1 hour interview in Birmingham, I was invited to interview after the assessment centre. The assessment centre was fairly easy, with group task, presentation, in tray exercise etc. The interview had two people, one scheme project manager and on HR person. Both asked questions but put me at ease.

After receiving the notification that I didn’t progress to the assessment stage for the recent Graduate Project Management role, I took some time to reflect on the feedback. While it’s disappointing, I see it as a valuable learning opportunity. The main takeaway was that my CV, while strong in general management and technical skills, didn’t clearly enough connect my experience to the specific demands of a technical project management role. My time at McDonald’s gave me real-world experience in leading teams, improving processes, and ensuring safety—but I need to better articulate how those skills translate into managing engineering projects, not just operations.