When I started my BSc Marketing with Placement degree in 2022, I had no idea that a random Student Enterprise event would introduce me to the founder who’d eventually become my line manager. Or that a first-year decision to sign up for the Talent Development Programme (TDP) would end up shaping almost everything that followed. But looking back now, a couple of months into my graduate role as Marketing Lead at Labl.it, I can trace a pretty direct line from that first TDP event to where I am today.
I wanted to write this for anyone currently sitting where I once sat, wondering whether it’s worth joining a society, applying to a mentoring scheme, or signing up to be a peer leader. The short answer? Yes.
If I had to break down why, it comes down to a few things I did, almost by accident, that ended up mattering far more than I expected at the time.
The first is simple: get involved early, even if it feels aimless. I joined TDP in my first term mostly to meet people, with no real plan behind it. That’s fine, you don’t need one. What matters is showing up. Committee roles, mentoring schemes, workshops, careers adviser appointments: none of it needs to feel like “career development” at the time. It just needs to happen. Four years on, I still meet the mentor I was paired with in first year for her brilliant advice (and coffee of course).
Say yes to things that scare you a bit, too. I once won a trip to a Directors Dinner, a networking event with local business owners, and felt completely and utterly out of my depth. But it ended up teaching me more about talking to senior people than any lecture did, and so I realised that if an opportunity makes you nervous, that’s usually a sign it’s worth taking.
Becoming a peer leader, or finding some equivalent way to lead early, is another one worth chasing. Having supportive peer leaders made my first year so much easier, which is why I applied to be one myself. Running weekly sessions for a group of 30+ first years – on everything from money management to referencing – showed me how to communicate clearly to different audiences, which turned out to be exactly what a marketing job needs.
Use the support that’s there for placements and internships, too, rather than figuring it all out alone. My placement adviser worked with me on my CV, ran mock assessment centres, and stayed in touch throughout my placement year at Audi, even visiting my workplace to check in. That kind of consistent support made a real difference. It turned a daunting 9-5 in a new industry into one of the best years of my degree.
It’s also worth doing things that stretch you into new areas, not just the comfortable ones. For me, that meant moving away from huge companies like Audi to start-ups and SMEs like Labl.it. The Student Enterprise Marketing Scheme placed me with Amara Automotive, an alumna’s start-up business, doing more strategic work than I’d ever done before, my first real taste of shaping a brand’s direction rather than just executing campaigns. It’s part of why I now enjoy that side of marketing so much, and something I’d never have known I liked otherwise.
And finally, keep showing up, even after you think you’ve “made it.” I reapplied to be a peer leader in my final year, stayed connected to the CEPAR team as a TDP ambassador throughout my time at university, and kept turning up to events even when I lived in a different city for my placement year. Staying visible and involved is often how the next opportunity finds you – in my case, it’s how a university internship at Labl.it turned into a full-time role before I’d even graduated.
None of this needs a five-year plan. Four years ago I couldn’t have told you what the TDP or a peer leader role would lead to, but I guess that’s kind of the point. You never know which yes is the one that counts, so say them all.
Post written by graduate student Isabelle Kimberley