Marcus Smyth

Background

About Marcus Smyth

One of the most Important things about me is that I love a challenge, there is no other feeling of accomplishment than reaching your goal when the odds are against you and that has been a common theme throughout my life. Currently I am working towards complete it a BSC in psychology at ulster university alongside a placement year at the amazing charity Hope 4 life. The degree has helped me hone the skills of critical thinking, communication and problem solving. My placement year also helped me develop these skills as some of the tasks I’ve had to complete are researching and analysing statistics, presenting to classes of young people about mental health and teaching techniques to deal with negative mental health behaviours and emotions helping me to develop public speaking skills. I have developed concepts for projects and been in charge of the development and implementation of said projects. I have learned just how important adaptability, confidence under pressure and problem solving is due to the nature of the placement these are skills and qualities that I have been able to build on to become more well rounded. In regards to employment I worked for Cancer research during this period I learned how important intrapersonal relationships are to build relationships with consumers and stakeholders alike in order to achieve key financial goals, moreover my time at Halfords has also help me develop this along with other skills like team working, communication and problem solving again it also has helped me develop confidence due to the nature of the sales and retail world. The key things I would take from Halfords is the problem solving skills that it helped me develop as well as the communication skills needed to speak to consumers and have them understand specialist knowledge in a way that they don’t feel like they are being talked down to but in a way that they are gaining key knowledge on the best way to advance with the situation.