Third year, friendships and internships A weekly update HOW I TRY TO SURVIVE MY WAY THROUGH ALL ASPECTS OF THE FINAL YEAR OF UNIVERSITY WHILE JUGGLING EVERYTHING FROM THE OUTSIDE.
About me
My name is Emma, I am 21 and I am a third year International Tourism Management student at the University of Lincoln. I really enjoy being at university, I have made lifelong friends and I feel I have grown as a person, I would recommend university to anyone! Though it is probably the best experience of my life so far, and I have met my wonderful friends and boyfriend, it does have its stresses and pressures.
After my undergraduate course, I am going to study a master’s degree in marketing. Marketing is by far my favourite subject at university and even though I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do with my life, or where I am going to be, I am pretty sure I want to work in marketing.
I am writing this blog as I want to write about my experiences of this time of year, and I want to offer advice. Those who know me well, know that I talk for days and go on many tangents, so bear with me if you can't see where my post is going, I will have a point I promise!
This is my first blog (so bear with me!) and I want to invite you into my (sometimes not so exciting) life and I would like to show you how I try to juggle a social life, money, university and job hunting during my final term, of the final year of the best three years I've had.
Below, you can also find my professional twitter account and Linkedin
Post 1 - Jobs, jobs, jobs
An inevitable pressure of third year is being well organised in what you are going to do after study. For many that means moving home and getting a job. Searching for graduate jobs and internships is a long, sometimes disappointing process. I am currently looking for a summer placement to earn money to fund my post-grad study and hopefully keep in contact with the company for a possible job after my studies have finished. Obviously, I am juggling all my assignments, dissertation and job searching so I really needed tips to help me get the ball rolling on searching and applying.
In order to secure the job you want, you need to ensure you look as employable as possible, are searching for jobs in an efficient way and know exactly how to impress employers on their application forms. Monster.co.uk (2015) provide some brilliant tips for job searching:
- Get networking: It’s not what you know it’s who you know, many people find jobs from someone who they know rather than from a job advertisement. Talk to family, friends and other people you know to find out where there is work on offer.
- Attract employers: Rather than going on a long hunt for jobs, consider trying to get potential employers to come to you. Put your CV online and make sure your Linkedin is up to date, attractive and full of information.
- Target specific companies: Look for organisations that have good reputations as employers and ones that could offer you a well-structured career path.
- Remain positive: Everyone gets knockbacks when they are looking for work. Just remember not to take it personally if you get rejected or don’t get a response.
- Find hidden vacancies: If you get in quickly, many jobs can be landed before they are advertised. Look into internal recruitment and seek out word-of-mouth advice as a good way of getting your foot in the door early.
A job application gives you the chance to show employers that you are suited to the role you are applying for and that you deserve to be shortlisted for an interview. Many employers ask you to fill in an application form as well as handing in a CV so it’s important to know how to fill it in and utilise the opportunity of them getting to know you better.
Tips for writing a successful job application:
- Choose powerful verbs and descriptive words to enhance the point you are making or your answer to a question
- Focus on answering the question, focus on the key words in the question. Try to avoid waffling or being too vague
- Select examples of your past experiences and achievements that are appropriate to the role
- Make sure you demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for the role (Prospects, 2016)
Overall, it is good to just be the most employable person you can be. Whether that be adding things to your CV such as societies or volunteering or going to conferences for networking opportunities. It is important to stand out from the other applicants. Armstrong (2016) provides good tips on how to be employable:
- Work on your CV often. Try to improve the overall look of your CV, is the layout okay? Does the most important information stand out well? Make sure your experience, qualifications and achievements are obvious to those who don’t know you. The overall look of your CV needs to be eye catching but not gimmicky.
- Every few months, or when you start a big job search again, switch up your CV a little. Make sure it looks new and up-to-date, giving your CV a makeover will make sure that you aren’t handing out a year old out-of-date CV.
- Make sure to take opportunities at your university such as mock interview days and assessment centres. Keep an eye on your universities career service for these kinds of opportunities.
- Volunteering for your university or a charity will look good to employers as they can see you use your spare time wisely.
- Lastly, future employers look favourably on someone to be their future employee if they think outside the box in order to develop their skills.
So a lot of tips there and a lot to take in, but knowing your way around an application form and how to be employable really are beneficial. Hope this post helps you get motivated in job hunting and helps improve your CV! Remember its not always what you know but who you know so the best thing to do is network as much as you can with the right people. Good luck! Links to the helpful articles and websites I used are below.
Post 2 - Dissertation tips
Before I started my third year of uni, my friends were saying how nervous they are about starting their dissertation and naive old me was all "I'm not scared, I'm excited", "I'm sure it won't even be that hard!". Well, three and a half weeks to my deadline and counting and I'm no longer as excited or confident. I'm getting there don't get me wrong, luckily for me I had to have my literature review done in December. In this post I will offer some advice tips, because it’s easy to get caught up.
1. Luckily for me, my dissertation supervisor was super helpful, always made time to meet me each week and replied to my emails within the hour. But if your dissertation tutor isn’t right, then change. Do this as early on as possible. You need a tutor who is reliable, reassuring, offers detailed feedback and don’t mind panicked emails (Potts, 2014).
2. Try to avoid asking course mates, friends or flatmates how far along they are. Everyone’s dissertation is different and people on other courses have different deadlines too. You may just end up panicking yourself – or even them! (Potts, 2014).
3. Set aside time at the start of the week of when you will work on your dissertation. Then in these set days or hours, have a specific goal to reach. This way you can work little and often and still have time to do other things without the guilt! (University of Reading, 2016).
4. Try to approach more difficult tasks at the time of day where you are most motivated, this way you can be more productive. When you are feeling tired or less motivated, chip away at the little, easier tasks (University of Reading, 2016).
5. As someone who needs to feel under pressure to get anything done, I found writing down a list of deadlines and self-set due dates was essential as keeping working often (Hedge, 2013).
6. Always try to get feedback on your chapters as early and often as possible. Whether it be from your tutor, parents, grandparents or flatmates, it is very hard to proof read your own work and find improvements. Getting a second opinion is always helpful, but remember it is your work (Hedge, 2013).
7. Take time off, guilt free, when you need it. But always remember to start writing again. Take time for job searching, friends, family visits and try to do it without feeling guilty (Hedge, 2013). My tutor had a struggle convincing me that taking three days off for my 21st birthday would be fine and I wouldn’t suddenly be so far behind I’d miss the deadline, get reassurance of someone if you need it!
Below are links to the helpful pages I have used in this post.
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Post 2 (Contd.)
And finally,
8. Don’t forget about your friends and loved ones. They provide the best support, advice and make you feel better after spending time with them.
"Our friendships are among the most valuable relationships we have" (mentalhealth.org, 2016). According to this site, our friendships are key to protecting our mental health. They listen to us, we listen to them. As family away from home, they put things back into perspective. A recent study showed that spending time with your best friends reduces the levels of the stress hormone cortisol (Chan, 2011).
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Post 2 (contd.)
I feel lucky to be so close to my house mates, and feel sorry for those who aren't as lucky as me having such wonderful people to share uni with. But after reading a post by Alexandra Jones on Huffpost (link below) it made me realise that those I currently feel sorry for I'll maybe start to envy when they don't feel the loss of bonds and sense of belonging and when it all just turns to vivid memories. With reference to the last tip of coping with dissertation writing, here are three important reasons why you should spend time with your friends and family:
1. They can sharpen your brain: The University of Michigan found that a friendly chit chat can have the same cognitive boost as solving a crossword puzzle;
2. They can help you live longer: According to Brigham Young University, a good relationship with your friends and family can increase your odds of living longer by a whopping 50%;
3. The can slash the risk of dementia: According to findings in the Journal of the International Neuropsychology Society, a healthy, active social life can aid decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by a huge 70% (Schocker, 2011).
Below are links to the advice articles from this post.
Post 3
Today, I finally handed in my dissertation. I have mixed emotions about this, as, although I am relieved to have completed it, I can only feel a little sad that I am a few weeks away from completing university. What a journey these three years have been. I have made the bestest friends and the most amazing memories and I would encourage any body to go to university, it really is worth the tears, stress and money.
One piece of advice: Take pictures. Lots of pictures. One of my favourite things to do is look through my photo albums and bring back memories. It is a really easy way to cheer yourself up and de-stress, and a good thing to do when you miss your parents (I miss mine all the time). Nothing will happen the same way again, time goes too fast, tell a story. The article below, by Shulman (2014), is a really good read. She explains how you can capture a rare moment, like a wave crashing onto the beach or a child's birthday party. You capture a rare moment that you will never see in the same way again. My point is, that my time at uni really did fly by and even though I am staying on to do a masters degree, it will not be the same. When I get sad or stressed or lonely I can hold the prints in front of me and smile, and know that I should stop, smile and remember that stress is a temporary thing. I really am grateful for the life I have been able to live.
On another note, not only have I successfully (I hope so anyway) handed in my dissertation, I also got through to the next round of two jobs. They don't lie when people say getting a job is hard, especially when you're making a choice that will more than likely have a huge influence on your future. The stress of work and part time jobs and job hunting is high during third year, so I try and remember the positive things that have happened, and think of situations in the most possible light. When I feel like everything is getting on top of me I like to ring my parents, eat some chocolate or go out for the day (even just for a walk!). Melnick (2013) in the article below gives some really good de-stress techniques! So to focus on a positive note: uni may be over soon, but that means summer, yay!
Post 4
Food, food, food. If there is one thing you need to learn while you're away from home, that is learning how to cook. I want to share with you some of my favourite really easy recipes that are also really easy to cook.
One of my first favourites is the Italian classic, Spaghetti Bolognese! Really easy to cook, quite low in calories and you don't even need many ingredients so it makes it nice a cheap too! Also, this dish freezes so it is always good to cook too much and freeze some for another day! Although he devastated our childhoods by banning turkey twizzlers, Jamie Oliver makes a really good bolognese. Just follow the instructions in the link below and you can't go wrong! Just bare in mind, he makes it clear this recipe is for six servings, so remember to adjust the ingredients to how much you want to make.
Another really easy dish to make is chicken (or just vegetable) fajitas! All you need for simple fajitas are chicken chunks, peppers (I like red best, but any will do!) and some onion, also some fajita seasoning to sprinkle on. Fry it all up in the pan until cooked and piping hot, and make sure everything is covered with the seasoning and then serve in some wraps. I like to accompany my wraps with a simple side salad, when I'm feeling fancy I like to add some bacon and avocado to my salad, delicious! Don't forget your salsa and guacamole!
If you feel yourself missing home and hearty warm meals, why not cook a roast dinner and eat together with your house or flat mates? It's a great way to catch up with your house mates, have a big tasty meal and practice a classic British dinner!
If you find yourself having burgers for tea (chicken or beef) why not change up the flavours a little! Sweet chilli sauce and a bit of cheese on a chicken burger really spices it up and makes it a little more interesting. Adding some cheese and bacon to your beef burger definitely improves the flavours. But how about being inventive?
How about adding avocado and bacon to your burger, the flavours really work together. If you're really into trying something new, smooth peanut butter and bacon really works. Trust me! Most people turn their noses up at the sound of peanut butter and bacon on a burger, but the salty flavours really compliment each other and it really is one of my favourites!
So when uni is getting tough or you are really missing home, food can really bring you and your friends together and comfort you. Remember though, healthy foods can be tasty and super easy to make.