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SEO LONDON IMPACT 2021-2022
870
More than 870 of our participants secured competitive summer and off-cycle Internships and graduate positions and training contracts in 2021-22 across 120 of our sponsor firms.
96%
96% of respondents agree that SEO London had helped them gain a better understanding of their opportunities.
94%
94% of respondents said they felt SEO London had helped them better understand what they need to do next to move into the type of job they want.
56%
Over half (56%) of respondents currently in employment believed that SEO London’s support played a big part in helping them to get a job, and a further 25% believed it had played a small part.
Download Our Full 2023 Impact Report Here
" SEO London has been key in demystifying the path to a career in investment banking. Following the sessions I felt motivated and like I had an actionable plan to achieve the career success I aspire to. Having implemented the advice I have learned from SEO London sessions and the network that SEO London opened up to me, I have successfully received offers to intern this summer."
2021-2022 Participant
Introducing SEO London’s Theory of Change
A Theory of Change is a process for thinking about and describing any organisation that is aiming to do good. We have been working with New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) to develop our new Theory Of Change, and will now be using this as a blueprint to review, evaluate and continually improve our programmes.
"SEO London provided the opportunities to explore and understand different career pathways which I had not previously considered. The resources provided by SEO London also helped me hugely in preparing for interviews and securing different internships."
2021-2022 Participant
Our Participants
2021-2022
We worked with over 3,700 young people from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds who took part in our employability skills and internship training support
89%
89% were from ethnic minority backgrounds
51%
51% were from low socioeconomic backgrounds
45%
45% were female
“I have always been very passionate about getting into finance. It was in the middle of my MSc Finance degree, when I was applying for internships with no luck, that I started checking LinkedIn to see the kind of people who were getting into the jobs that I was applying for. I found they had something in common – they were associated with SEO London. I was intrigued to look into it – and that’s when I joined SEO London. I am ever so grateful to SEO London for providing me with the opportunities I could only dream about before. It has been a life changing experience. In summer 2022, I was offered two internships, both through SEO London. I did my internship at Pantheon Ventures in their Private Equity team, converting my offer into full-time role and am now working there as Treasury and Fund Management Analyst.
SEO London’s platform provided me with opportunities and access to attend various master classes and networking events with renowned organisations and industry experts. The exposure helped me understand the kind of role I was suitable for and if it would turn out to be a good fit for me. Spending time with my peers and talking about our interview experiences and our expectations for the internships gave me a better view. SEO London also helped me get some work experience while making some extra money – I worked for a startup for three days to help them market their new initiative. I made a few connections and enjoyed the overall experience. Summer picnics, theatre nights, Friday yoga and constant support from the amazing team is just the cherry on top.”
Zoya is a graduate of our Careers Programme. Zoya is now working as a Treasury and Fund Management Analyst for Alternative Investments firm, Pantheon Ventures, after converting an internship that she secured through SEO London last year into a graduate position.
"SEO London helped me obtain my position at Google as an Associate Finance Analyst. They had a guideline which allowed me to tailor my CV to Google’s requirements – I believe this is what got me an interview.”
Beyond Barriers
Participant, 2022 cohort
Our work 2021-2022
140
With the Support of 140 sponsor firms
900
We delivered 900 hours of industry insights, education and training
3,700
Over 3,700 young people from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds took part in our employability skills and internship training support
89
Participants were studying across 89 UK universities
870+
870+ of these young people went on to obtain highly competitive summer and off-cycle internships or graduate roles at our sponsor firms
To what extent our participants think the things they did with SEO London helped them
93%
93% of respondents feel more confident and optimistic about their future career
77%
77% of respondents made new contacts who might help them achieve their career goals
81%
81% of respondents developed skills they will need for their chosen career
“The team at SEO London does invaluable work. From year 11, I’ve been told that it’s good to take my future career seriously from a young age; and I attribute that to SEO London who developed a mindset of future planning and also gave access to opportunities that enabled me to follow up on that. I didn’t always know that I wanted to work in the technology industry but with SEO London I gained exposure and opportunity in many fields. Since I made that decision, I’ve been supported throughout sixth form and university on what I can do to have a meaningful impact on my future career. I was able to secure experiences in the finance sector that were key in my applications for technology in finance; I have since secured a Summer 2023 technology internship with Morgan Stanley by converting a spring week and am currently interviewing for Bloomberg. SEO London was critical in this from making me aware of my opportunities to keeping track of their deadlines, to support with CV and cover letters. These seem trivial to me now but I remember were one of the things I was most anxious about developing and received plenty of support with.
I believe one of my best skills as an aspiring professional is my communication and networking and this was developed through various SEO London skills sessions where I was able to meet many other career-driven people; a lot of whom I am still currently friends with as we support each other in this. I’ve also met a ton of both peers and seniors on the schemes that SEO London has helped me to get onto, and so much practice meeting and speaking to new people has meant I’ve learned to be comfortable pushing myself out of my comfort zone; something I’ve increasingly had to do.”
Simon went through our SEO Schools Programme. He is currently in his second year at The University of Warwick, studying Computer Science. He has secured a 2023 Summer Technology Internship with Morgan Stanley, after successfully converting a Spring Week Internship last year.
Download Our Full 2023 Impact Report Here
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP SURVEY
Calling all diverse professionals! share experiences of your career journey by completing our short survey now. Your contribution is invaluable to us! ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/y5bmsfke
At SEO London we know that workforces in elite industries are not currently representative of society. Our mission as a charity is to remove barriers faced by people from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds, so that they can achieve career success. To us, career success means not only entering an elite industry, but feeling as though you belong once you get there, and progressing through your career at these organisations.
This year, we are launching our first thought leadership project which will gather perspectives and experiences from professionals from underrepresented backgrounds, so that we can play a part in raising awareness about issues that people from these groups may be facing. This work is important to us; we believe that for real change to come about, there needs to be real awareness of the nuanced and intersectional obstacles that affect people’s career progression day-to-day.
Have your voice heard and join our anonymous survey! Share this survey with your network to help us represent as many experiences as possible.