Life Updated: Almost There

I just keep my head down, run hard and am always surprised when I look up and see where I am. – Grant

In my (only) post back in January, I outlined some of the goals I wanted to achieve for the year. I used the new year to push myself to tick off as many goals as I could.

One of the biggest goals was to obtain work experience in the form of an internship or year out placement. I partially achieved this back in Easter when I did experience with Diva although not 100% related to my course, I got an insight into working in a professional business environment and even did some hands-on web development which is always a plus!

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that I have had my fair share of rejections and failures. Everything was looking bleak but despite this, my determination to get a year out placement never wavered. Of course, support from my friends, family, centres at university and experience from the countless interview I’ve had helped me stay positive tremendously.

So… I finally managed to secure a “Year In Industry” placement!

It’s a communications and external engagement role within the university, so despite it being quite late in terms of securing a placement, it hasn’t been much of a hassle sorting it all out.

Working in higher education has always been something I wanted to explore so I’m glad that I am given this opportunity to expand my career prospects.

Another plus (out of the many) of taking this placement for me personally is that I can take a break from my intense studies and focus on the non-academic side of myself. I hope to obtain valuable skills that I can apply for a similar role (e.g scientific communications/sales) within a range of different industries e.g biopharmaceutical.

With big changes in the upcoming months – mostly working full time rather than studying at university, I’ve been a little overwhelmed but I can say that the reality has sunk in slowly and now I’m excited to get started to make my mark in the industry in August!

I’m so happy to say that I’ve ticked off another goal from my 2016 list. Naturally, I will share all my experiences on this blog which I’m very excited about!

And since this month so far has just consisted of playing Disney songs 24/7, I found this to be relatable:

Whilst we’re on the topic of achievements, I also recently achieved my Entrepreneur Award at university after attending business-related sessions every Thursday evening last semester. I’m especially happy about this award because I completed the heavy assignment on top of the demands of my degree and I got to expand my knowledge in business and entrepreneurship – both of which I never thought I could fully understand!

Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.

When people ask me how I stay so positive about things despite setbacks, I always turn to the people around me. My friends, family, boyfriend and of course, the positive blogosphere community has always lifted me back up when I’m down. A big thank you to you all!

For those applying to jobs whether that be part-time, full-time or an internship, the biggest advice I can give is something you’ve probably heard before but to summarise in four words: research, confidence, enthusiasm and you.

The last one definitely is one I stand by the most – there are countless people who have the same degree and similar experience. Sometimes, the way to stand out is to be yourself and to find that cutting edge that makes you different.

Now I’m off to celebrate with a lot of Italian food (if this was Disney, probably from Princess Tiana’s restaurant.)