Class of 2020: Stanimira Dimitrova

Despite the challenges of entering the job market during a pandemic, Stanimira Dimitrova believes her placement year at Nissan UK has given her the skills and confidence to land her dream job in the future.

Graduating with a BSc Business Management, Stanimira spent 13 months working in the Network Strategy Department at Nissan. It was an opportunity to work on and lead innovative projects such as managing the performance of the 200 Nissan dealer network across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The placement was incredibly hard to secure, requiring a telephone interview, online numerical tests, a video on why she was perfect for the role, an assessment centre and interview.

She credits the teamwork at Nissan with helping her succeed once in the role: “The biggest challenge was tackling new projects. Most of them were something I have never done before. However, my team were incredible. Something I have learned is that when something is bigger than you, you cannot tackle it on your own,” she said.

She also believes the experience will help her handle failure and rejection in the future: “I learned that instead of being discouraged or disappointed because something did not work out as planned, you should be excited and seek constructive feedback so you can grow and develop and take the failure as an opportunity for learning.”

It’s an experience she will treasure forever: “I met some of the most talented, knowledgeable and fun people I have ever worked with. They made my experience truly unique and pushed me to become the better me,” she added.

Stanimira held down several part-time jobs during her time at Essex, including roles in Essex Business School on the Student Engagement Team and as a Placement Ambassador. She also volunteered with Enactus.

Commenting on the challenges of entering the job market when there are recruitment freezes and remote working limits opportunities to develop rapport with potential employers, she said: “My Essex experience will put me in a good position once the market stabilises. The part-time jobs, volunteering projects and paid work I have done have built my strong skillset and a strong spirit to keep me going and remind me to push hard until I reach my final goal.”

Stanimira is hoping to secure a graduate position and eventually return to university to study for a Masters.