As a young graduate, following your dream career to a new city can be an exciting but daunting experience. It often means moving away from the familiarity of family, friends and the place you call home.
A great way to help ease this transition is to do some research into the new area before you make the move, which could result in discovering events, clubs, courses and people with similar interests, making the whole experience far less intimidating.
This is how 21-year-old recent graduate Scott Leslie overcame any concerns he was facing about relocating to Aberdeen from his home town of Musselburgh.
Scott graduated from Strathclyde University with a bachelor’s degree in electronic and electrical engineering in June this year. He then made the move to the north-east in July after securing the job of electronic engineer with Remote Open Close Technology specialist Red Spider.
Scott said: “I was thrilled when I was offered the job at Red Spider as it was exactly what I saw myself doing with my degree and future career and I was really interested in the innovative technology, products and software the company uses. When I came up for my first interview, the team was incredibly welcoming and made me feel confident that I would fit in. Being part of a skilled and passionate workforce and learning hands-on about the business was something I couldn’t wait to be part of.”
The job offer was what initially drew Scott to the area, but his decision was made final when, after a bit of research into the area, he realised his passion for snowboarding and mountain biking could also be fulfilled due to the region’s internationally-renowned bike trails and ski centres.
“I enjoy exploring and experiencing new places – but independently moving 140 miles from home was slightly unnerving. As soon as I found out I had the job, I immediately did some research into the area and realised Aberdeen could offer a lot of sporting opportunities to keep me busy outside work. My love for snowboarding began after getting lessons as a Christmas present when I was 12. I tried mountain biking in Canada when I was 14 and I have been involved in the sport ever since.
“Since starting my new job I have found that many of my colleagues are keen mountain bikers and they have suggested getting everyone together for a bike ride, which should be a good way to get to know everyone outside of the work environment. I am really looking forward to exploring the area on my bike, especially the trails at Pitfichie near Monymusk. I have also visited Aberdeen Sports Village, which is a brilliant facility in the city and an ideal alternative for when I want to be active outdoors, but Scotland’s weather has other plans.
“After only being in the city for just over a month, I feel I have settled in well to Aberdeen life. Everyone at Red Spider has been very welcoming – there are around six other people who have also recently joined the company, which means I have been able to talk to others who are also settling in. At the moment I am mainly shadowing the senior electronics engineer in supporting existing products and learning about the designs and software that are currently used, but towards the end of the year we may begin to investigate the next generation of Red Spider tools, which I am really interested in learning about.”
With a high level of publicity in the media about increasing graduate unemployment figures, Scott feels very lucky to have secured a job which is ideally suited to his degree.
“My advice where graduate recruitment is involved is to just keep trying, even when you get knocked back. The more you apply for and get to various stages of the recruitment process the more you begin to learn what employers are looking for. A part of this is always changing your CV to suit job descriptions with your experiences and hopefully you will eventually be offered exactly what it is you are looking for.
“When I made the move to Aberdeen I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do what I love at work as well as being able to satisfy my passion for outdoor sports. However, thankfully I am going to be able to do both and I am really looking forward to building my career at Red Spider and my life in Aberdeen.”
Source: Pressandjournal.co.uk, Friday 31st August 2012
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