‘My Year in Industry Secured a Top Graduate Job at Microsoft’

Morgan Gladwell, from Brighton, is in his final year of study in BSc International Business.   The 21-year-old secured a placement at Microsoft for his Year in Industry back in July 2020 after which he was offered a graduate job. 

“I attended the open day at Kent and loved everything about the campus, the location and the international elements of the course. I also knew that I wanted to get experience as part of my studies, so taking International Business with a Year in Industry was a natural choice. 

“During Stage One, the Year in Industry was never far from my mind. Keeping plenty of evidence of academic successes and my eye on what various businesses were looking for in a candidate was imperative. 

“In my second year, I started the process of application by calling upon the placements team to help me perfect my CV and covering letter and attending various workshops to learn interviewing skills and the like. While the university found plenty of interesting options, my own Google searches took me to the perfect one for me – at Microsoft. 

“Securing a telephone interview was a real achievement, but I was over the moon to be in the final 12 at the in-person assessment stage in January 2020. I used to loathe public speaking, but the interview went surprisingly well. 

“It was the end of February 2020 when I received the phone call to say I got the job.  I was dumfounded to hear the positive feedback and that over 5,000 applicants had applied. As someone who, in the past, has really struggled with my confidence levels, it was an accolade to how much I had grown as a university student. 

“I started that July, working from home during the pandemic, but moved near Microsoft HQ in Reading with six other interns bringing some of the natural camaraderie of the office to how we worked. 

“Year in Industries are not spent making tea or data inputting – as part of the Customer Success team I helped to manage a large revenue stream for several key global accounts, giving presentations to senior managers; also, within my day-to-day role I helped to demo our products to thousands of new-users. 

‘My confidence grew’

“As time went by, my confidence grew, I felt like a real member of the team. One of my biggest accolades involved challenging senior leadership on resourcing using modelling and Excel techniques I had learned on my course. It was well received. 

“Months in, I was presenting to teams of 100 plus up to five times a week, without any nerves.  One of my presentations was directly to the senior leadership team at a major bank surrounding accessibility, something I am passionate about. My manager received great feedback on my performance. 

“As a student, I couldn’t have imagined doing any of these things and there I was, throughout that year, feeling and sounding like a real, knowledgeable businessperson. 

“In July 2021, as my placement came to an end, I was delighted to be offered a graduate role at the firm, which I start in September of this year, on condition of my getting a 2:1 in my degree completing my degree. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. 

“I’d recommend anyone applying to university to take the Year in Industry.  It was the best choice I made throughout my entire academic career.   

“The Year in industry can be a pivotal part of your future so work hard to find the right placement, do something you love and aim high.” 

Interested in finding out more about our Year in Industry Programmes? Click here