Hassan Qayyum: Kickstarting my career goals

Hassan, from Cardiff, received an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Finance having graduated from University of South Wales in 2018, before going on to complete a master’s in Forensic Audit and Accounting. However his real passion is for HR and recruitment, and so joined PAG as a Recruitment Administrator in June 2021. After an impressive start, he was soon promoted to a full-time role as Account Executive and found himself leading the Kickstart team by the end of October. We sat down to talk to him about his journey at PAG so far and what he plans to do next:

Tell us about your first few months here at PAG; how are you settling in?

I feel like I’ve settled in very well; I’ve been here for 5 months but from the start everyone has been so helpful. The team when I first came here was Anna and Ines, with Katie and Paolo also helping out, and they made it really easy to work with them. I’m quite close with them as well now; I consider them good friends as well so that makes it easier to learn when you get on with the people you’re working with. It was quite fun to work with [Anna and Ines] and we just always communicated really well.

I do have to thank Anna because she’s been a great mentor; I’ve learned so much from her in such a short space of time, and this was my first job so everything I’ve learned has been from her.

Why did you decide to apply to this role through the job centre? Was working in recruitment something you originally wanted to do?

After I finished university, I was applying to do a HR masters degree and I actually did get accepted to study in USA but because of the pandemic I decided to defer that for a year. Then I found out about the Kickstart scheme and thought this was a good thing I could do in the meantime to get some experience.

When I saw the job description, I thought it was something I really wanted to do because of the opportunity for me to gain some work experience and kickstart my career goals, but I’d also be able to help other people do that as well. You know we’ve helped over 150 people start their placements which is amazing, and I hope the kickstart scheme’s been as positive for them as it’s been for me.

How did you find the application process for PAG?

I sent my CV to Katie and the same day Charlotte emailed to arrange an interview! The next week I had the interview and then they offered me the role the next day, so it was a really fast process!

Do you have any advice for young adults like yourself who are considering applying to placements at schools through the Kickstart scheme?

I would just say that they should definitely go for it because the scheme has helped me a lot and I know it’s helped a lot of other people.

It is an amazing opportunity and if they do take it seriously, they will benefit a lot from the scheme.

Last question: what are you plans next?

I do plan to go back to university; I got accepted to study Human Resources Management at the Ohio State University in the USA, so that is my goal after my time at PAG. Everyone at PAG has been really supportive of that, and James and Anna have even supported with my application for the Fulbright Award.