A cyber secure future for Salford graduate

After graduating, the task of navigating your way through the working world can be extremely difficult. After spending days, weeks and months sending out hundreds of job applications, the process of finding any graduate role, never mind a dream role, can quickly become demoralising.

When Leonel Dos Santos graduated with his Masters he had set sights on finding his ideal job. Armed with an abundance of persistence, knowledge and a can-do-it attitude, Leonel has now secured his perfect role in Cyber Security at tech juggernaut Microsoft.

Although Leonel's journey is exceptional, he claims that transitioning from academia to Microsoft was far from easy. He said: "Most companies required experience in the field on top of a degree and because I had little experience it was a bit tough."

Leonel believes that it was the skills and experience acquired on his MSc course that compensated for his lack of work experience in the sector. He added: " The skills I learnt during my course were very helpful, especially during the interview with companies. While doing an interview, I managed to answer every single question thoroughly and with technical examples, which demonstrated how much I had learnt during my course. Once I joined my first ever job in my field of study, I noticed that the day to day tasks that I did while working there, were very similar to what I did during my Masters, which absolutely helped me to familiarise with the company's different technologies." 

Leonel also highlights that besides the practical skills he accumulated whilst studying, the MSc course allowed him to network with classmates from different culture and ethnicities.

He will be working as a Cyber Security Customer Engineer, which involves providing technical leadership for Enterprise customers around the globe, to ensure their virtual environments are kept secure, optimised and healthy. His base office is in Manchester, but also enables regular visits to other offices.

His experience of the working world, he claims, has been very positive. He continued: "I have managed to network with different people from different companies and positions due to our company having different customers worldwide. There is nothing better than to build good networks worldwide with or more experience than you and share your experiences and learn from them. The more you're in a workplace, the wider your technical skills get, spontaneously." 

When asked if he had any advice to give to graduates seeking employment, Leonel adamantly said: "Persistence is the key! Never give up when you receive no as an answer. Ask for constructive feedback and try again!" Not only persistence, but a positive mentality is crucial when approaching this often gruelling phase: "Students should be optimistic because they will be able to see opportunities in every difficulty. A positive mindset will be important for your health, happiness, and future. Students should use their optimism to take action, grow, plan, and prepare for a brighter future."

As Leonel summarised perfectly, a positive mindset is not only vital for your wellbeing but will allow you to spot hidden opportunities in everyday life. We wish Leonel all the best as he conquers his new role.

Image: Leonel Dos Santos