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| Credit: @ohverlee on Instagram |
This is going to be a bit of a different post! I wanted to talk about my experience of graduating and trying to find a job in such a weird time in the world. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that 2020 is definitely not the year to be finishing your time in education.
I handed in my last exam around 2 weeks ago now and it feels so weird to just be completely finished with university but not have a graduation ceremony to look forward to. Before anyone says - yes I know there are worse things going on in the world right now but I'm just expressing how I feel. I always thought there would be this huge celebration after finishing uni when in reality, I just had a bottle of Prosecco to myself in my garden #coronafun. After 4 years of hard studying (most of the time), I feel as though university students this year have been robbed of their celebrations. There will be a time where we can all celebrate together but it is really frustrating just not knowing when!
Just a little bit of background - I was working in a fashion head office prior to the job I'm in now but I was laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic. I started to panic as I was told I could go full-time there once I'd finished uni but obviously that couldn't happen anymore. I immediately started applying for jobs, literally anything I could find, just so I could be earning some money. I've worked ever since I was 16 so I hated the thought of not having a job! I finally got a job at the Virgin Media head office in Manchester which I love. Every day is different and it has kept me busy during such a lonely time in my life. It is a very weird time though to be finishing uni and be working in a job which I never expected I would ever be in. I always thought I'd be finishing uni working in a fashion head office whereas I have a customer service role for a telecommunications business. Who would have thought?! I am extremely lucky to even have a job with the current circumstances but it is also okay for me to feel upset that things in my life haven't gone as planned. I do hate putting too much pressure on myself though to be in the perfect job and be earning the perfect amount of money. I think having high expectations of coming out of uni with a secure dream job has made this experience so much harder for me. I think the most important thing to learn from this experience is to not try and force anything and that everything will fall into place eventually.
Aside from coronavirus ruining my graduation and job plans, I feel as though having a job lined up for when you finish uni on the best of days is hard enough. There is so much pressure to have a job when you've finished your studies as apparently having a degree makes it so much easier to get a job but in reality, it doesn't. I did feel a huge amount of pressure to have a job lined up for when I'd finished uni and when my plans came crashing down, I felt like a disappointment and as though I'd failed. It is hard to live up to your own expectations and when things don't go to plan, you start to lose faith in yourself. I personally just saw this as a tiny bump in the road and that everything will begin to pick back up again soon. Don't be disheartened by what is going on in the world as it's not as though you can personally change it.
To everyone who is graduating this year, please don't stress about finding a job. I've just decided to see where the year takes me and just go with the flow. I believe everything happens for a reason so time will tell! Jobs will start popping up here and there and things will start to go back to 'normal' soon enough. As the image says above - appreciate where you are now in life instead of looking to the future all the time as the future will come but your time right now needs to be enjoyed too, no matter what you're doing!
Is anyone else in the same boat and feeling the same way? Hope you're all well and staying safe.
XO,
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