Lorna Fimia - Graduate Career Mentor & Coach

I'm a career mentor and coach for STEM, business and finance degree and Master's students seeking placements, internships and their first graduate roles. Through GradLaunch, I help students build a clear employability story - sharper CVs and LinkedIn profiles, better role targeting and credible interview narratives.

My coaching is grounded in 20+ years of senior B2B technology, SaaS, cloud and cybersecurity leadership - so I help technical students translate what they've done into language hiring managers actually reward.

I've worked in two very different worlds, and both shaped why I do this today.

First: I spent 20+ years leading marketing in senior roles across B2B technology, SaaS, cloud and cybersecurity - at Babble, Activereach, Converse360 and TXO. I built and ran teams, sat on hiring panels and evaluated graduates. I saw what employers actually look for, what gets filtered out and what makes a candidate stand out. Most of it has nothing to do with how "smart" you are. It's about strategy and positioning.

Then: the catalyst was personal. Watching my own daughter struggle to land a placement was a turning point. She was clearly capable - sharp, hard-working, deep into her degree - but she didn't have the know-how to apply for placements effectively. It was all new, and she was already stretched thin. I realised there was so much scope to turn her situation around with the right guidance, and that thousands of students were in the same boat.

I started mentoring STEM students as an industry leader volunteer mentor, and then founded GradLaunch. I watched capable students - good grades, relevant experience, sharp minds - get rejected because they were making strategic mistakes. Mistakes that were fixable. But nobody was teaching them the strategy.

Why STEM specifically?

STEM students have unique opportunities and unique challenges:

• Employers care about different things than you expect. Not grades. Potential, and the ability to learn.
• You're competing globally. International talent is fierce. Non-Russell Group students are competing with Oxbridge. Technical skill is only part of the equation.
• Positioning matters more than you think. You can be brilliant, but if you can't articulate why that matters to an employer, you won't get past screening.
• You have options. Consulting, tech, finance, industry, research - most students don't know how to choose. You need clarity before strategy.

I specialise in helping STEM students navigate all of this - and come out winning.