What Advice Would you Give to a Recent Graduate Looking for Work - Ask Me Anything Tuesday IM HIRED

What Advice Would you Give to a Recent Graduate Looking for Work - Ask Me Anything Tuesday Making the transition from revision to the working world Education feels like a huge part of our lives, if you leave at 16 ready to enter the world of work or you stay on through sixth form, college or university thats a whole lot of revision. Its currently the time of year where most young people are trying to make the difficult decision of whether to enjoy this very unusual British summer (one with actual sun) or stay indoor with books and mock tests to prepare for that final exam. Even if you not a big reviser (or so you tell your friends whilst youre madly cramming in study session behind the scenes) you spend months, years even preparing for exams, coursework and finals to realise that unlike the title this isnt the final stage, all this effort is preparing you for something much bigger the world of work. Now ideally, you wouldnt have waiting until exam season to start questioning what career path you are going to commence on but I understand getting that A or 1st is the goal at the moment and it is difficult to see beyond that. There is still time to plan for the future. How to Get Started Its definitely a juggling act, you need to revise, have some much needed time to actually enjoy the moment whilst also putting some time aside to contemplating what happens next. That gap year or summer off will fly by and reality will hit pretty sharply if you dont have a plan of action. It all start with a question what do you want to do? A very broad question and if you answered that instantly then you can relaxed you are well ahead of the rest of us with this having it all figured out thing. You need to start thinking about everything you love or hate about your years in education and piece together all the good bits to get a job idea youll love. Work Experience Your imagination can always make things better than the reality, so if youre considering a particular career path then give it a trial run. If an internship is out of the question (working for free and paying bills doesnt always work)  then think about writing to companies asking if you could do a work experience week or even a day. A lot of companies are happy to support students with the transition between education and work so reach out and get some much need real word experience. Lower the Expectations Now hold on, dont just click off the page, I am not suggesting for a minute you settle and get a dead end job. Im just saying take some of the pressure off, it might not be the most motivational thing to say but you are probably not going to find that dream career on the first go. Most of us trial a few jobs until we find the one that really sticks. Take my career as an example, I have been out of education now for 9 years and in that time I have had work for five separate companies and I wouldnt be classed as a job hopper. So dont be in a rush to get everything doing before finals and know there is plenty of time. Get Some Expert Help There are plenty of support services out there, so youre never alone when it comes to getting employment. There are differences from your college or uni application to one for an employer so if youre unsure then reach out for some help. Whether that encompasses the need to brush up on your interview skills or get that CV employer ready, then the expert are on hand to come to the rescue.