51Âþ»­

Matt Tomkins’ journey with logistics giant DHL is about to come full circle as the Business Management and Economics graduate prepares to start the company’s finance graduate programme this month.

The 22-year-old from Hinckley previously worked as a customer service representative at the company’s offices in Derby before deciding to enrol at university.

Having secured his place on the company’s three-year finance graduate programme, Matt will spend the first 12 months of his role reporting on the business’s financial data before studying for a qualification from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

Matt said: “You never know what to expect when you start a new job but I’m optimistic and I’m looking forward to starting.

“I’d previously lined up a job in sales while I was applying for DHL but selling from 8.30am till 6.30pm didn’t feel right for me personally, so I kept my options open. Thankfully, I heard back from DHL, which invited me back to an assessment and interview, and from there I landed one of four roles available.”

To help hone his interview and office skills, Matt applied for a six-week internship with RS Components after the Corby-based company reached out to the award-winning 51Âþ»­ Careers Team with the opportunity.

Having impressed both the Careers Team and the interviewing panel at RS Components, Matt landed the internship and helped create web content to improve where the company ranked on search engines.

Focusing on search engine optimisation (SEO), Matt was also tasked with identifying high-performing keywords, analysing competitors' strategies, and optimising the company’s existing content. 

Matt said: “My experience at RS was really good and the team there were fantastic. I helped with optimising the website’s landing pages and helping write indexable filters so our website was ranking in the top five of Google searches.

“I also had the chance to get quite heavily involved in meetings by looking at gross and net profit data, and how much profit the company received per click on the website.  

“By the end of the internship, I felt I was part of the team.”

Before coming to university, Matt decided to take a gap year to gain some life experience and explore what he wanted to do with his career before deciding on a course.

Working in warehouses and customer services helped him grow in confidence, particularly in communication. It helped Matt realise he enjoyed the management side of business, and having explored the options available to him, 51Âþ»­’s Business Management and Economics course was his best fit.

“Looking back, taking the year out was the best thing I did. I enjoyed focusing on the reports when I could, and I fancy myself a little as an entrepreneur – when I was younger I would buy and sell shoes – so I thought Business Management and Economics linked in really well.  

“I had a couple of options open to me when I applied to university, but I really liked the 51Âþ»­ campus and it was close to home too. The course also fit my aspirations, so I opted for here.

“I also took part in the University Officers’ Training Corps, in the first year. I was able to mountain bike in the Lake District and hike in the Peak District. Unfortunately, I was working Saturdays and couldn’t fit it in during my second year but you get a lot of life experience and I’d recommend people check it out.”