I decided to apply after massively regretting not applying the year before.

I first found out about the awards through an email from targetjobs and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get an internship and boost my employability skills.

The first part of the application process was to answer 3 written questions set by Rolls Royce and to complete a series of online tests. My biggest piece of advice is to read the written questions carefully and plan your answer completely based on your personal experiences and interests so you can stand out compared to other candidates. For the online tests I found there were many free online tests to practice from available online.

I was shocked when I received a call saying I have been shortlisted for the next step of the process; an assessment centre and top 20 of the award category. The day before the assessment centre Rolls Royce ran a networking event with senior employees from every team so it was great to hear from their experiences about what they enjoy about Rolls Royce and kept them in the company for years.

The day of the assessment centre included a problem-solving exercise and motivation/competency-based interview. It was much more difficult to prepare for the problem-solving exercise since it was an unseen, so I focused on the interview by making bullet points about why I wanted to work at Rolls Royce through talking about my career interests. The second part of the interview was about competency which is about understanding of Rolls Royce company values and demonstrating how I met them. I found it important to link my personal experiences to each competency, for example I talked about how well I worked with others in a group project at university which links to one of Rolls Royce values (Collaboration).

I attended the grand final event in April 2022 which was really inspiring to be part of and meet other finalists from all the awards and hear about all their stories and from the guest speaker Sue Perkins! Although I didn’t win in the event, I am really pleased to be offered a summer internship at Rolls Royce in Civil Aerospace which is a dream come true! I feel more confident to apply for jobs from taking part in the Undergraduate of the Year application process. I encourage you to not hesitate to apply for the awards as this is a great opportunity for your career and there is nothing to lose by applying!

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