GetMyFirstJob Ambassador
Hello, I Am Jenny
It can be tough seeing your friends go off to uni while you’re left at home, but it’s only for a few years and you can go on a road-trip to all their unis – trust me, it’s great fun!
Tell us more about your experience
My day-to-day job changes all the time, but essentially, I'm responsible for helping young people find opportunities such as apprenticeships across the UK that match their interests and location. So, the email notifications you receive from GetMyFirstJob (GMFJ) are mostly designed and executed by me! I also work with schools and parents to show them what the benefits of apprenticeships are all about!
The most exciting project I’ve worked on is the candidate automation journey. This means that when you register and do certain things on GMFJ you'll get emails - all of these were made by me! Also, sending information about apprenticeships to every school in the UK was a massive task, but it was so exciting to know that I'm helping young people know about the potential of apprenticeships.
Likewise, probably the proudest moment with my company was when I was promoted to a ‘Head of’ role, despite my age. At the age of 20, I was attending executive meetings, having conversations with our investors, and being trusted to report back on essential parts of the business!
“I am so happy that I chose the apprenticeship path.”
I was originally offered a place at the University of Bath to study psychology but had a change of heart a few days after results day. I looked at other opportunities and found a Level 3 (Advanced) apprenticeship with GetMyFirstJob which was local to me. After that, I was offered a degree apprenticeship opportunity! I used the GMFJ website to find the opportunity I took with them, and it was fantastic. I was contacted by someone called Cara within a week of registering on the site and started a couple of weeks after that - working with Cara!
If I was to give any advice to someone thinking of doing an apprenticeship, I would say to consider all your options and don’t be afraid to do something different to other people. It can be tough seeing your friends go off to uni while you’re left at home, but it’s only for a few years and you can go on a road-trip to all their unis – trust me, it’s great fun!
There were some difficulties when I applied for my apprenticeship... I had to challenge some of my family, school, and friends when I chose to go with this route. As I got high A-Level results, I think some people thought that an apprenticeship was a bad option and that I should’ve gone to uni. I think now they understand that my choice was great for me and has given me opportunities I may not have received if I’d gone to uni straight after college.
“During my apprenticeship, I did receive loads of great support.”
My training provider, the University of Portsmouth, was fantastic. They helped me when work was super busy to make sure I could still achieve the grade I wanted in my degree and were so understanding when it came to work pressures. GetMyFirstJob were also fantastic, they gave me opportunities to work across the business to experience different departments and chances to manage others so I could use the experience to put my learning into practice.
Some of the skills I’ve learnt as part of my apprenticeship include management, marketing, leadership, and assertiveness. Since doing my apprenticeship, I have been promoted to a Head of Education Marketing role and have had permanent members of staff working for me. I'm excited to see what else I can do with GMFJ!
Interested in becoming an ambassador? Find out more!