A HR, Finance and General Management Trainee reflect on the first four months:

Posted by: Callum Bennett - Posted on:

Hi everyone,

I wanted to start this post by wishing those of you that are currently having, or have just had, interviews the best of luck, even if you don’t get what you want it’s still fantastic experience for you all.

Anyway, aside from that I was thinking about what to write in this post. I’d been thinking about it for a little while to be honest, and came up with nothing. As luck would have it though I recently helped out at an interview, and found myself in a room with a Finance trainee, and a General Management (GM) trainee. As such I thought that it was a chance to do a bit of an interview about their experiences on the scheme so far, and then to add some reflections of my own. My blog post this time is my recording of that discussion.

I do this to give you all a bit of an insight into the life, joys and worries of trainees from across the spectrum.

What is one thing that you wish that you had known before starting the scheme?

Finance– I think that looking back now I wish that I had known about how to manage my time. I found that I had to do a lot of work to catch up last month because I didn’t start working on my Uni stuff till quite late. I’d definitely start working earlier if I could do it again.

GM– I would definitely agree with that, but I wish I’d known just how many development opportunities there were right from the start. I felt that I wasted a couple of those opportunities just because I was so surprised to get them so early that I panicked. I think that if I had been expecting those opportunities a little more then I would have been a little more ready to take them when they started to come.

What is one thing that you’ve found difficult since starting the scheme?

Finance– For me personally finding the work life balance has been tough, especially with my Uni work. I think though that I’ve learnt how to deal with it better. It’s about being sensible with what you can do, doing a little bit each time you sit down to do it, and being kind to yourself. It started to get a lot better when I worked out a system.

GM– For me I found it difficult initially to adjust to my new level of responsibility. I get to influence in far more things than I ever thought that I would, and I found that really weird. I realise now though that that is what I signed up for. I wanted to be a leader, I wanted to have an influence, and I wanted to help the NHS. I have the chance to do that now.

Question 3- What is one thing that you’ve enjoyed since starting the scheme?

Finance– I absolutely love my job. I feel like I’m making a real impact in my work, and I think that what I do is helping people.

GM– I’ve spoken about it a lot but I find the responsibility very exciting. It puts me in a great position to make a difference. I also like knowing that there’s support out there as well if I need it though.

Question 4- What is one thing that you’ve learnt on the scheme?

Finance– I’ve learnt that the things that I thought were a weakness, other people see as a strength. I realised that I can do more than I thought I could. I also learnt that everyone makes mistakes, whether you’ve had 4 months in the job, or 40 years. What matters is learning from them. 

GM– I totally agree with everything that has been said. I’ve learnt that I can master challenges that I didn’t realise I could. It’s been such a whirlwind 5 months, and I’ve learnt so much already. I can’t imagine what’ll happen in the future!

I only asked them those 4 questions, but what I took from that interview was this. The scheme is difficult, and it is challenging. However, as trainees we adapt to these new challenges, we grow and we develop. We get incredible opportunities, and can use them to make a positive contribution to people’s lives.

To anyone who is stressed and is going through the application process right now, I just wanted to say that the job is truly worth it.

Have a nice day.

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