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#Careers #Impact

Impact Interviews: Jody – Data Coordinator & recent grad

As well as hiring current students, at LUU we also love to recruit former LUU members to our permanent staff team. Many of our staff are recent graduates who just couldn’t get enough of life at LUU – and one of them is Jody Wong, our Data and Insight Coordinator. 

We sat down to talk about how her LUU role is kickstarting her career, the skills she’s developed so far, and what it’s like to work at the Union. If you’re looking for a part time role, or graduating soon and keen to stick around, why not check out vacancies at LUU and via Joblink?

What did you study and what do you do now?

I studied BA Geography with Transport Studies. Currently, I am the Data and Insight Coordinator at LUU.

As a recent graduate, how is working at LUU helping to kickstart your career?

Working at the union has been a nice transition from student life (which can be very unstructured) to working life and getting used to the everyday 9-5. It’s also given me experience in meeting deadlines, team working and networking.

In my role, I am responsible for all of LUU’s research needs, so it’s nice to have been given such a big responsibility so early on in my career.

What skills, experiences and development opportunities have you had that will be useful going forward?

I’ve learnt a lot about different data collection methods such as surveys and focus groups, and the channels available in LUU to reach different stakeholders. I’ve been able to use new data reporting tools and learn how best to display data.

I’ll also soon be responsible for managing an Insight Assistant so this will help develop leadership skills moving forward.

What drew you to work at LUU instead of elsewhere?

Having recently graduated, I already knew LUU well and so I knew that it was a fun place to work. A good friend who was elected as one of the Exec this year also told me how much she enjoyed working at LUU which was positive to hear. Several of my other friends were also studying for a Master’s degree at the University, so it made sense to try and find a job that was in Leeds.

What is your favourite part of your role?

My favourite part of the role is getting to hear students’ honest thoughts. It’s good when someone leaves an unfiltered survey comment or speaks their mind in a focus group, as it shows they are really passionate about their point of view.

Using this feedback to make recommendations and then seeing them happen is also rewarding, as you know that you are contributing to improving the student experience. I also really enjoy working within the Marketing and Communications team as everyone is incredibly friendly and helpful.

What would you say to students and graduates thinking about applying to an LUU job?

I would say do your research. For me, it worked out because I wanted to stay in Leeds, I’d heard good things about working at the Union from friends and it was a good starting point for building work experience. If you are thinking about applying then just go for it!