How working abroad gave me professional direction back home
From the West Midlands to the Mid-West
“Today’s graduaterecruitment market is stuck in a vicious circle. Graduates arestruggling to wade through generic company messaging to find their way to theright job, while businesses are wasting millions chasing high numbers ofgraduates who leave within the first year”. - Chief science andanalytics officer at CEB, Eugene Burke
Today, there is agreat deal of pressure on graduates due to fierce competition with morestudents attending university and achieving similar qualifications. So how do we stand out?
We’ve been told allthroughout our studies that holes in our CV will dampen our chances, and this wasan issue for me just over a year ago. I found myself rushing into a jobimmediately after graduation that matched my degree, but with limitedexperience and no training structure. I wasn’t happy – both with my work and myown journey. I needed something different and that’s when I started lookingoverseas.
Why overseas? Iwanted a completely fresh start in a new environment, and I wanted to do it ina way that would be unique to me. Fast forward a few months and severalinterviews later, I was presented with an opportunity in Chicago as a PR internat 3PointsCommunications – an agencyspecialising in the fintech sector. For me, this was a different industry toboth my degree and experience in marketing. I had also previously workedin-house, which provided the opportunity for me to utilise those former skills whilelearning even more. After all, as a fresh graduate, do we really have anaccurate idea of what we are good at professionally?
Once I arrived, Ifound myself in awe of the scale of the city and sheer amount going on, a verydifferent setting for a born and bred Black Country boy. I was in a new countrywith a new career prospect which I had taken on by myself, so it was up to meto make sure I capitalised. For the first time in months there was genuineexcitement and anticipation about going to work and my new colleagues quicklymade me feel settled and allowed me to dive in straight away.
Each day offered newexperiences, not only professionally as I was introduced to PR, butexperiencing new work cultures and ethics – taking learnings that could beapplied back to myself and teams upon returning to the UK. I was also able towork in a new sector that my traditional job search would not have provided.These new skills combined with the experience of working and living in a newenvironment provided me with something the vast majority of other graduatesdidn’t have – a unique story.
Of course, it wasn’tall work and no play. My colleagues and fellow interns both showed me the ropeswhile I was in Chicago, and I was able to enjoy a wide host of activities fromice hockey, Chicago’s famous deep dish to stunning views from the HancockTower.
Of course, there aremany ways to sample new industries and reignite passions that don’t requiremoving to the other side of the Atlantic. But if I had any advice to provide toother young professionals, it would be to ensure you are not be defined by yourdegree and keep your options open. Like me, you might just find a new role youlove.