Coming out of University can be daunting, the world stands open in front of you and all you want to do is go out into it and explore. Working out what to do with your career can be stressful though, especially when you feel like there’s no one to answer your questions and you always end up talking to robots rather than real people.
While all my friends knew exactly which career path they wanted to follow, I was stuck at what to do next and where to start, as my media degree left me quite open with my choices, so I decided to just start applying. But with open job positions on every website, the media industry seemed bigger and more confusing than I thought it would be. Soon I realised that the hardest part is not applying for jobs, it’s figuring out what I wanted to do.
I remember being so excited about my first interview and writing down all the questions I had about the job and the company. But then I realised that I wouldn’t be speaking to an actual person – I was talking to my webcam with on-screen instructions which asked me to talk about myself for 90 seconds and my passion for this relatively unknown field.
As my marathon of interviews continued, I started to feel exhausted and I realised that a lot of companies don’t really take the needs of the applicants into account throughout the graduate hiring process.
When I came across the TIPi Academy, I was surprised to see a quite unusual approach in hiring young people which didn’t involve several stages of digital interviews, as TIPi Group are willing to invest that most needed value in today’s world – time.
Over the course of a free two-week interactive training programme, the TIPi Academy teaches young people about digital disciplines. Not only does the course ensure that you actually understand what acronyms like PPC and SEO stand for, it aims to help you learn about yourself and understand which of the many paths within digital would be best suited to you.
Throughout the Academy, I got to learn about different departments within a media agency via lectures and varying tasks. I also got interview and presentation training face-to-face, which helped me to realise how capable I actually was. Instead of talking to an impersonal webcam or finishing an assessment test that is seemingly irrelevant to the job I am applying for, I got to explore how all of my skill sets linked up with varying roles in the industry I want to pursue a career in. After the Academy, I was hired by the SEO department at ROAST, TIPi Group’s Digital Performance agency. I’m happy in the role and find that I am constantly being challenged which is great.
Looking back, I realise that the goal was never just securing the first job. I learned that your career path defines your life, and you shouldn’t need to feel stressed about rushing into anything. It’s about working at the right place with a culture that inspires you to be better and where your colleagues believe in you and help you to grow.
