Founded GradLaunch
A specialist mentoring practice helping students translate academic potential into credible early-career positioning.
Founder, GradLaunch · Available for mentoring
Lorna Fimia.
Helping STEM, business and finance students land the placement, internship or graduate job they actually want.
Sharper CVs. Stronger applications. Interview stories that land. Built on 20+ years hiring graduates into B2B tech - and on coaching my own two through it.
"Most students are smart. The students who get into top firms aren't smarter than you - they have a better strategy."
Windsor, UK Bilingual EN / ES 20+ years in B2B tech
About
Less panic. More plan.
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.
At a glance
- Based
- Windsor, UK
- Languages
- English & Spanish
- Focus
- STEM · Business · Finance
- Education
- BSc Int. Management & French CIM Diploma in Marketing
Why I do this
Two worlds shaped this work.
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 through Graduate Mentor and 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.
The catalyst
My daughter's placement search was the moment everything clicked. She had the talent - she just didn't have the playbook. GradLaunch is the playbook I wish she'd had from day one.
What I bring
- · 20+ years on the hiring side
- · A parent who has lived this
- · A structured, strategic playbook
- · Calm, honest, no-fluff guidance
Experience
A timeline of mentoring and commercial leadership.
- 2026 - Present
Founder & Graduate Career Mentor · GradLaunch
- Founded GradLaunch to give undergraduates and graduates in STEM, business and finance a practical, structured path into placements, internships and first graduate jobs - covering profile review, employability gaps, target-role fit, evidence bank, positioning narrative and a clear action plan.
- 2026 - Present
Student Mentor · Graduate Mentor Platform
- Mentor students one-to-one on career direction, applications and the leap from university into early-career roles - helping them turn projects, volunteering and part-time work into concise, credible examples for CVs and interviews.
- Jan 2023 - Dec 2025
Marketing Director · Babble Cloud
- Led a £1m+ budget and a team of 10 across a multi-brand technology group (mobile, SaaS, cloud, cyber, unified comms, contact centre) - hiring, mentoring and developing marketing, content and campaign professionals, including graduates and early-career hires, into confident contributors. I know what good looks like on the other side of the desk.
- Jul 2021 - Mar 2022
Head of Marketing (Interim) · Converse360
- Established the marketing function from scratch for an AI customer-service startup, working hand-in-hand with software development and senior leadership to translate complex technical capability into a story buyers actually understood.
- Mar 2015 - Dec 2022
Marketing Director · Activereach
- Built and led a marketing and SDR team of 5 for a cybersecurity systems integrator - recruiting and coaching STEM graduates, interns and work-experience students, and shaping the kind of early-career development that helps young people stand out at interview and thrive once they're in the role.
- Apr 2012 - Dec 2014
Marketing Manager · TXO
- Led global campaigns and brand repositioning across the UK, USA, China and EMEA for a sustainable telecoms broker - managing a team of 3 plus freelancers and international agencies, and learning first-hand how graduates who can communicate clearly across cultures get noticed fastest.
Earlier career: Marketing Director, Avantis · Marketing & PR Executive, IMI. · Finance & PR, Daniel J Edelman Worldwide
Skills
What I bring to every conversation.
Mentoring & Coaching
- CV & LinkedIn positioning
- Interview coaching (STAR/CAR)
- Assessment-centre prep
- Employability story-building
- Parent & student advisory
Career Strategy
- Role targeting (STEM, business, finance)
- Applications & cover letters
- Commercial literacy
- AI-supported job search
- Direct outreach campaigns
AI Fluency
- Advanced prompt engineering
- Custom GPTs, and skills
- AI-enabled job search workflows
- Vibe coding app development for portfolio and profile build
Tools & Platforms
- HubSpot (certified)
- Copilot (certified)
- Salesforce, Monday.com, Seismic
- Claude, Notion, Google AI Studio, NotebookLM
- Jobscan (ATS), Pramp, Interviewing.io, Leetcode
Highlights
Selected proof points.
Success across STEM roles & industries
Students have excelled at JP MorganChase, Morgan Stanley, Nationwide, McLaren, BAE Systems, Glencore, The Met Office, and CFC, to name a few.
Unique transformation programme
1 to 1 coaching offers an accelerated path to change from unsure and undervalued to focused and credible.
Mother to two STEM undergraduates
I've coached my daughter (CS undergraduate) and my son (AI) - I understand the angst that the graduate job search can bring.
Currently studying
Deepening the skills that help me mentor well.
Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills
TQUK / NCFE - funded by the UK Government. Developing listening, empathy and supportive communication skills for coaching conversations. Expected completion: Autumn 2026.
Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Safeguarding and Prevent
TQUK / NCFE - funded by the UK Government. Covering safeguarding responsibilities and how to raise concerns when mentoring young adults. Expected completion: Autumn 2026.
Testimonials
What students are saying.
"I went from zero responses to three final-stage interviews, and my dream job offer within three months."
The coaching completely changed how I applied.
- Lucia, Computer Science Undergraduate @ Exeter University
IT Intern, McLaren
Lucia sharing her placement success on LinkedIn
Contact
Let's build your next step.
Whether you're targeting a placement, an internship or your first graduate role - I'd love to hear from you.