Meet Junior Satimburwa

Junior Satimburwa is a finance graduate, working for Laing O’Rourke in our head office in Dartford. He started the graduate development programme in 2023. Read about his experience with Laing O'Rourke so far.

University: University of Kent
Degree: Accounting and Finance
Job title: Finance Graduate
Location: Dartford, Head Office

When did you join Laing O'Rourke?

I joined the graduate development programme in 2023.

Give us a brief overview of your day to day responsibilities. 

No two days are the same with this role. One day I am having meeting with business partners about their budgets and the next day I am processing prepayments and accruals and posting them into the finance system that we use. In summary I am getting full exposure to the different facets of the finance function at Laing O'Rourke and the work I do enables those above me to do theirs.

What are your key achievements/highlights to date?

Completing my first month-end is the key achievement that comes to mind. The first two weeks of my time here I spent being taught how to do the variety of tasks that my role encompasses. Then at the end of the month I actually got to implement and apply everything I had learnt. Although it was really demanding and I asked 101 questions through it all I was really glad to complete all the tasks I had and enjoyed the sense of fulfilment that came from it. In addition, it gave me great joy to overcome the hurdle that was the first month and actually feel like I made a contribution to the greater success of the company.

What attracted you to the industry? 

I wanted to work for a company that was making a tangible difference to the lives of the greater community, and the construction industry met that criteria. Here at Laing O’Rourke we are building hospitals, trains lines, research centre’s and more, which are enriching the lives of people all around the nation and beyond.

What drew you to apply for your role at LOR? 

What stood out to me about LOR was the passion that the company has for the work that they do. In addition LOR is known as a company at the forefront of innovation in the sector and I wanted to work for a company that was pushing the boundaries and daring to be great. That gave me great excitement as a graduate and made me want to be somewhere where I can contribute to such a cause.

Do you have any hints and tips for the recruitment process? 

Just be yourself. I know it sounds cliché but it really is true. If you pretend to be someone who you’re not then you will sell yourself short and end up regretting it. In addition make sure you are prepared. The application process is demanding so be ready to meet those demands. The best way to do that is to do the appropriate research and preparation for each stage.

What advice would you give to undergrads looking for a graduate role? 

Apply for as many roles as you can. This is tiring and can be deflating when those rejections come in, but the more roles you apply for the greater a chance you give yourself to land a role. I had a schedule for applying for jobs where I set aside one hour aside three days a week. Furthermore, I applied for roles outside the "accounting and finance description" even though a job within finance was my preference. This is because I wanted to give myself as many options as possible, which actually allowed me to come across websites where certain jobs where being advertised that I hadn't seen anywhere else (LOR being one of them).