Past participant tesimonials

Before the programme, I'd been working with the National Citizens Service as a Senior Mentor and really trying to work out what I wanted to do in work. I'd found myself unemployed and looking for further charity work desperately trying to avoid returning to bar work so it sounded like it held amazing promise, but I honestly thought that maybe I was too old for the programme or that it wasn't designed for me. I was completely wrong.

After the first day I didn't look back - and the whole programme ended up being amazing. The programme of workshops were really comprehensive and a great mix of skill-based sessions. I found the sessions on personal branding, LinkedIn, CVs and Cover Letters really useful and it helped me approach these in new ways.

Since Stand Out I've also been accepted onto the Civil Service Fast Stream. This is my fourth time applying and I really believe that Stand Out helped me find the motivation and focus to achieve this and gave me a much better understanding of the application process.

Stand Out gives you the confidence that you can succeed and you have the skills to succeed in whatever you do so long as you keep on trying. The support offered by Fastlaners really helps to create this confidence, while having such a supportive group of fellow participants also makes you realise you aren't alone and that there are plenty of other young people in similar positions to you who really want to work in a meaningful role but are struggling to get their foot in the door.

I had recently graduated but found it challenging to find meaningful employment as I lacked a network, an understanding of the soft skills that aren’t taught at school and support whilst I was searching for a job. 

Stand Out was life-changing. It provided me with insight into different companies and how they operate. I received one-to-one support on my CV and learned so much from the other young people on the programme. 

I’m now the founder of The People: an award-winning youth culture consultancy. We help bridge the gap between brands and young people.

I had graduated from university and completed a summer internship but was struggling to secure employment for 6 months. I was under a lot of external pressure from friends and family who had high expectations for me to land a job straight out of university. When I kept getting rejected from graduate schemes, this took a toll on my mental health and I was losing the motivation to apply for jobs.

My favourite part about the workshops was that they were designed entirely to get you thinking about your future and personal development – I would leave the programme every day planning my next steps to secure a job, and it was extremely helpful knowing that I had a programme leader who was genuinely interested in supporting my transition into work. 

I currently work as a civil servant and I love it! The techniques that I used during the mock interviews and mock job applications were particularly helpful when it came to getting my current role, as well as my increased confidence over the two weeks.