Uptree

Zoe is an impressive student currently studying economics, maths and geography with a wide range of interests: not only is she the Deputy Head Girl at her school but she's also sporty and musical!

Zoe was already familiar with Equitix having met them at FuturesUP so when she saw the opportunity to apply for their work experience day, she was keen to attend. There was high competition for this event (over 200 applicants) but her clear passion for this industry shone through and Zoe was delighted to to meet Equitix again in April 2021.

How did you prepare to meet Equitix?

About a month before the event, I attended the FuturesUP Festival organised by Uptree. Through this session, I had the opportunity to talk to existing apprentices and employees at Equitix about their work and experiences leading up to their current job at the company. I was familiarised with Equitix as a company - their culture, what they do and what job roles are available.

Uptree emailed us all a video to watch introducing us to Equitix, as well as some basic networking questions to guide us in creating our own.

Before the event I also utilised LinkedIn by reaching out to existing employees at Equitix to talk about their current role at the company.

As a student, I think LinkedIn is a great tool to get yourself into the corporate world, people are always happy to talk with you and help out students willing to learn.

After the event, I also wrote a short write up on LInkedIn to say thanks publicly to the company.

How did you find the event?

I found the session very interactive. We were all encouraged to put up our cameras, raise our hands and ask questions throughout the session.

During the networking session and the industry task we were put into smaller breakout rooms of 7, which was a great opportunity to talk to the professionals and get actively involved in the activity.

It was really exciting to hear about the wide variety of projects Equitix has worked on - big projects, small projects and projects abroad. I had heard about many of these projects prior to the event such as The Elizabeth Line and HS1 .

It was also very interesting to hear about how Equitix is committing to more sustainable projects and how they manage their environmental impact throughout the whole investment process.

Do you have any advice for students with similar interests to you?

My advice for other students would be to be proactive and open minded. During this strange time where offices are closed and everyone’s working online, it's easy to get concerned about how to get exposure and experience in your industry of interest.

Use a platform that offers virtual work experience , like Uptree, to get experience and guidance - you just have to take the steps to find those placements and apply.

In that process, you might come across other work experience opportunities in different sectors or industries but I suggest seizing those opportunities and going into them with an open mind.

Finally, keep your options open. You never know what people you will meet or what advice they could share with you.