“Do your research on employment law and Acas guidelines to give yourself a head start in terms of HR knowledge.”
Your Loughborough Story
- Can you tell us about your memories of your time at Loughborough High School?
My biggest memories are of music and friends. I spent the majority of my time in the Music Department – it was like my second home! Every evening after school was filled with rehearsals for different school ensembles. I loved spending my free periods in Sixth Form doing flute practice.
Some of my best friends today are people I met at school – we have a tradition going back 12 years of getting together for Secret Santa every Christmas!
2. If not answered above, what is your fondest memory from school?
Probably Symphonic Wind Band rehearsals every Tuesday night (but don’t tell Mr Geary I said that – we don’t want to inflate his ego!)
3. How did your time at school influence your life and career?
I went on to do a Music degree and worked in Arts Management for a while before making the switch to HR. My time playing in ensembles at school really helped when it came to joining ensembles at uni and beyond, and it was so great that we had so many chances to practise solo performance at school as well.
4. What do you wish you had known when you were in Sixth Form?
That you don’t have to think about your career just yet – just do what you’re good at and what makes you happy. If you do what you enjoy then you are playing to your strengths and are more likely to succeed. I thought I wanted a career in music and then changed my mind at the age of about 23, but I don’t regret doing a Music degree instead of something more practical like a business-related degree. I did well in my degree because I was doing something I enjoyed and was genuinely interested in. So if you’re not sure about what you want your career to be, just go and do whatever you enjoy first and figure it out along the way!
5. How would you describe school in three words?
Lovely, supportive, community.
Alumni Career Wisdom
- What led you to choose your career path?
The honest answer is I was looking for a stable career with good progression and sociable working hours (having worked in Arts Management where the hours are quite unsociable!). I was drawn to HR because I am interested in the People side of an organisation – the numbers don’t interest me too much! I want to get to a stage where I am helping to make workplaces better for employees.
- Could you provide an outline of your job role?
As an HR Business Partner, I am an HR Generalist for a Chocolate Factory in West Yorkshire. I mostly partner with Managers and support them with various people issues. No two days are the same and I’m certainly never bored at work!
- What are your career highlights?
In terms of my short-lived Music career, the highlight absolutely has to be performing a small solo with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra in Monaco, both times with world-renowned soloists and conductor. This wasn’t a professional engagement for me as I was a voluntary member of the CBSO Chorus, but I do believe it counts as part of Music career as it was a big culmination of all the work I’d put into becoming a musician, from spending all those hours in a practice room to rehearsing late into the evenings.
The highlight of my HR career so far has to be when I first started working at Nestlé. I made the decision to change careers in 2020, and worked tirelessly to do so; I researched careers to find out what I wanted to do, applied for a LOT of graduate schemes and got repeatedly rejected, so I then applied to and got accepted onto an MSc in HR Management, went through the graduate scheme application process all over again, and this time got a place on the HR Graduate Scheme with Nestlé, starting in September 2022. The first day I logged into my laptop and saw ‘Ella McNamee: HR Services’ made me realise that I had finally achieved the end goal that I had been working so hard towards; I had started my HR Career.
- What’s one piece of advice you would give to current pupils thinking about entering a similar role to yourself?
Try and get some relevant work experience to try it out first. Also, do your research on employment law and Acas guidelines to give yourself a head start in terms of HR knowledge.
- What job search tips would you give to pupils looking for a career in your industry?
I used the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers to find companies to apply to. The beauty of HR is that you can work in any industry, so have a think about what best aligns with your values and/or what industry you might be interested in. I’m a chocoholic who works at a chocolate factory so that worked out pretty well for me!
- What are the key skills you need for your job role/to work in your industry?
Definitely empathy; this was already one of my strengths, but a key skill I really needed to work on was assertiveness! You often have to deliver a lot of bad news as an HRBP, as well as managing people’s expectations and influencing managers to align their goals with the goals of the business, and this was very uncomfortable for me at first. I was a massive people pleaser and did not enjoy having difficult conversations. I observed the way other people had challenging conversations and learned that often the reaction they’d get wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, so I practised going out of my comfort zone more and making sure I was having those challenging conversations instead of handing them over to someone else.
Final notes
- What ambitions would you still like to realise?
I’d like to be part of a large project which makes a (positive!) difference to employees. I’d also like to be a people leader and be able to influence people’s career development.
2. Do you have any advice for current pupils/graduates who don’t know what to career path to follow?
See my earlier answer about just doing what you enjoy and what you’re good at 🙂 I changed career at 23 so you definitely don’t need it all worked out by the time you’re 18!
3. Do you have any hobbies that keep you busy in your spare time?
I am still involved with music, of course! I currently sing with the Hallé Choir and Huddersfield Choral Society. My other hobbies would be quite surprising to younger me! I was never sporty at school – I dreaded PE and was definitely very lazy when it came to exercise. However, in my adult life, I’m really into my fitness, especially if I can combine it with enjoying the outdoors. I love swimming and do lots of open-water swimming. I got into running through doing Parkruns and I’m currently training for my third half marathon. In June 2026, I did my first ever triathlon, which was hard work but very rewarding on the day! I also adore hiking in the Lake District and Peak District – living in West Yorkshire, I’m ideally placed for easy access to both of those beautiful places.
