Meet Georgiana Matoianu

Georgiana, I understand you graduated last year and you got this role as part of a project that you worked on at University.

Yes, one of our pieces of coursework was based on practical projects put forward by the Council, which made it more interesting than a theoretical essay. This gave me the chance to put forward practical ideas and do research about a good subject with real applications. At first we thought it was just a collaboration but when we had our first visit from a Salford City Council manager we found out that there is a job up for grabs at the end of the school year.

We had to write an essay and deliver a presentation on our chosen project and, based on the presentation, the top 3 would be given the chance to go to a workshop to discuss their ideas with a wider team from the council, after which it will be decided who would be offered the position.

What was it about your proposal that you think led you to win, and secure the work placement?

I believe that my passion for what I covered in my presentation was obvious to the managers and lecturers, and I think that really set me apart from the other students. I received lovely compliments from the ‘panel’ and I think I had an understanding of the subject that they did not expect.

Tell me about what you've been doing at the Council

I started here in June and I've been getting involved in a lot of things with the resourcing team, which I learned a lot from.  I’ve been involved in a lot of projects, which is what I was brought in to do.  It makes me feel very lucky, straight out of University to be able to do what I went to uni for, I feel really lucky and really grateful.  

It's a very diverse organisation; to be able to work at all those different levels and in all those different areas, I have a lot to learn in a very short space of time.  I do feel like I’ve come really far from when I started back in June, I feel a lot more confident than I was in the beginning, I feel like I know what I'm doing and I know what I'm talking about.

What is it about HR that you enjoy?

I just like helping people. Because a lot of what I do is coming up with solutions for managers. So then having to go and explore what the needs are and take into account different points of view, and then find the solution that works for everyone; that will make people's lives better, or rather make their jobs better.

What are you hoping to do in the future?

I really like doing projects and just developing and being in a very creative role but within the HR realm, so hopefully, I'll be able to keep doing that.

What skills have you learned from University to bring into the job?

I think there was a lot of relevant knowledge, which surprised me coming here, being able to use everything I'd learned a few months previously.  Employment Law was very useful. I love Employment Law and still use it to this day.  Employee Relations, again, is very useful; learning that at University and coming with some sort of base knowledge instead of just jumping in without knowing anything, that was really helpful.   Just in general, the knowledge that you get, I think, is really grounded in reality, it is not abstract.

The assignment that I did to get this job, it being very practical, again, also really helped; it was practical and not just stuffy and theoretical. So that's really good.

Any advice you'd give to potential students?

Definitely try and get as much experience as you can in the real world because it makes such a difference before you graduate.