Been working away at applications to some grad schemes over the holidays. Whilst I really enjoy writing them, as anyone with an interest in the industry would do, it can also become an experience tantamount to an interview or assessment day. For as I work I am also drawn to the websites and Facebook/Linkedin pages of the companies, which invariably leads me to a procrastination spiral of stalking staff and the current graduate trainees.
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| I try to be like this little guy as I write and submit applications |
Now I've been lucky enough to be invited to a few interviews for graduate schemes, and during my preparation prior to the event I work my butt off researching and pre-empting the questions I think may come my way. I also find a vital aspect of my preparation has to be a self-confidence boost, where I try to study my application objectively and concentrate on all that I've achieved. Great. But the procrastination spiral I mentioned above is the worst enemy of this exercise. I'm drawn to the Linkedin profiles of the graduates who have come before me, and am consistently met with the same thought process as I peruse them.
"Oh my gosh, yes! Someone with an academic degree! There's hope for folks like me! Wait...what's that? Oh, they spent their year abroad at JWT...Right. Well, maybe the next one..." *clicks through to another profile* "Ok..wow, they did molecular biology. How did they persuade the recruiters they don't want to go into healthcare PR?" ( - one of my most common problems) "Ah, it must have been those placements at DDB and Proximity in their summer holidays."
Suddenly I feel like I'm sitting in a room at a group interview alongside these amazing graduates, and all my effort into bolstering my self-esteem trickles away...
I know it's fairly unlikely that I'll make it onto a graduate scheme, so maybe I can put all this down to character building and learn from it. Apart from the enjoyment and understanding gleaned from working on application forms, interviews are always a worthwhile experience. It's great to be able to talk to the successful graduate trainees and see what they are up to in their incredible new jobs, and in particular to speak to the real industry experts interviewing me; I especially enjoy asking them the typical interview questions - why marketing, what's your favourite brand etc. - and seeing how they approach the answers. And if it all fails and I just end up crying in the interview (actually did happen in my last one), more often than not there's chocolate :D
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