Midlands Talent Programme: Participant Story

We are pleased to share the below success story from one of our talent programme participants, who wanted to write anonymously about their experience to share with others:

“No matter what band you are currently, if you feel you are ready for a change but have not been successful in previous interviews, don’t be discouraged. I remained at the same band for seven years, had applied for a few roles and was rejected, but overall, I wasn’t applying for vacancies often. A part of me developed a fear of rejection, but how can you be scared if you don’t try? Sometimes you must be comfortable with the uncomfortable to drive positive change.

“Recently, as a Talent Programme participant I received an offer from the Talent Management team to join a CV writing session. I joined without having any expectations, but the meeting was very interactive and the key message I took from it was to dream big, aim high and not to give up. A few days later I met with my sponsor (Senior Manager – a new person outside of my team). We talked about me and my career aspirations which was something I’d never done before. The sponsor’s journey was so inspiring – they advised me of potential opportunities for me to get into the field I was so keen to work in, encouraged me to take up the learning and development opportunities through The Leadership Academy for personal growth i.e. Mary Seacole and Edward Jenner programmes. It was then that I realised I needed to make changes to work towards my goal of getting into my chosen field.

“I had submitted an Expression of Interest for a post I really wanted, but a week had passed and I hadn’t heard anything, so put it down to not being successful again. I was wrong, I received an invite for interview and contacted my sponsor. Without delay, my sponsor had contacted their colleagues to arrange a mock interview. I was super nervous (as always) but I went into it optimistically. Although, I was not fluent with my answers, the feedback I received was so helpful in areas of improvement for me to focus on. Two days later I had the real interview (none of the questions I had practised were chosen) and I was successful.

“When you are part of the Talent Management programme, having access to so many resources for growth or advancement, mentoring, sponsorship, webinars, courses it is so beneficial and can result in a success story. We all have that voice of self-doubt sometimes, but don’t let the fear of rejection become your reason for not trying. Until you try, you’ll never know, and having one person who believes in you can do so much for your self-belief, so never underestimate the importance of investing time in yourself and when required asking for and accepting help.”