IT Graduate Review

As an IT Graduate you are placed into 1 of the 4 specialisms: Software Engineering, Cyber Security, Data Analytics and IT Strategy. With my role, it involves speaking to senior members, presenting projects I have worked on and demonstrating where I helped and design controls for the security team.

There are plenty of opportunities to learn new skills. Some examples of mine are the AZ-900 exam, Bupa used to fund these types of exams but have since switched it to a discounted rate only, slightly disappointing for development. In a team environment, they provide time to explore areas within security to broaden your knowledge either through Pluralsight (e-learning platform) and research security frameworks. Finally, with the degree element I learn skills such as programming, encryption algorithms and leadership styles which can be applied to the workplace.

Overall, I would say the experience has been average. There have been positives and negatives which have contributed to this, firstly the positives. - Company culture, people are willing to help you on projects or areas you might not understand. - Learning: Variety of areas to broaden knowledge (Pluralsight, LinkedIn Learning, University, Microsoft Certifications etc.) - External opportunities: There are additional projects to become involved in outside of your day-to-day job which can add variety and boost your connections within the company. Negatives: - Feedback: There does not seem to be constant feedback and reviews on the work I partake in. At times this can be confusing at to whether it has been to a high standard until reviews take place, which could be weeks/months later. I believe there should be small weekly check-ins to determine if the work I am producing is to a high standard. - Pay: Regarding cost of living and inflation it seems this is not taken into account for the graduates. Other employees within the company are provided with yearly pay rises to account for this, yet the graduate programme has remained at 27k for 3 years...

The programme itself is well structured, the induction process was smooth so we could transition into the company with ease. We were all provided with equipment on the first day and knew which areas of the business we would go into. The university side is also very organised with assignment briefs being published early so we can balance this alongside work. However, there could be places to improve such as: - Provide an outline of what we would be doing in our work team. When joining the company, all the graduates were confused as to what tasks and project we would be working on during the induction week. So for 2 weeks the work was ambiguous, it would have been beneficial to provide an outline of possible projects and research to undertake through an email before joining the company. - At times it seemed particular teams were unsure on where the graduates could help out which resulted in the mundane tasks being passed onto us. This has changed now, but at the beginning teams were just unsure on what we could do.

Whilst there are weekly 1-2-1s with my line manager, there seems to be no support and inquisitiveness on where he could help or who I should reach out to. At times, it feels he does not know what I work on a daily basis and the other external activities I have pushed myself to participate in. Also, one time in my team I was unsure on how to complete some work I was assigned due to never being subjected to this particular area during my degree. Even after researching, the work was still ambiguous to me and when speaking to my team their response was to be proactive There was no communication on where or who I could reach out to. As time has passed, weekly touch points have been put in place in-case questions do arise but at the beginning hearing be proactive does not exactly support me on the project.

With the university, there are many areas of support either through the lectures, webinars, drop-in sessions or emails. When I have emailed asking about a question on an assignment or a particular area of the lecture I was unsure on they have always replied promptly and helped in anyway they could. Even though we only attend uni 3 days a month, it feels there is always support there.

In certain areas I believe it has helped. It was interesting to learn about different leadership styles and how that could be applied to the workplace. Also, learning about Gibbs reflective cycle was useful as I could applied this to times where a piece of work might not have been the best. By using the reflective cycle, I am able to understand where it went wrong and what improvements could be made for next time.

Yes there is. There are plenty of extra-curricular activities to get involved in outside of work. Some examples include: Volunteering days, Rock choir, HIIT Classes in the office, EveryWoman event. The events change frequently but there is plenty of opportunities to get involved in. I wish there was more of a centralised place for them though, as they get published as and when so sometimes you can miss something which you might have enjoyed.

Yes

Whilst the support and pay could be better at times, there are a lot of opportunities within the business to participate in. Bupa does care about the employee wellbeing through enabling hybrid/remote working, wellness sessions, healthcare and many other areas. Also, it is very warming to see that senior members value graduates immensely, they see us as the future leaders and invest a great amount of time for our development.

Advice I would give is to put yourself out of your comfort zone and take any opportunity you can. In doing so, you build a greater network which is beneficial later down the line for projects. In terms of the actual interview process, it would be to learn the values, mission statement and strategy of the company, and where does IT play a role in this.