Amanda Matheson, Stornoway Port Authority
Stornoway Port Authority, a not-for-profit organisation, have offered a 12 month graduate placement to Amanda Matheson who will work on their marketing strategy.
What is your background?
I’m from Stornoway in the Western Isles but moved to Glasgow in 2007 to study Journalism at Glasgow Caledonian University. The course was really interesting and taught me a lot about the media and communications industry. During my time at uni I volunteered for the Student’s Association and was the Deputy Editor of the student magazine for a year. This provided me with invaluable experience and skills which I use every day in my placement.
Why did you apply to the TalentScotland Graduate Placement Programme?
I had always planned on staying in Glasgow once my studies were over but, due to the lack of available jobs I decided to move home for a while. The last thing I expected was to find any graduate-level jobs in the Western Isles and when I saw the placement advertised I knew straight away it would be ideal for me.
What project are you involved in?
My main responsibility is creating the marketing plan for the organisation. This involves researching and planning the best way to market the Port Authority’s services to lots of different industries, including the fishing, renewables and marine tourism industries. This will be completed quite soon and then I will be spending the second half of my placement implementing the plan.
What have you learned on placement so far?
My placement has a lot to do with the cruise industry as that’s where the Port Authority is currently focusing their marketing. Because of this, I’ve learnt a lot about the tourism industry in Scotland and how vital it is to the economy. I’ve also improved the skills I learnt during my time at uni and continue to learn more skills all the time. The main thing I got from the placement so far is the realisation that I don’t necessarily have to pursue a career in the field I got my degree in. Although I enjoyed my course a lot, I think marketing probably suits me better than journalism did.
What have you taken away from the training course you attended as part of the Programme?
The training course taught me how important it is to focus on what you want from your career. Before the course, I thought of my placement as a job whereas now I think of it as the beginning of a (hopefully) successful career. The course also taught me how important networking is and how many doors it can open for me.
What advice would you give to other graduates?
I think in the current environment graduates everywhere are struggling to find work. I’m pretty certain that I would still be unemployed had I stayed in Glasgow after graduation and only applied for journalism jobs. I think the best thing graduates can do is keep an open mind and be willing to try something new and different to start their career.