51Âþ»­

Graduate Ollie Churchill secured a top job managing 200 employees at the world’s largest internet retailer as soon as he left 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­).

The 23-year-old works as an Area Manager overseeing the picking, packing and shipping of customers’ orders at the online company Amazon.

51Âþ»­ graduate Ollie Churchill with his team at Amazon

He says it ‘just shows you what can happen’ as he originally didn’t have a clue what career path he wanted to take.

Ollie, who graduated in July 2017 with a degree, calls his job an “amazing and very enjoyable opportunity.”

He said: “I never thought I’d be working for a massive company and I never thought I’d be managing such a huge team of people.

“It’s such a well-known company that everyone recognises straight away and I’ve been given this role at a young age.

“It’s a steep learning curve but what I’ve learnt already has been invaluable.

“The on-the-job resources are also amazing and looking ahead, there’s lots of promotion opportunities.”

Business Management graduate Ollie Churchill takes part in 51Âþ»­'s 'Transitioning to Work' panel discussion

Ollie, who works at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Coalville, focuses on personal management responsibilities. He oversees a warehouse workforce of about 200 employees dealing with operations, personnel and disciplinary matters.

At 1 million sq. ft, the warehouse, which opened about 18 months ago, is one of the biggest of 16 warehouses Amazon has around the UK. Its forklifts, loaders and lorry bays operate 24 hours a day.

Ollie, who is originally from Cambridge, took a proactive approach to job-hunting and started at Amazon in August, less than two months after graduating from 51Âþ»­.

Before being offered the job, he underwent a vigorous selection process. This included submitting his CV, carrying out psychometric tests, producing a video of himself, having a phone interview and attending an assessment centre.

Ollie said: “When I was a student, I really didn’t know what kind of job I wanted, I didn’t have a clue.

“To get the ball rolling, I basically started to research a few companies. I selected companies from The Times Top 100 Companies List and worked out if my skills fitted in with their required leadership principles.

Ollie Churchill, centre, visits 51Âþ»­ with other graduates to talk about their careers

“I wanted to make sure that I had the right skillset so I more or less hand-picked the companies I was suited to work for.”

Ollie says he developed many of his company’s required skills while working on assignments and group projects at 51Âþ»­. These crucial skills include teamwork, managing other people and effective communication.

He is full of praise for his university work placement at Enterprise Rent a Car, which got him used to “being focused on a work environment five days a week.”

Ollie was also chairman of the 51Âþ»­ Squash Club, where he learnt how to motivate people and how to cope with potential challenges and conflicts.

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Ollie was one of six graduates who recently shared their career stories with current 51Âþ»­ students at a ‘Transitioning to Work’ event.

He said: “I loved being back at 51Âþ»­, I’ve got great memories of being a student.

“After six months in my first job, it’s great to be able to share my industry experience with students and help them in any way I can.”

His main advice to students is: “Concentrate on what you can control and worry less, as things that seem huge at the time don’t always end up being that important.”