Yesterday was graduation day for the PR course at Leeds Metropolitan University. Possibly one of the hottest days to be dressed like an extra from Hogwarts, I felt like I was in the middle of a PR stunt to celebrate Harry Potter’s latest!
The ceremony lasted a couple of hours, which was largely spent worrying about tripping over my gown or my feet as I walked the ten feet across the stage to receive my degree - still at least I wasn’t the only one – the two hundred or so graduates sat around me all had similar terrified looks on their faces. We made it through ok, no one tripped or fell and thankfully everyone received their certificates in record time with no major embarrassment – apart from the Potter outfit that is!!
After seeing the photos of this year’s display at Ascot, where models donned hats shaped like some of the quality street favourites, I didn’t think it was possible to get any sillier in the hat stakes - I was wrong! It seems that the better you do academically the madder the outfit you get to wear. Feeling like a bit of a wolly in the traditional mortarboard and gown was nothing compared with some of the corkers the academic staff showed off!
The academic procession was a particular highlight as it showcased an array of fluffy berets, golden tastles and funky robes – Dumbledore would be proud! One of my favourite hats, a fluffy beret, was worn by professor Anne Gregory of Leeds Met University, who received several academic accolades at this years graduation, including the CIPR’s 2009 Stephen Tallents Medal which recognises outstanding achievements in and contributions to public relations. Needless to say, a big cheer raised the roof at this point in the proceedings! Congratulations to the class of 2009!!
I don’t need Potters magical powers to know that there will be a few sore heads today for one reason or another, but as the academic cohort highlighted – last year 97% of leeds met graduates found employment within three months of graduating. I am one of the lucky few this year who have found employment, but times are tough and they are getting tougher. Some of my fellow graduates have not been so lucky, as a recent report by the Higher Education Careers Service Unit (HECSU) points out, as many as 40,000 graduates are still unable to find a job six months after leaving university.
After four years at university, the days of timing your work schedule around Jeremy Kyle, Trisha and Neighbours are well and truly over.
Eating baked beans and finding out the DNA test results, are suddenly not so appealing – the graduates want to work! Speaking as a relative newcomer to the world of full time work, it seems to me that employers are missing a trick here.
Graduates are like a freshly pulled pint: we’re excited, fresh, full of new ideas, eager to please and cheap! Not only that, but for the past four years we’ve been reading up on the latest theory, strategy and techniques in PR. We are a credit crunch bargain, graduates should be snapped up outside the university gates!
Posted by Anna09
in Graduate, Hatch, new staff, PR, Graduate
/ Fri 07/09 / 12:55
Tags: leeds met university, ascot, hogwarts, recruitment, graduation
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