I was incredibly fortunate to have an excellent education, first at Radley College and then at the University of York. Both of these institutions provided exceptional support in preparing me for the world of work and yet it is inevitable that, within my first 3 months of working in recruitment, I have learned many things that I wish I had known (or taken better notice of) earlier.  

Since I can remember, I have always had a life plan up until the age of 23: School, College, University. But after that I was never particularly clear. While 8-year-old me might have been able to detail complex plans for world domination, my actual plans really equated to, “everything else has worked out, I’m sure things will work out then too”. I had countless talks, lectures and events about the importance of experience, telling me to start thinking about jobs as early as possible and I sincerely wish I had. 

In this blog I have compiled a list of the top 4 things that I wish that I had done sooner, and I would heartily recommend to people in similar positions to me. 

1. Experience 

Expanding on the idea of experience, while it is a cliché that experience trumps everything, like most clichés, it is true. Whether is it working in a supermarket at weekends, holiday work experience or you’re working in a bar while at university, gathering experience before you officially join the workforce will help you demonstrate your skills to future employers in the work environment. This is essential as, speaking as someone who regularly views over 200 CVs a day, two main parts of a CV that are focused on are an opening paragraph and prior experience so the more there, the better. 

If you would like help writing your CV, I recommend these links: 

Writing the Perfect CV

How to Write a CV That’s Both AI and Human Friendly

In summary, I recommend taking every opportunity possible to work and gain experience.  

2. Longevity 

Undermining my summary of point 1, it is also important to think about how your experience will look on your CV. While definitely better than a blank page, having 20 jobs between the ages of 16 and 18 may suggest a lack of longevity to a potential employer and could have a negative impact on your prospects. It is therefore important to ensure that, when selecting a role to gain experience, you consider a balance with regards to breadth and depth of experience. 

Another way to look at this is, from a recruitment perspective, it is much more impressive to have worked at the same place for a few years and had a promotion, even if the place is not at all relevant, than working somewhere that is more relevant but have bounced between roles to gain varied experience. 

3. Be Proactive 

It is extremely rare that a role is just offered to you. When looking for any position, whether it be a short-term prospect to get experience or a role working towards a long-term career goal, putting yourself forwards is always the first and most important step. 

Beyond this however, it can also be important to be proactive when considering how to apply for a role. Thinking about questions as simple as, can I rewrite my CV to make it more suitable for this role that I am applying for can go a long way to ensuring that your application is successful. This line of thinking can also be extended to make yourself even more attractive for a role by asking other questions such as, are there courses I can do that would make me more suitable for this role? Ultimately the sky is the limit, however, as is a common theme of this blog, the more you can do, the better. 

4. Have a plan 

The earlier you can start preparing for your career the better. While it is unreasonable to ask a 16-year-old to decide what they want to do for the rest of their life, they can at least, probably decide on certain career paths that they do not want to pursue. This is already a great start as it allows you to focus the roles you take and the experience you will get and make it as relevant as possible to what you want to do. Then, as you try new things and find out what you enjoy and what you don’t, specialise further and let this journey not only guide you but build up a solid CV’s worth of experience along the way. 

I hope that these four pieces of advice help when thinking about future careers. If you’re considering applying for a role, or just looking for assistance to touch up your CV, we are always happy to help, so please do not hesitate to get in touch!