Member Article

Member news: What a graduate has to do to get ahead in Tyne and Wear

In recent months, the headlines have been dominated by the increasing rate of unemployment amongst recent graduates but full-service design agency Urban River, based in South Shields, have met this problem head on.

In May, the company took on BA (Hons) Marketing Management student Hannah Mattinson from Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University on an internship basis as many graduates struggle to get on the career ladder due to lack of experience.

Following her 3 month placement, Urban River felt she could add value to the development of the business and that her proactive approach to graduate employment should be commended.

Carl Buckley, Managing Director or Urban River said: “Hannah has really proved herself and demonstrated the added value that offering work experience can bring. Many companies may think taking on a graduate is a time consuming and expensive process, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s important that when you initially meet the graduate that they understand the motivations of the business and what your aims and objectives are for the following few months. This should prompt them to discuss how their presence could benefit your business and how their skills will help the company to achieve these goals.”

Hannah Mattinson, recent Marketing Manager of Urban River said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working for Urban River over the last few months so I was thrilled when they offered me a full time post. I met Carl through a discussion on LinkedIn after I posted myself as a ‘graduate for hire’ and never in a million years thought that a role would be created for me. With all the media attention focusing on the difficulties of finding a graduate job and after going through many corporate recruitment tests I was fed up of feeling underappreciated. I decided to post in the LinkedIn forum around 1 month before I graduated and was delighted when Urban River came back to me offering me some experience. The culture here is great and I work with talented, passionate people who make me want to come to work every day. I liked that I was hired because of my personality and credentials, not because the company had spaces to fill. I quickly learnt that an internship is hard work but if it’s what I needed to do to get a head-start over other graduates in my field then I was willing to do it; it certainly has paid off.

When I graduated I intended to eventually run a marketing consultancy agency, meaning I could advise clients on how they could use various marketing techniques to keep their customers happy whilst attracting new ones. I’ve been predominantly working on promoting Urban River in the local press and social media, but am looking forward to being more involved with our current clients whilst continuing my level of responsibility with UR’s image.“

Carl said: “Meeting Hannah through LinkedIn shows that social networking really does work. We look forward to her being able to help clients and bringing some creative ideas to the table in the near future.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Carl Buckley .