What inspired me to write this post was from an email I received towards the end of university.
At the end of the academic year, LCF put on a Careers day where industry experts come along and many activities/ talks/ discussion occur throughout the day. One thing that baffled me was reading something along the lines of:
Life after graduation? Does that thought scare you? …….
At first I was like, why should I or anyone be scared? I mean, we all knew this day was going to come sooner or later. I remember overhearing a few people who were in fact very scared about their future, some hadn’t even considered thinking past their hand-in, let alone sorting to create a cover letter, network as well as look at possibilities i.e - straight into work / graduate scheme / travelling or even MA.
That leading question; "Does that thought scare you?", somehow did get the best of me, I remember thinking like - "I have a plan, and some considerations - wait have I forgotten something? "
7 months after my graduation ceremony (to the date) , I'm currently working part-time in retail and either interning during the week for a set amount of time or freelancing / gaining some inspiration / living life in general :).
Reflecting on the last part of my thoughts, the thing I had forgotten was; sometimes in life, plans don't go 'so well'. Initially, I blamed myself. I thought maybe that I didn't have a strong enough portfolio, or not enough experience or even I'm just looking in the wrong places.
Wrong .
We live in a world where the traditional methods of success are rare; as soon as you finish university you automatically get that 'dream job'. To the point where graduates are now either interning for less than NMW and settling; hoping to climb up within 3 years. That sometimes works but what if it doesn't? This is what scared me, settling. During these 7 months, I've learnt a whole new meaning of value. This gave me a boost in compromising my time, knowledge and efforts when it comes to investing myself within anything, be it a company or project I may be contracted to do.
I feel the graduates today are the most overqualified, experienced generation that will mostly be underpaid in their true worth, but I see a rise in entrepreneurship #GirlBoss ^_^
A little cousin of mine is about to finish the #universitylife and asked me how to prepare for work after university. I said (literally)
Two things, though you can never be prepared, you should make some certain preparations for aspects of the working world. For example;
- Saving - That student finance won't be here forever, you should have something available for a rainy day
- An edited and updated cover letter and resume - What I love about LCF is their Careers and Employability services, they have (and in general most universities) a wide range of contacts as well as advice on how to have the best possible resume ever !
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Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Trusting in God to lead me in making the right decisions within my university life (before and I believe after). I've become bold (-er) in the decisions I make. Also, understanding that through Him, all things are possible made me more confident to desire avenues / accomplishments which I felt some of my teachers/tutor did not necessarily encourage me to go after or to even knock on the unknown door.
For example: My biggest testimony to date: My overseas internship in New York City. I was told I shouldn’t dare apply because of my background, but with God on my side, Not only was I able to save and pay fully for my own internship but also survive after 18+ months of unemployment. I tell you it’s a joy to decide when you want to leave the world of retail and decide when to come back, if you want to come back.
I guess what I’m trying to get out really is, plan. I was blessed enough to have a plan before going into university, stick to the majority of it ( with planning, you have to consider the possibility of contingency) and got the results I wanted.
As for the 9-5 dream job path though - it'll come. I feel that because God knows I'm a perfectionist and he's just making sure that place is perfectly right for me as well as them ^_^
x
