Samuel is an Economics graduate from Durham University. He secured a Transitions Analyst role at Rothesay in London. 
First, please tell us a bit about yourself.
“I grew up in Liverpool but did a summer school at Durham University and absolutely loved it and decided to apply.
I knew I wanted to study economics as I wanted to continue studying maths (to a degree!) whilst also learning about the real world and engaging more deeply with politics and policy.”
What motivated you to apply for your role?
“When I started reading about the company, I was really attracted to the structure – everyone’s opinions are heard and valued.
For the role specifically I noted that there was a real focus on automation, which I found exciting as it presented the opportunity to further develop my coding skills.”
What was the application process like?
“The interview process is challenging, but everyone I met was extremely accommodating and friendly, and this process ensured that not only was I a good fit for the role, but also that the company was a good fit for me!
I'd done quite a lot of research on the company beforehand, so felt fairly well prepared going in to interview. I was also given useful feedback between interview stages which allowed me to be better prepared when I returned for the later stages.”
What are you most proud of about your journey?
“One of the things I’m most proud of is that I took a different path from a lot of my friends.
Most of the people I grew up with in Liverpool stayed there after school and university and whilst most of the friends I made at university had family and friends down in London, I had never even visited! Everything was very new to me.”
What’s your advice for people looking to follow in your footsteps?
“I think soft skills are so important when it comes to interviewing - it's important to portray yourself as someone that other people would want to work with!”
What have you learnt from going through the process?
“I’ve learnt that it's okay not to know something – sometimes people are more interested in seeing your thinking process. Additionally, it's useful to have any gaps in your knowledge pointed out to you for future interviews.”
Tell us about the future. What’s next?
"I'm really excited to continue to develop my Python skills and client relationship management and I feel very fortunate that I'm being provided the time and resources to further develop these areas.”
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