When I first heard of WEXO in the winter of 2008 I was an unemployed ex-student whose decision to study Egyptian Archaeology at University had sorely damaged his hope of finding a job in a recession. It was not a happy time. This was a point when I had signed up to the huge array of job websites on the internet all promising the impossible and almost always resulting in jobs in sales and recruitment, not my idea of a future!
As I filled in my WEXO profile I was quietly pessimistic that it would be like all the others but how wrong I was to be…
Within a week I had three interviews for internships and three very different companies that all appealed to me. After being accepted by two I chose to work for SUPERchick, a women’s personal training and fitness company, which not only provided me with a great holistic approach to a start up company but also filled my CV with some great skills for future employers to mull over. I was once told by a highly influential CEO in London that unpaid work experience was one of the key qualities he looked for in candidates and so I valued it highly. SUPERchick is run by Sky Sports presenter Georgie Thompson and I met some very interesting people on the job. My time was largely spent helping out with day to day office duties.
After this very successful internship I actually went on to work for WEXO itself in Business Development. I spent 7 months involved in all aspects of the business which involved everything from developing a Client Relationship Management tool to helping market WEXO at The Guardian Graduate Career Fair. My time at WEXO has now inspired me to go it alone and build my own start-up. My company, Alexandria Bespoke Libraries (www.alexandria-bespoke.com), builds collections of literature as well as dealing in rare and antiquarian books. This is something I had always wanted to do and working with and through WEXO I not only gained some indispensible skills and contacts but also the inspiration to go it alone!
I am truly grateful to WEXO for everything they have done for me and would recommend them to anyone that was in a similar position to me after university!
Elliott Rampley
thelibrary@alexandria-bespoke.com
www.alexandria-bespoke.com
I’ve been working for WEXO for over three months now and was lucky enough to find the position through the website itself. However, my roots lie not in business development but the exotic world of archaeology.
I studied Egyptian Archaeology for three years at University College London and found it one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I’m often asked how I got ‘into the field’ as it were, as well as the more frequent questions about my relations to Indiana Jones and why I chose to design buildings (note: archaeology is NOT architecture), and so have decided to share my top five reasons for how and why I went into the Archaeological environment and why you all should too;
- Travel – Travelling around the UK and Europe and seeing ancient sites was what originally got me hooked. While studying for my undergraduate degree the opportunities to travel were fantastic. Beside study tours to Turkey and Egypt I was able to spend three months across three consecutive summers excavating a Roman fort in rural Romania. Sun equals fun.
- Experience – The best way to learn things in archaeology, especially if you want to become a field archaeologist, is to get stuck in. Experiencing techniques and evidence in the field is the best way to develop an understanding. There are various societies and field teams that allow students to come along and join in at weekends and school holidays. As long as it doesn’t spend the whole time raining with you knee-deep in mud and bones, it can act as a great foot in the door and helped me considerably.
- Research – Any background reading is a great asset, try out “Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice” by Renfrew and Bahn. Following current affairs also provides a great residual knowledge of archaeology and enables you to make wild assumptions about a series of small walls in true Time Team style. The best source online is http://www.archaeology.co.uk/ .
- University – Studying archaeology is predictably the best way to turn the hobby into a career, and you’ll quickly come to realise Tony Robinson is no expert.
- Variation – An aspect of archaeology that you can’t find in most dull office jobs is that of variation. Whether you’re travelling abroad in sunnier climes, writing a research paper, excavating a burial ground, or dabbling in site photography, the one thing you will never be is bored!
Let’s hope this has encouraged you all to jump on the archaeological band wagon and start digging up your parent’s garden!
Elliott Rampley
elliott@wexo.co.uk
