In January of 2021 I applied for the role of student ambassador, a couple of months later and my application had been accepted along with an offered interview. I applied for this position because it was a great way to gain experience and new skills while still being able to focus mainly on my degree. I received an email not long after being offered an interview about what preparation was required of me, this information said that I needed to create two presentations. One presentation had to be based on why students should consider applying to York St. John University; for this I chose to discuss that all 1st year students are guaranteed accommodation, 97% of students are in employment or education within 6 months of graduating and that York was voted the best northern city to live in (2019). These options gave me an advantage as these are the reasons why I chose to attend York St. John. The second presentation was based on something that I was passionate about and this was where I could really allow my flare of creativity to come into use, so for this I chose to talk about my love for cooking. This is something that I am very passionate about and something that I enjoy doing everyday for friends, family and those who I live with.   

However, a few weeks after all of the interviews had been completed I received an email and unfortunately, I was unsuccessful in getting the job. A further investigation as to why I was not successful for the job was carried out, this led me to ask for feedback on what I could improve on in the future. In terms of jobs this was my first rejection that I have experienced, to say the least it was very disheartening at first. I expected this feeling though so it was no surprise, I was more disappointed in myself not for the lack of trying but for the lack of confidence in myself. The Feedback that was given to me is attached to this section of the blog, this will help me within my reflection further into my blog. 

Feedback: 

Dear Kayla,

Thank you for getting in touch regarding feedback for your Student Ambassador interview. We had a high number of applicants and a significant number of strong candidates this year. You interviewed well but unfortunately your score meant you weren’t selected for the role on this occasion. This was due to lower scores on the questions about barriers to HE and safeguarding. For the barrier question we were looking for some understanding of the underrepresented groups of people we work with who can face barriers such as those first in family, care leavers, ethnic minorities, amongst others. This is part of our Widening Participation work and you should be able to find out more about this with some research on the university website/around the Ambassador role. 

Your presentations were good and the only thing I would suggest to improve these is more time practicing so that it feels less scripted, and people see more of your personality come through. This was more evident in your passionate presentation. 

Thank you again for your time preparing and attending the interview. It was nice to meet you and I wish you luck with your future endeavours.