Recent UCFB graduate Joe Thompson is enjoying life in the Premier League after securing a job with Stoke City.
Joe, who studied BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing at UCFB Wembley, has joined the club as a commercial coordinator, just a year after he completed three weeks of important work experience at the Bet 365 Stadium.
His role sees him responsible for the full preparation of match day hospitality, including seasonal and match to match sales. The job includes system set-up, ticket printing, liaising with customers, catering and putting together the post-match report.
Joe said: “I was extremely fortunate to gain work experience at Stoke City. This gave me a really good insight in to the whole football club working environment and I really enjoyed it.”
He added: “I offered my services for match days after my work experience and did six match days in total throughout the season, all the time keeping in touch with everyone I worked with at the club. This is something I believe put me in really good position and opened doors for me. So when this job role came up, I applied, had an interview and was offered the role very quickly.”
UCFB has always promoted students actively looking for and taking part in work experience – there’s nothing that looks better on a CV. Joe’s work with The Potters is a great example of that. On top of his time with Stoke while a student, Joe also learned about the fan-experience and different aspects of the French Open in Paris, further enhancing his skillset.
With his ambitions now set on making his way up the ladder at the club, Joe said: “I feel my degree from UCFB has helped me in my role already. Some of the coursework, such as group work presentations and reports, helped prepare me well for making sure I am able to make an impression on people and in the long run help me succeed.”
