News | Tuesday, 20th February 2024

Maariyah Jabbar’s Graduate Story

Maariyah, a 2019 Social Care graduate, talks about the importance of placement and volunteer opportunities throughout university and shares some top tips for a successful career journey.

What did you study at Manchester Met and why?

BA (Hons) Social Care. I chose this degree as I knew I wanted a career where I was working directly with people and having a positive impact on their lives. The course interested me as it provided a generic overview of the care sector, so I was able to have options of what I would like to specialise in throughout the course.

Did you enjoy your time at Manchester Met? What was your favourite part of your experience?

I really did enjoy my time at Manchester Met. I was fortunate to gain two placement experiences during my time on the course. One of these placements was within family support and another placement was within an independent hospital for older people with complex mental health needs. Both of these placement experiences enabled me to apply theory to practice.

What journey did you take whilst looking for a job once finishing University?

The journey of looking for a job when finishing university was challenging as there was so much competition. I was applying for roles but was not successful in a few of them due to my experience. However, I knew I wanted to work in the NHS, so I started off applying for receptionist/admin roles as I did have experience working in this area.

After a while, a job came up at The Christie Hospital as a Clinical Support Worker and through the experience gained from my receptionist role, I developed a lot of transferrable skills for this job. I am thankful for the receptionist job I had when finishing university, as without that job I would not have been able to gain the experience to move forward within the care sector.

Then my current job came up which is Macmillan Cancer Care Support Coordinator. I loved working at the Christie Hospital, but when I saw this job advertised I was interested in the opportunity to provide more of a person-centered approach. Although I was able to do this at the Christie Hospital, we did not get as much time to spend with patients as it was always so busy. Therefore, through the experience gained at the Christie Hospital, I was able to gain various transferrable skills that were relevant to this role. I feel I am now more able to spend time with patients and ensure they are getting appropriate support.

What does your day-to-day life look like at work?

I work within the Macmillan team at the hospital. There is a small team of us who provide support to various tumour groups within the hospital. Some of the areas we currently support are Skin Cancer, Urology, Haematology, Head and Neck, Upper GI, Colorectal and Lung Cancer. I mainly specialise in Urology at present, but cover other areas too. My role involves supporting patients when they have first received their cancer diagnosis through a 'Holistic Needs Assessment' which identifies a patient's concerns/needs and develops a Personalised Care and Support Plan. These are carried out at various points throughout their diagnosis. I am also involved in arranging health and well-being events which we invite patients to where we have speakers and stalls to ensure they are getting appropriate information and support, again throughout their diagnosis.

What skills or experience did you learn at Manchester Met that are key to your work life?

 I feel all the skills and experience that I learned at Manchester Met have equipped me for work life. However, the work-based learning unit was beneficial in enabling me to apply theory to practice.

 ‘If there is an area that you are interested in then it would be useful to volunteer, so you are building on your experience.’

 I would also recommend thinking of jobs you are interested in during your final year, and applying as soon as you can as competition for graduate jobs can be tough.

Do you think you could have done anything differently during your course which could have better prepared you for working life after graduation?

I would have started thinking about my career options slightly earlier as I did focus more on academic work and graduation as opposed to career options.

If you could give one piece of advice for those starting their career journey, what would you say?

Build up as much experience as you can.

Want to get ahead and build up valuable experience like Maariyah? Check out CareerHub for part-time roles and internships.