When I first found out about Doceo, I thought it was too good to be true. A company with the progress of a student at their hearts. I was a very curious Year 11 student, who had just finished my GCSEs, and I was looking for work experience, but with all of the application deadlines being passed and not meeting any of the requirements for the opportunity, I stopped searching. That is the exact moment I found Doceo. Through their website, I saw their opportunities, Empowered, Aspiring Leaders and Money Matters, the one that stuck out to me was Empowered. When I initially applied, I thought that due to my age, there was no way possible I would be accepted, but when I received the email, I was shocked and excited. Going into this experience, I did not know what to expect, but going into White and Case, for the Law Stream, was unbelievable. Having the opportunity to hear from those on a journey that I aspire to be on, is something that I am truly appreciative for. This experience blessed me, and I was truly grateful, despite being the youngest and travelling an hour, to be a part of Empowered.
From Empowered specifically, I gained the opportunity to speak to like-minded people, who were all aspiring to be lawyers, or work in the legal sector. Speaking to these people helped me to gain insight on what my next steps should be in my career, and as I was in Year 11 while most attendees were in Year 13, they all offered me valuable advice on how to handle studies and gain opportunities, like this, too. Empowered covered many topics, including interview tips and tricks, practicing interviews, studying, imposter syndrome, mentoring, how to grow your network and how to make meaningful connections. These proactive topics are practical and realistic tips, and the Doceo Team even gave us the time to practice these skills on each other, making it easier to be applied in real life. With the opportunity to ask questions during Career Panels and the Doceo Team at the end of the day or at lunch, allowed for attendees to grow their confidence and ask important questions, which many of us took with us for the future.
Alongside the advantages from the events, I was particularly interested with their other services, specifically their Career Launchpad and Learning Hub. I used their Career Launchpad to get some feedback on my CV, and was surprised at how in-depth the constructive criticisms were, and I was appreciative of the feedback summary, which was extremely descriptive and gave me the essential suggestions that could be applied to improve my CV. Applying to opportunities from Doceo gives you more career insights, and skills that you would not necessarily get elsewhere, such as on financial literacy. As an advocate for self-growth, Doceo is a brilliant catalyst for making improvements in your career, which is evidenced in their hard work to students getting the best feedback and experiences. Doceo gives you transferable qualities that are beneficial for the workplace, such as: communication, team work, leadership, time management, adaptability, commitment, negotiation and public speaking.
I am full of gratitude for the opportunities that Doceo has given me, which I have received from their Opportunity board, and I highly encourage other students to apply to these events, as the skills you gain are valuable and can be applied in everyday life. Organisations like Doceo should be taken advantage of as you will not always be lucky to find an event that will change your perspectives, like Empowered did for me.
