Pranali

What did you study at university?

I studied MSc Electrical and Electronics Engineering at University of Greenwich.

What do you currently do at MM?

I work as a Graduate Electrical Engineer at MM. I’m working for Railways – E&P (Electrification and Plant) discipline.

What’s been most interesting work you’ve been involved in so far?

The most interesting project work I’ve been involved so far is the Cambridge Re-Lock, Re-Control and Re-signalling (C3R) project. I’m learning about railway’s signalling power, level crossings for railways, level crossing lighting, Earthing and Bonding for railways. I’m learning various electrical engineering calculation tools and drawing software to develop design drawings while working on this project.

Have you been involved in anything in addition to your day job (for instance involvement with ECP network) and what does this involve?

Apart from my daily jobs, I work for developing Railway’s monthly balanced scorecard. As part of this role, I’m involved with ECP network. This has helped me to network with colleagues from other disciplines. This has enabled me to learn Power BI and creating effective dashboards using Microsoft Power BI. This has helped me to keep myself aware of Railway business within MM with the help of metrics and data available on the balanced scorecard.

What development opportunities have you had? How has MM supported you in this?

MM supports graduates through various personal skills development training sessions organised for ECPs. As a graduate, I’m part of MM’s Accelerating Your Future program. This program is divided into different modules and these modules are delivered either virtually or in-person at various MM offices within UK. I’ve attended some of these modules and skills gained through this training can be used in your daily job. It also gives you an opportunity to network with graduates from other disciplines.

What piece of advice would you give to anyone looking to apply for the grad scheme?

My advice to anyone looking to apply for grad scheme would be to prepare well in advance for the interview. Go through the job advertisement and try to figure out in which area the technical questions will be asked during the interview and prepare for topics related to your job role specified within job advertisement. Also, well prepare for behavioural questions as they are the most important part of the hiring process. MM hiring managers and interviewers are keen to find out whether your personality suits well to the job role you’ve applied or not.

What attracted you to apply for a role with us?

Before applying for a role with MM, I made myself familiar with the company profile and services they are providing in various areas. I researched about various projects delivered by MM in various disciplines. I researched about values of MM and got inspired by the services they are providing for their clients and value they are giving to their society. Based on my research, I learned that there are enough opportunities for me to learn and grow in my field of interest and hence I decided to apply for a job role at MM.

What are the three things that make you look forward to coming into work each day?

The three things that make me look forward to coming into work each day are;

• Learning new things: Being graduate, I get to learn new things each day. There are many interesting things to learn in Railway discipline which are unfamiliar to me. I enjoy learning technical things in my field of work. I create design drawings and electrical calculations which requires me to learn CAD tool and other electrical engineering calculations software.
• Personal and professional development support: MM offers various programmes for Early Career Professionals (ECPs) to network with graduates from other disciplines and learn how to improve your personal and professional development skills. This has helped me to build my networking skills, communication skills, management skills etc. MM pays annually for any professional institute membership and provide a mentor to gain your chartership status and professional registration completed as soon as possible.
• Work-life balance: I think MM provides better work-life balance which means you can manage your work and also enjoy your daily routine apart from your job. As a graduate, I have to work 37.5 hours each week which shows I’m not heavily loaded with work. They also support hybrid job options. They provide you enough annual/paid leaves. There are also other benefits which comes with your job offer such as pension scheme, medical insurance etc.

The recruitment process can be quite daunting. What advice would you give to other graduates/placement students looking to join Mott MacDonald?

My advice for anyone looking to join Mott MacDonald would be to prepare well in advance for the interview. You must read through your job advertisement and figure out the technical questions that might be asked during an interview and prepare in that area. Also, prepare for behavioural questions as this is the most important part of your job interview and interviewers at Mott MacDonald are eager to find out whether your personality suits the job role you are applying for or not.

What’s your team like?

The members of my team are very helpful, kind, and expert in their work areas. They help me whenever I needed. I used to meet with all my team members during our monthly team meetings where everyone shares thoughts on how we can improve our work in the future as a team. They organise different technical training sessions which contributes towards my Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

How long have you worked for us, and what has been your proudest achievement to date?

I’ve worked with MM for a year. This year I took an opportunity to create monthly balanced scorecards (BSCs) for Railways division. I count this as a proudest achievement because this has helped me to learn how to create an interactive dashboard using Power BI and also helped me to keep myself aware about Rail division business growth at MM.

Are you involved with any charities or do any voluntary work?

I’m involved with IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) Local Network Committee and I do volunteering with this committee. Through this volunteering role, we arrange various events in my local area with students to encourage them towards engineering. I also do volunteer for various technical presentations which are sponsored by IET in my local area.

If you could only eat three foods for the rest of your life, what would they be?

If I could only eat three foods for the rest of my life, they would be Chicken, Fish and Rice.

Who is your inspiration?

My inspiration is my mother. She supports me whenever needed and always encourages me to learn new things and be successful in whatever I do.