I joined the NHS graduate scheme because I was attracted by the diversity of staff groups, professions that I would be working with and the vast range of organisations under the NHS which help support our healthcare system, which is one of the best in the world.

I am currently working as the HR Officer for Diagnostics pan-trust. It is one of the biggest Trusts in country with approximately 7500 staff across 4 main hospital sites. I’m responsible for all general HR enquiries from employees and supporting managers to ensure that policies are understood and complied with.

In terms of notable achievements, I’ve already successfully organised and managed a recruitment open day for Healthcare Support Workers which over 100 people attended. I also conducted a pilot project to encourage the recruitment team to use email invitation to interview for administrative staff which is going well so far. And I’ve grown in knowledge and confidence, which is clear when I’m holding meetings with managers. I also chaired my first formal meeting to discuss redeployment options for an employee who has been on long term sick which I felt was a big achievement.

Academically, I achieved 90% for my first CIPD assignment which I feel is a big accomplishment after having not written an academic piece of work for 4 years.

At the end of the scheme, I’d like to become a knowledgeable HR professional with the confidence to take my HR career towards becoming an Assistant HR director or a specialist in either HR strategy or workforce development.

The graduate scheme is my first full time job and I was attracted by the caring nature of the NHS, the excellent reputation of the graduate scheme and its high rating in the Times Top 100. (HR is rated number one)

I am on the HR specialism of the scheme, so I am currently working as a HR Advisor for a large acute Trust. I have my own areas for which I am responsible and am also given lots of project work to develop my skills.

Since joining the NHS, one of my major achievements includes writing a policy from scratch. It was very daunting at first, as I hadn’t been in my placement for very long when I was asked to do it. However, I’m now very proud of the work I’ve done and pleased that I was given the opportunity to do it.

I’m also proud of the way that I’m now relatively comfortable in my day to day role. I had no prior experience of HR, meaning that I have had a lot to learn in a very short space of time. The challenge was exciting for me and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

In the next 5 years, I hope to have consolidated my knowledge of HR to a standard where I would be working as a HR manager.

I was attracted to the NHS Graduate Scheme by the fact that I wouldn’t be driven by making money for a company but rather that I would be helping the public. I think the NHS is undervalued and I am a huge advocate for the NHS – by joining in HR, I’d be helping the staff to do their jobs and keep the NHS going.

I am currently working as an HR advisor for a large acute teaching hospital. There are around 5000 staff and I provide HR support to managers and advice to staff on a daily basis. I also spend a lot of time helping to develop policies and procedures and other smaller projects, such as a new starter handbook.

Most days bring some sort of achievement, whether major or minor – I’ve recently conducted my first investigation and, when you’re writing important letters, getting them checked and then having nothing changed is a massive achievement, especially when the consequences of getting it wrong are so serious. This morning I presented the HR section of Corporate Induction to 75 new starters including the Director of Communications (I didn’t know that at the time). I was nervous but I did it!

After the grad scheme I would like to be an HR Advisor for a couple more years to cement my operational experience and then look to moving into a managerial role.

I wanted to work in the public sector and the NHS HR programme has a reputation for being one of the best. There’s a great focus on people here and an understanding that they drive everything we do. My colleagues are very supportive and there’s lots of variety and challenge.

I like working in South Central because it’s close to London, where I live. It’s also a very large area, so you can build some great networks.

When I left my first placement, I was working at HR Officer level and managing my own employee relations caseload, which I really enjoyed. As an HR Business Partner I’m now working on merging the policies and organisational cultures of two trusts which are merging. I’m also getting involved in consultations and higher level employee relations cases, so there’s no such thing as a typical day!

The training and development has been very enabling and there’s a good mix of on-the-job experience and academic study, as well as mias briggs and action learning sets. I’m really proud of how I’ve juggled my commitments to get the best out of the scheme: for example, I organised a flexi-placement which was very successful and I now have four mentors! I’m a student representative for HR for my region and I regularly attend events such as the NHS Employers conference to further my knowledge.

I hope to become a Business Partner soon after graduating from the scheme and move into a consulting or change management role. If you have a genuine interest and passion for you specialism this is a world class scheme which will open lots of doors for you.