Broaden your Horizons
I left school at 16 not having any idea what I wanted to do, so I decided to head to a recruitment agency, hoping they would be able to help me out.
Luckily they did and my first interview was with a company called Deutsche Bank. I went to the interview, feeling pretty nervous as it was my first one but it went absolutely fine and a few hours later they called me and offered me the job. I was so happy and I took it straight away. I ended up staying in that job for just over five years. I loved the people that I worked with and I really enjoyed working within the office environment. My job varied from day to day which was great; I wasn’t always doing the same thing!
Then, after 5 years passed I felt like I needed a change. It was a toss up between getting a new job doing the same thing or going travelling. What did I pick? To go travelling of course!
Looking back it was the best decision I have ever made, I have now travelled the whole of Australia and I am currently in New Zealand. I have been here in New Zealand for about 5 weeks, I am currently temping which is great while you’re travelling. I have a long-term assignment as a receptionist which I am really enjoying.
I feel that while I have been travelling it has opened my mind to a lot more job opportunities for me in the future as I have worked in different roles and also different environments. It has given me a lot more experience and it has broadened my horizons for the future. I am planning on travelling and working for another 8 months which will be great.
But then it will be back home to settle down and get back into a steady career. I will definitely work in an office environment again. Ideally I would love to get back into my previous role which was within the Trust industry, but I have also loved working with administration and reception, so we will have to wait and see what the next year or so has in store for me.
Nadia, 23, UK
Career Back-Packing
I found a bundle of my old school reports in a dresser drawer recently. My teachers had written things like " ... could do better" or "... needs to apply himself" on almost every one. I distinctly recall being told things like "You are so talented, you could be anything you want to be". The problem of course is that if you are passing fairly easily then what motivation is there to try harder?
If you are one of those students who usually finishes above average in nearly everything but nothing sticks out and says "Pick me! Pick me!" then, like I did, you are probably wondering what on earth you want to be when you grow up.
You are probably also being told that it would be a crying shame if you didn't go to university, and relatives are probably making helpful suggestions like "Plumbers make a lot of money", or "My neighbour's son is going to be a Dentist" and you're thinking "Great! Fix broken toilets or clean peoples' mouth's out - lovely choice"
If you are one of these people, then the thing you need to do is to find out where your interests lie. If you are able to do any of many things, then you are going to get bored very quickly, and it won't matter how much you could earn in whatever career it is - and then you might have to start at a lower level again, or worse, find out that it is too late to switch careers easily.
There is nothing wrong with going to uni without a specific career in mind, but it is much better to know which direction you want to explore and what school leaving qualifications you need, or else everything will seem pointless and you will struggle just as much to apply yourself as you did in school.
It's a bit like back-packing - it's great to explore as you go but it's not much good if you don't know which continent you want to explore or what visas you might need to get off the plane!
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