One of my personal highlights from my time at Coventry University is being part of the university’s Cheerleading and Dance club. Not only do you make a whole new network of lifelong friends by being a member of a university society, but you also build up a huge array of interpersonal skills that employers look for. These include teamwork and communication skills, which are especially relevant in our team, as our sport is particularly dangerous and risky.
As the cheerleading squad’s President for the year of 2016/17, I was keen to seek out sponsorship opportunities with businesses that would not only provide financial benefits but also bring value to the team in terms of our personal development. Cheerleading is our sport and we love what we do, however we are all university students who have one core aim: to get a job at the end of our studies. The work that Enterprise did with us over the year helped us do exactly that, through employability workshops and networking events with their recruitment team.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car is a huge student employer in the Coventry and Warwckshire area and I was made aware of the work that they do through the huge presence they have on our campus, through careers fairs and recruitment events.
Our partnership with Enterprise is mutually beneficial and highly rewarding. Not only did we hold an informal networking event with the Enterprise recruitment team to learn about the values and opportunities Enterprise have to offer, but we also held an employability evening. During the evening we were given specific advice about what employers look for in job applications as well as at every stage of the application process. We also assisted Enterprise at a couple of their recruitment events on campus.
So what are the benefits of getting Enterprise to sponsor your university society?
- You get direct access to recruiters and job opportunities as well as a good understanding of what they look for in their candidates. More importantly they are always available to give general employability advice to help you when applying for jobs. The members of our sports team might vary hugely in terms of degree disciplines and the type of careers we are seeking, however what remains consistent is that we are all searching for our dream graduate job at the end of our degree, and Enterprise has been there to help. For instance, many of the team members didn’t know what the STAR method was for answering interview questions (Situation, Task, Action, Result) and we learnt this through our employability skills session with Enterprise.
- If you are applying to work at Enterprise, and you are part of the sports team or society that they sponsor this will really strengthen your application as they already know you! They already know your personality and your strengths and this will put you above other candidates.
Speaking on behalf of the team as a whole, our partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car has been very useful in preparing us the world of work, helping us to secure internships, placements and graduate jobs. I would highly recommend Enterprise as a sponsor for your sports team or society as the benefits to both the club and the sponsor are invaluable – they even wrote a very useful guide on how society sponsorship will help with your future graduate career.
Being a member of a university society will give you the soft skills that Enterprise is looking for, so make sure you browse all the graduate jobs available across the UK that Enterprise has to offer, or apply to their Graduate Management Trainee Programme in Coventry and Warwickshire.
