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PwC Employability E-learn Interview script - Jessica

Video – Manage Projects:

Candidate: Jessica

Watch option A:

Interviewer: So please describe a time when you’ve successfully managed a project for example coursework or organising an event

Yes, sure….I managed the process of getting a new kit and sponsor for my Hockey team at university.  I’m the team  captain……our contract with the old sponsor had expired….they didn’t want to renew……I’m not really sure why……to be honest, I was really surprised….we had a really good season last year and were improving so we were looking in good shape……..we’d done lots of training and practice to get us fit and ready…..so we had to look for a new sponsor in the end….I think we needed a new kit though……our old one was looking really  tired… plus we have new members join the club and we’d run out of spare kit for them to use for matches.

Interviewer: So, what did you do to plan for getting a new kit and sponsor?

(Realises off track slightly, rectifies) Er, right, yes…… so lots of things really….I had to get really organised……I worked back from the first match….it was quite early on in the new term and  we didn’t have a lot of time, plus everyone had all their other assignments to do so it was just another thing to add to the list. I got the whole team involved and we (laughs)treated it like a mini project……we were more efficient that way…..I don’t think we could have done it if we’d left it down to two people. .

I set up a shared calendar and added in all the tasks we needed to complete before getting our kit before the first match…..things like completing the proposal for the business when we were going to pitch to, the pitch dates and catch up meetings to make sure everything was on track. I asked some of the team to start researching local businesses and retailers that might be interested in sponsoring us….then that way we could go and spend some time with them and present our proposal…….it always helps to build that relationship straight away……

(Brings herself back on track) Oh but… …yes…so planning …. basically  I researched costs for the new kit as well as trying to get us a discount with the new kit supplier…..I had to get this done before our first pitch so we needed to keep in touch with the girls booking the meetings…..the calendar really helped with that….so I could check what was going on at all the time  plus I’d put in lots of catch up meetings for the team so everyone  knew what was going on…..it was some sort of  military operation we were running….. (laughs)

Interviewer: And who did you involve in supporting you with this?

The other girls in my team really……we’re so supportive of each other we work really well together so I got some of them working on the proposal. Some of the others - I asked them speak to the Student Union as they were always helping societies with that sort of stuff. It always helps when you’ve got someone with experience on your side……none of us really knew what to expect with a sponsorship proposal (Laughs) …….we wanted to get it right and we don’t want to look like we don’t know what we were talking about in front of the companies…..that would’ve been really embarrassing! (Laughs) Was definitely a good idea as we had tight deadlines to meet once we’d started pitching our proposal to the companies so the advice the student’s union gave was a really big help.

Interviewer: What challenges did you have to overcome?

Erm..our biggest challenge was….oh one of the businesses we pitched to said they couldn’t offer us sponsorship because of some internal changes. We were told that a few days after the pitch …..that meant that we lost a few days… that was a massive disappointment. I was really worried that we might not get a sponsor as we hadn’t heard back from any other companies  yet. So, we made it a priority to get another pitch. So, I got some of the other team calling the others businesses that we’d contacted but they hadn’t got back to us yet….just to follow up in case they’d missed our emails….and I asked some of the other girls to start contacting new businesses to get another pitch. We managed to get another business to come and see us the next day near campus but we  made it clear to them when we needed our final decision, just in case we didn’t hear back from the others in time.

Interviewer: So, what was the outcome of this?

We got our kit….brand new and a new sponsor….. we had the kit sent to us a few days before the match….we looked really good in it! Erm, a local bar ended up sponsoring us….I thought that would appeal to more to the students …..so were  really pleased….and I don’t think any of that would have happened without all my planning and organising. The project plan I created helped keep everyone on track…..we met all our deadlines because I got the team working on different tasks…and because I had planned ahead it meant that we could deal with some of the issues like when the business pulled out. So if I didn’t have a plan in place we might not have been able to do that. It is a shame that the kit didn’t bring us luck in the early days….I think we lost the first match, but we are currently on top of the league and the whole team goes to the bar after each match so we’re giving them loads of business as well so (smiling) I guess that’s a decent result all round!

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