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

Motolani is a Civil Engineering graduate from the University of Nottingham. She secured a Gradute Civil Engineer role at Arcadis in London.  

First, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

“I’ve always had a creative flair while also enjoying maths and science. When I was younger I dreamed of becoming an architect due to my love of all things art.

However, as I grew up Civil Engineering began to appeal to me more as it presented the perfect opportunity to explore both sides of my personality.”

What was the application process like?

“The application process was lengthy but that was consistent with many other applications I’ve completed. It began with submitting a CV and cover letter followed by an Arctic Shores online assessment. After that I was invited to a virtual assessment centre and after a few months the final stage was an in-person interview.

A piece of advice I’d give for the final interview is to prepare well for the presentation whether that means writing a rough script or creating bullet points to guide your delivery.

For the non-technical questions I’d recommend not memorising your answers. Instead familiarise yourself with your CV and relevant experiences so you can speak naturally and come across as personable and effortlessly knowledgeable.”

How did you prepare for your application?

“I utilised a lot of the services available to me. While crafting cover letters I consulted my university’s career services to ensure they were concise and written to a high standard.

At later stages of my application journey such as before assessment centres and interviews I’d watch a few videos to understand what the interviewers were looking for and how to best present myself.”

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

“My tips would be to be strategic and thorough during the application process.

Instead of sending out 100 generic applications focus on crafting tailored job-specific ones that show your genuine interest in the company.

I took this approach and found it far more effective than that of those who submitted 4–5 times as many applications.”

What have you learnt from going through the process?

“Everything happens for a reason! My final interview was cancelled which I was initially disappointed about but this gave me more time to prepare.

Therefore when the day of the interview arrived I felt more comfortable and confident than I would have before. I believe that this extra time contributed to the overall success of the interview.”

Tell us about the future. What’s next!

“I hope to become chartered and make a tangible impact on the infrastructure we use every day!”