William grew up in an area of Southwark which could be rough at times, and some of the people he grew up with were drawn into crime. But William had his sights set on university. With promising academic grades, William’s plan looked firmly on track. However, shortly before his A Levels, William was coming home from school when he was stabbed in a random attack. Seriously injured, he had to take time off school to recover in hospital. He felt nervous leaving the house, but decided to continue with his plan of going to university.
William struggled with his studies following the attack, and consequently his grades weren’t what he hoped for. He aimed for a graduate scheme, but his results stood in his way, and he lacked the crucial confidence he needed in interviews. When he was introduced to MTL, he was eager to see how the workshop could help. The activities required him to develop his confidence in a professional environment. Following the workshop, William joined MTL’s Corporate Careers Programme where he learned to tackle group interviews and numerical reasoning tests, as well as developing the resilience he would need to stand out. Interviews were a struggle, and so MTL staff gave him plenty of coaching in order to fully prepare him for the rigorous assessment process at a top four professional services firm.
William came a long way whilst at MTL: from a young person who had little belief in himself, he gave a speech in front of three hundred at MTL’s 2015 Gala. On the day of his final interview, he was offered the highly-competitive Higher Level Apprenticeship in Consulting. He’s got a bright future ahead, and finally has the confidence he needs to succeed.
‘I think MTL gave me a real boost. It reminded me that I did have talent and potential. I was a high achiever when I was young, but being stabbed set me back for a number of years. Without MTL I might still have been applying, struggling with interviews, so having this resource was invaluable to me. MTL really do care about the individual person. Their knowledge of the job market and the process, I can’t imagine where else you’d get that. The skills you gain at MTL, I don’t think you could gain anywhere else. MTL really built my confidence back up and made me realise I could achieve so much and make it at a big firm. It got my dream back on track.’
