Interview with Catherine Williams

Catherine Williams studied BA French and German joint honours at Leeds followed by MA Conference Interpreting and Translation Studies in French and German. She spent a term abroad studying in Tübingen in Germany, and a year abroad teaching English in Nantes, France. She now lives in Brussels in Belgium and works for Google on the communications and public policy team.

So what does your job entail?

Everyday at Google is completely different because both the tech sector and the political sphere are very fast paced. My job is to tell Google’s story to politicians and different stakeholders in the European Union member states. For example, what Google is doing to make technology more accessible for people with disabilities, widening participation of people working in tech, how technology is changing the cultural landscape and helping small businesses grow online, building skills such as email marketing and making a website. My work with small businesses enables Google to do business in Europe, but I also see it as an educational role, teaching people about technology.

How did you get into working for Google?

As with any career it was not a linear journey. After university I came to Brussels to do an internship in translation because I thought I’d go into a sector related to my studies. I worked for Eurocontrol, the international organisation for safety in aerospace. Although it wasn’t something I had experience in, they had an English language section in the translations department. It was my first professional experience and provided me with a really good learning opportunity.

Then I got a job working for CEN-CENELEC who create European Standards. The job was to proofread publications of standards created in French, German and English. I could see that being a linguist, especially with English as a native language, was a huge asset. It was an interesting way of understanding more about the workings of European institutions.

When a friend of mine from university wrote on Facebook that Google were looking for a German speaker in London to be an assistant on the partnerships team I decided to apply. I secured the job but ultimately decided to decline because I wasn’t living in London and didn’t want to make the move. A few months later a similar vacancy came up in the Brussels office. So I applied and successfully became an assistant on the government relations and policy team, which fitted me even better because I was really interested in politics and EU institutions. After 2 years I took up a new role in public affairs and communications and I’ve been in this role now for 2 years. I’ve just applied for a 3 month secondment in Washington DC.

Where did you go for your residence abroad?

I spent the last term of second year in Germany because German was my strongest language. I went to Tübingen University and it was a great experience. I realised very quickly that I love working in an international environment. Then I spent a year in France teaching English in a primary school in Nantes. It was probably one of the best things I did. I was surrounded by native French speakers and left feeling a lot more confident speaking French. I definitely recommend spending the longest time in the country where your language is weakest.

Did you gain skills from co-curricular activities at Leeds?

I was Vice-President of the German society in second year so I took on a leadership role and we organised lots of events like ‘Kaffee und Kuchen’ on Tuesdays, the Modern Languages Ball and a trip to Berlin. The organisation skills I learnt link directly to the first job I had at Google in which I organised events and booked travel. I also wrote for a poetry magazine so I realised my love of writing and communications.

What were your main achievements while you were at university?

Graduating was my main achievement because I was the first in my family to go to university and I worked really hard to get a first. I really felt like I’d come a long way and I felt a great sense of belonging to Leeds. It completely changed my life – I know that everything that has happened since Leeds is because I was there.

Do you have any advice for current students?

My advice would be that you need to seize every opportunity, whether it is study abroad, taking part in a society, taking on a leadership role, or carrying out an internship. It’ll be so valuable to you later in your career. University goes by very quickly and it’s the only time you can just spend almost everyday on your personal development. Education is a real investment, so make the most of it.

What is your main recommendation to get into your sector?

You need to show an interest in technology, find out what’s going on in the sector and what new products are around. You can even try things out like learning how to code. There are a lot of free resources online. As far as communications is concerned, try to get as much exposure as possible. Write a blog or even start your own YouTube channel so that you have a vlog. Or gain experience writing, proofreading or editing in an internship so that when you do go for a job you have a portfolio showing what you’ve done in the past.

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Have the interviews in the Alumni Voices Abroad series been helpful to you? What insights would you like to gain from future interviews with our alumni? All feedback on the series is welcome, please send this via email to lcsalumni@leeds.ac.uk