Chloe
Roberts

Why did you choose to study at NTU?

I chose to study at NTU because of the amazing facilities they offered. The opportunities at Brackenhurst to engage with the animals on site was great. The lecturers I met at the open day made me feel very welcome and the campus itself was very nice.

What did you learn – both inside and outside of lectures?

I learnt a lot of discipline whilst studying. Ensuring that my work was completed to the best I could, as well as being at lectures and continuing to study outside of lectures. I also learnt a lot about working in a team, whilst sometimes exceptionally frustrating, the majority of jobs whether you are self-employed or working for a business have team working involved and it is so important to understand how to work with others successfully.

Probably the biggest thing I learnt was when things go wrong, to persevere because there’s so many people there to support you and the direction you were heading in wasn’t necessarily the right one to begin with. Making mistakes or having things go wrong pushes you towards new opportunities that may be so much better for you. This was certainly the case for me.

What have you been up to since graduating?

Since graduating I worked in an agricultural role for 4 years with poultry. I began as an agri-technical graduate for 2 years working with disease control, hygiene and customer data. This gave me the breadth of knowledge to understand each process in poultry from farm to fork. After this, I was seconded to McDonald’s for 1 year to become an Agricultural Coordinator. This involved running the McDonald’s Young Farmers Programme and liaising with different suppliers. Again, I was responsible for all 2022 agricultural reporting data for McDonald’s as well as running some events. After McDonald’s I returned to my previous business as an Area Manager for 11 months, looking after 24 farms which were a mix of contractors and company farms. I was responsible for performance and health/disease management. More recently I have joined Anthesis as a Junior Infor Consultant working with food and beverage manufacturers. This was a huge passion of mine after working in agriculture and seeing a lot of inefficiencies in day-to-day work.

What does your current day involve?

Currently, my day-to-day includes working from home and learning/understanding my new role. I recently started in September and whilst I knew the food and beverage industry, I didn’t know anything about the software. I have recently just come back from Poland after 3 weeks there training and studying. Now, my day-to-day includes configuring software for clients to enable smooth operations in the factories.

What attracted you to this field?

I have always been interested in the software industry. Growing up my dad and brother were both in cyber security and I was fascinated by this. However, I also have such a huge love of animals hence why I studied Animal Biology. Through Covid, I fell into agriculture and really enjoyed the new challenges it gave me and grasped every opportunity with both hands. I began to grow restless because I knew whilst I loved being on the ground day-to-day, it was not sustainable for me. I took a huge leap and started looking for a new role. I was exceptionally fortunate to have secured this role which merged my passion for agriculture as well as my interest in cyber/software. I had 4 interviews for my current role and I was honest when I interviewed, I did not know anything about software at all, but I had a keen interest and I loved working with food and beverage. I was fortunate to have been offered the role in which I can honestly say is my dream role with my dream company (which I appreciate sounds very cheesy!)

What have been the highlights and biggest challenges of your career so far?

The biggest highlight I can say is exposure. Exposure to the industry, suppliers, people and operations. I cannot express how important it is to meet lots of people within the industry you are thinking of going into and to really throw yourself at every opportunity. I had some very supportive people backing me through my career so far and whilst I was sceptical at first about every new opportunity that came my way, I learned to recognise the ones which were worth a shot even if they seemed impossible. I was reluctant at first to apply for the McDonald’s secondment because I was comfortable in my role, but it was the best thing that happened to me. The number of people I met through this role was amazing and the opportunities that followed opened doors. The biggest highlight is to always get some experience within the industry you are thinking about going into regardless of what it is because you never know how many doors it will open.

There have been many challenges during my time since leaving uni. Working with an agricultural business is difficult and certainly my role as a graduate, as well as an area manager included long hours. For me it was unsustainable, I always pushed myself to help others and whilst I enjoyed working with people as well as the animals, I was reaching burnout too frequently. I took a huge leap to leave the business without a role to go to, knowing that something would come along (that may not be the best advice, but trust your gut), and it did. A new opportunity which sounded way out of my league came along and I grabbed it with both hands because it was something I knew I could learn and wanted to do. So whilst I say grab every opportunity with both hands, find the one that you really want to do and give it your all, but don’t be afraid to fail because it opens so many new doors.

What are your plans for the future?

I have never been one to lay out plans for my future as I always try to maximise the return from every role I do. I keep my eyes open for new opportunities such as new qualifications, training or clients. In my current role, for the first time I have a sketch of an end goal which is to become a Solutions Architect. I know it will take me years to achieve this, but I am committed to learning everyday and throwing myself into my role.

If you had a time machine, what would you go back and tell yourself at NTU?

Don’t rush things. Be patient with yourself and take the time to try new roles and new opportunities. Whilst I wanted to finish university, go straight into a role and start earning lots of money, had I of taken the time to really figure out what I envisioned my career to be like I perhaps would have made changes. That being said, I do not have any regrets as my career and choices have led me to where I am now, and I will always be grateful for that.

Interviews are scary, whilst they might be, it is also a great way to find out whether they will be a good fit for YOU. I have always been completely honest when I go into an interview about what I don’t know. I cannot start to count how many roles I haven’t been successful for because I have been true to myself, but the silver lining, I always tell myself I dodged a bullet because I wanted a company that valued honesty, transparency and that were committed to training. I interviewed for my current role, and I told them I didn’t know anything about software, it’s a software company! But what I did know was the food and beverage industry. Being unsuccessful at an interview that ticked less than 100% of your boxes is not the end of the world and it gives you the opportunity to find a new role that might tick all your boxes.

Finally, is there anything else you’d like to share with our student and alumni community?

Enjoy the experiences you have and make the most of every opportunity you can.