Jake Pilkington - Newcastle University

I have just finished my degree at Newcastle University, studying Chemical Engineering. A long with attained problem solving skills and communicative abilities, I am a determined and hard-working individual able to complete tasks in an efficient and organised manner. I am looking to expand my skillset and gain experience in a variety of sectors and hope to learn from each opportunity in order to prepare for the working world.

Work Experience

  • Chemical Engineering Degree:
    Studying at Newcastle University for the past 3 years, although very challenging, has been extremely rewarding. The degree provided many problem solving skills varying from mathematical, scientific and practical. Throughout there has been required and detailed use of excel, whether handling vast amounts of data, or writing reports in which correlations are to be found, along with extensive use of the coding software 'MATLAB' which is mainly used for large and complex data analysis. The third year predominantly focussed on the group project in which designed our process on the production of biopolymers to give a sustainable alternative. This provided great teamworking skills as we had to work efficiently in the given timeframe to produce detailed reports on many aspects of the project such as: economical feasibility, accuracy of design procedure, overall safety and many other factors.

  • Call centre operator:
    During my gap year in 2018-2019, I worked as a Call Centre Operator for Capita, a company that had outsourced work from Lloyds. This required an intensive 3 weeks of training to understand the required software needed to carry out the functions for the customers as well as navigate it efficiently in order to provide the best service possible. It required communicating with a wide range of people and a lot of trusting when dealing with their money.

  • Music:
    Music is one of my biggest passions in life and has been from a young age. I have played guitar since a young age and find writing riffs and songs to be a great creative outlet. From 2014-2017 I was in a partially successful band where we played local venues including The Willowman Festival and O2 academy in Leeds. This greatly increased my confidence and improved my organisational abilities, as we set up our own gig at The Wardrobe requiring organisation and upselling of the event.

  • Borneo trip:
    In 2016 I fundraised a trip to Borneo through things such as: hospitality work at my local pub, completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks, open mic nights all of which gave an unforgettable experience. We were involved with the development of the local community through acts such as building a volleyball court for the local villagers, cleaning beaches, and planting trees in the jungle which was an incredibly humbling and rewarding experience. This gave an insight into a completely different culture which are not as fortunate and instilled the desire to experience different cultures through education and travel within me.

Task Area:
Administration
Business development
Content writing
Customer service
Data analysis
Graphic design
Marketing
Market research
Social media
Software development
Translation
UX testing
Video editing
Web design
Software Capabilities:
Buffer
Canva
Excel
Google sheets
LinkedIn
Mailchimp
Photoshop / Illustrator
PowerPoint
SquareSpace
Wordpress
Industry Interests:
Education
Future Tech
Property
Arts / Culture
Investment / Finance
Health / Wellbeing
Policy / Law
Sports / Outdoors
Startups / Entrepreneurship
Travel / Cuisine
NGOs / Activism
Environment / Sustainability