“Before finishing my degree, I applied and was offered a summer contract at Buckingham Palace. So, between handing in my dissertation and graduating, I moved down to London where I worked in a Team Leader role at the palace.”

It turned out Buckingham Palace was only the beginning of Amii’s career. Two days after coming back from London, the Psychology graduate started working as a Management Trainee at Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

I worked in different branches in Newcastle acquiring different roles, one of my favourite being Branch Corporate Account Manager. Now an Assistant Manager, I am looking at progressing further within the business” Ami says.

“I have a bright career ahead of me at Enterprise and I hope to succeed in everything I do within the business. At the moment I’m working in the airport sector of the business and in the long term I would love to become head of airports in the UK and then venture out to America.”

On top of that, Ami is also a Special Constable for Northumbria Police in her spare time and believes that extra experience is the key to success.

“I took advantage of every opportunity I was offered. Throughout university, I had several roles to ensure my skill set was of a high calibre. Those roles included: Assistant Psychologist, NHS Intern, Student Ambassador, Student Buddy, and a volunteer for North East charities.”

Developing a strong set of soft skills, as well as the hard skills gained from a degree, is key when seeking your dream graduate job. More and more employers are looking for a varied mix of skills in today’s graduates, some of which are gained by external experiences such as internship, volunteering and extra-curricular activities in general. Leadership, communication and flexibility are some of the soft skills that are difficult to learn by simply just studying for your degree.

Amii’s most recent volunteering venture took her to South Africa, where she volunteered for Glen Afric. It’s a country lodge which hires game rangers to look after endangered, unwell and unwanted animals such as elephants, tigers, lions, cheetahs, hyenas and hippos.

“I’d never worked with animals before but it was an experience I’ll treasure forever,” she said. “I will continue to volunteer as I believe that’s what really makes a difference.”

Ami’s advice to current students is to take advantage of the opportunities they are offered, keeping in mind which skills they are lacking, and which need developing. “You are not at university 24/7, so use the spare time wisely. Stick at what you’ve decided to do. Don’t get disheartened too easily. Regardless of how challenging it feels at the time. For me, the bigger the challenge, the bigger the achievement. If you want something enough, you will achieve it. With a degree and the right skillset under your belt, the sky is the limit. Good luck!”

If like Ami, you’ve spent some of your time at university developing those crucial soft skills needed when joining the world of work, we want to hear from you. Browse here for all the locations across the UK we’re recruiting for.