Smith Hopes to Benefit from PCA Interview Session

23 Nov 2016 | Cricket
Ruaidhri Smith will aim to gain valuable experience of what it is like to go for a formal job interview when he and fellow Scotland international Freddie Coleman attend an Interview and Assessment Day organised by the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) next week.

The PCA session which is also in partnership with Rugby Players’ Association and PageGroup recruitment will take place at recruitment company's offices in central London on November 30 and will help past and present professional cricketers and rugby players to prepare for life after sport.

All-rounder Smith, who has just completed university studies in Bristol, is still in contract with Glamorgan but, like his international colleague Coleman, has one eye on his future after cricket.

“I am very keen to be involved in the day at PageGroup. Having just finished my degree this summer, I recently turned my attention to what I would like to do when I finish playing cricket for a living,” Smith said.

“A major part of all application processes is the assessment day, providing the opportunity for me to impress future employers. I hope to improve on my presentational skills and to take a lot away from this experience with PageGroup, giving me the best chance to be successful in securing a job in the financial sector after I retire from cricket.”

Coleman, a batsman who was released by Warwickshire in May, hopes to continue his cricket career and he is spending the winter training with Gloucestershire and Scotland.

Also taking part in the PageGroup day will be former Hampshire and Surrey pace bowler David Balcombe, Kent all-rounder Adam Ball and former England Women Academy player Alex MacDonald.

"The PCA Personal Development team are really excited about this collaboration with the PageGroup and the RPA," said PCA Personal Development Manager Lynsey Williams.

"The Interview  and Assessment  Day will provide both current and former cricket and rugby players with an unique opportunity to experience the rigours and challenges of the recruitment process relative to their career sectors of interest and for them to gain valuable feedback on their readiness for employability in the corporate world. 

The PageGroup are hosting us in the board room of their city office so it will be fascinating to see how our candidates perform in what will be an unfamiliar and high pressure environment."