Flicking through the Evening Standard yesterday, I let out a shriek of excitement as I saw a photo and article about one of our Ones to Watch candidates, Jan Sramek who has been named one of 100 Rising Stars by Financial News. Congratulations Jan! Reading the article, it reaffirmed to me that Jan Sramek is what FreshMinds Ones to Watch is all about….
Ones to Watch is our peer nominated talent spotting programme conducted on the best campuses (Oxbridge, LSE, Warwick, Durham, Imperial) in the UK. It identifies the most exceptional, upcoming graduates in the UK. Jan was a Ones to Watch winner when he was at LSE…proving us at least a year ahead of the Rising Star survey and the Evening Standard!
It’s not only Jan’s impeccable academic record which has made him stand out from the crowd but also his relentless drive to succeed from a young age - he started his first company, a jobs website for IT professionals at the age of 13. Jan’s entrepreneurial pursuits, combined with his studies, as well as an amazing attitude and network make him a great Ones to Watch. His willingness to challenge the status quo is something which I personally admire very much. We are looking for multidimensional leaders with an exceptional skillset, who have really set themselves apart from their peers in more ways than one. Previous Ones to Watch have included Olympic athletes who are also acedemically gifted, and academic achievers who are also entrepreneurs.
We identify, recognise and showcase high achievers to reward these fantastic individuals and inspire younger students with the achievements of someone like Jan. Ones to Watch is entering it’s tenth year and we couldn’t be more excited about what this year’s cohort will bring to the table. It also means we have a group of amazing people gathered over the last decade - our Ones to Watch alumni are now in some pretty enviable and exciting professional positions.
As you can imagine, the bar is raised each year and I find myself humbled and personally inspired (if not slightly intimidated) at our Ones to Watch alumni parties each year….
Have a merry Christmas all and more from me in 2010!
Soraya Janmohamed is Head of the Graduate team at FreshMinds Talent
