acardis, in Exeter and Plymouth.  

First, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

“I have a love for the outdoors and grew up and now live by the sea. Having a career where my focus is on how the natural and human worlds meet alongside engineering a sustainable blend of the two is something I am passionate about.

Before university I wanted to become a maths teacher and I've managed to bring some of that into my career, supporting on career days and investing in the links Arcadis has with universities. I'm excited to build connections with future engineers and offer what support I can from my experience.”

What motivated you to apply for your role?

“When applying for Arcadis one key thing that stood out was the amount of positive reviews I found about the experience others had working there.

There's a great focus on support and training while giving the space to learn as you go and take accountability.

The application process also occurred earlier in the year than many other placements meaning I had mine sorted well before summer exams allowing more time for revision.”

What was the application process like?

“I found the application process surprisingly intuitive and was very supported by Arcadis throughout.

For much of my education interviews and job applications were painted as these intimidating life changing things.

In reality I was applying for a job I was genuinely interested and excited for so the whole process felt like a chat with people who share the same passions and interests as me rather than an interrogation!”

What are you most proud of about your journey?

“I’m most proud of taking every opportunity I could! Within Arcadis I had the chance to work on so many different projects seeing the scope of what I can do with the skills I've developed.

It wasn't always easy as the more you learn the more you realise there is to learn; however, learning to admit when I needed support and not being afraid to ask questions has helped me grow further.”

What have you learnt from going through the process?

“A key bit of advice I received in the application stages was just apply and give it a go!

The worst someone can say is no and it's much better to apply to lots of roles and have options than to wish you had applied further down the line.”

What are your tips for people looking to follow in your footsteps?

“My main tip would be to take every opportunity available to you. I also highly recommend a placement year within your degree. Before my placement I was unsure of what 3rd year modules or career I wanted to pursue but working in industry helped me specialise my final year of study, inspire me in where I can see a career for myself and secured me a graduate role!

The best advice I received is that no question is a silly question. A big part of working as a team is that everyone has different levels of experience and skill sets and an effective team uses this as a benefit to grow and learn.”

Tell us about the future. What’s next?

“I start my graduate role in September and am looking forward to getting back into the industry. I also find that personally I thrive with the work life balance that my role provides as opposed to the constant revision and readings that can easily lead to late night library sessions at university.

I'm excited to take my knowledge from my studies and apply it to the real world and further my experience in areas such as modelling and coastal flooding.

There are so many opportunities for the future, further study, chartership and training within the company so I'm looking forward to what is to come!”