Freddie Field, Resource Optimisation Manager, Tecknuovo

Freddie Field graduated in 2016 after studying Modern Languages with Business. He now works as a Resource Optimisation Manager for Tecknuovo, a digital transformation consultancy. This is a role where good organisation, communication and people skills are vital. He talks to us about the transferable skills he developed at university and how they are now key to his working life.

What does a Resource Optimisation Manager do?

"My role is to bring together all the different departments in the business. Our organisation has many different departments (as businesses always do) such as marketing, operations, HR and so on. Quite often those people will not be aware of who else is working on what and how their brain could potentially help someone else. So my job is to project manage and oversee all of the strategic initiatives, ensuring the right people are talking to each other. It's an interesting role, it’s very people focused. I guess the key skill set is organisation, efficiency and communication."

Skills for success

"Combining three subjects (two languages and business) produced a very busy timetable, which required me to be extremely organised. Organisation is fundamentally a business skill and I now use my organisational abilities daily within project planning.

Speaking a second (or third) language helps you develop the ability to communicate more effectively in your native tongue. When you’ve gained experience in translating from one language to another you become adept at pinpointing the essence of a message. This process of articulating something clearly and succinctly has helped me 100% in interviews."

My year abroad gave me the most life skills I think of any year of my education. It was phenomenal.

Studying abroad, gaining more than language skills!

"It taught me a breadth of people and cultures. It was the most educational of years.

I remember the first day arriving in France and feeling very lost and thinking ‘Oh gosh, I’m out of my depth’. In contrast, by the end of the year (by which time, I was in Spain) when I was faced with a household emergency I was confident in dealing with the situation and able to speak to the fire brigade and land-lady in Spanish whilst reassuring an upset friend in French.

Straight out of uni I did c-suite recruitment and I was dealing with very senior people so you could say my year abroad experience helped me be interviewed, but also do the interviewing."

Speaking a second (or third) language helps you develop the ability to communicate more effectively in your native tongue... This process of articulating something clearly and succinctly has helped me 100% in interviews.

Student Life

"Oh, it was amazing. I loved it. I was very keen racquet sport player and played in the squash league. I was also captain of the hockey team for the halls. It’s absolutely a good way to meet people. I’m still in touch with some of the people I played squash with. As my studies took me across three different schools and two campuses I met so many people."