1. My mum told me the other day that it's been 6 years since they took me to uni... WHERE did the 6 years go?
2. Seeing loads of people go off for their freshers has definitely made me nostalgic
3. Witnessing how hard it is for some people when they come out of uni and don't go where they want to go...
Because of these I thought I would just share my experiences just to let you guys know that uni is just one part of life, one step, and although I've not had the smoothest of transitions from uni to career, I did get there eventually and so will you.
Year One (July 2011 - July 2012)
When I left uni I was working in retail and picked up some extra hours. To begin with I was doing around four days a week. I also went on a couple of holidays - Portugal for a family holiday right after my graduation and then Adam and I went to Australia for four weeks for a little travelling. I would definitely recommend using this time to have a little travel - you are NOT going to get another opportunity with a full time job so don't waste it. I also went to London for a long weekend with the girls. Lovely!
When I left uni I was working in retail and picked up some extra hours. To begin with I was doing around four days a week. I also went on a couple of holidays - Portugal for a family holiday right after my graduation and then Adam and I went to Australia for four weeks for a little travelling. I would definitely recommend using this time to have a little travel - you are NOT going to get another opportunity with a full time job so don't waste it. I also went to London for a long weekend with the girls. Lovely!
Personally, I was with my boyfriend as I had been for 3 years already by that point and had it in my head that we'd move out, rent and live happily ever after. Well, when you've done long distance for three years it's not so easy to to relax back into each others company, it takes work and effort.
When I got back from Australia I picked up full time hours in retail and with every spare moment was applying for PR and marketing jobs. By January I was offered a job in a small marketing agency down South. I was really happy and went for it, head first, no worries. I couldn't wait to get out of retail and start my "life" as I thought at the time. My boyfriend also got his job around the same time so as far as we were concerned we were plain sailing. I had it in my head that our jobs meant moving out. Oh how wrong I was. We had decided to buy instead of rent so that meant savings obsession. Couple that with a shopping addiction and you can imagine how well that went.
This was also the year I started my blog. I wanted a seperate outlet from work that I could focus on and have a hobby that was my own, and if I'm honest I was beginning to miss uni so I felt like I needed something extra when I got home to do.
Year Two (July 2012 - July 2013)
This was probably one of the hardest years of my life. I had started to hate my job, not the job so much as I'm still in marketing, but definite aspects of the job and it was making me miserable. I lost a lot of confidence and it was affecting relationships outside of work, including with Adam. We had booked a holiday to Dublin for September so I was determined to make a change by then. As it happened the retail chain I used to work for offered me a "promotion" in one of their stores. I decided to take it, have a bit of a break from career stuff and just think about what I really wanted. It was a good time to sort myself out as well, build my confidence back up and get me back. It was one of the best decisions I ever made looking back.
At the time I thought I may like to try something new so I signed up for a teacher training course with a local college and I started that in January. I really enjoyed it and was definitely valuable to do, however after doing it and looking at available jobs in teacher training my mind wandered back to marketing. Year two was definitely a "regroup" year. One that was desperately needed and I learnt a lot.
Personally, the house stuff seemed further away then ever as I did take a slight pay cut. I was a lot better at my savings and I was finally out of my overdraft which had plagued me since uni. Not living with Adam was very frustrating, but we needed that time to save and I needed that time to get back on top of myself. We had some disappointments in terms of Adams career as well which set us back, all in all it was a bad year house wise.
Year Three (July 2013 - now)
I started to really get into job hunting and really focused on marketing jobs. I would only apply for ones I really like the sounds of, I didn't want to be stuck somewhere I hated again, I was very cautious. I was getting bored and antsy in retail and wanted to get back on the career track. For a few months it was incredibly frustrating and Adam and I knew if one of us didn't get something we wouldn't be able to move in together. After MONTHS of searching, interviews and constantly coming up second best I was finally offered an amazing marketing job in London in May this year.It's not ideal commuting every day but I love my job so I can't complain.
Adam and I are also FINALLY in the process of actually buying a house, which has been a bit of a nightmare, but we're getting there and we couldn't be more excited. Three years after graduating and I finally feel like my "life" is starting.
So what am I trying to say? Three years guys, it's taken me three years to get where I want to be, jobwise AND personal wise. If you are in these three years at the moment my main piece of advice would be don't panic and get too down about it. The right thing will come along, it will just take time and work. It has been a weird three years and it's definitely been challenging at times, but I'm finally where I want to be (well, when I get the keys to my house I will be anyway) and I do think it's all happened as it's supposed to.
Just because you don't have your dream job now doesn't mean it won't come along and find you. Just because you're not in your dream flat or house, again, you'll get there. I was lucky as I had such a good support network around me who helped and I would definitely say use them! They helped me through it all, without them I would be a bit of a shadow of myself.
This is a bit of a long rambly post so sorry about that.. But it just seems to be everyone I look at the moment so thought I'd chuck my two cents in!
How did your life look after uni?