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Tasneem Mohammed is job searching for her first full time role and shares with us the challenges and opportunities she has seen so far during the Coronavirus Crisis.
The Graduate Get up Guide
The new power question – ‘Where do you see yourself in 3 months’ time?’
Swanning out of the fanciest office in Didsbury, I’d made it. Two verbal offers, and a potential third on the way. My blood sweat and tears have finally climaxed.
All my doubts trickled away and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. “In fact, I won’t even work on that assignment that is due. I’m winning”, I thought. I started dreaming about the Micra that needs to be updated and moving out…music to my parent’s ears.
Face-to-face feedback was scheduled in, seminars to discuss those complex ideas for our final assignments were ready to be attended and oh sweet graduation was finally in sight.
So, imagine come Monday, when all interviews were on hold. As a graduate, rejection becomes second nature as you compete for the best roles out there, but this swiftly changed to a flood of ‘sorry, we have stopped recruitment indefinitely’. Some may argue it’s only a recruitment freeze. But they should know better. Anyone who is motivated enough to network and make connections with the organisations they have applied for, will see the countless messages that state ‘I have unfortunately lost my job due to Covid19….’.
That weekend, anxious WhatsApp messages, tweets and posts on every platform took over social media. ‘LOCK DOWN’ ‘CURFEW’ ‘STOCK-PILE’, they read. Panic took over the British public. What ever happened to ‘Keep calm, carry on?’
As a final year student, I am at the pinnacle of my degree. What happens in this month, will determine the outcome of my entire life.
As a Marketer, it is well known the marketing team ‘gets cut first’ told by a member of the Department of International Trade. And if he is saying that, then I’d better listen.
Amidst my disappointments, I believe every human has a ‘fall down seven times, get back up eight’ (Japanese proverb) moment.
Gloves on, I got back up after losing my job offers, paused my dreams of a new car and home for what felt like the 9th time and changed my mindset to ‘win’ all over again. How can I be ready to compete again when the lockdown ends?
Tasneem Mohammed
Here are my ways to the top.
I met a few members of The Candidate at UCLan, during a networking session. They explained the benefits of LinkedIn and provided students with their industry knowledge. Currently, for marketers there is a HUGE market with missing skills. As technology improves at a fast speed, the skills required to manage the change is required too.
Scroll and save job descriptions
One of the ways I saw the skills gap and the ‘wanted’ skills, was by looking at job descriptions. Can I do these things? They change for all industries every year as the market changes, so keep an eye out for any new skills required.-
The student has become the master
As much as we can’t control what is taught to us, we can control what we teach ourselves. So, what you found to be a skills gap on your CV you can change right now.
- As a University student you receive FREE LinkedIn Learning resources. Snap them up before they expire.
- HubSpot is a niche website offering a tenfold of content for business and marketing. Even if you’re not a business student, it can help bring to life any side hustle you have going on.
- Join clubs who are offering free memberships. Visit websites from your industry and utilise LinkedIn by searching free ‘law’ membership during covid19 > Filter, by choosing ‘content’ and press Control+F to find specific terminology.
- Volunteering my services led me to a potential job offer before Covid19. It doesn’t have to be many hours; businesses are grateful for the fresh perspective and help. You also get that all-important insight to how the industry is in real life, compared to what you’ve learnt in theory.
What are your hobbies/What do you do in your spare time?
Quite frankly, I dread this question more than any other in an interview. I’m pretty sure, everyone loves to curl up in their sweats and watch some TVoD. But it does give an insight to who we are, on our best days. So being in lockdown, I guarantee you have been inspired by something on social media.
As we approach our final moments as undergrads, it is the final time we will be not doing any work until we probably reach pension age! If you were a pensioner after working for 60 odd years, what would you like to do from the comfort of your home?
Watched a French film? Boiled an egg for the first time? Downloaded a fitness app? You don’t know it, but that’s called developing yourself.
- That French film on Netflix – Means you are cultured, have an interest in people and could mean you have strong interpersonal skills with different types of people
- That boiled egg now served with a meal – Means you are becoming a culinary artisan. You will be exploring YouTube videos next to learn what goes well with that egg!
- That Nike fitness app – Means you are structured and keep working on your mental and physical wellbeing. This makes you a good leader when times are difficult by staying motivated.
As a marketer, the best tool you have is to tell a story. Now, everyone has one. So the best thing you can do is gather yourself, improve yourself in whichever form you want, study hard because there is no company in the world that won’t find it impressive that you have completed your degree in isolation and be ready for the recruitment push that recruiters are itching to get their hands on.
I’m in isolation for three months, so take it from me, you’re doing okay. And, if all else fails, do nothing! You won’t hear that every day.
Thanks Tasneem for sharing your story!
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